Looking for the best ice cream in Bristol? Right now that's the gelato at Panunzio's Kitchen Gelati Italiani on Cotham Hill in Redland, UK Champion at the Gelato Festival World Masters 2025 and South West England's Ice Cream Shop of the Year for 2025/26. For something closer to the centre or Harbourside, Swoon Gelato (College Green and Wapping Wharf) and Amorino in Clifton are the next best stops, and Chew Moo's Ice Cream Co on Dundry Hill is the pick if you want a farm visit with your scoop. Expect to pay roughly £3 to £4.50 a scoop at the independents, all walk-in, no booking needed.
Two corrections worth flagging if you've read about Bristol's ice cream scene before. Oliver's Ice Cream Parlour, which used to share the Cargo 2 unit at Wapping Wharf, has closed, and Swoon's second gelateria now runs from that same stretch of shipping containers. More significantly, Tarr's Ice Cream in Brislington, a Bristol institution since the 1920s, confirmed in 2026 (BBC News, ITV News) that it was closing for good after 106 years, with the family citing rising costs, including an electric bill that climbed from £14,000 a year to £78,000. ITV's report points to a closure "this autumn," but as of this October update no exact final trading day has been published, so call ahead before a special trip, it may already be gone.
Gelato and ice cream near me, by area
- Harbourside / Wapping Wharf: Swoon Gelato's second site at Cargo.
- City centre / College Green: Swoon Gelato's original counter, the nearest option if you're searching "gelato near me" from the shopping or museum area.
- Clifton: Amorino, on Queens Road, a short walk from the suspension bridge.
- Redland / Cotham Hill: Panunzio's Kitchen, the most decorated shop on this list.
- South of the city / Dundry: Chew Moo's Ice Cream Co, a working farm parlour with skyline views. With Tarr's gone, it's also the nearest recommended stop if you're south of the river.
Where to go
Panunzio's Kitchen Gelati Italiani, Redland
This is the most decorated name on the list. Founder Daniele Panunzio's flavour Montebianco, made with White Lake goat's cheese, caramelised pecans and raspberry sauce, won him the UK final of the Gelato Festival World Masters 2025, and at the European Final in Bologna he placed third in his group against more than 70 gelato makers from 13 countries, the best finish of the three UK entrants. The shop has also been named Ice Cream Shop of the Year for South West England 2025/26 and Best Dessert Shop in Bristol for two years running, and carries 54 Great Taste Stars. It's genuinely Italian-made, with 15-plus flavours produced on site from ingredients like Sicilian pistachios and Madagascan vanilla. Pistachio and Montebianco are the flavours people mention most. The shop went cashless in 2025, so bring a card.
Swoon Gelato, College Green and Wapping Wharf
Swoon started as a single counter on College Green in 2016 and has since grown into a small chain with bars in Bath, Oxford and at Selfridges in London, alongside its two Bristol sites. The gelato is churned on-site daily, with regulars like chocolate, pistachio, salted caramel and amarena cherry cheesecake, plus rotating seasonal flavours and dairy-free sorbetto for vegans or anyone avoiding dairy. It's consistently well reviewed across Google and delivery apps. A scoop has typically sat somewhere in the £3 to £4 range, though treat that as a guide rather than a locked-in price and check in store, since gelato pricing shifts with ingredient costs.
Amorino, Clifton
New to Bristol in late 2025, Amorino is an Italian gelato chain known for scooping each cup into the shape of a rose, petal by petal. It opened on Queens Road in Clifton, close to the museums and the top of Park Street. It's a bigger, more international operation than the independents on this list, and scoops cost more here than at Panunzio's or Swoon, so go for the novelty and the flavour range rather than the price.
Chew Moo's Ice Cream Co, Dundry
Up on East Dundry Hill, Chew Moo's is the farm option: a family-run dairy farm with its own Guernsey herd, making ice cream and dairy-free fruit ices from milk produced on site, served with some of the best views over Bristol. It's generally open Fridays and Saturdays, but the farm updates its hours daily on Facebook, so check before a special trip, especially outside summer.
Comparison
| Shop | Area | Style | Price range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panunzio's Kitchen | Redland (Cotham Hill) | Italian gelato, small-batch | Around £3-£4.50 a scoop* |
| Swoon Gelato | College Green & Wapping Wharf (Cargo) | Gelato, dairy-free sorbetto available | Around £3-£4 a scoop* |
| Amorino | Clifton (Queens Road) | International gelato chain, rose-shaped scoops | Pricier than the independents above |
| Chew Moo's Ice Cream Co | Dundry (farm) | Farm-fresh Guernsey milk ice cream & dairy-free fruit ices | Around £3-£4.50 a scoop* |
*Scoop prices are a starting guide, not a locked-in figure. Small independents change them with ingredient costs, so confirm in store, especially if you're on a tight budget.
Which one should you actually go to
If you're already at Wapping Wharf for food, Swoon's Cargo site is the obvious stop. Around Redland or Cotham, Panunzio's is worth the short walk and has the strongest claim to being genuinely the best rather than just the most convenient. In Clifton after the suspension bridge or the museums, Amorino is the closest option, and for ice cream near the city centre, Swoon's College Green counter is nearest the main shopping and museum area.
None need booking, all are walk-in, and a couple of scoops typically costs a few pounds, so it's low commitment to try more than one over a weekend. Shops get properly busy on the first hot weekend of the year and through summer, so expect a short queue at Wapping Wharf or Cotham Hill on a sunny Saturday. Outside peak season, Chew Moo's can trim its hours between November and February, so check current opening times before a winter trip. For a wider day out, our best cafés and things to do in Bristol guides cover what else is worth building a visit around.
Gelato versus ice cream
Most of the standout names here are gelaterias rather than ice cream parlours. Gelato is churned slower with less air worked in, so it's denser and served slightly warmer, part of why Panunzio's, Swoon and Amorino taste noticeably richer per spoonful. Bristol's best-known classic English parlour, Tarr's, is on its way out after over a century of trading.
Good for kids, vegan and dairy-free
Chew Moo's farm adds animals to see alongside the ice cream, an easy win with younger kids if you don't mind the drive out to Dundry, and it makes a good free-admission outing too, see our free things to do in Bristol guide for more like it. For dairy-free options, Swoon makes sorbetto alongside its gelato and Chew Moo's makes dairy-free fruit ices from fresh fruit rather than dairy, both good for vegans or anyone avoiding dairy. If you'd rather not queue, Marshfield Farm, made just outside Bristol near Bath, turns up in shops and farm stores across the city, including on North Street in Bedminster, worth checking alongside something from our best bakeries guide for a tub to take home.