The Gelato Is Spinning Thick This Summer in San Francisco

Perhaps it’s all the Mediterranean dining around town but the last few summers have been filled with tinned fish and Aperol spritzes. So, naturally, San Franciscans are primed for dessert — do you want to get gelato? There are several fresh options for gelato around town right now, with a few new shops, windows, and even jaunty custom carts rolling in from Italy.

But what exactly is the difference between ice cream and gelato? A quick refresher: Technically, ice cream has more fat and more air, explains Roy Shvartzapel of From Roy. Ice cream is often made with cream and eggs, and it spins fast to incorporate air; Shvartzapel estimates ice cream at more than 50 percent overrun or added air, while his gelato maxes out at 20 to 25 percent. Gelato relies more on milk, so it’s lighter in fat — between 4 and 9 percent, many sources agree — and it spins slowly so it’s dense in texture and feels more intense in flavor. Pick up a pint at the market and it’s definitely more solid. Take a spoonful and, “You get all of the flavor on your tongue,” says Jennifer Felton, pastry chef at Cotogna. “You’re not working through the air. You don’t have a lot of fat. That flavor melts on your tongue immediately.”

No offense to anyone who loves soft serve, but it’s a treat to see talented pastry chefs crafting gelato programs from scratch, many inspired by their travels and memories of Milan, Bologna, and Sicily. So grab a mini spoon and let’s dig into it — the gelato is thick this summer in San Francisco.

Che Fico Mercato in Menlo Park threw open a Gelateria window at the beginning of the summer, which has already been a hit with the warm weather on the Peninsula. They’re also rolling out a new custom cart, so the gelato can hit the road and roam around the Bay Area, likely starting with a few farmers markets. It’s a super cute TeknéItalia model that just arrived from Italy, featuring snappy red paint with a pattern of purple figs and a scalloped awning. “The more people enjoying gelato, the better,” says co-owner Matt Brewer. “And what better way to bring gelato to the people?” They tapped a star pastry chef to develop their recipes — Shvartzapel, of panettone fame, has been consulting on the menu.

Shvartzapel says it was refreshing to take a break from crafting one of the most notoriously difficult breads in the world, and instead develop a few fresh gelato recipes for summer. He’s spent the most time in and around Milan, visiting his panettone mentor nearby in Brescia. “I definitely have gelato once a day when I’m there,” Shvartzapel says. He considers himself kind of a classicist when it comes to intense flavors. The team imports pistachio, hazelnut, and almonds from Italy, and folds in the same local and seasonal produce on display in the market. Shvartzapel still dreams about Silicilan pistachio gelato, which they’re now pairing with tart cherries. The cookies and cream flavor folds hazelnut brutti ma buoni cookies into a hazelnut base. And there’s a hazelnut brownie situation with salted caramel.

Cotogna, too, embracing frozen dessert by bringing back its gelato cart on summer Fridays in anticipation of its upcoming gelato shop, Gelateria di Cotogna, opening in early 2025 just a block away at 596 Pacific Avenue. Back in March, Cotogna’s fan-favorite gelato went viral thanks to a visit from Kim Kardashian, who enjoyed the vanilla and honeycomb. Originally, a gelato cart rolled around the dining room with a huge mound of fresh vanilla to be scooped tableside. During the pandemic they switched to selling pints out the door, and eventually built four custom wooden carts for private events. This summer, they’re parking one in front of the restaurant on Fridays to serve scoops and cones, along with selling veggies from their farm and wines from the cellar. They’ll soon upgrade to a TeknéItalia, which should arrive in mid-August.

Longtime pastry chef Felton has geeked out for years developing these recipes. “I love the science and possibilities of gelato,” Felton says. “You have one single product, but endless flavors and options.” In 2019, when she was trying to take a vacation, chef Michael Tusk convinced her to spend a week at the Carpigiani Gelato University near Bologna. She says gelato — such as the crema di gelato that includes egg yolk — runs a touch richer in that region. Felton relies on local and organic dairy, strawberries from Cotogna’s own farm, and pistachios from Sicily. She refuses to use any fruit purees or nut pastes, doing all of her own grinding. Don’t underestimate the original vanilla flecked with quality vanilla bean: “It’s not cheap to make,” she says. Everyone asks for the honeycomb, which folds in a crush of honeycomb candy, coated in a little coconut oil to keep it crunchy (although Felton’s personal favorite is espresso).

Hila Gelato is a new spot on Valencia Street owned by an actual Sicilian. Chef and owner Ilary Biondo took over this storefront from Xanath Ice Cream in 2023, and Hila Gelato just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Biondo owned a gelato shop in Palermo for 10 years, before moving to San Francisco last year. “You can find some gelato here in San Francisco,” says Biondo, as translated by her wife Cecilia Casarini. “But coming from my experience making artisanal gelato in Italy, I couldn’t find anything like that.” She’s been shocked to realize how many ice cream shops in the Bay Area rely on premade bases, syrups, and mix-ins. She just got back from visiting her mother in the countryside, where they like to make olive oil on the family farm. She grew up chasing after the gelato truck, which in Sicily apparently meant a Vespacar mini truck trundling around on three wheels.

Biondo’s style is emphatically fresh and light, and she would even say healthy, although that’s a whole other conversation between you and your dietitian. She makes many of her bases with only three ingredients — organic milk, local fruit, and scant sugar. Some of the bases aren’t even cooked, she simply purees and lets the flavors bloom. When people stroll into the shop, they’re greeted by a mechanical chorus: she had a custom gelato case made in Texas, which continuously spins small batches of each flavor while on display. The fans especially love the strawberry, pistachio, olive oil, gianduia (chocolate and hazelnut), and croccante amarena (cherry, chocolate chip, and biscuit crumbles). Oh, and you can get any flavor loaded into a cannoli.