Ciao Bella Gelato

Jack loves to take the kids for ice cream. Reno & Cinzia both got strawberry, Jack went for a double scoop, chocolate and butter rum. It was his birthday, afterall. There was no line (cool, cloudy saturday afternoon), and we had the entire garden area to ourselves to relax and enjoy.
If I were to get anything here, it would be one of the sorbets, beautiful colors! I was dangerously eying the Northern Raspberry … but held strong.
Go. Here. I sampled Jack’s and the kids’ and all were totally worth it.
Service was great, she totally enjoying bringing a smile to my kids’ faces (not that hard when ice cream is involved, but still…)

I like Ciao Bella a lot. The fruity flavors are really good, especially the blood orange. Sometimes I feel like the gelato has been sitting in the display for a while, and isn’t that fresh. I don’t know if that’s really the case though.

Gelato is Gelato. They basically taste all the same, what’s different is in the flavors they offer. This place has a wide variety but it’s not really flavors I am too fond about I suppose. I’m more into traditional cookies n cream or oreo or chocolate stuff and this place has flavors like «rose» and other weird things that I wouldn’t really consider flavors but more like inedible plants. But it’s different I suppose…

Now I don’t have to go to the Ferry building! Lines aren’t nearly as long here, it’s less crowded and there is delightful seating right outside in the courtyard. And since it’s still a seasonal flavor, they had the cinnamon gelato that I enjoyed with a ginger cookie from Cheeseboard across the street.
Ratings may change if they lose the cinnamon flavor though. I’m just sayin’. :)

If OMG really is the preferred nomenclature for an elicited positive response nowadays, then zOMG (using the parlance of our times) describes Ciao Bella just perfectly.
Came here on a pretty weekday afternoon after lunching heartily across the way at Cheeseboard. We wandered into this bougie food court and found ourselves staring dreamily at the Ciao Bella lineup of tastes. Thankfully the girl behind the counter was VERY patient with us :)
I remember being in heaven after a scoop of the key lime gelato, which had graham cracker crumbs in it. YUMMY. I also had the pistachio, which had a generous amount of actual nuts in it. It was heavenly. I also gave the milk chocolate a try, which I must say was one of the most delicious chocolate gelato varieties I have ever had the pleasure of trying. The green tea, ehh, not so much — a bit of a let down with how little it lingered on the palette. I took a gander at Baby Brian’s sorbets (not a huge fan, but had to try), and I am reminded once more of why we are foodie soulmates. The blood orange was delicious tart, and they had a kalamansi flavored sorbet which was FREAKING AMAZING. I have never seen that anywhere but here!
The price is a little steep, but ehh, what do you expect? It’s gelato in the gourmet ghetto of North Berkeley. I would definitely recommend this joint to anyone fresh out of Cheeseboard (or anywhere else nearby, for that matter!) on a nice sunny little day.

This is my favorite Gelato place!
I love the fact that they have gelato and sorbet. My Vegan hubby has plenty of dairy free choices – He got the Blood Orange sorbet and inhaled it lickety split.
I am very unadventurous when it comes to ice cream. I always have to get chocolate. This time I got chocolate and malted milk balls. Mmmmm.
We ate on the patio which is pretty tranquil considering it is just steps away from the insanity of Shattuck Avenue.
There’s also a bathroom in the Epicurious Garden Center—
Hallelujah! It is impossible to find a public bathroom on Berkeley… which always makes me wonder, «Am I the only one who ever has to pee?»

Behold the gelato truck!
Ciao Bella Gelato’s summer tour is in full swing and they are planning to give out 1 million free samples!
I caught up with them in front of Whole Foods Redondo today, and sampled the pistachio. To die for, I tell ya.
In Berkeley I think I had strawberry. But whatever flavor, I love gelato.
And Ciao Bella does it right. According to their promo material, they began in New York’s little Italy in 1983. That’s Italian, baby.
The sample I enjoyed today was so generous, it was in a little container complete with spoon. It was almost big enough to be lunch.
I asked the Ciao Bella Rep, Tori, to pose for a photo with me. And we invited the son of the man who was kind enough to take the pic to join us.
The gelato was so good that the boy kept the spoon in his mouth for the photo…
See?
I ain’t just a-​whistlin’ Dixie here, people.
To see all the stops on the summer tour, just check the Ciao Bella website.

I had the pleasure of getting my sweet toof fix at Ciao Bella when I was in Berkeley two weeks ago. After gorging on some fantastic Vietnamese food down the ways, my cousin and I trekked over to Ciao Bella for dessert.
I had a scoop of the pistachio and she also had a scoop of it along with a scoop of hazelnut. I really wanted to hang out and sample the 20 or so different flavors they had, but my belly was already at capacity for the evening.
There was this lady that seemed intrigued by the flavor called calamansi. When I overheard her asking the girl for a sample of the «cal-​la-​man-​see» flavor, I wanted to sample it too since my Mom has a tree in her backyard.
It tasted just like the stuff I like to squeeze over my pancit, but I don’t know about eating scoops of it in my gelato. Great idea for those that love the stuff though!
The next time I hop on the Greyhound of the Skies (a.k.a. Southwest Airlines) up to the Yay Area, you better believe I’ll be making a pit stop at Ciao Bella so I can try the other flavors!

Yeesh, my family eats too much! Took them to 2 restaurants in gourmet ghetto and yet they were STILL hungry for dessert. But thanks to them, I stumbled upon this great gelato place in the back of Epicurious Garden.
The store presentation of this small gelato stand is fairly standard compared to other gelato places in Berkeley. The key difference that sets this place apart from others is it’s flavors!
Granted not ALL of their flavors are that spectacular, there are, however, certain ones that make a trip to this place worth while. Mango Sorbet was simply delightful on a hot summer day; the taste of fresh mango was very rich and smooth but not too overwhelming. The Maple Ginger Snap is amazingg; Both my dad and sis are very picky eaters, so when their eyes lit up after sampling this flavor, it’s gotta be good. Stracciatella is a pretty safe choice; it’s nice and light with chocolate chip shavings and hard to screw up.
Word of advice to ppl new to gelato: don’t be afraid/​shy to sample flavors. Sampling in itself is 50% of the gelato experience!

Stopped here after a miserable meal at Chez Panisse café and was pleasantly suprised. From Blood Orange to Sake Cherry to Apple Caramel Crisp to Chocolate Chai there was a great selection of flavors seen at stores like Whole Foods as well as plenty of seasonal options that truly seemed inspired. Love the fact that they serve Gelato and Sorbetto, as well.
One star off because the selection was much more limited than their online site would suggest and because the server was relatively unhelpful.

Ciao Bella is a well-​recognized brand that you can find at your local specialty grocery store and at first glance, it’s hard to distinguish it from any other ice cream brand beyond it’s striking neon colored packaging. However, once you delve into the flavors they offer, mainly the seasonal ones they serve at this scoop shop, you can easily see how Ciao Bella steps up above the rest.
From prior tastings, I know and will forever be a fan of the Blackberry Cabernet sorbet. It is a wonderfully tart and sweet combination of fruit and alcohol that cannot be matched. That is until the day I walked into the back of the gourmet food court in Berkeley on that sunny, winter afternoon and I tried (and brought back home) Cherry Sake sorbet. The same flavor packed punch was packed into this particular fruit and alcohol combo and I couldn’t help but take a pint home to savor. So far as I can tell, the sorbets are second to none and I’m going to keep coming back for more.

Sake cherry, blood orange, raspberry cabernet, and orange chocolate! I was allowed to taste them all and not made to feel bad. Very nice server!
Gelato YUM! And I have had it go so bad, Guinness gelato, YUCK!
Eaten in the breezy sun on the outside benches in celebration of my friend’s birthday-​EXCELLENT!

I’m not huge on ice cream or sweet things, but once in a while I crave something dessert-​like and exquisite. At these moments, I have to thank Ciao Bella for their Lebanese Yogurt flavor. It’s only available in their stores as far as I know (not at other stores which sell their gelato), and I don’t think it’s ever pre-​packed in pints. It is lightly tart, barely sweet and has the full, rich fresh-​milk-​culture taste that I love about good yogurt. It is insanely good with fresh raspberries.
Honorable mention: their Rose Petal gelato. A little sweeter than I would like it, but also good in a sweet-​milk kind of way with the faint aroma of rosewater.

I stopped in with a friend who exposed me to the gourmet ghetto for a lunch treat. We work with a flexible schedule and I am grateful we can take our time to find places like this.
Located in the Epicurius Garden, a micro-​mini food court at 1511 Shattuck near Chez Panisse, this gem deserves recognition!
The quality is superb. I agree with the reviews I read here. «SERIOUSLY! So good.»
The selection will please any taste from sweet to tart to mild or rich, I am certain.
One look at the super shiny texture of the sorbets and you know it will be good. I tried a port wine flavoured sorbet that was devine.
The Lebanese Yogurt was not for me, but it has its place among epicurians who use cheeses in desert. I tried it, though.
Don’t expect a restaurant style seating area. This is a stand in a food court. There is however, a pleasant, tiered outdoor seating area where you can enjoy the flavors you enjoy in from this geletaria.

When I used to live in Spain, a friend and I would walk around all the Plazas, sit idly at a café sipping coffee, playing guitar and eating delicious tapas. Sometimes, we would reward ourselves with delicious gelato with flavors you can’t find very often in the States.
This weekend was about reviving everything I felt in Spain – relaxing. I put my phone on silent, drove to a friend’s apartment in Berkeley and slept for about a total of 30 hours.
Sitting outside in the Epicurious Garden, on a blissfully warm afternoon, eating cookie dough and valhorna chocolate gelato, engaging in quiet, sometimes even silent conversation (that involves a range of mouthing words, hand motions, and streetfighter moves), was probably the most relaxing day I’ve ever spent in quite some time.
Then we went back to the apartment and I took a 6 hour long nap. Streetfighter moves are tiresome.

I took my friends around the Berkeley area and one of the places I wanted to check out was the Epicurious Garden. It had been featured on t.v. and it looked really appealing plus it was near Love at First Bite and the Cheeseboard. (Yep, we were on an eating frenzy.) The first thing I saw when I entered was gelato! I can’t help but be attracted by the plethora of flavors and colors and their appealing names.
I tried their Pear and Passionfruit Sorbet plus their Lebanese Yogurt. All tasted really delicious especially the pear. In the end, I chose the Siciliana Blood Orange Sorbet (really popular flavor according to the woman behind the counter) and Lebanese Yogurt (not tart, just a milky texture).
Just take your gelato, sit outside and enjoy the sunshine!

I don’t get the appeal of gelato. What is it, half melted? Is it low-​fat, or what? It doesn’t count as a real dessert to me.
On a recent visit, after lunch at Chez Panisse, my mom got the strawberry, I got the Scharffen Berger chocolate and my little boy got a vanilla bean cone. None of the flavors really jumped out at me.
My allegiance is still, and will forever be, with Bi-​Rite Creamery in SF.

11:00 am — tons of dim sum with favorite friends
1:30 pm — restroom + cupcakes
2:02 pm — walking around + window shopping
4:00 pm — time to make my mouth and belly happy again
4:05 pm — found CIAO BELLA!
4:08 pm — got Pistachio Gelato & Passion Fruit Sorbet
4:15 pm — all gone
4:23 pm — heading home with tearing. sniff. sniff.

Hopelessly and officially addicted to: Key Lime Gelato with Graham Cracker Swirl… I scurried over to the Berkeley location in anticipation of bringing some home to devour at my leisure.
First attempt. Boo. They didn’t have it! :(I sauntered away sulkingly licking my Blackberry Cabernet which was equally good just not what I wanted.
My «dealers» (as they’ve aptly named themselves) promptly offered to have my flavor ordered for me and let me know they could have it in within the next few days.
By the weekend… and by that time desperate, I called (wishing, hoping, yearning) they were true to me. To my surprise & utter delight she proclaimed: «yes I remember you, we have it!»
That was Easter Sunday. It is now only a few weekends since and I can’t quite possibly comment on how many pints of KLG w/​GCS I have devoured. (So many, my peddler told me I could save money by calling Ciao Bella directly and requesting to order a full tub — the same tubs they scoop from in their stores!)

Continuing his time in Berkeley, Matt was driving and walking around the Shattuck Ave. Strip and encountered a mini cabin-​like shopping area called Epicurious Garden.
Finding the newest so-​call mini-​village food center can be a challenge. Inside the mini-​center, there are local food businesses that have a culinary twist for food-​connoisseurs to please.
Taking a tour, there are plenty of purpose local food venues that Matt needs to try. And since the city Berkeley has been mostly a huge disappointment, these food sites will be a «must try.»
Unfortunately Matt had a below par lunch earlier. So he had to settle with a frozen treat: Ciao Bella Gelato.
Located at the back of the garden, the entrance is near Walnut St. than the Shattuck Ave. With 24 flavors to choose from, the frozen treats were very colorful and a work of art.
Matt ordered a 2 scoop of Gelato for $ 3.95. Placed in a tiny cup, he had the Tahitian Vanilla and the Zabaglione. The first one is just a softer version of a Vanilla-​Bean ice cream, and the second one is seasonal blend that is foamy egg-​nog custard with a hint of alcohol. (Don’t tell anybody).
Matt has finally found a dining place/​area that is outside the UC campus. He might come back to the Epicurious Garden for his hearty meal and increase the scoop of his frozen treat to three scoops, which cost $ 5.25.