La Strega Nocciola

LOVE!!! I was in florence for 3 days and ate gelato at 6 different places (all of the made-​daily, covered tin variety). The white chocolate cinnamon was amazing — my all-​time favorite.
Only downside is there wasn’t really any seating despite the space.

Now I’m sure you all haven’t read my profile but on it I state that one of my few life goals is to find the greatest gelato in the world.
This secluded little shop may not appear to be much on the outside but It would be a genuine waste of your time to not go inside. Like you would actually be wasting more time by walking past the shop the you would by actually walking in.
Now I can’t remember the many variations of flavors that they offered but the one that stuck out to me most was the white chocolate and cinnamon. This aided by the flavorful textures of pistachio was a beautiful combination and in my books the best combination/​ice cream I have ever had.
I’m sure you won’t understand quite how much ice cream i have consumed in my life but it’s terrifyingly large so for this to be the best on my list, you know it’s good.
DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!

Standard, but not worthy of 4.5 stars. More upscale than the local shops you find, but all the gelato is stored in tin cans so you can’t see them all so it takes away from the experience. 2.5 euros for 2 scoops so average prices. Nothing spectacular about the flavorings

We stumble upon this place while walking aimlessly wondering around. The gelato/​sorbet was one of the best I had in Italy so far. I tried the strawberries sorbet and the hazel nuts ice cream. Initially I thought the sorbet looks a bit artificial but it tasted like fresh strawberries and you can see the strawberry seeds. Love the clean chic ambience.

The most incredible gelato that I had thus far — I don’t think there is a creamier gelato. It is across the street from the Golden View Restaurant (delicious in its own right as well, and actually serves some gelato flavors from this maker for dessert).
I believe they are famous for their «nocciola» flavor — I can see why! I am usually a bit wary of locations so close to a «hot spot» (the ponte vecchio in this case) but this was divine. The place is not crowded and the service is wonderful. Highly recommended!

Best Gelato we’ve had in Florence. All natural and made on premise. Convenient location. Even better than Venchi.

Fantastic gelato. The fondente is light and not too rich, and the white chocolate with cinnamon always manages to satisfy that craving for je né sais quoi. I Have yet to try the bergamot or lavender, but I’m sure they’re lovely. The staff is cute and friendly. Cones are a bit pricy, but average for firenze.

Pues es uno de los sitio más conocidos para tomar helado en Florencia pero no se ha convertido en uno de mis favoritos. Ése espacio se lo lleva otra heladería mucho más chiquitita que está cerquita de aquí.
Impecable y de presentación preciosa, textura de helado italiana (es decir, que no te meten hielo y agua como acostumbran aquí en España, sino nata o crema verdaderamente). Sabores muy conseguidos y precios igualmente de risa, no por lo caros, sino precisamente por lo contrario.
En caso de comerme el de cheesecake y avellana como ice… el de cheesecake me lo podía haber ahorrado: D

You can never get enough gelato in my opinion and quite frankly, I’m willing to suffer the consequences of being lactose intolerant to taste test as many places and flavors I can. I had been nosing around Palazzo Rucellai, looking to see what they had for the students and I noticed a little magazine called «I Heart Florence» (sorry Unilocal doesn’t allow a certain character that would make an actual heart). I picked it up and took it with me when I was finished with business. I was flipping through and saw an article on Gelato with some suggestions for gelateria to visit. One of them was La Strega Nocciola. I would not have paid any attention except that they mentioned flavors like Bergamot and Lavender. I had to try it.
Later that evening after meeting our students for pizza, they went to drink, we went for gelato. It was super easy to find and the place looks very fashionable. I decided to try the Bergamot (Bergamotte) and the Dark Chocolate (Fondante). The lady behind the counter made sure to ask if I wanted the Bergamot, she said it had a lemony flavor. For those of you who don’t know, Bergamot is one of the key elements in Earl Grey tea, which is precisely why I wanted to try it. It doesn’t look like they add any colorings to their gelato, which is nice that it is natural. The Bergamot was a snow white color and absolutely refreshing. As best as I can tell, I don’t think there was cream in this one. This is the flavor I want on the hottest day of the year.
The Dark Chocolate was intensely dark and dense. It was creamy as well. The tartness of the Bergamot was exactly what I needed to offset the richness of the Dark Chocolate. A couple days later, I happened to be in the area and I decided it was time to go back and try the Lavender Gelato. Although I was struggling to find what I would pair it with. Just so you know, I am very picky about pairing my flavors together as I think they should be complimentary.
They have flavors like Mayan Chocolate (white chocolate and cinnamon), Aztec Chocolate (dark chocolate with chili for a bit of spice), Cheesecake, Coconut, and Strawberry, but I just couldn’t figure out what to choose. Finally I realized that on this trip, I have not yet had my favorite flavor of gelato… Pistachio. Duh. So I had Lavender and Pistachio. Not sure they were complimentary, but their Pistachio is not the fake, bright green, and overly almond tasting pistachio, it is a more natural taste and color. It was nutty with hints of saltiness and bitterness, just like eating pistachios. The Lavender Gelato was heavenly. I don’t know what it is with my fascination of flower flavored things (I bought violet candies at the store the other day), but it isn’t like eating perfume or lotion. There is an art to it and they do it really well… enough Lavender to get a distinct flavor, but not enough to make you feel like you just ate an entire Lavender bush.
If you are looking for something a bit different from the other gelateria, wander away from the crowds on the Ponte Vecchio and try La Strega, you won’t be disappointed!

The lavender gelato is fabulous. Both subtle an intense. Its funny that being so close to the Ponte Vecchio it was not crowded so the service was great. It was lovely to escape the mobs of people.