10 best dairy and vegan ice cream parlours in Cornwall
It wouldn’t be summer in Cornwall without ice cream, but don’t settle for a Mr Whippy. We’ve got the scoop on the places to eat gourmet dairy ice cream, sorbet and vegan plant-based alt-ices.
Made with fresh fruit and natural ingredients, with some unusual flavours thrown in for good measure, here’s a list of the 10 best vegan and dairy ice cream parlours in Cornwall to satisfy even the most discerning gelato aficionados.
1. Treleavens Luxury Cornish Ice Cream
Famous for … supplying posh restaurants like Rick Stein Fistral and the Watergate Bay Hotel.
Treleavens has grown from a small kitchen unit in Looe to become one of the biggest ice cream producers in the county. Known for its artisan methods, the milk and cream comes from cows on 25 local farms, which is then processed by Trewithen Dairy in Lostwithiel.
Best dairy ice cream flavours … Too many to mention but people love the butterscotch, pecan and salted caramel ice creams, and campari and clementine sorbet.
Best vegan ice cream flavours … chocolate, mint choc chip, raspberry ripple, salted caramel, speculoos and vanilla.
Buy it from … Constantine Bay Stores; Trevathan Farm, St Endellion; Waitrose, Truro; St Tudy Community Shop; Yaxley Stores, Polperro.
Eat it at … ice-cream shops throughout Cornwall.
2. Roskilly’s, Helston
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Famous for… being a real, working dairy farm. You can easily spend a day here, which is probably for the best as it’s all the way down on the Lizard at St Keverne.
Don’t worry, even in high summer there’s plenty of free parking. Not only can you enjoy Roskilly’s gorgeous organic ice cream here, but you can also watch the Jersey herd being milked. Or wander around the farm – there are plenty of animals for the children to see. There’s a restaurant as well as the big ice cream parlour, and you can buy tubs and cones to take away.
Best dairy ice cream flavours … salted caramel or classic clotted cream for the sophisticated palate, and strawberry, chocolate or bubblegum for the kids.
Best vegan ice cream flavours … Launched in 2020, Roskilly’s Vegan Vibe ice creams including an award-winning vegan chocolate salted caramel, raspberry ripple, mint choc chip and mango vegan ice creams.
Eat it at… Roskilly’s popular little ice cream shop in Padstow; the Ice Cream Parlour in Port Isaac and Nauti But Ice in Porthleven.
3. Mr B’s, Hayle, Cornwall
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Famous for … freshly made ice creams and a fun vibe.
Mr B’s in the little seaside town of Hayle has won plenty of admirers since opening in 2004. It only stocks 16 flavours at any one time, and the line-up rotates throughout the season. Added to the ice creams and sorbets, it offers a selection of cakes and desserts, including waffles with Cornish clotted cream.
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … the timeless vanilla and fresh strawberry, Dutch apple crumble, maple and pecan or the beautifully named triple choc chunk fudge chunk choc chip ripple.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … Mr B’s dairy-free ice creams are made using coconut or soya milk and using ingredients and flavourings suitable for those with intolerances, such as fresh bananas, apple and chocolate.
Eat it at … Penpol Terrace, Foundry (opposite Asda) and at Fore Street, Copperhouse (next to Julian Foye).
4. Ciuri Ciuri, Falmouth
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Famous for … sumptuous and authentic Italian gelato and its incredibly creative window displays.
Founded by three Italian friends, the gelato is handmade everyday in the lab using the finest Italian ingredients. As well as 18 different gelato flavours, you can also enjoy milk shakes and typical Sicilian products such as Nutella frappè (Nutella and Tomarchio brioche milk shake) and the Sicilian brioche filled with gelato.
Best dairy ice cream flavours … Orange and lime frozen yogurt, bubblegum and marshmallow with natural colourings, orange and Oreo, mint chocolate chip, black cherry and pineapple and coconut.
Best vegan ice cream flavours … watermelon, double chocolate and Rocher, mango and blueberry.
Eat it at … Ciuri Ciuri, 44 Church Street, Falmouth
5. Willy Wallers Ice Cream Factory, Penzance
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Famous for … its unusual ‘yummdiddlyumptious’ flavours and lots of extras (think Mini Eggs, whipped cream, sprinkles).
Willy Wallers uses the finest ‘gold top’ Cornish milk, cream and fresh fruits to produce more than 32 inventive flavours. If you’re finding it hard to choose which one, spin the cornet flavour wheel in the shop to see what you’re eating!
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … stem ginger, lemon meringue pie, Belgian chocolate and Ferrero Rocher, white chocolate and raspberry ribble, banana toffee and Cornish cream tea.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … a very creamy chocolate, and mango – there are also dairy-free cones.
Eat it at … Willy Wallers Ice Cream Factory, 7 Wharf, St Ives.
6. Kelly’s Ice Cream
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Famous for … pioneering Cornish clotted cream ice cream.
From humble beginnings in 1930, Kelly’s Cornish-through-and-through ice cream recipes are based on an authentic family recipe that’s been used for three generations. Made with clotted cream and whole milk, fresh from the cows that graze on Cornwall’s lush green grass, Kelly’s Ice Cream has a distinctive creamy flavour and smoothness.
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … clotted cream of course! Plus Cornish vanilla, and chocolate.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … vegan vanilla.
Buy it from … most leading supermarkets.
Eat it at … Maenporth beach, Falmouth, Cornwall.
7. Tall Ships Creamery, Charlestown, Cornwall
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Famous for … its good old-fashioned ethos, traditional textures and classic flavours with a refreshing twist.
We love this cute little kiosk among the tall ships in Charlestown. Tall Ships Creamery aims to make Cornish ice cream real again: small, handmade batches, fresh ingredients, low in sugar and healthy, non-dairy options.
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … Tall Ships Ice Creams are given their own individuality and are named around our piratical and seafaring themes: emerald mint, coconut bounty and dark Belgian chocolate, rollocking rhubarb crumble and Cornish clotted cream, lemon heave ho and Oreo ahoy.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … mango mutiny, revolting raspberry sorbet, lemon head sorbet.
Eat it at … Tall Ships Creamery, The New Weighbridge, Charlestown Road, Charlestown.
8. Moomaid Ice-Cream Parlour
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Famous for … delicious, modern ice cream flavours, trendy ice cream parlours and riffing on the famous Mermaid of Zennor legend.
One of Cornwall’s newer ice-cream producers, the Zennor farm family produces more than 30 flavours, and now have four parlours across Cornwall.
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … Flavours range from the traditional favourites such as vanilla bean, Cornish clotted cream and honeycomb, to more unique concoctions like Limoncello lemon curd, salted caramel praline, the infamous shipwreck (includes sea salt ice cream), blackcurrant cheesecake and Turkish delight.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … sorbets: prosecco, coconut cream, raspberry, blackcurrant, lemon and passionfruit.
Eat it at … four pretty parlours: on the wharf in St Ives, on the beach at Porthtowan, in the village at Zennor and in the square at St Just.
9. Callestick Farm
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Famous for … fruit and confectionary-based flavoured ice cream made using its own milk and local clotted cream, served up in a gorgeous Cornish farm location.
Callestick Farm Ice Cream is located in the heart of Cornwall, just a stone’s throw away from the north Cornish coast, nestled in a valley farmed by the Parker family since 1953. Its 300 cows roam the pastures during the summer months and shelter inside when the weather is gloomy. Located on site is the Callestick Ice Cream Parlour, which offers cosy indoor seating and a sheltered sun-trap courtyard serving lunches, hot and cold drinks and Cornish cream teas.
Best Cornish dairy ice cream flavours … café espresso, apple pie, clotted cream and strawberries.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … blood orange, elderflower and mango sorbets.
Eat it at … Callestick Ice Cream Parlour, Callestick, Truro, Cornwall
10. Cecily’s vegan ice
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Famous for … Cornish vegan ice cream.
OK, this one’s not strictly a parlour but we’ve included it on our list because it’s damn good vegan ice cream from Cornwall! Cecily’s was established in 2014 and makes its dairy-free ice cream with coconut cream and coconut sugar. As creamy as non-dairy, Cecily’s doesn’t use mono-diglycerides, relying instead on its Cornish ice cream-making heritage to produce fluffy, dreamy ice cream.
Best Cornish vegan ice cream flavours … vanilla and dark chocolate, min choc chip, choc orange swirl, double caramel, pure chocolate, rum’n’raisin, creamy coconut.
Buy it from … Buy direct from the website, Marks & Spencers and Ocado.
Mouth watering at the thought of trying some of these delicious Cornish ice creams?