The best ice cream near Sloane Street: a Chelsea gelato crawl
The heat of mid-August is not the time for a long lunch. It is the time for a slow walk with a scoop in hand, and the streets just south of Knightsbridge happen to be some of the best in London for it. Several of the city's most interesting ice cream and gelato counters sit within a short stroll of Sloane Street, so there is no need to choose between them. Borrowing the route laid out by Sloane Street's own Chelsea gelato crawl, here is how we would spend an afternoon.
Stop one: Parlour by the Ice Cream Union, Pavilion Road
Start a minute from Sloane Square at 166 Pavilion Road, where the Ice Cream Union runs its parlour. The selection rotates, so read the board before committing. The flavour to order if you only order one is cornflake, which tastes uncannily like the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl. Salted caramel and honeycomb are the two regulars ask for by name. It is open from 11am to 10pm, which makes it a useful late-evening stop too. Take two scoops: you have a walk ahead.
Stop two: Amorino, King's Road
Head down Symons Street to the King's Road and Amorino at number 67A. Here the gelato is shaped into a rose, one flavour per petal, so the usual agony of choosing simply does not apply. Ask for four: pistachio, mango sorbet, stracciatella and dark chocolate make a good bouquet, and the flower holds its shape better than you might expect in the heat.
Stop three: Venchi, King's Road
A few doors along at 71 King's Road, Venchi is the serious, chocolate-led stop. Gianduja, hazelnut, pistachio and a dark chocolate thick enough to stand a spoon in are the reasons to come. Order the gianduja in a cup rather than a cone: it is too rich to chase down a wafer on a hot afternoon. This is where you go when sorbet has stopped feeling like enough.
The finale: Pont Street, while it lasts
Sloane Street's route ends at 11 Pont Street with Anya Hindmarch's Ice Cream Project, whose 2026 flavours run from Tunnock's Caramel Wafers to Oxo stock cube and Euthymol toothpaste. Scoops start at £4.50 and tubs are £16. But be warned: this year's run ends on Sunday 16 August, so the coming weekend is the last chance. If you want the full experience, the Blind Tasting Tea at the Anya Cafe must be booked at least 48 hours ahead, for a minimum of two people.
How to do it
The whole loop, from Pavilion Road down to the King's Road and back up to Pont Street, is comfortably walkable in an afternoon from Sloane Square or Knightsbridge station. Go after lunch, take it slowly, and save the most adventurous flavour for last. If the weather turns, Venchi's chocolate counter makes a perfectly good place to shelter, and Pavilion Road has plenty of cafés for a coffee between scoops. Summer will not stay put forever, so order accordingly.
Lead image: TheJRB via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
