Mumbai Food: Gelaterie in Bandra serves amazing variants of ice-cream

Hazelnut ice cream. Pics/Ashish Raje

A few years ago, when the focus shifted from Baskin & Robbins and Ben & Jerry's Belgian dark chocolate ice cream (a direct spillover of Bollywood pop culture generally, and particularly, an emulation of a heavily pregnant Preity Zinta's cravings that arose 15 minutes before midnight in the 2005 release, Salaam Namaste) we started looking at gelatos. But the classic Italian frozen dessert actually dates back to the Renaissance period, when a man named Bernardo Buontalenti invented it for a grand banquet that was being hosted by Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in Tuscany. Or so the story goes.

Things are different today, with the sweet treat being preferred over regular ice cream because of a variety of reasons, ranging from a lesser percentage of fat, to a creamier texture, and the availability of eclectic flavours like stracciatella, notably the most popular variant which is typified by the irregular chocolate shavings that it comes with.

Amarena ice cream

So, when we stumble on Coppetto Artisan Gelato, a new gelaterie on Waterfield Road, we are eager to see what it has to offer. The truth is, years of being used to simple Kwality Walls ice cream, which we grew up eating (and loving) has instilled a sort of bias for no-frills desserts. Plus, the best of things are arguably the simplest. We head to the outlet with a fair amount of scepticism.

Once there, couples and friends loitering in the courtyard-like space outside the store and the cute set-up with soothing biscotti walls and a patch of green made with artificial grass, helps create an inviting atmosphere.

The limited range on offer featuring authentic flavours like Sicilian pistachio, coffee, and dark chocolate bodes well for us. The staffer behind the counter is helpful and sweet and he navigates our childlike-curiosity with patience, offering us a spoon of all varieties available and even going so far as to suggest which ones can be paired in a single scoop for maximum pleasure. We eagerly wait for amarena and a waffle cone filled with hazelnut gelato (Rs 170 each for small with up to two flavours and Rs 230 each for medium with up to three flavours).

Amarena is a dark red cherry popular across Italy and predominantly grown in Bologna and Modena. This ice cream seems to capture the tangy-sweet taste of the fruit perfectly. The sweet treat is rich and has a palatable rawness. We enjoy it as much as we do the hazelnut flavour, which comes with a dense nutty after-taste and is equally smooth. Perhaps if Zinta were aware of this outlet, she wouldn't have had to go frantic on the streets of Australia, but oh well! At least we know where to go when the craving kicks in.

Time: 12.30 pm to 12.30 am
At: Coppetto Artisan Gelato, Plot 117, Bandra West.
Call: 9326124347

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