The summer has finally arrived in Munich, the ice cream season is as close to its peak as it will get. On a hot summer day with temperatures just below thirty degrees, we went out to test Munich’s most popular ice cream parlours to find out which are the best. The following ranking has been set by our team:
#1 – Balla Beni
The quality of an ice cream parlour can be determined by the length of the queue in front of it. On a hot summer day, the queue in front of Balla Beni is usually approximately 30 heads strong. If we would not know better, we would have thought that the owner must be giving out ice cream for free. But he isn’t.
Giorgio Ballabeni has created approximately 30 flavors of ice cream, of which 10 are available in the parlour at one time. Not a huge variety, but a selected one. Flavours include exotic mixtures such as buttermilk-lime, peppermint-milk or chocolate-ginger. The ice cream itself is not as sweet as
most others are, which gives you a chance to better taste the flavor of the main ingredients.
Balla Beni is located on Türkenstrasse, across the street from Brandhorst Museum in the Munich Art District. An easy 20 minute walk or 7 minute cab ride from the hotel.
#1 – Balla Beni
The quality of an ice cream parlour can be determined by the length of the queue in front of it. On a hot summer day, the queue in front of Balla Beni is usually approximately 30 heads strong. If we would not know better, we would have thought that the owner must be giving out ice cream for free. But he isn’t.
Giorgio Ballabeni has created approximately 30 flavors of ice cream, of which 10 are available in the parlour at one time. Not a huge variety, but a selected one. Flavours include exotic mixtures such as buttermilk-lime, peppermint-milk or chocolate-ginger. The ice cream itself is not as sweet as
most others are, which gives you a chance to better taste the flavor of the main ingredients.Balla Beni is located on Türkenstrasse, across the street from Brandhorst Museum in the Munich Art District. An easy 20 minute walk or 7 minute cab ride from the hotel.
#2 – Sarcletti
Café Sarcletti in the Neuhausen district of Munich is a
large ice cream parlour with it’s own café and confiserie. The Sarcletti family has always been in the Munich ice cream business – the first parlour was opened in the old town in 1906.
Much different than Balla Beni, Sarcletti usually offers approximately 40 to 50 flavours at one time, inlcuding many classic flavours such as Stracciatella or Chocolate. At peak times, 5 to 8 people work behind the counter just to serve the take away business – and still sometimes, there is a line of ten or more metres in front of the parlour. Besides the take away, Sarcletti also offers inside and outside eating for people who like to enjoy big portions of ice cream whilst sitting at a table.
Sarcletti is approximately 12 minutes by cab from the hotel – a bit out of the way but definitely worth trying.
#3 – Jessas
In the heart of trendy „Glockenbachviertel“, we found what seems to be Munich’s hippest ice cream parlour. „Jessas“ – which is Bavarian for Jesus – is located on Klenzestrasse 97, right next to Café Maria and Bar Josef. It is a bit off the beaten tourist path, which explains the popularity among Art, Fashion
, Design people and other hipsters. Due to construction, the entire building looks a bit rugged and not very inviting at the moment, however, that does not affect the quality of the ice cream. The ice cream itself is produced by Mr. Ballabeni himself and delivered every morning – in 12 exotic, daily changing flavours.
Jessas is located a bit south of the hip Gärtnerplatz area, approximately 10 minutes by cab from the hotel but only two blocks from the Isar.
Café Sarcletti in the Neuhausen district of Munich is a
large ice cream parlour with it’s own café and confiserie. The Sarcletti family has always been in the Munich ice cream business – the first parlour was opened in the old town in 1906. Much different than Balla Beni, Sarcletti usually offers approximately 40 to 50 flavours at one time, inlcuding many classic flavours such as Stracciatella or Chocolate. At peak times, 5 to 8 people work behind the counter just to serve the take away business – and still sometimes, there is a line of ten or more metres in front of the parlour. Besides the take away, Sarcletti also offers inside and outside eating for people who like to enjoy big portions of ice cream whilst sitting at a table.
Sarcletti is approximately 12 minutes by cab from the hotel – a bit out of the way but definitely worth trying.
#3 – JessasIn the heart of trendy „Glockenbachviertel“, we found what seems to be Munich’s hippest ice cream parlour. „Jessas“ – which is Bavarian for Jesus – is located on Klenzestrasse 97, right next to Café Maria and Bar Josef. It is a bit off the beaten tourist path, which explains the popularity among Art, Fashion
, Design people and other hipsters. Due to construction, the entire building looks a bit rugged and not very inviting at the moment, however, that does not affect the quality of the ice cream. The ice cream itself is produced by Mr. Ballabeni himself and delivered every morning – in 12 exotic, daily changing flavours.Jessas is located a bit south of the hip Gärtnerplatz area, approximately 10 minutes by cab from the hotel but only two blocks from the Isar.
