9 Best Ice Cream Spots in Istanbul: Tried and Tested

Istanbul turns into one long ice cream queue the moment the weather warms up. Opinions run strong about which line to join. From Italian-style gelato counters to a decades-old corner shop that still scoops cones by hand, these nine spots are where locals go for the best ice cream in Istanbul once the sun comes out. Expect seasonal fruit sorbets, a Turkish coffee scoop, and at least one ice cream sandwiched between crackly sesame wafers.

1. Girandola: Italian gelato that happens to be vegan

Girandola brings proper Italian-style gelato to Istanbul. The twist: almost all of it is dairy-free, since the base is made without milk or cream—good news if you’re traveling with a vegan in the group or just curious what fruit-forward gelato tastes like. Flavors change with the season. There’s no fixed menu, just whatever fruit is actually ripe that week. You’ll find branches in Caddebostan, Arnavutköy, and Yeşilköy, so it’s an easy stop whether you’re on the Asian or European side.

2. Bitez Dondurma: a Bağdat Caddesi institution

Bitez Dondurma is the reason people detour onto Bağdat Caddesi, Istanbul’s upscale shopping strip on the Asian side, for dessert alone.

Cherry, lemon and chocolate are all there. The scoops worth trying, though, are biscuit, honey-almond and tahini-sesame—flavors you won’t see on most menus in the city. The brand markets its fruit as organically grown, and beyond Bağdat Caddesi you’ll also find branches in İstinye and, outside Istanbul, in Bodrum.

3. Ali Usta: the queue on Moda’s seaside walk

Walk down from Moda Caddesi toward the water on Istanbul’s Asian side and you’ll spot a row of lanterns hanging from a tree, with a line forming underneath it year-round. That’s Ali Usta. Cherry, walnut, lemon and strawberry are the favorites. But the shop’s signature move is sandwiching a scoop between two pieces of kağıt helva, a thin, crackly sesame wafer, for a crunchy-sweet combination locals swear by.

Demand is high, and the prices know it: expect to pay a bit above the neighborhood average.

4. MUA: a kiss of a name, straight from Italy

MUA takes its name from the sound of a kiss, which gives you a sense of how the brand wants you to feel about its gelato. Like Girandola, it’s Italian in style. Everything is made fresh with seasonal ingredients, no pre-frozen base. Two Istanbul locations only, and that’s on purpose: Galata and Yeniköy. The Galata branch is the one to add to an İstiklal or Galata Tower itinerary, since it also pours a solid range of teas if you want to sit and linger.

5. Cremeria Milano: gelato and sorbetto, side by side

Cremeria Milano is another Italian import. What sets it apart is serving both of Italy’s classic frozen desserts under one roof: gelato and sorbetto. Gelato is built from whole milk, eggs and cream blended with ingredients like cocoa, pistachio, almond or cinnamon, which gives it that dense, creamy texture. Sorbetto isn’t simply a lighter gelato, though, whatever the shared freezer case suggests. A specialty of southern Italy, it skips the dairy entirely in favor of water, sugar and fresh fruit and lands much lighter: a 90-gram serving comes in at about 70 calories, compared with roughly 160 for the same amount of gelato. Useful to know if you’re watching what you eat, and it makes Cremeria the second stop on this list with a dairy-free option, after Girandola if someone in your group skips milk.

6. Dondurmacı Yaşar Usta: a citywide contender for the best ice cream in Istanbul

Dondurmacı Yaşar Usta has built a loyal following on flavors that taste more like the ingredient itself than a frozen version of it—Turkish coffee, cinnamon, rose and date are the standouts. Only picking one? Make it Turkish coffee. The drink itself is on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, inscribed in 2013, and that slow-brewed, slightly bitter edge carries over well into ice cream. The shop’s founder credits the brand’s success to four principles: cleanliness, honesty, care, and treating every customer like family—simple rules, but they’ve clearly worked. Finding a branch is easy. There are locations across the city in Bostancı, Bakırköy, Kadıköy, Cihangir, 4. Levent, and on Bağdat Caddesi.

7. Damla Dondurma & Boza: a Kurtuluş classic since 1989

Anyone who knows Kurtuluş Caddesi knows Damla Dondurma & Boza. It’s a neighborhood fixture that’s reportedly been serving the street since 1989. The menu stays short. It doesn’t try to do everything, either: tutti frutti, mastic gum, blackberry, lemon, cherry, and banana are the regulars, alongside boza, a thick, fermented, slightly tangy winter drink that’s a seasonal specialty in its own right. Compare that with Ali Usta down in Moda, where the queue pushes prices above the neighborhood average: here they’ve stayed reasonable even as the reputation has grown, which is part of why regulars stop by more than once a week.

8. Charly Temmel: Austrian gelato with a retro sign

You’ll notice Charly Temmel before you mean to. It sits just off İstiklal Caddesi on the walk toward Tünel, and the shop’s colorful, retro signage is hard to miss even in winter. Its storefront lists the cities where the brand has a presence (Istanbul included), and the counter backs up the confidence with flavors like apple-cinnamon, dark chocolate-orange, tiramisu, mint, coffee-Bailey’s, and coconut-rum.

Charly Temmel started in Austria. It makes its ice cream fresh daily from natural ingredients; expect a line most afternoons.

9. Cold Stone Creamery: an American classic, Istanbul edition

For something closer to an American mall-food-court experience, Cold Stone Creamery has locations around Istanbul, including spots near Ortaköy and Kadıköy. The chain bills itself as “super premium” ice cream, and the fresh waffle cones and bowls back that up. The one to order? The “Hot Stone”: warm mix-ins like chocolate chip cookies and molten cake folded into French vanilla ice cream with a warm sauce—an odd combination on paper that works in practice.

Prefer to build your own? There’s a create-your-own-mix option on the menu too.

Sources: MUA’s official Instagram, Cold Stone Creamery Türkiye, UNESCO: Turkish coffee culture and tradition