Florence, Italy: Gelateria Dei Neri

Amongst other things like art and history, the Florentines are also especially serious about their gelato. Competition here is particularly stiff, and the only way you can do well is to do what you have to do - sell the real deal. Compared to some of the gelato I had in Milan and Naples, the ones here are at their freshest and richest, and the scoops are often over-proportionately large too. Not that I'm complaining, no way, every extra spoonful is a little piece more of heaven.


Gelateria Dei Neri has such a wide range of gelato that deciding on just two to three flavours would seem almost impossible. I was thinking that the only way I could do justice to myself (and the land of gelato) was to have a scoop each, of everything. Of course my travel buddy would have none of that, and so I had to settle for just two scoops worth of gelato. I knew I had to make a right decision. I must.


With a little help from our Lonely Planet guide, I scored on one of Dei Neri's top signatures, the Cocco gelato. This is by far the best ever coconut-flavoured gelato that I've ever eaten, with a richness that is unbeatable by a long mile and with a freshness that has "genuine" written all over it. Just like what I told you how gelato in Firenze would be like. Just imagine detecting bits of coconut pulp in your gelato, and tasting the natural sweetness from within. Simply divine.


The other flavour I had was the Bacio, which on first glance may remind you of the typical cookies and cream ice-cream (albeit a darker version), but it really is a combination of chocolate and hazelnut. It's something which may remind you of Nutella (*hint hint* look out for the next post!) or Ferrero Rocher, but having the balance of chocolate and hazelnut is not as easy as it seems. Dei Neri does it pretty well here, though I still think it got overshadowed by the amazing Cocco.

I know I should be showing close-ups of the gelato instead of pictures of myself, but usually when I'm on holiday close-ups on food would take a back seat. That said, I do have a shot of something delicious tomorrow, so stay tuned :)

Price
About €3 for a small cup. Choose your two flavours wisely!

Place
Via dei Neri, 20R,
Florence, Italy.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.