It’s no secret that Israel is well-known for their unique and flavorful foods – and ice cream is no exception!
IZZY recently added Marrying an Ice Cream Factory, a documentary about the Strauss family whose dairy farm went on to become one of the largest food conglomerates in Israel. So, we decided to investigate the Israeli ice cream scene!
Here are some of the most popular foodies’ favorite frozen deserts in Israel:
Natalie Kanfer & Leah Berwald— Arte Glideria
While Arte Gilderia only opened its doors on Tel Aviv’s bustling street of Nahalat Binyamin in 2015, it’s quickly made a name for itself. The shop’s Italian owners pride their ice cream on being made of only natural, raw materials.
The award-winning Marco Cake flavor, which is a combination of cream cheese, berries, and homemade almond crumble is a fan favorite, but the shop also flaunts many other unique flavor combinations such as avocado cream and goat cheese.
Natalie Kanfer and Leah Berwald of the popular foodie account Tel Aveat (a play on Tel Aviv) both choose this spot as their favorite go-to.
Lior Mashiach — Golda
Halva, a quintessential Middle East treat, is a dense confection of sesame and honey, enjoyed all over Israel. It’s essentially a sweeter, thicker dessert version of tahini, so it’s no surprise that it’s become one of Israel’s most common ice cream flavors!
Pastry chef and food blogger Lior Mashiach loves Golda’s twist on this flavor, but plenty of other Israeli ice cream shops including Gelateria Siciliana and Vaniglia also serve their own variation of Halva flavored ice cream!
Oren Assif & Kerem Agam — Buza’s
At one point, Israel was actually the world’s largest consumer of pistachio nuts per capita.
Therefore, it only make sense that the highly followed food bloggers Keren Agam and Oren Assif appreciate a good pistachio ice cream. Funny enough, they each independently cited Buza as their favorite spot to get it.
Aside from their delicious and unique flavors, Assif chooses Buza as his favorite ice cream shop in Israel because it promotes coexistence as their business is a collaboration of Jews and Arabs.
Amy Albertson — Otello Gelato
Since moving from California to Tel Aviv, food blogger Amy Albertson has come to the conclusion that “ice cream in Israel is always better.” Her favorite spot is Otello, which is recognized for their homemade ice cream and chocolate.
They’re known to fill up their cones with warm chocolate before topping on the ice cream, which keeps plenty locals, like Amy, coming back!
