The One Dish You Need to Eat in Edinburgh: Gelato

Published 6 August 2026 · finance

(Bloomberg) -- Scotland has never followed logic when it comes to food. The national dish is sheep’s innards, and deep-fried chocolate bars are a thing

(Bloomberg) -- Scotland has never followed logic when it comes to food. The national dish is sheep’s innards, and deep-fried chocolate bars are a thing. The latest unlikely food fixation in its most famous city, Edinburgh: gelato. Normally enjoyed adjacent to the warm waters of the Mediterranean, the refreshing, denser-than-ice-cream Italian dessert is now a staple to be savored huddled against the North Sea winds that buffet Edinburgh. Yes, Edinburgh — one of Europe’s coldest capital cities, where summer is fleeting at best and an extra layer is always advisable. One reason the Scottish metropolis is a burgeoning gelato destination is, believe it or not, the weather. While the temperature rarely climbs above 20C (68F) even in July, the combination of heavy rainfall in the nearby Lowlands and summer’s extended daylight hours produces lush pastures and rich dairy products, plus succulent fruit. For gelato makers, that means the raspberry ripple is stocked with the flavor of local soft berries, and the brown butter scoops are silky and caramelized. “You can almost tell the cows are happier here,” says Rebecca Fuller, founder of the bustling new gelateria Ciccetta’s. A decade ago, there were one or two gelato parlors in the city; now there’s about a dozen. The latest entrant is industry giant Amorino, which arrived in Edinburgh in mid-July, just in time to entice the hundreds of thousands of visitors for the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Leandro Crolla, the co-owner of Vittoria Group, which brought the global Amorino brand to Scotland, says the company chose Edinburgh because of its high number of international visitors and the growing “foodie locals” community. There are three more Amorinos planned for the city. More than half of the customers at Amorino’s shop, just off the famed Royal Mile, are tourists, Crolla notes.

That’s not accidental: Edinburgh is a compact city with the cultural benefits of a national capital, so boutique food shops tend to snare more passing tourist business than, say, the sprawling metropolis of Birmingham in central England. In 2024, Edinburgh attracted 5 million overnight visitors, twice as many as the nation’s largest city, Glasgow, according to the latest figures from VisitScotland. The high volume of tourists ready to spend £5 ($6.70) on a cone hasn’t been lost on Edinburgh’s gelato makers. “Tourism has gone through the roof,” says Mary Hillard, owner and gelato maker at the 13-year-old Mary’s Milk Bar on the bustling tourist drag of Grassmarket. Tourists make up more than half the clientele, with lines stretching down the block for unconventional scoops like walnut with lovage. Scotland’s predilection for frozen desserts predates the post-Covid rush of tourists, to the arrival of Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century. Within three years, through 1905, the number of ice cream shops in Glasgow more than tripled to about 330. “Scotland has loved ice cream come rain or shine since then,” says Hillard. These days Scots have developed an affinity for ice cream’s less sugary alternative, gelato, which is typically made with more milk than cream, often uses a shorter list of ingredients and is less processed than commercial ice cream. Ciccetta’s owner Fuller says that in Scotland, “people’s standards have changed. They don’t want the mass-produced stuff anymore. They want to pay more and get better quality.” Although her Bruntsfield shop isn’t near the main tourist attractions, it still draws crowds even on rainy days. Honorata Jarocka, associate director at market research firm Mintel, says gelato’s growing popularity across the UK “aligns closely with the Slow Food philosophy, which emphasizes artisanal craftsmanship, local sourcing and natural ingredients.” Social media has also pumped up Edinburgh’s gelato scene.