Five of the best ice cream parlours in the North East according to Chronicle writers

Дата публикации: 25-07-2026 14:31:57

These ice cream parlours are popular with our writers

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These ice cream parlours are popular with our writers

With the summer holidays in full swing and the weather warm and sunny, nothing quite hits the spot like an ice cream. We have a number of award-winning ice cream parlours in the North East, with Ciccarelli in Blyth named as having the best soft serve ice cream in the UK in March, with Di Meo's of Whitley Bay, Minchella & Co of South Shields, and Spurreli of Amble also scooping awards.

Despite a difficult hospitality climate, our restaurants, cafés and bars; and this week, ice cream parlours; continue to be places where people enjoy quality time with friends, family and colleagues. At ChronicleLive, we think it's important to celebrate our region's fantastic hospitality scene, and this continues series of articles where our editors and reporters pick out their favourite places to eat and drink in our region.

Here are ChronicleLive's favourite places for ice cream in the North East.

Creams Café, Newcastle

Georgia Cuthbertson, reporter

My current favourite ice cream parlour would be Creams Café on Grainger Street in Newcastle. Open until 3am, the midnight munchies of ice cream is one that Creams definitely provides.

With accompaniments of waffles, crepes and puddings alongside sundaes and sorbets it's my favourite place to go when the midnight munchies for a sweet treat takes hold. My favourite sorbets are mango sorbet and lemon with my ice cream go-tos being toffee and salted caramel.

Di Meo's, Whitley Bay

Sam Volpe, health reporter

What is it about Di Meo's ice cream that has made it such a site of pilgrimage at the Whitley Bay seaside? I've been thinking about this for a few days - and the short answer seems to be that everyone finds a different flavour or style of ice cream to love, and they're all great.

My girlfriend just adores the nutty flavours they create - hazelnut, pistachio, Snickers. My mum on the other hand loves popping down to the Lido Di Meo's hut a few yards away for the soft serve delights they produce there. (And one of my top tips is get a vanilla ice cream and a coffee there and sit and chill out on a breezy spring morning!)

The key, of course, is to time your visit right, as the queues can get a little bit silly on a hot day - but, to the credit of the staff there, it never feels like your waiting too long, and that's certainly something I've experienced elsewhere. My only confession is that, as much as I'll wolf down an ice cream and thank you very kindly for it (yes, that's a hint dear ChronicleLive readers), I'd probably prefer Di Meo's pizza, which is also absolutely top notch.

Di Meo's also has branches in Tynemouth and Ouseburn.

Toney Minchella, South Shields

Daniel Holland, local democracy reporter

Sometimes, simple is best. If you want to find the North East's best ice cream, go to a Minchella's in South Shields and get yourself a classic 99. No fancy frills or weird flavours needed - just a standard wafer cone, a generous swirl of impossibly smooth vanilla ice cream, a chocolate flake, and a drizzle of monkey's blood (raspberry sauce, for anyone unfamiliar with the local slang).

You can have a debate over whether to go to a Toney Minchella hut or to Minchella & Co, two North East ice cream institutions with roots in the same Italian family. Both are excellent and I do have a nostalgic love of tucking into a knickerbocker glory at Minchella & Co's seafront parlour.

But, purely for geographical reasons that mean I've probably spent more time at the Toney Minchella hut in Whitburn than any other, I'll plump for that one as my choice here. The recipe has barely changed in decades and that's because it doesn't need to, it's perfect exactly how it is and the ideal accompaniment for a day at the beach.

Morwick Dairy, Warkworth

Daniel Hall, rural tourism reporter

Drive too fast along the road connecting Warkworth and Acklington and you'll miss Morwick Dairy, and you don't want to do that. The last remaining dairy farm on the Duke of Northumberland Estate, it's a true hidden gem if you're willing to take a detour from the Northumberland Coastal Route.

The kitchen is tucked away in an old cow shed where small batches of ice cream are made with a variety of flavours - though black cherry, vanilla and chocolate are always on the menu. Using a fior di latte base with milk from the cows grazing in the surrounding fields, the gelato here is creamy and rich; with the honeycomb a particular favourite of mine.

A handful of picnic tables are scattered on the grass outside, with a play park for kids. You can also get Morwick Dairy ice cream at Sarah's Ice Creams at Lambertslee Farm, near Newton-by-the-Sea in Northumberland.

Ciccarelli Italian Gelato, Blyth

Barbara Hodgson, what's on writer

While I knew there was a difference between gelato and ice cream, I was never quite sure what it was but a first trip to this sunny-looking parlour at South Beach in Blyth turned out to be quite an education. The family business hand-makes sorbets as well as gelato and, having heard it wins awards for both, I had a trip up there to give them a try.

For me, sorbet beats ice cream any day of the week and the blackcurrant flavour I tried here was bursting with sharp-and-sweet fruitiness then I had a taste of an even zingier lemon. But this is about ice cream - or, in this case, gelato - and this came similarly beautifully presented in a little tub.

The former uses more cream apparently so is more fatty, which can affect taste and mask flavour. I chose a vanilla gelato, having heard that if a parlour's version of this classic is good then its other flavours will be too.

This one was better than good. The vanilla had a real depth of flavour compared with ice creams I've had in the past. It turns out you really can taste the difference.

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