La Gelatiera - Stratford East Village — Restaurant in London

Been here twice. The first time (Nov 2021) was absolutely amazing. The flavours are incredible, the portion was generous, we could look at all the flavours before choosing and we ate indoors. I came back today (June 2022) with high hopes and was bitterly disappointed. I ordered the same size as last time - four flavours - but then asked for two scoops of one flavour, so three flavours in total. The price had gone up by 20p, which is to be expected with inflation running so high. What I did not expect was for the portion size to be halved. I was taken aback when given a small cup that was not piled high. I had bought it to share with my child, two scoops each, and quickly realised that there was no way there were four scoops in there. The flavour that we had asked for two scoops of was provided in the same quantity as the other two flavours and it all felt mean. I actually went back to the counter and queried it, and was told that the new policy now is that each flavour is only half a scoop. This was the first I had heard of this. So we had paid £6.20 for four flavours and only received two scoops. The gelato is a quality product and I would have understood if they had put their prices up. But please don't mis-sell to customers. I wanted four scoops and felt disappointed and short-changed. I let my child eat some of my share as the portion really wasn't big enough for two, so I didn't get the treat that I had so eagerly anticipated, and after looking forward to it for so long I felt really deflated. The staff were not helpful and just said that was the policy and there was nothing they could do. But they certainly didn't tell me when selling me the ice cream that it was only two scoops (and how much ice cream do you get if you buy three flavours? 1.5 scoops? Or still 2 scoops but only three flavours? Because we only bought 3 flavours but still paid for 4). Also, the inside of the shop was closed, meaning we couldn't see the ice creams to make our choice (or see how little they were putting in the cup) and had to sit outside. I've still given 3 stars because the quality of the gelato is superb. If honestly priced (which doesn't necessarily mean cheaper - just more transparent about what you will get) this would be the best gelato in London and I would come again and again. But I was so disillusioned with this experience that I'm going to try somewhere else next time.

Edit: Thanks to the owner for taking the trouble to reply to my review. I'm not able to reply to them so am editing my review instead. Portion size definitely did decrease very significantly since my last visit - I take photos of amazing food to inspire me/share with others so I took a photo both times and the difference is very visible. I do understand that costs have gone up. So my suggestion is to be more transparent (at point of sale) and consistent...

Terrible! This is the first time eating La Gelatiera after a few years. I tried the oreo, it was like sludge, melted, I couldn't see any inclusions. This should not be served in the condition it was, it was almost a liquid. The vegan pistachio wasn't flavourful. I opted for the cherry amarena and my partner had the salted caramel. The cherry amarena was overpowered by the taste of cream and the cherries were bland. The salted caramel was slightly more flavourful but again had a residual overpowering cream taste. This used to be one of my favourite gelato spots when I had it in Covent Garden but this was incredibly poor. I was really disappointed hence the review. It seems like the company has skimped out on ingredients and inclusions. The staff also need to be trained better. The place was dirty, needed a clean and the products weren't being looked after correctly. My cherry had lots of green dots inside, which I am assuming was the pistachio. The staff aren't cleaning the spatulas properly and they are cross...

I recently moved into the area and i was very happy to see authentic gelato made on site, here in Stratford. They have some interesting flavour combinations and the menu changes regularly, which is lovely. The facade and the area around the venue are attractive with lots of well manicured grass and benches where you can enjoy your gelato.

That said they could do better in a few areas: I tried many flavours for over a month now and they are all way too sweet - the ‘sour cherry’ was disappointingly not sour at all, for example. I would love to try the samples they sent to Great Taste, because I doubt they would get a star based on the current recipes. I’d be much happier to pay for premium ingredients if the product was more sophisticated. Their specialty coffee is Italian style dark roast only. I have seen the owner/boss being rude/obnoxious various times - whether that was to me, other costumers or staff. I honestly only buy from them because there aren’t other options...