Casa Rosada Artisan Gelato — Restaurant in Alexandria

Old Town Alexandria can be a tourist trap if you don't know where to go or access to the local-"in crowd" on where to go. I myself would confess to being a zombie tourist if it were not for all the crowd-sourced reviews and convenient map search features. This long-winded review intro is meant to steer you off-the-beaten-path, away from touristy stuff, and see what little shops lurk in the edges off streets of royalty ( ahem, I meant look at what's out there beyond King Street, Prince Street, or Duke Street ).

And in the case of Casa Rosada Gelato, you would literally walk pass it given recent construction that forces the relocated front entrance to be hidden deep off some loading bay alley (the pictures says it all). The alleyway is almost 25 paces off the main street and there are no signs except for some Casa Rosada icon on paper taped to a plywood board where the front entrance would be. Had to band up with a visiting family of 5 to go gelato hunting for the front entrance. It's especially scary at night and yet so fun too given how dark the entire surrounding intersection block is with no cars or people in sight. But the gelato is good - way better than the throw-back-themed ice cream chain shops that promise to top sweetened air-filled cream (ie. normal ice cream) with rainbow covered sugar that's meant to distract you from all the air you are buying in your ice cream. With most gelato classic flavors available, we opted to go 'off-the-beaten-path' theme and go for walnut and madeira wine gelato. Tasting both flavors mixed was a symphony of flavors I doubt you can find anywhere else in...

If you are looking for real gelato--this is a must visit. I travel quite a bit for work, and make an effort to seek out the best local ice creams when I can. This is the best I've had since I was last in Rome. It is a true Italian style (lighter on butterfat, but intense in flavor and creaminess). But the recipes passed down through Argentina. (Most of us Italians have at least a cousin or two in Argentina!) I had a combo of the dark chocolate and dulce de leche that was outstanding.

Plus, this family run shop is not a pretentious ice cream "boutique" or a ubiquitous chain store. It is a quaint friendly shop, kid and family friendly. Gelato is $4/$5/$6 for small, medium, and large, maybe a bit pricey for the small, but the large is a truly large portion, well suited to splitting (and perhaps too much for one!). I hope to get back there again.

Note that the gelato leaves their cooler a little on the cold side--so it tends to feel a little icy in the mouth at first. But, give it a second to come up to temperature--it then evolves into an exceptionally creamy, intensely flavored example of what gelato should be. This ain't Cold Stone, and that's a very good thing. I highly recommend a visit, especially for those who enjoy frequenting small family run businesses.

(Lastly, in the interest of full disclosure, I have visited the other ice cream shops in old town Alexandria...and this is the only one I feel compelled to write a...

My husband and I stopped by today, genuinely excited to try a new spot. Unfortunately, our experience left us deeply disappointed.

When we walked in, we were met by a woman with blonde hair who immediately gave us a demeaning look and her nice employee who was really kind. I ordered a strawberry gelato and my husband ordered a mint chip scoop. We then go to their fridge to grab and ice cream cookie but as we’re looking to see what else there is the woman in the blonde hair tells my husband to close the fridge in a rude tone.

I politely asked if you offered pup cups or whipped cream for dogs, and even said I was happy to pay for it. She looked visibly annoyed, so I quickly said “no worries, I don’t want to inconvenience you, just a small scoop of vanilla ice cream is fine for my dog.” Still, her demeanor remained irritable and dismissive.

This was what prompted me to leave a review: She asked where we were from, and I explained we are Bolivian and Salvadoran, but we are also American, born and raised here in the States. The entire exchange left me feeling judged.

As small business owners ourselves, we understand how important customer service is and how far kindness and decency can go. Please consider how your staff treat customers—experiences like this leave a...