Piccola Gelateria — Restaurant in New Orleans

If you are within a one-hour drive of this great hidden treasure, I don't care what you're currently doing while reading this review, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND DRIVE THERE AT ONCE. After you've had gelato from Piccolo Gelateria, you will never - I repeat NEVER - be able to find a suitable substitute or even anything that comes remotely close to tasting this good! I've had plenty of stuff labeled "gelato" but I promise you that there is no comparison. If you could eat paradise, it would taste like the Amarena Cherry gelato. Do yourself a favor... pack up the family, pack up your neighbors, pack up your co-workers, and come try this place! I also sampled the hazelnut and the pistachio gelatos. What a shocker - they literally taste like what they're supposed to taste like - hazelnut and pistachio!! There is nothing fake or artificial or chemical about the gelato here! The service you'll receive matches the deliciousness!! Tell them you read my review and yes I actually DID drive in from over an hour away to eat here! PERFECTION!!! 10 outta 10!!!!!

Appended review added on Saturday, March 30, 2024:

I made ANOTHER trip (twice in the same week) to this WONDERFUL gelateria and tried two additional flavors - Caramelized Fig and Banana Salted Caramel (in addition to my favorite Amarena Cherry of course). All tasted exactly as the name implies and are ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! The cafe Americano that I ordered was equally delicious! Before leaving, I purchased a stuffed collectable teddy bear for a dear friend's baby. Can't wait to see the reaction!

I'll end my appended review on this... the owners of Piccola Gelateria are probably THE two nicest people you will ever meet! Any time you make a trip to this town, you absolutely must stop by and say hello, grab a cup of coffee/espresso and get a couple of different flavors of gelato. It will touch your soul and your taste buds will...

I cannot stress enough how amazing this place is. The gelato is by far the best I have ever had anywhere and the affagatos are without a doubt one of the best tasting things I have ever had anywhere. A friend of mine who has had many different kinds of gelato in Rome said that the gelato here is far better. Everything I have tried here has been spectacular. One can immediately tell by tasting the food and gelato here that the ingredients are always high quality and that no artificial or fake ingredients are ever used. Not only is the chef a genius when it comes to gelato (I believe he studied gelato making in Italy) but he is incredibly knowledgeable about coffee as well which makes the espresso and other coffee drinks of the highest quality.

The food and drink are in no way the only reason to visit this establishment. The owners and staff are some of the most welcoming and kind people you will ever meet. Until I came to this establishment I never thought a place could actually "make you feel like family" but this establishment does exactly that.

In summation, Piccola Gelateria has the absolute best gelato in the city (and best anywhere else as far as I can tell) and is run by some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I cannot recommend an establishment any more than I recommend...

This is not an all vegan establishment. There are a few vegan options and they are referred to as sorbetto. I got a latte with soy milk, coconut sorbetto, chocolate sorbetto, mango sorbetto, and strawberry sorbetto.

Latte - Espresso poured over milk. No sweetener. I got it like that to accompany my coconut & chocolate scoops.

Coconut - It's rich, but not creamy where you get tired after a few spoons. Definitely has that coconuty taste with the texture of the flakes in it. It's not overly sweet.

Chocolate - This is very rich and it is on the more bitter side. I absolutely adore this flavor. If you're a dark chocolate fan then you should definitely try this.

Mango - It has the right authentic mango flavor. Not icy like sorbet and not creamy like ice cream. Very refreshing on a hot New Orleans afternoon.

Strawberry - This is the lightest and "iciest" of all 4. Not that any of them is icy by any means. It isn't as strongly flavored as the others. Also a good choice for a hot day.

I highly recommend giving this place a try if you're looking for gelato to satisfy vegans and...