Gelateria Uli

Before I say anything else, I want to advise you to take my opinion with a grain of salt — I’ve just recently come back from a trip to Europe, which did include a couple stops in Italy, so the gelato I’d been having before this was top top top notch, arguably some of the best in the world.
That being said, the gelato here is indeed really good. I got a single scoop of the sea salt caramel (but only after desperately trying to control myself from ordering a scoop of four other flavors). It was the perfect balance of salty and sweet, which is something that is quite difficult to find for my tastes, and the consistency was super creamy. But before I decided on the salted caramel, I had sampled some other flavors, and a lot of them didn’t really stand out to me. But like I said, maybe my expectations were just too high… :P Regardless, this is still a great place to come to satisfy a sweet tooth!

I like the fact that they only have a few flavors available that are well thought out and properly executed instead of having a wide variety of mediocre products that come in a plethora of flavors of blah.
They turn the usual flavors into something more intense yet delicate. Sea Salt Caramel, Sea Salt Chocolate, California Pistachio, Espresso, Persimmon, Pumpkin Spice, Matcha, White Chocolate Peppermint, Coconut, Hazelnut, and a few more.
We tried samples of different flavors. But we went with Sea Salt Chocolate, Espresso, Pistachio, and Hazelnut. The sea salt intensifies the flavor of chocolate. All the flavors are bold and not just «a hint of». Even their waffle cone is good. Everything tasted like it was made with great effort and patience.

Really really really really insanely good. Some of the best gelato I’ve ever had and my favorite place in Los Angeles. I love the Speculoos flavor. The staff is friendly and nice. So yummy!

I’m so glad we stumbled into the Spring Arcade while they had the Night on Broadway street event. We discovered the Gelateria Uli and that was so much fun. I’m sure the Spring Arcade will look great once it’ll be finished to renovate, like a cool place in Milan or Paris. I’m glad they add nice restaurants and shops to the area like Gelateria Uli that we couldn’t resist but try.
Customer service here is great, you can sample various flavors, they have a great selection, decent prices, you can take something and go in a plastic container, or get a nice silver cup and silverware and have a seat, feel like you’re back in Europe.
We got a flight of 3 flavors: chocolate sorbet (creamy), espresso w/​waffle dough (delicious) and stracciatella (delicate).
Nice service, cool décor, delicious gelato. Fun treat! Looking forward to go back to try other flavors!

This place is located in an art gallery in a ghetto-​ish part of LA. The workers are friendly (this one girl offered to store my gelato until my volunteer event was over so it wouldn’t melt). I tried the expresso flavor, which was okay, and bought a pint of the white chocolate peppermint to-​go. In terms of prices, it’s pretty expensive. $ 3.50 for one little scoop and $ 10 for a pint omg. It’s good gelato but there are similar places that are cheaper.

So yummy! Found this place on Unilocal & came here today (walked seven blocks for it!). The gentleman working the counter was so friendly and knew all about what flavored tasted good together. He made great recommendations and offered as many samples as we wanted.
Small scoops for the price ($ 5.25 for 2 small scoops)
Gelato I ordered & loved all of them:
–espresso
–chocolate chip (it had a fancy name)
–peppermint white chocolate
–pumpkin
–Madagascar vanilla bourbon

I always come here when they are about to close because I get a craving for dessert after dinner so its usually pretty quick. The gelato is good, flavors are seasonal but nice selection. Anything with chocolate is my pick, if I’m feeling ballsy i’ll get it in a waffle bowl. The service is usually good, except once I felt rushed… I won’t take it out on the gelato, its good, especially with the Italian spoons you eat it with. :)
Though i must say, Mc Connell’s in grand central market is a better value since their single scoop is technically «2» scoops.

How do I even begin to write a review for a well-​beloved gelato shop in downtown LA? I’m sure that folks have flocked here after reading their impressive feature on Life & Thyme magazine. Life & Thyme is all about culinary storytelling, a quarterly print publication comprised of beautifully written and photographed food culture around the globe. Oh but I digress. So yes, Gelateria Uli. It’s quite a small shop located inside the Spring Arcade, in the same vicinity as Guisados actually. Came here this past summer and both the workers we interacted with were super friendly! I loved that the girl working there kept urging us to try more gelato flavours. Can I be friends with her please?
My sister and I decided to split a small which came with two flavours. We chose avocado and speculoos. I was surprised by how rich and authentic the flavours were! If you’re an avocado lover, prepare yourself for the outstanding creamy goodness that is their avocado gelato. The speculoos gelato tasted exactly like how Speculoos cookies taste! It took me right back to Europe. Love the caramely spiced gingerbread taste. Speculoos is one of the foods I’ve probably overdosed on in my past and as a result, I can no longer tolerate to eat it tooooo often. I do still enjoy it from time to time however!
We came here with the pup and one of the workers came right outside to where we were sitting and brought a biscuit for him. So thoughtful of him! And because it was a particularly hot day, he brought out a cup of cold water for him too. Great customer service not just to humans but also dogs.

My girlfriend and I have been to Gelateria Uli only once and already we’re convinced it’s a gem. Unfortunately, I don’t remember too much about my visit as it was almost three months ago.
The shop is located inside the sprawling Spring Arcade Building. Which coincidentally also houses Guisados, right next door actually. Makes it the perfect compliment to Guisados, for those of you who haven’t tried. Who would have thought tacos and gelato could be so ideal?
Anyway, on the particular night of my visit I was coming from B.S. taqueria just a few blocks away. So I had tacos, not from Guisados, but my assumption still rang true. We were undecided about which flavors to try so we were allowed to sample some, as is customary in most ice cream and gelato shops. That gave us some sort of direction in what flavors to choose. I don’t specifically remember which two we chose but I do remember choosing Stracciatella. After just one spoonful my girlfriend was enamored with the taste and consistency of the gelato. I had a few tastes myself and I couldn’t help but concede to this masterful creation of creamy flavors.
Even better, I was drawn to the coffee bags on display near the espresso machine. I saw that they serve Counter Culture coffee, and that made me love this place even more. Too many places choose to go with the latest household names in specialty coffee, and I applaud Gelateria Uli for breaking that mold. I didn’t have an espresso or an affogato, but I damn sure will next time I make it in. Also, enjoyed having a nice chat about coffee with the guy behind the counter.
Two thumbs way up for Gelateria Uli!

It’s kind of located in the middle of nowhere… or as middle of nowhere in DTLA can be. What I mean is that it’s in a rather strange building along a stripe of shops that’s not exactly in the most populated area. It’s almost peaceful in this quiet wide open indoor alley. Doesn’t really feel like DTLA which is what I mean by it’s sort of in the «middle of nowhere». Anyways, the shop itself is very sleek and modern looking. Whoever did the interior design did a very good job.
So a small size actually comes with two different flavors but they are two tiny scoops so I actually found this gelato shop to be very expensive. It’s almost $ 5 for a small which is outrageous. We settled on Speculoos Cookies, Espresso, Strawberry, and Stracciatella. Like all things made of cookie butter, their Speculoos flavor was fantastic. Tasted just like I was eating spoonfuls of cookie butter straight out of the jar. The coffee/​espresso is definitely not for the casual coffee drinker. This stuff is very strong and I only recommend it for people who genuinely love the taste of coffee. The strawberry flavor fell al little short for us. Way too tart and lacked the richness we were looking for. Stracciatella also did not live up to our expectations. It did not taste like chocolate chip at all. It just tasted like ordinary vanilla which was a disappointment.
Overall, we did like our gelato but it wasn’t anything special. Gelateria Uli serves up high end gelato for high end prices and when you can get gelato practically on every block in LA, it just gets lost in the crowd. Not worth driving out of your way for. ³⁄₅

A Unilocaler has always raved about this place and so when I was in the area I finally stopped by. I was pleasantly pleased. I loved gelateria uli, and I shall be back.
I got the Chocolate Chip and Espresso. Warning, the espresso is not coffee it’s espresso and that stuff is powerful as hell. It was like drinking… an espresso. I know that sounds stupid but you’ll see what I mean if you get it. Be sure you like espresso though.
Chocolate Chip was fantastic. I also tried a few other flavors and they were fantastic. I will definitely be back. 2 more scoops coming right up!

Uli, the world is not the same if you didn’t make gelato. Thank you for make the world a better place with those wonderful gelato you create.
Uli makes her original flavor and she goes to local farmer’s market to make those delicious treats. If this is not the best gelato you tasted, then please tell me where it is.

The staff was really nice though a little bossy as they keep shoving samples in your face even when you say no hahaha
I sampled the espresso with waffle chips, yogurt with plum, pistachio, peach, and pluot. Everyhing tastes super fresh and exactly as they are named. The gelato is rich, creamy and packed with flavor. One scoop may seem kind of small but it’s actually perfect because it does get very sweet. I was in a fruity mood so I opted for the pluot sorbet. It was tangy from the plum and I could taste the apricot at the end of every bite. Wow!
They recommended mixing the sorbet flavors with the yogurt plum one. The yogurt flavor was good… tasted just like frozen yogurt with plum jam. However, I was good with my pluot since I wanted just one scoop.
Had I been in a dairy mood, I would have gone with the espresso. It was strong, like it should be!

Great! I’ve had my fare share of gelatos (around the world) and ULI delivers, creamy, intense and creative flavors that are hard to find.
–Speculoos + Sweet Corn.
I have an odd love hate relationship with speculoos, but mostly just love. Biscoff cookies are as present as it can be In each spoonful with crunchy pieces here and there. Sweet corn is a must for everything corn lovers, it is interesting and delicious. Think corn bread. The mix resembles the flavor of corn flakes as tasted by our funny man server, Ebel? he was awesome.
Less one star because the speculoos scoop was a few degrees too soft, almost sticky and less solid. Too much scooping traffic on that side of the gelatos.

I’d heard wonderful things about DTLA’s Gelateria Uli so I finally ventured downtown on my latest trip through L.A. to taste their creations. I love the location in the Spring Arcade Building because there are so many unique dining options to explore: great tacos, Austrian pastries, a crêperie, and a juice bar all housed in one historic locale. I got my fix of downtown flavors and was on the road back to Las Vegas in no time.
We were served by a friendly gentleman from Scotland who was preparing fresh waffle cones. My first sample was the Flavor King pluot sorbet, which left an impression of this special stone fruit that is fragrant and floral. It’s also the type of flavor that you will only find in an artisan shop, because Flavor Kings aren’t sold frozen or in purée form. You actually have to procure them from a farmer (or grow them if you have a green thumb) and process them by hand. No one was working in the kitchen while I was there, but I love that there’s a window allowing guests a full view of Uli’s production area, just like Gelato Messina in Las Vegas. It is a good sign that they are honest about how their gelato is made and the ingredients that go into it, plus it is fun to watch gelatières in action!
I’m usually content with an affogato or single scoop at any ice cream shop, but I’m a tourist and I wanted all of Uli’s bold flavors so I ordered a triple with Flavor King pluot sorbet, Thai iced tea gelato, and speculoos gelato. This seems to be the shop’s signature flavor because no one leaves without a scoop of speculoos. Think cookie butter, except refined and freshly made, with the great texture of spiced cookie crumble. The scoops were huge and I wasn’t able to finish such a gluttonous portion, but all three flavors had me coming back for more tastes. It would have been a nice touch if my gelato was served in a silver dish instead of a plastic cup, but maybe they don’t offer that presentation anymore.
Since the flavors are seasonal and always expanding, I’ll be tempted to drive back to L.A. when black sesame is in the display case!

I had a perfect first experience at Gelateria Uli! I was in Downtown for a visit to the Last Bookstore, and to my surprise this was just down the street! I originally walked by it to get coffee and decided to come back and try it some other time, but then realized that trips downtown are rare! I walked in to an empty store (probably only because it was around dinnertime) and the employees were the most cheerful, sweet people ever! This one girl, Melanie, was the best! She let me try basically every single flavor in the store… and when I felt bad about it, she encouraged me to keep trying them! Thanks girl! (She said that the flavor combo I got was called the «Drake and chill» combo because the flavors are still really cool, but it’s more mellow than other combos, just like Drake! haha)
KING PLUOT SORBET: So if you’ve never had a pluot before, you’re missing out big time. They are a perfect blend of an apricot with a plum, if you couldn’t already tell by the name. The sorbet tasted exactly like a freshly picked pluot but cold and creamier. I immediately fell in love with this flavor! Melanie told me that they get their fruits from local farmers, and that since the pluot is a summer fruit it is seasonal! Every scoop got better and better! I highly recommend this one!
KIWI LIME SORBET: This fruity combo is ridiculously good. It is light and refreshing and the flavors of the fruits are so strong, in a wonderful way! I liked that you can still see the kiwi seeds, as it makes it seem more fresh! Again with this flavor I was obsessed from the first taste!
Since I got to try almost all of the other flavors, I can honestly say that Gelateria Uli is amazing and has the best flavors! On top of the crazy good quality, the employees are so fun and sweet. Yeah, the stuff is kind of expensive at $ 5.25 for a small, but what else do you expect when you are getting really great gelato/​sorbet? Plus, the portions are super generous, which is always a plus!

All I can say here is BEST GELATO EVER. That is all you need to know.
Trying out this gelato place in a sort of ghetto neighborhood was probably the best decision I made this past weekend. Came here with a couple of friends expecting to find a mediocre gelato place but boy were we wrong!
Saw the pretty ULI sign and walked in to sample a few:
Pistachio: fcking heavenly
Sweet corn: sweet jesus
Peach: peach crack
Speculoos: better than what it sounds like
Banana with white choco: also better than bananas
All the flavors DID NOT DISSAPPOINT! The texture was magical, smooth, not-​icy at all, and looked gorgeous. The taste of each one was concentrated and tasted so real… it didn’t taste like I was just eating frozen sugar. The flavors are indescribable and hard to explain… you’d have to come and try it out for yourself. My favorite is the pistachio… it was so good, I came to get it a second time the following day. Thank god for this heavenly creation.
The staff were kind and generous with the scoops! They also sell pints of some of their gelato. For those that don’t want too much, they do have a kiddie scoop! Line isn’t bad at all compared to other sweet places. There are tables inside and outside for people to sit.
All in all, if you’re in LA and you want gelato, COME HERE! Don’t hesitate to try samples… but if you’re not sure what to get, try the sweet corn/​pistachio/​peach! You won’t regret it!

Gelato here is okay. Perfect for a hot day. It was like $ 5 something plus tax for a small size. A small size has 2 scoops.
The flavors I have tried are the pistachio and salted caramel. I guess the pistachio does get a bit salty, but I didn’t really mind it that much, more like I didn’t really notice it until my friend mentioned it. Overall, the flavors were good, but I think the flavors still ended up being a bit overwhelmingly sweet for me. Ironic that they were supposed to be «salty» in a way, but the more I ate it, the more it overwhelmed my taste buds, and I couldn’t really taste the flavors anymore.
The ambiance is okay. It’s a small place with ample seating space.
The surrounding area in which this place is located may seem a bit dingy due to this part of downtown.

I’m sold on Uli like no other. I know generically it falls under the Ice Cream category, but a few key differences here. Gelato has less cream (less fatty), a little bit less sugar (generally speaking), and less air (more goodness packed in). All this magic is done by how it’s churned and the temperature they carry it at, but that’s all secret voodoo to me. What really separates Uli on top of all that is their emphasis on using the freshest ingredients and highest ingredients possible. Each batch is hand made and made fresh daily, so there’s never any left over frozen quality to it. Proper storage is also key and all of these things reflect in the end product. Do note that their flavors are highly seasonal, so if you see something you want today– better grab it cuz it might not be there tomorrow!
My favorite flavor by far is the pistachio. Think of most pistachio flavored ice creams and gelato’s you’ve had. Usually it’s either a) tastes like synthetic syrup, b) tastes bland like heck, or c) tastes like raw nut. However, these guys use the best nut possible and whatever magic they do so that their pistachio gelato has this intense pistachio flavor. It’s a robust roasted nutty flavor that really carries it home. It’s got the right amount of sweetness and just the smallest tad of savory to really knock it out of the park. And if it matters to you, it’s completely smooth; so not a chunky type gelato.
More seasonal and not seen every day, but black sesame hits home for me too. It’s a flavor that I’m admittedly biased for, but incredibly hard to perfect in ice cream form. It’s such an aromatic and strong taste that most ice cream or gelato makers tend to sweeten it too much in an effort to balance this out. Gelateria Uli manages to strike a better balance so the sweetness is not so overwhelming. This means I can actually have more than a few spoonful before I’m just overdone.
I just wish that parking in the area was a tad more convenient — otherwise I’d be there every other day!

Wow. Just WOW!
I’ve been tortured by a few Unilocal buds of mine about this place. I’ve been meaning to go try it, but somehow always miss the chance when in LA. But not this time! A few friends and I had a ladies only weekend in LA and went all out eating everything we could get in our mouths! We must’ve each gained 5 pounds in just 2 days, but boy was it worth it! So anyhoos…
Every flavor we tried tasted exactly like the food/​drink counterpart. Case in point, the Thai iced tea. Imagine if you could freeze that bottle of Thai iced tea you get at the 99 Ranch and turn it into a gelato. Sound delicious? Because it is! At Uli you get a smooth, deliciously tasty gelato at the perfect temperature! Those last two words you just read are SO important in gelato (at least to me) consumption. The gelato served here is at THE perfect temp! I hate, HATE when I get gelato and it’s already started to melt before being handed to you. The gelato here was perfect in taste, texture, and temperature!
They also offer a few sorbetto options for those lactose intolerant (Asian) folk. Suck it up and just have the gelato! Lol. Kidding! We tried the mango and strawberry ones and am pleased to say, they were delicious and refreshing.
We must’ve tried at least half of the flavors offered that day and were impressed with each one. Though I ended up with the Thai iced tea and Speculoos cookie gelato, I’m sure I would’ve been happy with any flavor they offered that day. I can’t wait to go back and stuff my face full of more delicious creamy concoctions!