Nardini

I have been to Nardinis a few times now and decided to make it my local Sunday afternoon ice-​cream shop. They have the best and vast assortment of ice cream options from an extensive menu list. You also have the choice of one or more scoops on a scone or in a cup starting at £2.10. Nardinis is spendacious with the amount of ice cream served and if you order one of their set ice cream bowls from their menu, you won’t be disappointed when it comes to seize.
Last time I had a banana split. Yum Yum. Next time I will be aiming for the coffee and vanilla option combining both my favourite items.
The staff is always very polite in the typical Italian style way. When the sun is out the queue can be long as everybody wants a taste of the cold, creamy textured ice cream.
What is also nice is that you can sit outside on one of their tables on their patio.
I usually get a seat inside and occasionally also enjoy a nice cup of freshly brewed Italian coffee with my ice cream :-)
Can’t wait to be back.

Love love love their ice cream. Plenty of delicious flavours to choose from alongside pastries and coffee. By far the best ice cream in Edinburgh. Customer service is great. You’re always greeted with a smile. Fantastic location too.

While we waited for a table for a recent meal, we stumbled across Nardini’s. I love diner-​style ice cream shops, and am often seen haunting the tables of Luca’s, in Musselburgh. However, we had to check this out for dessert. So ignoring the pretty looking desserts being taken to other tables, we set off for the bright lights refracting from chrome.
I do have to stop for a second, ignore the ice cream (originally from Largs, Ayrshire) and talk about the décor as Nardinis had it down pat. Diner style is all about synchronicity and patterns — from the red chair, black chair, red chair, black chair, to, piled up cones and the perfectly twisted pile of serviettes in the corner — the devil is in the detail (and ok, there were a couple of chairs out which totally RUINED the black red pattern but you know, I am not picky).
So, moving on to the ice cream. I went for the chocolate orange sundae, the SR went for the raspberry snowball sundae — and make no mistake, these sundaes are relatively expensive, but also huge, arriving with various decorations (sparkly sticks and clowns in my case). Neither of us could finish them and I drowned in a complete and utter sugar rush.
I would say ice cream wise, Luca’s and Di Rollo’s are better, but in Scotland, we’ve always been spoiled with excellent ice cream, so it isn’t the worst diss in the world to say that. Go, release your inner child and take a pew.

Great ice cream and good coffee. Especially recommend dulce du leche or the fudge flavours. Open late too so nice for an evening treat!

I’m always on the lookout for a reason to go out. So, when the last Monday of my university career came round, I felt this needed celebrating. And what better way than with an ice cream sundae (to be honest, I was a bit excited by the sunny weather during the day and forgot that, by the time I got home after uni, it wouldn’t be ice-​cream-​kind-​of-​weather anymore).
Nardini’s is fairly new (opened last year) and I hadn’t actually noticed it tucked away on the corner until recently.
First and foremost, it does ice cream sundaes (and lots of them). The choice is quite overwhelming, and to the untrained eye a lot of them look to be much the same. The sundaes aren’t too cheap either, coming in at around 6 to 8 quid each.
But it’s not all about ice cream. This place does savoury food too (my sister had a panini) and there’s coffee and cakes. In fact, it’s quite refreshing to have a place in Edinburgh that’s open till 10pm to just have a coffee in.
I had a raspberry snowball sundae, which was basically vanilla and raspberry ripple ice cream with fresh raspberries and something similar to mini Tunnock’s snowballs on top. And loads of wafers and cream. All this, complete with a glittery little stick decoration thing — well and truly bringing a bit of pizzazz to Bruntsfield on what was a chilly Monday night.
Service was friendly and quick, and — oh my word — the toilets were lovely. It might sound a bit weird, but I always judge a place by the toilets. And these ones, well, let’s just say there was hand crème by the sinks.
I’ll be back.

Being a Glasgow boy I should be ashamed that the first Nardinis that I entered was in Edinburgh but I’m not, it is a very nice café.
On my quest to find the perfect coffee in Bruntsfield mixed with the idea of having to eat another meal deal sandwich, I decided to venture over to Nardinis.
Upon entering Nardinis it strikes you as a very modern twist on the classic American diner look. Red leather couches, high chairs with a window bar and chrome/​glass fronted cabinets with a lovely array of cakes, ice cream and sandwiches to try.
I opted for a large coffee with a fruit scone. The latte itself was almost pint sized and rather good if l do say so myself. The scone was just as good although I will say that I’d have preferred clotted cream to butter, but that is a personal mumble as opposed to a problem with the café itself.
The feel of the place is very relaxed with soft jazz music playing in the background. The staff are very friendly and always have a smile on their face which is something that means a lot. Especially in an area with an abundance of coffee shops making the competition exceptionally tough.
My lunch cost me just under £5 which might seem a little pricey for a coffee and scone but considering my glass is a mini tankard, I don’t feel justified to grumble.
I can’t comment on the ice cream as I never tried it but thankfully other great Unilocalers have!

I bought a cannoli pastry to take away. Mmmm I could say I was bowled over. it was tasty but nothing like wow. the pasty just seemed old, and the the cream seemed not real. was it old? I don’t know. but I’ve had better from other pastry shops here in Edinburgh. The service was friendly, so it hasn’t put me off coming here again. But it won’t be for a pastry ;)