Luculus ice cream shop was launched already in 1954. (source: Sme)
“I travelled almost the entire world to find that I had to return home, to Bratislava, to get the best ice cream. You are unbeatable,” ice cream lover Marek wrote on a postcard from India and sent it to Arthur Ice Cream on Laurinská Street in the Slovak capital’s downtown area. The shop now proudly shows off the framed postcard on its ice cream counter. Arthur Ice Cream is one of the most popular ice cream places in the city centre. Last year its specialty was a black ice cream served in a black cone. For this season they have prepared two novelties - white nougat and sorbet from the exotic fruit hurmi kaki.
Tour de ice cream shops
If someone wants to find “their own” ice cream shop and “their own” flavour of ice cream or gelato, he/she cannot achieve this with only one visit of the city. Only in the very centre of Bratislava there are more than a dozen ice cream shops making their own original frozen delicacies. They offer traditional flavours such as vanilla, chocolate or raspberry, as well as ice cream from vegetables, vegan ice cream, ice cream for dogs and visitors can even make their own popsicles.
“In Bratislava, the overall level of ice cream and coffee is generally high,” said Martina Hlinová, the owner of a chain of restaurants, the Franz Xaver Messerschmidt café and the ice cream shop. “It’s a joy to taste.”
It is impossible without love
Ice cream makers agree that to make good ice cream you need high-end ingredients and love.
“It is impossible without love, believe me,” Cuneyt Memeti, owner of Arthur Ice cream, told The Slovak Spectator. “You can do everything like me, but if there is no love, it will not work.”
The length of queues that ice cream lovers often have to wait to get their ice-cold refreshments in hot weather indicates that the local ice cream makers really do love their work. Among the most popular ice cream places besides Arthur, there are Koun, Luculus, Café Vienna and I Nonni Cremeria. In the Mondieu Café, the visitors can season their popsicles with dried fruit of their choice and top them with chocolate.
Also dogs get their portion at Arthur
Cuneyt Memeti, originating from Slovenia, founded the Arthur Ice Cream shop in 2015.
“We were here for a visit and we liked it here,” said Memeti. “We saw that people like good quality ice cream and that they can recognise quality and are willing to pay for it.”
In the recipes he combines what he learned from his father, who has been making ice cream for 40 years, with modern trends.
“Now ice cream is made without eggs and artificial dyes,” said Memeti. “The trend is to make vegan ice cream.”
