Gelatiamo

Diamond in the rough. I have passed by Gelatiamo at least 100 times, as it's on my route to work. Because of its unfortunate location at 3rd and Union, across from the post office and Benaroya Hall, a block from the stabby corner, with meth heads aplenty in the vicinity, I had never stopped to go in. I'm usually in a rush to get away from the area.

I decided to give it a try when searching for an ice cream cake for my birthday. I wanted to try the gelato before springing for a whole gelato cake, so my boyfriend and I stopped by on a Friday before dinner. Having lived in Europe and eaten a very ridiculous amount of gelato in Italy, I'm something of a gelato snob. Any gelato snob will know the first potential indicator of quality is the color of the pistachio gelato. If it's green, you know they're using a lot of artificial flavors and colors and the place can't possibly be good. At Gelatiamo, the pistachio flavor was brown. I got a small with the pistachio and rice flavors, and both were heavenly. The rice was like a rice pudding, not super sweet, just right. My boyfriend and I shared it.

It was so good that he wanted to stop by again AFTER dinner. He got the cookies and cream and the peanut butter cup. Cookies and cream was his favorite. It was a homemade Italian cookie, not an Oreo, and he described it as something between a cookie and a brownie. He said he'd never tasted anything like it.

I inquired about the ice cream cakes. On the website, they had individual gelato cakes, but it looks like they stopped making those when COVID hit. They had 6" tiramisu gelato cake and another flavor in 10", and they require several days advanced notice for a custom order. I needed something for Sunday, and I wasn't sure about the tiramisu flavor, so I decided to sleep on it.

The next morning, I woke up with Gelatiamo on the brain. I needed that gelato cake. I returned and got myself a decaf affogato (yes they do decaf!) with hazelnut gelato. It was so smooth and heavenly. I've had a lot of affogatos where the textures turn weird when it melts into the coffee. This one melted beautifully like cream and blended perfectly with the flavors. I can only guess this is because they require fewer stabilizers and preservatives since they make everything onsite.

I left with a 6" tiramisu gelato cake. I wasn't thrilled that this was the only flavor, because I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to tiramisu, but it was great. My friends and I had a couple of pieces left over, and my Italian friend (real Italian immigrant with an accent and everything who had made a lasagna from scratch earlier in the day) loved it so much that he insisted on taking the leftovers. I will definitely plan better in the future so I can make a custom cake, but it really was a huge hit and easily in the top two ice cream cakes of my life. Flavors and textures were excellent, and the decorations were beautiful and delicious.

I will add that service was fantastic and prices were VERY reasonable for Seattle. Yes, $37.50 for a 6" cake may feel like a lot for some people, but it's quite reasonable. They are paying Seattle rent and making EVERYTHING from scratch from high quality ingredients. They literally make the cakes and ice cream in the basement of this facility. Also, I got the same size ice cream cake at a different local ice cream shop for $70. Gelatiamo was half the price.

Go there now, please support local businesses. I would hate to see a place like this disappear and be replaced with another chain restaurant.

- Lovely spot for a quick rest -

Food: 4 stars
Price: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Ambiance: 4 stars
Overall: 3.25 stars

We got a two-scoop affogato here with creme brulee and rice flavors. I can't taste the creme brulee that well with the coffee but the rice flavor was delicious with grains of rice there.

It's a good resting spot next to Pike Place Market since it's not too crowded regardless of how busy it is at the market. Our two scoops affogato was $7.66 after tax. It was pricy, but it's like this everywhere else.

You can sample the flavors too, but we weren't offered to sample anything *shrugs* (hence the 2 stars for service).

This place is amazing. The Gelato is fantastic especially the rice variety! Their pastries are like little jewels. They make everything fresh in house and the staff are the MOST FRIENDLY I've ever experienced in Seattle. This is like an art gallery as much as it is a café. I always just feel happy coming in here. Hopefully they can come to west Seattle soon.

I've been meaning to come here but every time I forget that they close quite early. This time however, I managed to make it before closing hour, and there was still quite a long line inside. Upon reading the reviews I knew I had to try the rice gelato since it was so unique, and I also had to get my favorite classic flavor, pistachio.

I was able to choose 2 flavors in a single scoop which was nice, and the portion size was definitely generous. The texture and flavor of the gelato was absolutely spot on! Super creamy, smooth, and pure tasting. I loved the nuttiness of the pistachio and how there were little bits of the nut inside. The rice flavor was quite unique and unlike anything I've really had before, and even had small chewy grains of rice inside. So rich and creamy that I couldn't really finish it all, but a great try!

I would definitely be here more often if they didn't close so late, but I'd highly recommend trying this spot for some delicious gelato!

A very cute and delicious gelato shop in downtown Seattle.

All the flavors are good but they have one I guarantee you haven't tried anywhere else. It is Rice gelato. Not too sweet or too creamy, the flavor is unique.
This is a perfect spot for a first date since they open late
Just grab a cup of ice cream, walking around the city and have a good date!
Service was awesome even though they got super busy on a hot summer day!

Awesome service and flavors!! I got the Blueberry lavender gelato, which was amazing. Literally so good. Cannot find this flavor anywhere else that's this good. Forks (forgive me if I spelled his name wrong) was an absolute joy and guided us through the tasting process, further elevating the experience. 10/10 will come back again :)

Really cute store with cakes and cookies you can't resist. They have a limited selection of gelato, which I found to be decent. I can't say the gelato stands out in any way, but they use natural flavors and they're very well mixed. If you can get through this sketchy part of downtown, it's worth a try.

If I could give them 10 stars I would. Friendly service and fantastic gelato and pastries. My wife and I will be returning when back in Seattle.

Staff was friendly, with a good selection of gelato flavors. Best gelato I've ever had!

The gelato and service were excellent. They were generous with the free samples; my kids tried three each. I highly recommend this place.