London's finest ice-cream parlours

BEST FOR SUNDAES
Marine Ices
Gaetano Mansi left his home town of Salerno in Italy at only 12 years old, when he was sent to England to learn the ice cream trade from relatives. He opened this Haverstock Hill café in 1930 and the family has been serving ice cream there ever since. You can take away a cone from the on-street hatch or settle in for the long haul with a peach melba sundae (£3.20) drenched in raspberry syrup and topped with whipped cream.
8 Haverstock Hill, NW3 (020 7482 9000, marineices.co.uk)

THE POSHEST IN TOWN
The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason
Generations of Londoners remember their first knickerbocker glory in the old Fortnum's Fountain, which introduced this treat in 1955. The first-floor Parlour restaurant, which opened last year, is dedicated to the enjoyment of ice cream. Ices here are made by the Minghella family and include some of the food hall's exclusive products, such as coffee from the royal estate at Sandringham. Sundaes come in soup-bowl sized glass - order a "flight" (£6) for a chance to try three favourites at once. We recommend the all-new knickerbocker glory (£9), a devastating delight of vanilla bean, strawberry shortbread and strawberry and balsamic vinegar ice cream topped with whipped cream, pineapple chunks and raspberry coulis.
181 Piccadilly, W1 (020 7734 8040, fortnumandmason.com)

DESIGN YOUR OWN
Morelli's gelato at Harrods
The unique appeal of Morelli's gelato parlour in Harrods' food hall is its ability to make flavours to order within 24 hours. You'll have to be pretty inventive to dream up something they haven't already thought of, though. Past feats include Marmite, white chocolate and pickled onion. The minimum order is one litre and prices start at £12.85 a litre. Speak to chief gelato-maker Gino Soldan and he'll sort you out. "If you want oysters, we can do it but it'll be expensive," he jokes. You can also eat in and choose from one of the 20 staple flavours at £2.85 a scoop.
87-135 Brompton Road, SW1 (020 7730 1234, harrods.com)

BEST CHOC SPOT
Paul A Young
An award-winning chocolatier devoted to quality, Paul A Young adds homemade ice cream to his range in summer. Made without stabilisers and topped with crunchy cocoa nibs and molten chocolate from French company Valrhona, this is the real deal. Young has adopted the French tradition of serving ice cream ready-scooped into waxed paper cups from Fauchon, the legendary Parisian food emporium. Cups are all £3.50 and flavours include white chocolate with raspberries and sea-salted caramel in African 85 per cent dark chocolate.
20 Royal Exchange, Threadneedle St, EC3 (020 7929 7007, payoung.net)

DIET HEAVEN
Scoop
Matteo Pantani's bijou gelato shop can get a little warm in summer, so pick up a cup to take away. Pantani's freshly made gelato comes in 24 flavours and those on strict diets will love the special gluten-free cones. He even does occasional specials featuring sugar-free ice cream in vanilla or chocolate flavours. The really virtuous can pre-order these in bulk - just call a couple of days in advance (minimum order three litres, £42). Pistachio Puro di Bronte - made with nuts from Bronte, Italy's pistachio capital - is hard to beat and the panna cotta flavour drizzled with caramel is delicious. This summer's special is light, fruity granita - a traditional Italian-style sorbet of fruit and ice crystals.
40 Shorts Gardens, WC2 (020 7240 7086, scoopgelato.com)

SEE IT MADE
Oddono's
Schoolchildren rush to the back of this Kensington shop to see the laboratory in action, making classic Italian gelato piled outrageously high. Fifteen flavours a day pass through the kitchen and, since it opened in 2004, the company has made more than 130 flavours. It now sells its wares at Selfridges and Food Inc, Whiteley's new food emporium, but the Bute Street show kitchen is still a big draw. Oddono's traditional Italian gelato is smooth but also very low in fat - between six and eight per cent as it favours milk over cream - but for an even lighter, fat-free option choose one of the mango or strawberry flavoured fruit sorbets (£1.70 for a small tub).
14 Bute Street, SW7 (020 7052 0732, oddonos.com)