We had a couple of errands in the West End including visiting a dear old friend in Scotstoun and thought that on the way back we would swing by Jaconelli's famous ice cream parlour.
Jaconelli's is really special. It has an old interior which dates back at least 60 years but unlike some others in Scotland it has been beautifully maintained. As a result it has been used as a location in films and tv programmes.
Jaconelli's is proud of its history and they have a summary of it on the back of the menu including information on famous customers and which films and tv the café has featured in.
When we arrived we were warmly greeted and we sat down in a lovely semi-circular booth. There is an old juke box and an aquarium both of which look like they have been there forever.
It was cold out and beginning to rain so we decided on the Mac & Cheese served with chips and salad. Being in Glasgow the waitress did check that we did in fact want the salad. This was accompanied by a warming hot chocolate. The radio was on playing vintage music which created a great atmosphere and we could tell from the other customers coming and going that this is a well-loved neighbourhood café.
We realised that time was getting on when the waitress said goodbye to us. The café is open until 6pm on weekdays and it was the back of 5. We really did not want to miss out on an ice. Martin asked if it was too late for ice cream but the proprietor jovially told us it was never too late for ice cream.
I had noticed that they had what appeared to be home-made raspberry sauce so I plumped for a raspberry ice and Martin had a plain ice.
Delicious. The ice cream is the white Fior di Latte type which is favoured by many Glasgwegians. It was extremely smooth and just the right amount of sweetness for me. Of course my raspberry sauce was very sweet but lovely.
We took home a tub and a bottle of raspberry sauce and the proprietor took time to tell us about his business.
Jaconelli's was founded in 1924 and have been using the
same ice cream recipe since then. They still have the original room
where it was made manually. Now production has moved down the road but
they are using vintage machines from the 1940s which they believe gives
them the best results.
Jaconelli's only sell their ice cream from their shop and chippy down the road so if you want to try it out you need to get yourself over there but believe me it is worth the journey.
