We stumbled upon this place when going home from our trip from Tuscany, but Gelateria Cuore di Panna in Udine unquestionably became our favorite ice cream shop in Italy ever since.
Below I give you a little insight of how we actually happened to find this place by chance, my favorite ice cream flavor here and the location. But the TLDR is that we think this is one of the best ice cream shops in Italy. If you are in Udine, don’t miss out the exceptional ice cream in Cuore di Panna.
How We Found Cuore di Panna in Udine
We found a hotel at the edge of the old town in Udine. We stopped here for literally one night when going home from Tuscany, and I simply did not want to drive for 16 hours straight. The hotel was in a good location, and we decided to take a walk in the city late at night after we arrived.
It was already after 10 PM when we turned onto a street that lead to the city center in Udine. Right there a shiny shop was still open, with a welcoming “Cuore di Panna” (literally Hearts of Cream, meaning good heart) and a large ice cream sign. Unmistakably an ice cream shop, open after 10PM. Which was surprising at first, but we liked the idea.
And if that wasn’t enough, we were not at all in a touristic or any other way trendy place. Just in the middle of a street where literally no one else walked at that time beside us.
To try it or not to try it, that was our question. Eating a good ice cream at the middle of the night seemed like a good idea, but on the other hand, entering an empty ice cream shop in an empty street, can it be any good? Finally we decided to go in and try it, and boy were we happy to do so!
The place is nothing special from the inside, there is not even a place to sit down. By the way, someone literally pointed out this as a con in a Google review, which I don’t really get. What is it that you want man? Great ice cream or a place to sit down?
Anyways, there is not a single aspect to this place that I could criticize. We’ve tested the ice cream here since several times, and each end every flavor that we tried turned out to be fantastic. To tell you the truth, this is the only ice cream shop so far all over Italy that we found with no flavor to complain about.
My Favorite Flavor
My favourite ice cream flavour at Cuore di Panna in Udine is mascarpone and figs. It is delicious, with large chunks of real figs. The light and velvety cream flavor and smoothness of the mascarpone, the sweetness of the fig spread along with the fruit chunks make not only the flavor but also the texture of this ice cream something to crave for.
You can get this ice cream flavor all around Italy, but in my opinion this is where they make it the best.
Where Is Cuore di Panna Udine Located
Gelateria Cuore di Panna ice cream shop is located on Via Anton Lazzaro Moro in Udine, just a short walk from the historic city center. Use this interactive Google Map to find it and navigate.
Via Anton Lazzaro Moro, 48, 33100 Udine UD, Italy
A Very Welcoming Owner
Anytime we visited Cuore the Panna, it was the owner and also the ice cream maker himself who served us this amazing ice cream. He doesn’t speak very good English, but we were able to understand each other by us talking in English and he replying in Italian.
He told us that he’d been making ice creams for 35 years. A great work experience used in a definitely beneficial way.
You must definitely try this place when you are in Udine! I could even say that you might think about visiting Udine just to try this exceptional ice cream!
Cuore di Panna Meaning
I have to tell you I’m not fluent in Italian. I did everything I could to find the meaning of this expression, and here is what I found.
Cuore di panna literally means hearts of cream. According to this response, cuor di panna (plural: cuore di panna) is a rarely used Italian expression meaning having a good heart, being good and gentle. They say that it was the slogan of an old ice cream cone ad.
Anyhow, you can tell that the owner of the gelateria Cuore di Panna in Udine definitely has a good heart and is making such welcoming flavors that your first thought when trying his ice cream would be when to return.
I am right now thinking about going back just to ask the owner what cuore di panna means for him. And once I’m there, maybe get a scoop of gelato or two…