Chicago, ice-cream soda, classic parfait or banana split? We took a stroll through Athens patisseries and singled out their best retro ice creams.
The ice creams of yesteryear with the generous amount of whipped cream, the sprinkled almond and the cherry garnish are making a triumphant return, bringing classic pastry shops back into the spotlight and restoring nostalgic summer habits.
From the chocolate legend of Chicago and the Istanbul-style ekmek to the old school ice cream soda and the tropical banana split, retro flavors are the best ingredient to welcome September and refresh our mood. We take up a spot at the city’s beautiful timeless pastry shops and savor the romance of bygone decades served with plenty of ice cream, syrup and crushed nuts.
The pastry shops and their best retro ice creams
At Varsos for special boat, cassata and peches melba ice cream
The go-to spot for every sweet tooth in Kifisia remains unchanged by time, not only in its refined aesthetic but also in the traditional goodies it offers and safeguards so they remain alive. The Varsos family, with Konstantinos and Antonis, continue to initiate us into flavors of earlier decades and generously offer pure and fresh products that speak to our hearts.
Their list includes almost all the well-known and lesser-known nostalgic ice creams. Of course they have excellent kaimaki from sheep’s milk and they make airy parfait with ground almond we however suggest some of the most unexpected and terrific old versions they sign. The special boat is lavish has scoops of chocolate, vanilla and kaimaki, which are covered with snowy whipped cream and drizzled with perfect almond. Very old-school and with a beautiful look is the cassata. In it we enjoy one scoop chocolate and one cream, while between them proudly sits the whipped cream and its cherry. The showstopper however is the peches melba and it is worth discovering. Here the vanilla ice cream is accompanied by fantastic peach compote, sour cherry preserve, whipped cream, almonds and meringue. The instruction is to take a spoonful that has all the ingredients and you’ll remember us. Kassaveti 5, Kifisia
At the Asimakopoulos Brothers for classic parfait
From generation to generation the art of sweets passes in this family and has been shared with faithful regulars since 1915. The landmark patisserie of Exarchia earns kudos for many things such as its chocolates and the almond torte. In the case of ice cream it rightfully enters the list with the best classic parfaits of the city. With an obsession with the quality of raw materials, both the vanilla parfait and the chocolate parfait have perfect texture, are full and hold their aftertaste. Our best seller again is the original parfait with almond and bergamot. You will not find it anywhere else. Charilaou Trikoupi 82, Exarchia
At Desire for kaimaki and Chicago
Unmoved at its post since 1962, the atmospheric shop began its story with the Lazaridis brothers and continues it with the Stathopoulos brothers, always keeping the retro recipes untouched. These are the ones that bring people from every corner of the city to Kolonaki. Wherever you are then, it is worth going to get the kaimaki with mahlepi and the secret is not to enjoy it on its own but to take it up a notch by adding on top a little of their homemade sour cherry syrup. For chocolate lovers, the Chicago comes in a stemmed glass rich in chocolate, chocolate syrup, almond flakes and a little tower of fresh tasty whipped cream. Dimokritou 6, Kolonaki
At Chara for ekmek and ice cream soda
If you like ekmek and you have not tried ekmek ice cream at Chara in Patissia do it immediately. Since 1969, the petite patisserie with outdoor tables on bustling Patission serves in a tin bowl the syrup-soaked ekmek with sponge cake, without kataifi, plenty of sour cherry syrup, kaimaki ice cream, lots of almond and whipped cream. It is magnificent but equally interesting is the ice cream soda. In one of the old tube glasses goes the kaimaki with the whipped cream and the sour cherry syrup and separately comes the soda so you can add to the glass as much as you want and determine the texture of your ice cream. Patission 339, Athens
At Tillas for Barba Sam, armenovil and banana split
Once, in the 60s and 70s, in Nea Filadelfeia there were various cafes that did not limit their repertoire only to coffee but enriched their range with armenovil or banana split. Tillas from then until today perpetuates the tradition and is recognized as one of the must places for retro ice cream. It makes Chicago with plain chocolate or with parfait, uses dark chocolate for the syrup and bathes its whipped cream with sprinkles and roasted almonds. For the armenovil on the other hand it uses cream parfait with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Among the heavy artillery and favorites that bring out all the 80s nostalgia is the famous banana split. In a gondola goes a banana cut lengthwise and three ice cream flavors are added, mainly pistachio, strawberry and vanilla on top it is garnished with cherry preserve, almond, plenty of whipped cream, strawberry syrup and grated Aegina pistachio. If you are not already drooling, hear the next one, the Barba Sam, the profiterole that on top fills with Chicago ice cream. An explosion of chocolate and deliciousness. Eleftheriou Venizelou 10, Nea Filadelfeia
At Epik Gelato for upgraded Chicago, armenovil and cocktail ekmek
In the city’s urban square a gelateria has stormed in since 2020 that takes all the retro flavors and precious ingredients from various corners of Greece and turns them into ice creams that balance between today and the past. For example, the epic kaimaki is made from Epirus salep and from Chios mastiha and can be enhanced with whatever toppings you like. The Chicago and the ekmek are built inside a plastic cup just like the cocktails and provoke waves of coolness and pleasure. Specifically in the Chicago they mix chocolate ice cream, with chocolate sauce, almond flakes, sour cherry syrup, amarena and whipped cream. Among the hits is the armenovil which is played in various versions and all are unbeatable in taste. We start with the classic, the cream ice cream with caramelized almonds and broken meringues, to go then to the almond dacquoise, a sandwich that in between has the armenovil and to finish with the culmination the special where the sandwich is covered with bitter praline, almond croquant and whipped cream. Dorylaiou 2, Mavili Square
At Toula for Istanbul-style ice cream and parfait royal
The patisserie first opened in Constantinople in 1920 by the Karantinakis family. After the expulsion in 1964 they came to Greece to Pangrati and created their shop there from the beginning bringing all the Constantinopolitan craft and flavor. Their ice cream is authentic with fresh sheep’s milk, while the dondurma kaimaki is made from the best buffalo milk and is served in a bowl, cone or over ekmek kataifi. Their parfait is also old-style, very creamy like a foam. Especially the cream parfait has almond croquant and a little cherry and the chocolate parfait caramelized almonds. Eftychidou 41, Athens
Source: Reader.gr
