The World’s 100 Best Ice Cream Parlours · 2026
The Best Ice Cream Parlours in Latin America
4 of the 100 venues in The World’s 100 Best Ice Cream Parlours 2026 are in Latin America. The highest placed is Heladería Real in Campana, at number 2 in the world. Flavio Soppelsa in Mendoza (number 36) and Donna Heladería in Coronel Brandsen (number 70) follow.
Argentine helado
Argentine ice cream, helado, descends from Italian gelato. Dulce de leche, a caramel of slowly cooked milk, and zabaglione, called sambayón locally, are standard flavours, and both are on the board at Cadore Gelato Artigianale on Corrientes Avenue in Buenos Aires and at Donna Heladería in Coronel Brandsen. Shops sell by weight as well as by the cup or cone, and a quarter kilo is a common size to take home.
Tasting and waiting
Counters are generous with tastes. Staff at Heladería Real in Campana let customers try many flavours from a very long list, and people drive in from Buenos Aires for the shop. In Mendoza, Flavio Soppelsa often serves at his own counter and shapes each ice cream by hand, so waits can pass 40 minutes. Customers sit indoors with complimentary sparkling water, and the flavours include Parmesan and turmeric with mango.
