Buona Terra

Best gelato in Cincinnati, maybe the world!!! So many delicious flavors, and everything taste so vibrant and alive. The wait staff are very nice, and extremely helpful. Not to mention easy on the eyes!!! Come on in and try this place, it’s worth your time!

By far the best gelato in Cincinnati. I visited the store for the first time and was greeted warmly and given suggestions about which flavors to try. The price is fantastic for the quality, and definitely worth the visit!

I stopped in here for some dessert after grabbing some dinner in the area with friends and was pleasantly surprised. I’d never heard of them before. you’ve been hiding, Buona Terra!
I was able to sample a few flavors of gelato before arriving at a decision and enjoyed each of them. I ended up getting a scoop of the tiramisu. One of my friends ordered the affogato and another ordered the gelato-​macaron sandwich and they were both pleased.
I also ordered 2 macarons to go. These were just OK. they were small in size and more round and thick — not what they traditionally look like and they were on the dry side. The taste was good, though. I got red velvet and pistachio.
Overall, it’s worth coming in if you’re already in the area. The décor was very charming with decent indoor seating and they were super friendly here! I think I’ll come back sometime to try their lunch menu.

To note I am not a sweets person and being lactose intolerant, I’m always a little careful around dessert places.
I was surprised to find a place I could really dive into all their offerings! The staff was very friendly and accommodating, I mentioned I couldn’t have much dairy and they were able to point to various options right up my alley. Lots of variety in there flavors, my favorite being the lemon blueberry and blood orange gelato! Now that the weather is a bit warmer, you can definitely expect I’ll be back!

We came to try the macaroons and were pleasantly surprised to find out we could put gelato inside a macaroon shell! The combination of both of these amazing items was nothing short of heavenly!

Awesome little gem in M. Lookout Square. I had the mango and mint chocolate chip in a small cup and the portion of each was the perfect size. The texture and flavors were also great. Definitely stop by here for an afternoon treat or after dinner.
A small birthday party for a young (maybe 5 – 6) year old girl was going on when we stopped by and they were decorating cupcakes. The table was set up in the back and the staff was so attentive and happy– definitely something to think about if you have small children!

Their gelato was really good! Loved it! Especially liked white chocolate lavender and earl grey flavors! Macarons was an okay-haven’t found anything that can replace Pierre Herme in my heart haha. Great service as well! Very friendly staff!

Omg this place is amazing! Located at Mt Lookout square, décor is modern, clean and fresh. I decided to stop here because I saw on Unilocal that they had donut gelato sandwich and was disappointed when they said its seasonal BUT they said they have giant macaroon gelato sandwich instead! WHAT! Of course that’s even better! The macaroon shell is huge! Strawberry flavored: D we got it filled with half black tea gelato and half tiramisu gelato — both favors are are amazingly good. Will definitely have to come back and try all the awesome flavors!

Buona Terra is a dessert lover’s dream! There are lots of unique and delicious flavors of gelato (it seems like there are always new flavors, too!) and other delicious desserts, plus every once in a while they will partner with Holtman’s to do gelato donuts — not joking. It’s the greatest thing in the world. Honestly, my pants and I are grateful that they don’t do the gelato-​donut thing more often because they’re completely irresistible and for some reason I doubt they’re super low-​cal :)
Their crepes are great, too! We’ve tried a few of the savory crepes (the pesto and the caprese are my favorites) as well as a few sweet ones (my favorite was a lavender and lemon crêpe they had on the menu a while back). The crepes are a good size and don’t leave you feeling overly full (leaving you room to get dessert!).
It’s a cool, one of a kind little place and adds a lot to the Mt. Lookout square area!

What great gelato!
This place has become our ‘not Graeters’ ice cream (I know its not ice cream…) date spot. The interior is small, but inviting. A few tables, and the long counter on the right.
Quite a few gelato and sorbeto options (20+?), and all look great. I’ve only been able to try 5 – 10 different options so far, but they have been great.
We’ve also had the savory crepes once, pretty good. I’m not really a crêpe person, so I’ll be coming back for the gelato.

So smooth, so flavorful, and I didn’t even try the crepes!
After dinner last night we went here. Somehow I have missed this place despite the number of times I’ve eaten in the area! What a hidden gem!
I tried a sample of the vegan lemon berry. Tangy and light, but I had my heart set on the mint chocolate chip. I ended up getting a medium of half that and half cannoli. It was much bigger than expected. For $ 5 I got about 2 cups of gelato. Mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream flavor but wow, the cannoli flavor blew my mind! It tasted so on point I swear I thought I was eating a real one, not gelato! My boyfriend got really excited to see affogato on the menu (espresso over vanilla ice cream). There was some oddness with the server when he tried to order it because he wanted a traditional version. She kept trying to get him to put in a random flavorful. The espresso was really nice though!
Next time I’m getting my own affogato and a crêpe. They smelled amazing!

I love this place so much that it’s a good thing I don’t live nearby, as I’m afraid I would be overindulging on a regular basis. Paul and I recently had gelato at a place in Manhattan that boasted having the best gelato in NYC. It was not even close to being as good as Buona Terra’s!
Today I tried the vegan peanut butter. I don’t follow a vegan lifestyle and was not sure how it would turn out, but it was really good – creamy with a subtle taste of peanut butter.
I especially like how I get to try something new every time I visit. Thanks to the folks at Buona Terra for being so awesome!

Good crepes! Amazing gelato! Friendly service. I love that BT «joint ventures» w/​a lot of other local eateries like: Holtmans, etc to create delicious concoctions. They also participate in several events and always bring quality gelato to these activities.

I’ve been wanting to review this place for a while but I wanted to be certain how I felt about it. I’ve been back multiple times and all I can say is that this is exactly the cool, progressive kind of place that makes Mt. Lookout such a fun neighborhood to call home.
What surprised me the most is the fact they don’t just have gelato. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll talk about that in a second, but let’s talk crepes because that’s really what impressed me! The savory crepes all sounded delicious but I settled for the Italian and it was perfection. I thought it might be like a weird sweet savory combo but it wasn’t at all. They use a special batter for the savory crepes. Perfect balance of light and fresh and salty from the meat. I definitely recommend. It was a filling lunch too – if I didn’t enjoy it so much I could have easily had leftovers. Instead I settled for being incredibly stuffed.
The gelato flavors are unique. They are definitely there with the adventurous foodie in mind. Lavender, lemon basil to name a few are just some of the unique ones I’ve seen. The most surprising flavor to me was the vegan green apple – I stumbled upon this flavor after a hot summer run and it was nice and sweet, tart and refreshing. The classics are great too… Can’t go wrong with chocolate or speculos!
I haven’t had coffee here yet but considering I walk by every time I walk the dog, I’ll definitely be back for breakfast!

Creamy gelato is always a good idea! I love this little spot on the Mt. Lookout Square. I ordered a small and was surprised to find out that I could do 2 flavor options. When they grab the dish, it looks tiny, but they make sure to give you 2 generous scoops without it dripping all over the place. They also do free samples so you can make sure you get exactly what you want. I wish they would have had some more «off the wall» type flavors, but I think they only had 2 that I would consider out of the ordinary.
I am a sucker for anything salted caramel, and I also choose cookies and cream. The 2 flavors complimented each other perfectly. Next time I might try a crêpe or a macroon… but I will probably stick with the gelato, its just so good.
The inside is quite small and it was a nice night so we opted to eat our treats outside in the square. Perfect for people and car watching, as well as relaxing.

5 stars for dairy free gelato AND Vegan options! An ice cream place my wife can enjoy!
Great flavors to choose from and the pastry chef personally greeted us at the door. The Inside has a nice inviting place which is perfect for a first date or even a night out for a sweet treat with your love.
Parking is limited out front but well worth the short walk and your time!

You can’t beat ice cream and macaroons! The macs are perfect and sweet and airy and the gelato is beautiful and creamy. They also serve crêpes and coffee! Everything one could ever need. I recently tried the turkey pesto crêpe and oh mamma it was savory, smokey, and utterly amazing. The gelato always has unique flavors and are always fresh and packed into your dish. Can’t beat that!!! Can never go wrong with any flavor!

Great service and their gelato is out of this world! I tasted a bunch of flavors before I ordered and they were very cool about it. They have flavors like olive oil, toasted almond pistachio, earl gray and strawberry! Every single flavor was amazing!
The strawberry had four different strawberries mixed in according to the chef (I didn’t even know 4 types existed) and you could taste them in the gelato! You can cram two flavors in a small, so remember that as you choose!
I tried the macaron once and it was okay, I’ll probably stick with the gelato. I have yet to try the crepes, but I’m definitely going back to do that!

These couple stars are for the service, and the possibility that their crepes might be good.
The gelato is not quality stuff. Just coming down from my trip to coppa gelato columbus, I really was expecting great gelato!
The consistency was completely off and the flavors, quite frankly, were muted. Ice crystallization could easily be detected with each bit. My gelato was almost completely melted before I even got to the first bite. Watching the clerk scoop the gelato out it almost had a saucy consistency that i do not favor. My S/O’s tiramisu and my cherry mascarpone barely tasted like the flavors they claimed to be and I can’t help but think it was because of the mini ice chips and watery consistency.
The macarons did not wow me either, but if you read my other reviews, I just am coming to the realization that I am not a macaron fan. To each their own!
Overall I just don’t prefer this gelato and definitely would spend my desert calories on something else.
I’m really sorry that I didn’t enjoy it because I drove awhile out of my way to get it =(

Buona Terra is a great date spot. I came here with my fiancé and it is just the cutest little store right off of Mount Lookout Square. We both ordered gelato. The girl working there let us try as many as we wanted before we ordered, which was nice because we hadn’t been there before. In the small gelato, you can get two different flavors. I ordered cheesecake and the earl grey tea gelatos. Earl grey was amazing… It tasted very light and refreshing, and just like iced tea. The cheesecake was kind of bland, and tasted more like vanilla than cheesecake. My date got chocolate and salted caramel. The salted caramel was the best! That flavor was definitely the highlight.
We also got a pistachio and a salted caramel macaron, because I can’t pass up a macaron. For $ 1.75 each, it was a little pricey for how small it was, but macarons are typically pretty expensive. The salted caramel was SUPER GOOD. I ate it with my gelato and they were great together.
While we were eating someone else ordered a sweet crêpe, which they made in front of us. The smell was intoxicating… I almost ordered a crêpe too, but then I realized I already had two desserts in front of me, so I thought better of it. Next time I will be getting the crepes!