Dolcezza

I was told about Dolcezza from a DC native. He told me they had really good gelato, so I decided to stop by and give them a try. It wasn’t horrible but I wasn’t truly impressed. I liked the creaminess of the gelato but some of the flavors weren’t quite what I thought they would be.
At the ice cream shop, I was offered to taste some samples. I tasted the Butter Pecan, Vahlrhona Chocolate, and Salted Caramel. The Butter Pecan was ok. Basically exactly what it is called. The Salted Caramel tasted exactly what it was suppose to and as it’s named. The Valrhona was disgusting! It was totally over chocolatey. I know some people like a load of chocolate, but this knocked my socks off. It tasted as if I took a spoonful right out of the cocoa powder can and ate it. I have worked with Valrhona before and it has a really rich flavor. It is considered one of the best brands of cocoa powder (and I actually have some in my cabinet now; p). I just totally didn’t like this flavor. It wasn’t blended/​executed well at all. It tasted like eating cold creamy cocoa powder. Yuck! This was probably the worse chocolate frozen dessert that I have ever had. I have never had anything like it.
I actually got the Sweet Potato Praline and Indonesian Vanilla Bean. I had mixed feelings about the SPP. It was definitely sweetened well. However, I’m not totally big on caramel flavored ice creams or gelatos. It tasted like a caramel base and some how blended the sweet potato in. I will say the flavors were blended descent. I got the concept, but I didn’t like that it still had a strong caramel flavor. You did get a hint of sweet potato flavor though. However, the more I kept eating, the stronger the caramel flavor got. Like I said I had mixed feelings. It was descent, but because my personal preference is not caramel bases it didn’t work for me. Let’s just say I won’t get that flavor again. I think the base should have been more sweet potato-​ish. It seemed to be heavy on the caramel. I know praline is a caramel sauce but it just shouldn’t have out shined the sweet potato flavor.
I liked the vanilla bean creaminess but it lacked in taste. You could barely taste any vanilla. I definitely think it could use some more vanilla flavor. It was a very subtle taste.
Maybe I’ll have to try some more flavors, but I wasn’t completely blown away by my experience today. I wasn’t super impressed with the flavors, but I will say I did like their creaminess of their gelatos.

A fairly crowded location and way overpriced. The gelato is good, but not $ 1 per ounce good. Would recommend elsewhere unless you’re really into the hipster aesthetic.

I uploaded a picture of the coppetta (sundae) tramontana that I got for about $ 8 at Dolcezza’s location on 14^th and P streets on New Year’s Eve. You should read this review in conjunction with that image. The item, by itself and without anything to compare it with, is unispiring, sad, and blob-​ish, perhaps the same way that the girl who had to work on New Year’s Eve felt when she served it to me, but this really was a bit of a wake-​up call for me to stop buying from Dolcezza.
While the gelato is very very good and, very importantly to me, the ingredients are of high quality and sustainably produced, Dolcezza is priced too expensively. The least thing that the shop could do is match the way it advertises its products when it serves them to its clients. The coppetta is shown served in a ceramic or glass small container, coming with a metal spoon and in a slightly bigger portion. It still makes the proposition of $ 8.00 for it one difficult to swallow, but at least it tries. Now the store seems to have stopped trying.

I was a bit disappointed in this place. I ordered the Sweet Potato Pecan and Tiramisu and thought it was just okay. To be fair, I don’t generally like sweet potatoes but the Tiramisu gelato wasn’t that good either. We also got a prepackaged Kinderhook Boozy Brown Butter Blondie that was delicious. The place is okay but I wouldn’t make a special trip.

This is my favorite place to grab coffee in the Logan Circle area — their lattes are beautiful and delicious! Their gelato is the best I’ve ever had; I would highly recommend taking a tour of their factory near Union Market, they will give you fresh gelato that was made less than 30 minutes before! There is space here to work if you bring your computer. I love the tile floors and old school bar inside too. Nice space.

Love their push pops, i always swing by here after my spinning class next door (kinda defeated the calorie burning). My faves are the tangy lemon and apple sorbet. Minus one star for the price, for 2 tiny scoops is $ 5.50, small push pop for $ 3 (u can kill it in 4 bites).

Took a friend here after dinner since she said she has a major sweet tooth and craving something decadent. We were not disappointed, and I’m not even a huge sweets eater either!
My friend opted for the creamy gelatos, my memory is fuzzy to which flavor she got, but I remember them being velvety and very smooth. I stuck to the sorbets since dairy is a love/​hate relationship. All the flavors I tried were delicious and made with love. For coffee lovers try the Affagato! Its a scoop of vanilla gelato and a shot of espresso over the top.
This is a perfect after dinner activity and they stay open fairly late. They offer tastings before choosing flavors, as well as different sizes to accommodate various sweet tooths out there! There’s a few locations in different neighborhoods of DC, and service has always been consistent and great. Happy tastings!

Stopped in here on the walk back from dinner while in D.C. I really loved that we could find somewhere that was open so late. This place stays open til midnight. This area of town was a happening little place so there were tons of people out and about.
The inside of the café was very cute and clean. They had tons of gelattos available and as usual, please ask for a sample. They had a decent list of coffee drinks on the menu, but we didn’t try anything. I loved that you can get your gelatto in a push pop. Try the freezer in the back to see what’s available to bring home.
The guys behind the counter wasn’t super friendly, but who is excited to work on a weekend night when all your friends are out in the street partying?!
If we were in town, we’d try this place again.

The hot chocolate! Order the hot chocolate! There is only one size, and its like $ 5…but order it. And go for the whipped cream on top. You deserve it. Then find yourself a seat at one of the little tables and slowly sip. Enjoy every last sip. Oh so creamy! How do they do it? While you’re there, check out the to-​go goodies in the freezers like the mini ice cream pops and pints of gelato — and then walk away before you decide to spend a fortune.
Next time you can try the gelato. And by try, I mean go to the counter and ask for samples of the flavors of every flavor until you decide to order a dish of something you could never dream up on your own. You should probably get an espresso with it — because the coffee flavor will go so well with the cardamom, and the warm and the cold, and it smells so good.
Man, this is going to be your new favorite spot for a pick-​me-​up. Or end of a date spot. Or where you bring your parents to show how cultured you are. Or whatever other excuse you can come up with.

I tried Dolcezza a few times when I was in town and thought that without a doubt, they serve good gelato. All of the flavors I tried were fresh and packed full of flavor.
Yet, there were two things that ultimately made this place less than stellar for me. First, I thought the sizes were ridiculously small when you consider the prices they charge for some frozen goodness. I get that it is high quality gelato, but I often felt that I was paying too much for too little!
The service I received also left a lot to be desired. It shouldn’t be a struggle when one customer walks in and 3 workers are just chilling at the front with barely an acknowledgement or welcome greeting. One night, I walked in and I couldn’t tell if the staff person’s surly looks were due to fatigue or maybe the fact that my entrance ruined her ability to have a leisurely conversation. In either case, I don’t think Dolcezza will be my go-​to place when I’m looking for some DC gelato.

Fortunately, Unilocal almost always steers me in the right direction when it comes to food. Here’s an exception. Though the long walk here was fun and it was cool seeing another area of DC, that’s about where the excitement ends. This place is quite small and has very limited seating. What’s worse, you could tell that some were camped at their seats with no plans of leaving soon. The menu options were also limited. The gelato was quite average and really did not impress me or anyone in my group. To top it off, the service was notably poor. The second star is merely reflective of there not being a plethora of gelato or dessert shops in the area. Sometimes you just got to make do with what you got.

I have had this place on the radar for a minute now and finally decided to stop by.
THE LOW DOWN
Great selection and interesting combination of flavors. The Taste was on par with most gelato places around the DMV area and you can tell that they use quality ingredients.
The gelato consistency overall… is where I felt it was a let down. The gelato consistency was that of a frozen custard (similar to iced milk) and not as smooth n’ creamy as I expected. Pitango… imho…kills all competition in the DC area in this category and in taste.
As for the shop itself, it has a really cool vibe and nostalgic appeal to it. Falls on the lines of the perfect family or group meet up spot… or place just to hang out for a minute and take in the day people watching. Interestingly enough, I did notice that it got very busy inside while I was there. The line was to the door… but despite all of this activity you barely notice the crowd or any loud noise for such a somewhat compact space. The staff was very friendly and seemed to move the line accordingly to lessen the crowd and keep folks moving. There is adequate seating space both inside and out.
Overall, 3 ½ Stars! ½ increment and bonus for the laid back vibe to the place. Just as the Unilocal star criteria says… A-​OK! Nothing necessarily to shoot fireworks over tho’. Dueces!

What nice and accommodating staff. Were able to sample quite a few flavors before committing. Salted caramel was a clear winner for our entire group — to the point people wished that they got a full container of it vs. splitting up to different flavors.
Me, lactose-​intolerant, was amazed at their sorbet flavors and was just as happy with these options.
Cute shop with indoor and outdoor seating.

I’ve been here 3 times and each time has been a great experience. I enjoy the sorbet which is what I tend to get. I have gotten the Gelato and have sampled it enough to vouch that I feel that’s great too.
The place is always clean (busy with customers), and despite being busy, I find seating easily. You see lots of people doing work on their laptops here. Great place to get coffee and do some work if you like telework or are a student.
I’ve seen a couple of reviews of reviews of complaining of where they came late and night and the restaurant ran out of product… this makes sense they’d run out. They make their products enough for the next day. I wouldn’t knock off stars on a Unilocal rating just because they ran out of products late at night.
Some of my favorite sorbet flavors are the Southern Comfort beach, lemon basil, and pineapple. They’ve got some funky combos, but they’re refreshing and fun.
If weather permits; grab a seat on the patio and people watch. No telling who might walk by!

The neighborhood that Dolcezza is located in is very hip and was bustling with young professionals. It’s located on the corner so it’s hard to miss. I came in just to try their nitro coffee and ended up also getting their sorbetto. I was happy to hear that I could pick two flavors for the small size which I got their White Peach Prosecco and Lemon Basil Opal– AMAZING! The flavors was very light and refreshing and very delicious! The nitro coffee was smooth and was strong– I didn’t have to put in cream or sugar. The service was wonderful as well– the person who was helping me offered tastings of the sorbetto and gelato as it was my first time here. Definitely will be back and to their other locations as well!

I’ve been searching for the perfect latte and finally found my fave in the area at Dolcezza. I got a soy vanilla latte and it had the perfect ratio of foamy steamed milk and espresso, smooth, not bitter with a nice design in the foam and just what I needed for my afternoon, though it was a bit pricey $ 4.25 plus $ 1 for soymilk. This location also had a ton of gelato options as well as some local products like yogurt. I also bought a 70% organic dark chocolate bar by Videri (from NC) as an impulse purchase at the register ($ 7.99 for 2 small bars of chocolate), but I’m so glad I did because it was amazing. They also had a dulce de leche latte that sounded interesting, but my friend and I weren’t sure if it would be too sweet.

Love love looooove Dolcezza. I find that the 14^th street location is superior to the Dupont one. Maybe I just always hit Dupont on an off day but 14^th street has the freshest pastries, best iced lattes, and really awesome nitro cold brew. I tried that for the first time today. It was creamy and cold and didn’t need anything added to it to be drinkable. Pricey, but delicious.
I know the gelato is what they’re known for but if you’re in the neighborhood and just want a pastry and a coffee to go, I prefer Dolcezza to Peregrine (which is up the road about 2 blocks north).

My fiancé and I came here after dinner for a snack. My fiancé wasn’t sold on gelato but I thought it was pretty good. A tad expensive for the portion size however. It was $ 13+ for two smalls which are teeny tiny cups.
Awkward space inside, it’s very long and does not accommodate lines, which we were standing in for probably 10 – 15 minutes on a Sunday evening. The outside space is very similar — long and difficult to navigate with other guests around. I think the middle of the day is probably the best time to check out the space and enjoy the décor.
I ordered chocolate mint which was lovely and salted caramel which was a bit too salty for my taste. Either way the gelato was delicious and I would come back if we were in the neighborhood.

This is a really beautiful coffeeshop and gelato shop but on the day I visited the service wasn’t very good. We get there with my family in tow and looked through the short menu which is posted up on the wall above the bar. I got a «sundae», my brother and mom got gelatto.
The gelatto wasn’t anything special. My sundae didn’t even include several ingredients, including whipped cream. They ran out of the flavor of gelatto that should have been included, so we had to substitute. But the fact that they couldn’t even be bothered to put the ingredients together, leaving out the stuff that make it a sunday including totally leaving off the whipped cream, was just pathetic. They also forgot to even make the thing for me, so I had to complain to get it.
The seating is extremely minimal and everyone there was camped out, not looking to finish their food or move. So we just milled about the bar area.
After waiting for a long time to visit Docezza, that might be my only visit. It’s a shame, too, because the place is really beautiful.

Rich decadent chocolate gelato is my weak spot. This joint on the corner of P and 14^th streets, PRIMO real estate in a hip location in DC, has my attention.
The uncluttered signboard listing their gelatos and deserts is elegant, and their gelatos do taste sinfully delicious and rich. Especially the dark chocolate, espresso, black sesame, thai coconut and mascarpone berry.
However, the space is long and wierd. The gelato service line is awkwardly behind the seats at the counter, so if you are seated you might feel like people are in line behind you and breathing down your neck while you daintily dab at your gelato.
Then there are the servers behind the counter… you place your order with them so they dive into the gelato containers to serve it up. Seconds later, they also ring you up. So now they’re handling cash, and hundreds of different hands. I see a hygiene issue. Anyone else?
This is particularly noticeable because of the size of the serving cup. Two scoops of gelato in an undersized cup means overflow. The gelato has definitely touched the server’s bare hands. Why not offer a big enough cup so the gelato can fit INSIDE it?
I don’t get the long skinny design of this shop. On the plus side, there are some benches and chairs outside so you can watch the street scene which is fairly amusing here (particularly the glass walled condos across the street).
Please, someone fix the hygiene issues and flow here. Because the gelato is so fine, and the location is just soooo PRIMO.