Carabé

So so so delicious — my favorite gelato of the whole trip. The almond and hazelnut was INCREDIBLE!!!

De bonnes glaces siciliennes non loin de l’académie. Notez que les glaces siciliennes sont très différentes des glaces italiennes classiques: elles sont beaucoup plus aqueuses, il y a beaucoup moins de crème. Je préfère la version maxi crème mais je dois dire que celles-​ci sont bonnes dans ce genre.
Gage de bonne qualité: ca m’a été recommandé par une amie italienne fanatique de glaces. C’est l’endroit parfait si les glaces italiennes classiques vous écœurent (ce qui m’échappe mais il faut de tout pour faire un monde) ou simplement pour essayer une version sicilienne plus légère, ou si vous en etes à votre 4eme experience glaces de la journée.
L’espace est exigu donc essayez de vous faufiler pour bien voir tous les parfums (c’est toujours le défi dans un glacier), prenez votre glacé et filez piazza santa annunziata par exemple.

The gelato was really good, and I’m glad we stopped by.

AMAZING gelato. Vanilla is great. All the flavors taste so true to their description! A must try. Nice owner, too!

After leaving the Accademia, I decided I should stop for gelato. I stumbled across this little shop. Boy am I happy I did! This was simply the best gelato I’ve had! I got a misto cup which contained different flavors. I chose almond, pistachio, stracciatella (chocolate chip, and vanilla. The almond was my favorite by far! It was extra creamy, smooth, and flavorful. I can’t wait to return to Florence to have this again!

delicious, fresh, cheap. Sicilian gelato

Bien que le service né soit pas des plus agréable comme il y a beaucoup de monde, ce petit glacier discret cache des glaces aux parfums aussi originaux que délicieux ! J’ai osé prendre crème de ricotta figue et j’ai été agréablement surprise et pas du tout déçue de mon choix ! La qualité et la variété des parfums né vous décevront pas. Ce glacier de qualité est à tester absolument même si il est un tout petit peu plus cher que les autres, cela vaut largement le minuscule supplément.

I thought their gelato was just ok. I’ve had better in Italy but it’s pretty good gelato than anything you find in the U.S.

The gelato is delicious, with lots of great flavors, but I think what makes this place great is the granitas. The lemon granitas is the best.

Best in Florence… Love the hazelnut even though pistachio is the fav. Here… and .50 more in $. Very close to the DAVID so go before you get in line :).

Confirmed that this gelateria is one of the great ones. All natural, no energy wasted on beautifying the look of the gelato in the freezers. All the love is put into the texture and taste!
We took a cooking class on pizza and gelato where we learned a little about how to spot gelateria that focus on tourists versus authenticity. Tourist driven ones are not necessarily bad, just not true tuscan gelato!
We ordered two cones. One with pistacchio and ciocolatti, and the other with caffe and stratiatella. Both were fantastic!

Not my favorite gelato. Now to be fair, they specialize in *Sicilian* gelato, which does not use eggs or cream. This results in a thinner, sometimes grainy gelato. I suppose it really lets the flavor shine more but I’ve come to really love thick, creamy gelato. The granita was a little better but I have no desire to try it again,
But can we talk about the cannoli? They fill it to order, and the harmony of crunchy, almost nutty cannolo shell, creamy filling, and the added texture of chocolate chips and chewy candied fruit was music to my mouth. Best. Cannoli. Ever.
PLUS, the employees there always tolerate and entertain my use of Italian – I always try to speak Italian and appreciate it when locals tolerate my butchering of their language so that I can practice. Lastly, their napkins actually absorb spills as opposed to the plastic-​y napkins we get at other places.
But anyway, yes, come here for the cannoli.

My friends and I came here at night after traveling to Florence from Rome, and it was pretty empty when we came. The people were really friendly though! There was also granita, but we all opted for gelato. We tried flavors as usual, and I ended up getting cherry (which was a seasonal flavor) and kiwi. It was my first time having those flavors of gelato in Italy, and they were both really good! The cherry was real cherry, so it was much better than any other cherry-​flavored food I’ve had other than cherries themselves. The gelato was pretty creamy, and it was overall a very good gelato! The store is pretty small and there aren’t many places to sit, but I guess for gelato you don’t really need to stay there for long. Good place though; I’d recommend it if you were near the area!

Rating: ⁶⁷⁄₁₀₀ pts
Carabè is apparently one of the more popular gelaterias in Florence, but to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. The flavors did not have quite as much depth, and consistency was not quite as creamy, as others I had.
Although I’m sure you could do worse, there are a handful of other gelaterias, both inside and outside of Florence, that I would be sooner to recommend.
Perhaps of note, however, is their granita, a sort of Sicilian version of sorbet, which they have several varieties of.
Perhaps worth a try if you’re in need of some gelato when near the Accademia – but if you plan to be doing some walking around town, I’d go elsewhere.

The spirito siciliano tastes like concentrated summer sunshine.
The other flavors are fantastic as well. I particularly like the almond granita. I asked for an almond granita with a scoop of pistachio gelato in it – essentially a granita float – and they were willing to accommodate my request.
The gentleman behind the counter is – I think – the owner. He is justifiably proud of what he makes, and is willing to explain what each flavor is in English.

Direkt in ‘meiner’ Strasse liegt diese wunderbare Eisdiele! Es gibt so viele Eisdielen in Florenz, dass man fast überfordert ist, aber mich hat die Kombination der grossen Auswahl an Eiscreme und Granite hereingelockt!
Die Entscheidung fiel mir sehr schwer… deshalb lies mich die Bedienung mehrere Sorten mit einem Löffelchen kosten, bevor ich mich für einen Granite aus zwei Sorten Pflaume und Feige entschied! Beide waren wunderbar fruchtig und erfrischend! Ich werde hier wohl Stammgast werden… ;)

Heard wonderful things, but when I went today the service was awful, the portions were very underwhelming, and the gelato was really icy. Do not go here! You’re much better off elsewhere. My sister and I turned the corner and bought new cones at a different gelataria down the street within 5 minutes of getting these because it was such a poor experience. Skip this place.

A fellow Unilocaler sent me a list of places to go, and this was near the Accademia Museum, and since we didn’t want to wait in the long line to see David, we came here instead. Great selection of gelati! But it was the homemade cannoli that I had to try and the granite. They make the cannoli when you order it. I was under the impression that they also made the shell at the same time, but at least it isn’t premade and sitting in the case. So the shell was crunchy not soft.
The granite is an interesting dessert. Two or even three flavors and one is a little more on the slushy side. I had the friendly girl make me one she’d think I’d like: Café and almond… and it was really good! The gelato is some of the best! We came a second time after seeing David on another day… and the woman working wasn’t as friendly.
Definitely worth a stop after seeing David!

We stopped by Gelateria Carabe on the way to the Accademia. I got mandarla (almond) and pistacchio. My daughter got a lemon granita. My husband got a coffee granita. Everything was delicious.

Listed by Lonely Planet as one of the top 5 gelaterias in Florence and right around the corner from our hotel, we had to check it out. And it was okay. We had much better gelato in Lovorno and near Ponte Vecchio at Passera Gelateria.
I had the Raspberry-​Orange and my husband had «English Soup» (Butterscotch), and they were both pretty good. Not amazing, not blow-​your-​socks-​off delicious, just good. They were also surprisingly boozy. Not uncommon for gelato, but it was pretty extra boozy in comparison to others I’ve had, and I feel it took away from the flavour rather than brightening it like it should. Maybe we got them on a bad day, but I wouldn’t go back. There’s so much amazing gelato in Florence, that I think you could skip this place without missing out.

Gelateria Carabé is famous for it’s Sicilian granita and rightly so! The granita here is incredible! I had the strawberry with lemon granita and the flavour just burst in my mouth; it was like eating real fruit that just happened to grow naturally as crushed ice. Usually flavoured ice tastes like a watered down version of the flavour of the real fruit it is meant to suggest, but Carabé’s granita is an explosion of delicious taste. The strawberry and lemon complemented each other wonderfully, but they have other flavours too like almond or coffee.
I tried the gelato here too and it was decent, but not as impressive as the granita. The granita was out of this world and in the heat I couldn’t get enough of it’s icy goodness. I love this granita!
Location-​wise, Carabé is the perfect stop on the way (or way back) for anyone going to the Accademia to see Michaelangelo’s David, but I would make a trip just for the granita even without David!

Best gelato we’ve had in all of Italy. The best flavors were the apricot, melon, hazelnut (nocciola) and chocolate chip (stracchiatella). Wish we could have tried everything because it was all so good.

Any trip to the Accademia to see The David warrants a trip to Gelateria Carabe. The gelateria is directly down the street from the museum on Via Ricasoli. It is not difficult to find as the street is wide, straight, and without twists or turns to distract you. This gelateria is Sicilian. The gelato is softer and more delicate. I have heard that Carabe was more famous for their granita so that is what I chose. It was a nice break from all the gelato I was eating daily. The almond granita was more like a drink. I ate it with a spoon until it completely melted and I was able to drink it like a milk shake. The granita had nice bits of almond in it and the ice was almost none existent except for the cold texture of the granita. Carabe uses no preservatives or artificial flavoring. Let it be known that everything you get here will be fresh. You taste it. Tourists take heed: print the coupon on the website and get a free upgrade in size on your next vacation.
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Ogni viaggio in Accademia per vedere I warrant David un viaggio a Gelateria Carabe. La gelateria è direttamente in fondo alla strada dal museo di via Ricasoli. Non è difficile da trovare, come la strada è larga, diritta e senza colpi di scena e si rivolge a distrarti. Questa gelateria è siciliano. Il gelato è più morbido e più delicato. Ho sentito dire che Carabe era più famosi per la loro granita in modo che è quello che ho scelto. E ‘stata una piacevole pausa da tutto il gelato stavo mangiando tutti i giorni. La granita di mandorle era più simile a un drink. Ho mangiato con un cucchiaio fino a quando completamente sciolto e sono riuscito a bere come un milk shake. La granita ha bit belle di mandorla in esso e il ghiaccio era quasi nessuno inesistente tranne che per la trama freddo della granita. Carabe non utilizza conservanti o aromi artificiali. Si sappia che tutto ciò che si ottiene qui sarà fresco. Si assaggiarlo. Turisti state attenti: stampare il coupon sul sito e ottenere un upgrade gratuito in formato sulla vostra prossima vacanza.

Un des meilleurs glaciers de Florence. J’ai adoré la glacé aux amandes et celle aux noisettes (ce sont mes parfums tests) mais leurs granités valent le détour (rien à voir avec ceux qu’on à l’habitude de manger): hmmmmm le granité à l’amande, tellement raffraichissant !!
Le propriétaire est très accueillant et poli. Ce glacier était le plus proche de notre hôtel et on y allait presque tous les jours après le diner, et le propriétaire avait un petit sourire en coin en nous reconnaissant.
Les prix sont raisonnables (et c’est là que je me rend compte qu’en France, ils abusent vraiment.)
Dans mon top 5. Pourquoi n’a-t-on pas de tels glaciers en France ???
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One of the best gelateria in Firenze. I loved their almond or hazelnut gelato (these are my «crash test» ice creams) but you should definitely give a try to their granitas… very refreshing and sooooo different from what we are used to eating ! The owner is very welcoming ad polite ! As this gelateria was the closest to our hotel, we went there almost everyday after dinner, and the owner could always recognize us !
Prices are very reasonnable.
Definitely in my top 5. Back in France, i miss that shop so much !

absolument delicieux, la meilleure glacé de florence, une des rare vrai glacé artisanale, sans colorants, conservateurs gouts artificiels etc… le gout du fruit pur, un plaisir.
Je conseille partucliérement les gouts de fruits ou siciliens genre pistache amandes, citron, un must
De plus, le glacier est un personnage de la comedie dell arte italienne, flamboyant, et ironique, j’y suis retrourné plusieurs fois durant mon séjour, quand il était là c’était vraiment marrant, je regrette seulement qu’il y est peu de place pour s’assoir. C’est une des decouverte, petit coin plaisir de Florence assurément: je recomande !

Eisdielen gibt’s in Florenz ja wie Sand am Meer, und obwohl es natürlich nicht bei allen gleich gut schmeckt, ist der Standard doch erfreulich hoch.
Mir persönlich hat es hier am Besten geschmeckt, weil es auch eine sehr gute Auswahl leckerer Granite hat (bin bekennender Sizilienfan) und das normale Eis einfach auch phantastisch ist. Das Perche No? fand ich ähnlich gut, hat ja auch 5 Sterne bekommen, aber hier ist’s noch einen Tick anders/​besser