Your expert guide to the best ice creams in Mérida

Ice-cream in Mérida is a serious business. When you’re in a city as consistently hot & sweaty as Mérida then it becomes a pretty important part of life. To assist on your Mérida adventures, therefore, we’ve compiled a list of some of what we think are the very best ice cream stores to try while you’re exploring Mérida.

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🍦 Dulcería Y Sorbetería El Colón

🧭 There are 5 branches of this ice cream shop in Mérida, but there are really only two that visitors are likely to find: one on Paseo Montejo, & one on Plaza Grande.

It would be wrong to begin with any other ice cream parlour in Mérida. El Colón is an absolute institution, having first opened its doors in 1907.

El Colón specialises in sorbets, champolas and small pastries. Sitting in either of the two branches mentioned above with a pastry and a sorbet is truly an iconic experience when you’re in Mérida.

What’s a champola? – it’s a refreshing drink made of ice cream and milk that isn’t blended – kind of a milk float. 

My favourite ice cream here is the coconut, but it’s also always fun to ask if they have any crema morisco available as this makes you look like a true local. This ‘secret’ flavour isn’t really a ‘secret’ as they advertise on the board when it’s available but since no one knows what it is, it’s really a local thing. It kind of tastes like Christmas in your mouth (and even if it isn’t advertised, they sometimes have some, I know because I like to ask).

Top tip: While it’s always a good idea to have an ice cream here, my favourite time to stop is dusk when the heat is starting to abate and locals are leaving their houses for a paseo (walk) and an ice cream. Join them sitting outside for an ice-cream and just for a moment, imagine that you belong in this beautiful city.

🍦 Pola

🧭 Calle 55, Centro

The Pola Gelato shop is popular with locals and visitors alike. It’s a completely different vibe to El Colón, there’s no lounging around and gossiping here in the small parlour (although there are some seats). Instead, come in, choose your ice-cream and leave.

You’ll often hear people marvelling about their helado de puerco y frijoles (pork and beans ice-cream). This is sold only on Mondays as Mondays in Yucatán is traditionally the pork & beans day. My personal favourite from Pola is definitely the avocado ice-cream. I have also really enjoyed the rose wine flavour.

🍦 Helados Santa Clara

🧭 In Mérida, you’ll find branches mainly in the malls as well as in the food court in Parque de la Plancha

This is a dairy product chain that is found across Mexico but it’s worth including here because the ice-creams are truly excellent. Some people say the ice-cream is the best in Merida, others even say it’s the best in Mexico.

🍦 Traditional ice-creams

It’s worth a quick note here to point out that as well as artisanal ice-creams in Mérida you’ll also find much cheaper priced ice-creams, ice-lollies (popsicles in the USA) & sweet drinks from the more traditional vendors. You’ll see people on the streets walking or riding around on little bikes with their ice cream cart attached. I’ve bought ice creams from these people in numerous occasions, and they’ve always been delicious and never made anyone sick (in case you’re wondering).

Ice-lollies / Paletas

Vocab: Paleta = lolly Bolis = iced treat in a plastic bag (cheaper)

You’ll also see proper stores selling ice-lollies in large freezers. These are generally made of fresh fruits and there are milk-based & water-based options. Paletería La Michoacana is a good example of one of these stores but there are others, too. These are always absolutely delicious, very cheap and extremely refreshing. Highly recommended.

⚠️ I do recommend some caution with some of the tiny & traditional shops – while I don’t think there’s any safety issue, my kids did once have a hilarious experience with the blue food colouring. I won’t share the details though 😉 🚽.

Paletaria de las Rellenas de las 60 – while ‘cool’ rather than ‘traditional’, this is my favourite lolly shop in Mérida. The lollies are made with seasonal fruits, natural ingredients and there are some really cool flavours as well as the more traditional flavours you might expect. I love the spicy chamoy options here (pictured above but from their Progreso branch when it was open).

Xaman – another really great paleta option, Xaman is located within Centro Cultural Punto Mid (which is highly recommended in the MexicoCassie guide to ethical Mérida. They even offer alcohol based paletas here.

🍦 Pipí Cucú

🧭 Recently moved into Parque la Plancha 

This is a really cool ice cream store that I first met when they’d just opened in their original location. There are milk-based & vegan ice cream options and the vibe in their place is always a delight.

I absolutely fell in love with my banana with dulche de leche & peanut butter ice cream here.

➕ Also in a train in Parque de la Plancha is Kogure Express with their excellent ice cream.

🍦 ArteHelado – closed in 2026 (sadly)

🧭 C. 60 447, Parque Santa Lucia

After a fabulous start right near my old house in Campestre, local favorite, ArteHelado has moved into centro – sad for people in Campestre but great for anyone visiting Mérida. 

The ice-creams are handmade, Italian style gelato. Some are milk-based and some are water-based and as is so typical in Mexico, this is explained immediately.

🍦🌿 Buen Confidente – Helados / Cafe

🧭 Baltia Apartments, Calle 61 142, Montes de Amé

Many of the super smart apartment buildings have plazas with shops in them. There is often an ice-cream or yoghurt shop option. This one is included because it offers 100% plant based, vegan ice cream.

The ice cream is “crafted with cashews” for texture & creaminess, and sweetened with agave nectar. It contains no bases, no powders, no dairy and no refine sugars.

There is both outdoor and indoor seating here. As well as regular ice creams, you can enjoy ice cream sandwiches, coffee based ice cream drinks.

→ Because this ice cream store is a little out of town, use the MexicoCassie guide to getting around Mérida to figure out how to get there

🍦 Korean Grill

🧭 Paseo de Montejo

Yes, this is a surprising entry to the list but seriously, their ice-cream dessert is so delicious and refreshing it would be wrong of me to leave it off. There are various flavours available including blueberry, strawberry and oreo. What you get is an enormous bowl with one scoop of ice-cream. This might sound disappointing but the ice-cream sits on a bed of shaved ice and is surrounded by the flavour you ordered.

👩‍👩‍👦‍👦 One bowl is enough for a family if you’re sharing for dessert. We couldn’t get over how refreshing this is and I highly recommend everyone tries it at least once.

🍦 Helados Adela 

🧭 Calle 47, Centro

This ice-cream parlour is located next to an art gallery so you really get to feel special as you sit in the garden, surrounded by art, enjoying your ice cream. There’s also space for the kids to play here, which is a winner if you’re in town with the whole family. Everyone will love that the waffle cones are made just for you, as you place your order!

🍦 Fiorella

🧭 Paseo de Montejo and in Parque de la Plancha

​Light ice creams and interesting flavours that change every month. Nowhere to sit inside but they do have tables with umbrellas on the street that offer decent shade and a good view of people strolling down Paseo de Montejo.

🍦 Quelado Factory

🧭 Quelado Factory is one of two Quelados in Mérida (the other is more swanky and is found in the popular Paseo 60 food court. This one, the ‘factory’, is on C 56.

Here you’ll find a funky, homey vibe where you can grab an ice cream or a pasty/doughnut and even, on weekend evenings, a burger too! The ice cream at both is excellent and highly recommended.

Other ice creams

Of course, you can also find ‘regular’ ice creams such as a Magnum or Cornetto at any Oxxo. You’ll also find Dairy Queen here and there.