Where To Find The Best Ice-Creams in Merida (Mexico)

Published by Cassie on 21/04/201721/04/2017

Where To Find The Best Ice-creams In Merida

When you’re in a city as consistently hot as Merida then ice-cream becomes a pretty important part of life. Truly. Ice-cream in Merida is not about humouring the children, ice-cream in Merida is a serious business and a business you really do need to take seriously. So the aim of this article is to provide you with links to the best ice-creams in Merida. I hope you enjoy it.

This article didn’t write itself. Over the years that I’ve been in Merida, I have searched out the best ice-cream parlours for you. I have tried them all. Obviously, not all of them make the cut, not all ice-cream is made equal but I’ve had a great time making this effort on everyone else’s behalf.

It took me two years to feel I knew Merida well enough to write a guide to the city. I wrote it. It’s the most complete blog guide I’ve seen yet. I’m pretty proud of it and hope you’ll find it useful when looking for things to do in Merida. 

The story behind the “Best Ice-Creams In Merida” Article

One morning, about two years ago, I woke up with one thought on my mind: ice-cream and how I needed, then and there, in one day, to try all the awesome ice-creams I could find in Merida. Obviously, we didn’t try everything in one day but we did have a surprisingly large number of ice-creams. I broke this wonderful news to my family (kids then two and four). No reaction. Nothing. I tried again. The four-year-old told me he didn’t want ice-cream. The two-year-old looked at me as if I was mad.

Not the response I was expecting. I’m normally a typical sugar conscious kind of parent so I’d expected some excitement from the kids. But sod them, they’d eat ice-cream whether they liked it or not. Normally we’d go to a Merida water park to cool down but not this day, oh no.

Pola

Calle 55 (x62 y64 in Centro)

Pola has become something of an institution in Merida. It hasn’t been around that long but already it’s very well known and you’ll often hear people marvelling about their puerco y frijoles (pork and beans ice-cream, sold only on Mondays). My personal favourite from Pola is definitely the avocado ice-cream. I have also really enjoyed a jamaica sorbet and a rose wine flavour ice cream.

30 of the finest Mexican pesos will buy you one scoop of incredible ice-cream in a really top-notch quality cone. On that first visit, we had chocolate, strawberry with chocolate, mint chocolate and…avocado (I am the only one in my family who doesn’t like chocolate ice-cream, clearly). All were incredible, even to the non-chocolate liking me. Well worth a visit. We have been back, many, many times.

Dulceria Y Sorbeteria Colon

There are three branches of this ice cream shop, to my knowledge, one on Paseo Montejo, one on Plaza Grande and one in Gran Plaza. The parlour on the square is the oldest in Merida, having opened in 1907. Rather than ice cream, this place specialises in sorbet, perfect for those with a dairy intolerance. For me, the most delicious flavours have to be the coconut and watermelon (sandía) but my daughter loves the corn sorbet and my son the lemon. Honestly, they’re all worth a try when you’re seeking out the best ice creams in Merida.

Heading to Dulcería Y Sorbetería Colon in the early evening is one of those local Mérida things to do. Why not join locals in grabbing a refreshing sorbet and watching the world go by at dusk? It’s truly a lovely way to spend an evening (and regularly makes it to my top tip for enjoying Merida like a local).

Dulceria Y Sorbetaria Colon at dusk

Ke-Rollo

Calle 60 (x57 y55, Centro)

At Ke-Rollo, your personalised ice cream flavour is made for you, before your very eyes. You simply choose your two preferences and watch the guy mash and freeze on a large frozen crepe plate (or at least that’s what it looks like to me). We sampled cream cheese and mango, which was extremely tasty, and peanut butter and Nutella. I expected the latter to be disgusting but it turns out to be abso-freaking-lutely amazing. My husband paired it with banana and marshmallows to complete the perfect ice cream experience. This isn’t an ice cream to order if you’re in a hurry since it has to be made to order. Each ice cream costs $60 pesos.

Pipí Cucú

Calle 47 (x52 y 54, near the bottom of Paseo de Montejo).

Pipí Cucú opened in late 2017 and has taken Merida’s ice-cream game to a whole new level. Not only does this place sell truly delicious ice-cream, but they do it in a beautifully modern and quirky little place. Upstairs is a terrace and outdoor cinema (sadly, I haven’t been yet) and they even have a room for visitors to rent should they want to stay somewhere funky and fun in downtown Merida.

Back to the ice-creams:  a small cup (two scoops) is $50 pesos,  medium (three scoops) is $70 pesos. You can also buy a 1/2 or full litre if you remember to take a cool bag with you. There is a clear ‘we make vegan ice-cream’ going on here too so it’s perfect for people who are looking for something vegan-y. Every flavour we tried was incredible, particularly my banana with dulce de leche and peanut butter. Oh wow, I’m drooling just thinking about it.

If you’re interested in exploring Merida’s food scene, how about checking out this article on where to find the best chocolates in town?

ArteHelado

Calle 7 (between Ave. Campestre y Calle 36 – Plaza de San Juanistas, Campestre)

In the summer of 2018, ArteHelado opened up in a strikingly refurbished, mint-green, container. It’s cool in an understated and super friendly kind of way. The furniture is all super comfortable and inviting, there’s a small play area for kids (never mind that it’s right by a regular playground) and the staff are really kind and friendly. By the way, there are lots of outdoor play spaces for kids in Merida, you just have to know where to look for them.

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. Between us, I’m pretty sure we tried most of their flavours of ice-cream. I actually held off on ordering a regular ice-cream because they had something super cool on the menu: ice-cream macarons. Yup. I had a massive macaron with a huge wadge of ice-cream in the middle. It was awesome. You don’t get to pick your flavours here, they’re ready-made and in the freezer. I’m guessing that a) they can’t risk having fresh macarons sitting around every day in case no one buys one, and b) people are idiots and wouldn’t make the best flavour pairings. My pairing was delicious: chaya macaron with lemon ice-cream.

We have been back many times and have never been disappointed with our choices.

Santa Clara

Santa Clara can be found on calle 47 in Benito Jaurez and 60 in centro and in The Harbor mall.

I’m not sure why but I put off visiting Santa Clara. Maybe it was the price. At over $40 pesos a scoop, this ice-cream isn’t cheap.

Santa Clara is a Mexico wide brand of dairy products. Some people say the ice-cream is the best in Merida, others even say it’s the best in Mexico. We liked it. It was certainly good quality and the kids proclaimed it to be delicious but I don’t think it’s the best in Merida purely because it has so much competition.

Santa Clara ice cream will probably never disappoint, I imagine the quality is more consistent than some of the stand-alone ice-cream stores in Merida but it didn’t wow me. Maybe that’s not fair though.

Blueberry ice cream from Santa Clara

Domo Gelato Helado Artesanal Argentino

Plaza Ateneum, Ave Garcia Lavin x27, Montebello.

Domo Gelato has been in Merida for some 13 years. The ice cream is Argentinian (hint’s in the name, right?). Truthfully, I prefer a Mexican ice cream to an Argentinian one – Argentine ice cream is an odd texture for me but my husband assured me that this was perfectly delicious and that he likes the texture better than Mexican ice creams. It’s good to be able to cater for different tastes. I did enjoy the Yucatecan nod in this Argentine gelato (flavours like cajeta and banana or tamarind or sour orange). If you like tamarind then you may also enjoy Mexican candies, they’re often spicy with tamarind or chile.

Shuteln Heladaria Gourmet

Plaza Macau, Calle 37, Diagonal, San Ramon Norte

This tiny little ice cream parlour surprised me. I was expecting very little from this tiny place without anywhere to sit and enjoy the ice cream but I was wowed. We took our ice creams and ate them in our car and all four flavours we chose were divine. I fell in love with a basil and almond ice cream. I also loved sour orange and cilantro and the kids adored their cajeta and banana flavour. Even though it’s the least comfortable of all locations, I highly recommend taking a trip out here if you’re serious about your ice cream.

Shuteln could be a good place to stop on your way to or from Progreso.

Subterra (Tizimin and Merida)

Alianza Rural, Calle 61 363D, Centro (I think opening hours are Wed- Fri 5.30 pm – 8 pm only)

Subterra ice cream is new to Merida in July 2019.

You can have it delivered to your home via SinDelantal.Mx or pick up some deliciously weird flavours in Alianza Rural (address above). Rodrigo, the brains behind Subterra is THE ice cream man in Yucatan. If you want to try traditional Mexican ice cream merged with traditional Yucatecan flavours then you simply have to get ahold of Rodrigo and his Subterra ice cream. Currently, in my freezer, I have coconut and x’catic and lemon with habanero. Both are just delicious. If you’re worried about the spiciness of the flavours, don’t worry, he also does ‘normal’ ice creams (my son still talks about the chocolate ice cream from here) and I quite adored the watermelon and chamomile.

Photo provided by Subterra and used with permission.

Did you know that Merida is at the forefront of a sustainbility push across Mexico? There is so much going on in this city that it’s entirely possible to have a fully ethical and sustainble trip to Merida. 

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.

Despite my obsession with ice cream, I do recommend you eat something other than ice cream whilst in Merida. Begin with a good healthy breakfast and then you’ll be fine to gobble up all the ice-creamy goodness.

Best Ice-Creams In Merida: Other Options

These obviously aren’t the only ice-cream shops in town. In fact, there are cheaper and more traditional stores every block or so where you can buy a ‘paleta’, (milk or water-based lolly), juice or ice-cream. There are also individuals riding around on little bikes with small ice-cream trolleys attached. I’ve never had a bad one from anyone and I really do like to sample any ice-cream I can get my hands on. I’ve talked more about these options in a useful article all about street-food in Merida.