Bacio di Latte
This gelateria's limited flavors and small scoops cater especially well to Italian food lovers
As gelato fans, we were excited to discover Bacio di Latte – an Italian-style gelateria with locations in Brazil and Los Angeles – had opened a location at Newport Beach’s Fashion Island in 2019. Bacio di Latte has a decidedly different energy than most American gelaterias and ice cream shops today: The store is physically small and clearly built with high-class finishes, while selling only 20 flavors, focusing heavily on classics. Their message appears to be catered to Fashion Island’s historic demographics: We’re a boutique selling decidedly Italian gelatos at boutique prices, so if you’re looking for confetti cake ice cream, it’s okay to look elsewhere.
Our impression is that Bacio di Latte is probably the best destination in the county to sample multiple chocolate gelatos at once. In one shop, you can compare Belgian chocolate, 70% chocolate, triple-chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, and chocolate/banana/caramel gelatos all in one place – a very large number of seemingly overlapping options given how few total flavors are being offered. We found the quality of each gelato flavor we tested to be high, though it’s admittedly very hard to screw up any frozen chocolate treat.
If chocolate’s not your thing, other choices include Nutella cream, pure hazelnut, caramel, coffee, pistachio, cream and biscotti, and three fruit sorbets. There’s also a special flavor of the month, which at time of writing was yet another hazelnut choice – Crema Torino – promising a “full hazelnut experience.”
One complaint: Bacio di Latte’s portions are small enough that we felt like it took longer to decide on flavors than it did to finish our gelatos. Another issue: two tiny scoops go for $7 in a cup or $8.50 in a small cone. Gelaterias such as Gelato Paradiso (also at Fashion Island) and Eataly LA’s Il Gelato offer very similar quality and flavors while being more generous at similar prices.
Whether this premium ingredient, limited flavor gelato concept flies outside of high-end malls remains to be seen. Notably, the family-owned chain opened a second location at the Irvine Spectrum Center in late 2024, replacing the healthy, reasonably priced Frost Gelato next to Regal Cinemas.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2011 (Brazil), 2019 (OC)
Addresses
133 Newport Center Dr.
Newport Beach, CA 92660
949.520.7538
Instagram: @baciodilatte.us