Gelato Paradiso

When it opened inside Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, Gelato Paradiso was nestled on the basement-like ground floor of the Atrium Food Court, hidden away from most of the mall’s foot traffic next to a Wahoo’s Fish Taco – quite unlike the more prominently located gelateria outside, Bacio di Latte. Our initial guidance was to make the trek to Gelato Paradiso regardless; it offered a wider array of flavors without sticking solely or largely to classic Italian recipes: at least 20 gelatos and six sorbets, plus a special flavor of the month, with fewer overlapping choices than Bacio’s. Now the Fashion Island location has relocated to a plaza in Corona del Mar, fairly close to Roger’s Gardens and decidedly more accessible.

Some of the flavors we’ve sampled included a very good mint with slivers of chocolate, a Nutella-like milk chocolate hazelnut, and two seasonals: a perfect gingersnap with cookie pieces mixed in, and a white chocolate peppermint with nice mint candy chunks. Others include banana, dark cherry, extra dark chocolate, espresso, strawberry cheesecake, pistachio, chocolate-peanut, and tiramisu, to name a few.