I went to Canterbury’s ‘best’ ice cream shop to embrace my inner Augustus Gloop

Warm weather has finally arrived for us here in Kent and what better way to celebrate the heat than with a good ice cream. There are few things more British than tucking into a classic 99 or Fab lolly as soon as the weather moves anywhere into the double digits in the UK.

Whether we’re out at the beach or going for a wander through town, we will always find a spot for some cold dairy goodness. The sun coming back to Kent has certainly got my taste buds tingling for some soft serve again, and having not long moved back to Canterbury, I couldn’t help but wonder where in the city would be the best place to satisfy my cravings.

Taking a look online, it didn’t take long to find my answer, with many sources pointing to one spot in particular, Creams Cafe. Given that Creams is a franchise, it’s a shop that I have stopped by before, but not for a long time and only ever once in Canterbury, back during my uni days.

Read more: ‘I visited the Kent beach that lost its blue flag and I was surprised’

Creams Cafe currently sits at number one on the list of the top 10 ice creams shops around Canterbury from the aptly named Ice Cream Shops.co.uk. The establishment also holds a rating of 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor from over 210 reviews, 73 of which giving a perfect five star score, and a further 53 giving four stars.

So, several years on since my last visit and my hunger for ice cream higher than ever, I decided to head back and see what all the fuss is about. Here’s how I got on.

Initial impressions

Though it has been some time since I was last here, there is one feature that remained prominent in my mind – the decor. This really is a dessert shop unlike any other in Kent, with a quirky steampunk-esque interior that really does leave an impression.

Walls are lined with fascinating artwork and industrial-style decorations, with the whole place having the appearance of an almost stylized factory. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Golden Compass and you’ve got the idea.

Shortly after arriving I was greeted by a friendly member of staff and shown to a table, which was again surrounded by some really eye-catching artwork and pieces on the walls that I kept finding my attention drawn to during my visit. After scanning over the menu and debating with myself over any number of sweet treats that all sounded pretty great, I finally made my mind up.

My experience

For my ice cream of choice, I settled on the Chocolatier sundae, which as the name would suggest, came with enough chocolate to make Augustus Gloop blush. Comprising chocolate chip gelato, chocolate fudge brownie gelato with Creams’ signature soft serve vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings and a wafer, I could feel the sugar headache building before it even arrived at the table.

I had popped along to Creams with a friend who had opted for the simpler choice of two scoops of gelato, banoffee and speculoos. No faults can be given to any of the service I have to add as well, as the staff were all wonderfully friendly and our desserts arrived very quickly.

I was eager to tuck in and I have to say, I was not disappointed. The ice cream was very clearly high in quality, perfect in texture and taste the whole way through.

It was the brownie gelato that perhaps stood out the most, which worked wonderfully with the lighter soft serve vanilla to make for a treat that was delicious and not nearly as overwhelming as I first thought. Well, for the first three quarters at least.

By the last few spoonfuls the layers upon layers of chocolate and dessert did start to mount up a little and I got a little sense of how Bruce Bogtrotter must have felt taking on the mammoth chocolate cake in Matilda. Okay, it definitely wasn’t quite as extreme as that, but it was a lot of chocolate nonetheless.

My plus-one in this ice cream adventure also sung the praises of their choice so it seems Creams is pretty great across the board. Admittedly, just the one sundae was enough to vanquish my ice cream cravings and then some.

Verdict

I have to say that after returning back to Creams a few years on, I absolutely understand just why it has seen such high praise. It really does have a uniquely different feel to any of the other branches I have seen or visited, combined with products that are incredibly delicious.

In terms of pricing, my very elaborate sundae cost £8.95, which while not the cheapest, isn’t far off the rates I’ve seen at other dessert spots and I didn’t think was too bad given just how much I got for that price. Meanwhile, the double scoop of gelato worked out at £4.20, a very reasonable price for a satisfying dessert.

Looks like I know where I’ll be heading whenever I’m looking to beat the heat in delicious fashion from now on. Although, maybe not too frequently so that I don’t have to buy a load of new belts.

Find out more about things to do and activities in Kent with our free What’s On email HERE.

READ NEXT: