Ealing's newest dessert parlour reviewed

If you have been to Lisbon, Portugal, chances are you have tried the wonderful ice-cream at Santini's - which many consider to be the best in the world.

The whole experience there - from entering the cool, light and bright (and spotlessly clean shop) - to the friendly staff, keen to let you try any of the flavours before buying, was an absolute delight.

So it was with high expectations I ventured into Creams - the new ice-cream parlour in Ealing.

Alas, the Santini's magical Gelati experience just didn't happen.

The ice-cream bar is well situated (next to Maggie's) on New Broadway and now has a very steady clientele - school holidays obviously bringing in lots of excited children.

I reckon such places should be a bit magical (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but Creams is kitted out more like a nightclub. It's dark and surprisingly rather warm for a place selling ice-cream.

The booths are fine but the system of paying before purchase is somewhat laborious - with no real queue and on a hot day customers get increasingly frustrated.

Unlike Santini's the staff sadly just didn't appear to have any real love of ice cream or seem remotely connected to what they were selling - I got the impression they were all rather disinterested and couldn't wait for their shift to end.

My son wanted a simple raspberry and blueberry smoothie but was told it was unavailable (no explanation why) so had to choose another option from the menu (£3.50) - he was disappointed as he couldn't make up his own concoction which he would have been happy to do. His comment? 'It's ok but I've had nicer smoothies than this.'

I chose the coffee bean sundae (£5.95), from a huge variety. There is no doubt they all look wonderful (despite the menus already looking a little ripped and tired) but the real test is in the tasting isn't it?

After my initial spoonful when I was hit by a very strong coffee flavouring, the ice-cream became well.. just bland. The frothy cream and sauce topping may look impressive but it tasted of nothing. The ice cream was sweet, but after a few spoons seemed too sweet. I struggled to finish it.

My 12 -year-old son choose the waffle (£4.95) which was very large and again impressive in appearance but not so in taste. He couldn't eat it all and left over half.

Creams is a franchise so perhaps there is a difference between the branches but their company blurb proclaims:

''Standing out in a sea of desserts is something we strive to accomplish every day. From milkshakes to coffee to ice cream, nothing is just as simple as it sounds. We design our products with you in mind and work towards making each item as delectable and attractive as possible.''

Perhaps I was spoilt by my fabulous ice-cream in Lisbon but as much as I wanted to rave about Creams I just could not - the whole experience did not hit the mark.

Annemarie Flanagan

Am I too fussy? What do you think about Creams?

Where would you recommend for good quality ice-cream?

5th August 2014