Gelato for ants, or cockroaches, maybe snails. Otherwise small creatures. Also if you give for SSN, you can get 50 cents off your cone.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Ethan Matthews
Just went for the first time since they rebranded and it’s completely different. At least half as many flavors and it appears they moved every size up a price level (they used to be pretty dang generous with their scoops). I used to love this place, the pistachio was freaking amazing, creamy and rich nutty flavor. What I just ate was not the same at all, not as creamy, kinda tasted artificial, and I recall the green color of it being way less vibrant before. Honestly kind of devastated right now.EDIT: wow, did a little digging and it appears their current smallest sizes is just about the same price as their previous largest size. Whoever ruined this place should be ashamed, twice the price for half the quality.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Vivien L.
I came in on a weekday night around 9pm and the store was empty and spacious. There's definitely more space for tables. I sampled the hazelnut and Italian coffee and they tasted good! I ordered those two flavors in a size small in a cone for almost $8. The gelato is extremely smooth, soft, and creamy. Probably the smoothest and softest gelato I've ever tried yet and I've been to Italy! The hazelnut was the better flavor for me, but I'm glad I tried both. The portions were generous for a size small. I'll come back to try other flavors in the future.
Nikhil Dandeker
They killed their golden goose - the amazing pistachio flavor is no longer amazing.Before, their pistachio flavor was amazing. Like as-good-as-Italy amazing. Having tried it just a day or two after getting back from Italy. As of December ‘23 they seem to have changed their recipe or ingredients..We came in, got a scoop and a pint of pistachio as is our normal thing to do. We tasted the pistachio scoop and it was very ‘off’ - smelled chemically and artificial. We asked to return the pint and they refused. So docking points for service.I hope I am wrong and they just got a bad batch of ingredients, but I am worried they changed their recipe.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Pistachio Gelato
Melissa Chen
Specifically drove here from other side of town and it was closed Tuesday at 4pm despite the hours saying it would be open
Ben Kesseler
Delightful gelato, good selection of flavors, and the Panna gelato was very tasty. Great service, reasonable prices.
Roy C
Incredible ice cream place, coconut its so good, no wonder they are packed with costumers!!!Highly recommended for genuine italian gelato.
Kyle W.
This gelato spot is located in the heart of downtown Ballard, amongst a lot of the restaurants. I sampled a few flavors here including the baseline Fior di Latte to gauge on the quality of the gelato, and the gelato overall is fairly solid. I am a fan of their very smooth, velvety texture of all the gelato flavors, including pistachio. For $6.50+tax, the small is a modest size for an individual to enjoy a serving of gelato. However, when comparing pictures of the past, I felt I got a bit shortchanged with the portion sizes as the pictures indicate the gelato filling way over the cup. Also, the pistachio was not as fragrant as I hoped, and it was a bit more green-ish color meaning they might have added a hint of food coloring rather than the natural off white / very faint green color. While the gelato texture warrants a 5 star review, these two things knocked off 2 half stars (1 star) for me.
Emily S.
Great service, great gelato! Every time I come to Ballard I love making a stop here! On hot days it can get pretty warm in the location waiting for some gelato. For me it's worth the wait but would be nice to have some AC running!
Carolyn Baylor
We are local and D'Ambrosio has long been a very favorite spot that we went to a handful of times per year. We recently went back after being away a while, and the place has changed entirely - for the worse. In the old D'Ambrosio, the case was full of a huge variety of beautiful gelatos - so many different colors and flavors, part of the treat was just the visual enjoyment of picking something out. The staff always encouraged you to get a couple different flavors even in the small serving, and the gelato was always delicious. All that is gone. In their new set-up, the variety has been significantly cut down so there are alot fewer choices. That might be fine if what you got was still really good, but their new 'churning live' mechanisms leave that issue up in the air. When I ordered, the staff told me that the flavor I chose wasn't ready and was still churning. So I made a second choice and was told the same thing - not ready. So I made a third choice. The staff didn't say anything but prepared my order so I assumed it was ready - it was not. By the time we paid half a moment later and walked out the door, I realized my cup was full of a mostly-liquid substance that was anything but gelato. It was literally too runny to use a spoon with - again this is right out of the churning machine. The new 'live churners' may seem like a fun gimmick - but I would say a gimmick is all they are. It would be far, far better to have a well-stocked supply of a prepared, ready to serve product that you know is going to be consistently, reliably good for every customer. The old set-up of the store never disappointed with all of the prepared gelatos which were always good and far better quality than what we got on this last visit. I expect many customers, if they time it right, are still getting good gelato. But what our recent visit taught me is that going in there is now a gamble - if the timing is right we might get a good product, but there is a high possibility we won't - and that quality is really up to the discretion of who is working behind the counter at the moment as opposed to some consistent production standard that the business holds for all of its product.
I first ordered delivery and it was so great I had to drop by and buy togo pints another day. The pistachio and tiramisu flavors (delivery) were soft, delicious and luxurious. HOWEVER, the togo pints of Theo chocolate were hard and didn't soften at all. Instead it became crumbly and then melted strait to liquid. The lemon sorbetto had large ice chunks in it and lacked the smoothness I hoped for. Overall, it was a great the first experience and not so great the second time. For $12.50 per pint it really should be great all of the time.
Chen Jan
Compared with American ice cream, chocolate gelato is lighter, while it’s still a little too sweet for me.
Robb G.
Been a long time customer and a big fan of D'Ambrosia until our visit yesterday. As I understand it, the business was recently sold and boy has it changed. We ordered one of our usual combinations and were sorely disappointed. The gelato wasn't its normal very excellent taste and texture. It was mediocre. They used to make a fine affogato but no longer offer it. Their world class pistachio gelato is now bland and ordinary. I guess things change but Seattle has lost one of it's jewels. Time to start looking for a new gelato place.
Whiskey Juliet
Been here a couple times and it hasn’t disappointed yet! The gelato is fresh, smooth and creamy. A good variety of flavors, including dairy-free if that’s your thing… It’s in a cute area with lots of shops, restaurants and outdoor seating. We’ll be back!
Some guy
good. i smell good after eating that gelato!! my pheromones have upgraded after going here. Now i’m more attractive to everyone. okay.
Gelato for ants, or cockroaches, maybe snails. Otherwise small creatures. Also if you give for SSN, you can get 50 cents off your cone.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Just went for the first time since they rebranded and it’s completely different. At least half as many flavors and it appears they moved every size up a price level (they used to be pretty dang generous with their scoops). I used to love this place, the pistachio was freaking amazing, creamy and rich nutty flavor. What I just ate was not the same at all, not as creamy, kinda tasted artificial, and I recall the green color of it being way less vibrant before. Honestly kind of devastated right now.EDIT: wow, did a little digging and it appears their current smallest sizes is just about the same price as their previous largest size. Whoever ruined this place should be ashamed, twice the price for half the quality.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
I came in on a weekday night around 9pm and the store was empty and spacious. There's definitely more space for tables. I sampled the hazelnut and Italian coffee and they tasted good! I ordered those two flavors in a size small in a cone for almost $8. The gelato is extremely smooth, soft, and creamy. Probably the smoothest and softest gelato I've ever tried yet and I've been to Italy! The hazelnut was the better flavor for me, but I'm glad I tried both. The portions were generous for a size small. I'll come back to try other flavors in the future.
They killed their golden goose - the amazing pistachio flavor is no longer amazing.Before, their pistachio flavor was amazing. Like as-good-as-Italy amazing. Having tried it just a day or two after getting back from Italy. As of December ‘23 they seem to have changed their recipe or ingredients..We came in, got a scoop and a pint of pistachio as is our normal thing to do. We tasted the pistachio scoop and it was very ‘off’ - smelled chemically and artificial. We asked to return the pint and they refused. So docking points for service.I hope I am wrong and they just got a bad batch of ingredients, but I am worried they changed their recipe.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Pistachio Gelato
Specifically drove here from other side of town and it was closed Tuesday at 4pm despite the hours saying it would be open
Delightful gelato, good selection of flavors, and the Panna gelato was very tasty. Great service, reasonable prices.
Incredible ice cream place, coconut its so good, no wonder they are packed with costumers!!!Highly recommended for genuine italian gelato.
This gelato spot is located in the heart of downtown Ballard, amongst a lot of the restaurants. I sampled a few flavors here including the baseline Fior di Latte to gauge on the quality of the gelato, and the gelato overall is fairly solid. I am a fan of their very smooth, velvety texture of all the gelato flavors, including pistachio. For $6.50+tax, the small is a modest size for an individual to enjoy a serving of gelato. However, when comparing pictures of the past, I felt I got a bit shortchanged with the portion sizes as the pictures indicate the gelato filling way over the cup. Also, the pistachio was not as fragrant as I hoped, and it was a bit more green-ish color meaning they might have added a hint of food coloring rather than the natural off white / very faint green color. While the gelato texture warrants a 5 star review, these two things knocked off 2 half stars (1 star) for me.
Great service, great gelato! Every time I come to Ballard I love making a stop here! On hot days it can get pretty warm in the location waiting for some gelato. For me it's worth the wait but would be nice to have some AC running!
We are local and D'Ambrosio has long been a very favorite spot that we went to a handful of times per year. We recently went back after being away a while, and the place has changed entirely - for the worse. In the old D'Ambrosio, the case was full of a huge variety of beautiful gelatos - so many different colors and flavors, part of the treat was just the visual enjoyment of picking something out. The staff always encouraged you to get a couple different flavors even in the small serving, and the gelato was always delicious. All that is gone. In their new set-up, the variety has been significantly cut down so there are alot fewer choices. That might be fine if what you got was still really good, but their new 'churning live' mechanisms leave that issue up in the air. When I ordered, the staff told me that the flavor I chose wasn't ready and was still churning. So I made a second choice and was told the same thing - not ready. So I made a third choice. The staff didn't say anything but prepared my order so I assumed it was ready - it was not. By the time we paid half a moment later and walked out the door, I realized my cup was full of a mostly-liquid substance that was anything but gelato. It was literally too runny to use a spoon with - again this is right out of the churning machine. The new 'live churners' may seem like a fun gimmick - but I would say a gimmick is all they are. It would be far, far better to have a well-stocked supply of a prepared, ready to serve product that you know is going to be consistently, reliably good for every customer. The old set-up of the store never disappointed with all of the prepared gelatos which were always good and far better quality than what we got on this last visit. I expect many customers, if they time it right, are still getting good gelato. But what our recent visit taught me is that going in there is now a gamble - if the timing is right we might get a good product, but there is a high possibility we won't - and that quality is really up to the discretion of who is working behind the counter at the moment as opposed to some consistent production standard that the business holds for all of its product.
Restaurantji Recommends
I first ordered delivery and it was so great I had to drop by and buy togo pints another day. The pistachio and tiramisu flavors (delivery) were soft, delicious and luxurious. HOWEVER, the togo pints of Theo chocolate were hard and didn't soften at all. Instead it became crumbly and then melted strait to liquid. The lemon sorbetto had large ice chunks in it and lacked the smoothness I hoped for. Overall, it was a great the first experience and not so great the second time. For $12.50 per pint it really should be great all of the time.
Compared with American ice cream, chocolate gelato is lighter, while it’s still a little too sweet for me.
Been a long time customer and a big fan of D'Ambrosia until our visit yesterday. As I understand it, the business was recently sold and boy has it changed. We ordered one of our usual combinations and were sorely disappointed. The gelato wasn't its normal very excellent taste and texture. It was mediocre. They used to make a fine affogato but no longer offer it. Their world class pistachio gelato is now bland and ordinary. I guess things change but Seattle has lost one of it's jewels. Time to start looking for a new gelato place.
Been here a couple times and it hasn’t disappointed yet! The gelato is fresh, smooth and creamy. A good variety of flavors, including dairy-free if that’s your thing… It’s in a cute area with lots of shops, restaurants and outdoor seating. We’ll be back!
good. i smell good after eating that gelato!! my pheromones have upgraded after going here. Now i’m more attractive to everyone. okay.