Carmello is sadly closed. It used to serve up local and somewhat artificial ice cream and gelato in a tiny shop opposite Havelock City.
Carmello is a new ice cream/gelato shop on Havelock Road just opposite the Havelock City Apartments. It’s more like a Carnival/Alerics type taste than Il Gelato. It’s good for that genre.
Location
We’ll mention location first because it’s actually a bit hard to find. Carmello is on Havelock Road past Royal Institute and opposite the Havelock City Apartments. It’s on Havelock Road but not on Havelock Road, there’s a tiny by-lane that runs parallel (where all the tire shops are). Carmello is on the road. It’s a tiny little shop with two staff.
The Ice Cream
The chocolate almondThe treats are Rs. 60 per scoop for basic ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), Rs. 90 for gelato (strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry) and Rs. 100 for premium gelato (blueberry, pistachio, chocolate almond).
The strawberryWe tried the chocolate almond which was pretty good and the strawberry which was a bit more artificial tasting. Note that Sri Lankan ice creams are different and different things taste good depending on who you are and what mood you’re in. Il Gelato is the more purist, fancy gelato but sometimes a good artificial scoop from Rio’s is called for. Just note that with Carmello you’re getting the more artificial end of the scale.
The Service
The Carmello menuThere’s just two girls in the shop (when we went) and they’re quite nice.
Conclusion
Carmello is a decent new ice cream shop for Colombo along the lines of Carnival, Rio’s, etc.
