Caffè Panna

Restaurant Review: Caffè Panna | The New Yorker

"Opened in 2019 by Hallie Meyer as an homage to Italian coffee, gelato, and the Union Square Greenmarket, this Irving Place spot (with a much larger Greenpoint outpost that houses an actual ice-cream factory and seating) serves gelatos and coffee from a chic walkup to-go counter and has grown into a buzzy destination. I find the ice cream rich and almost chewy, the flavors specific and fun: seven “classic” flavors plus five rotating daily flavors that use Greenmarket ingredients—raspberries, Sungold tomatoes, basil—and treats like a Sant’Eustachio-inspired granita; recent standouts included a cherry-and-pie-crust number, Sicilian pistachio with lemon-bar chunks, a mild fresh-mint gelato swirled with dark fudge, and an optimal stracciatella that’s coffee-infused and striated with crackling slivers of Amano chocolate, while the cookies-and-cream uses a “housemade Oreo brittle.” Scoops come in a brown-paper cup with optional panna (the cream is imported from Piedmont and whipped fresh every day), drizzles (chocolate, salty caramel, strawberry, or olive oil), and gratis “crunch” toppings (Oreo, graham-cracker crunch, flaky salt, or rainbow sprinkles). Affogatos marry scoops with espresso nicely, and a lemon granita at the Greenpoint location—layered with panna, lemon rind, mint, and scant sugar—was one of the most deliciously bracing citrus dishes I’ve had. The congenial young staff seem genuinely impressed by the operation, social media attention and collabs (Levain Bakery, TV spots) have only increased demand, and flavors sell out fast—the factory can only churn so much: I once waited in a line of about seventy people and by 8:45 only vanilla and chocolate remained, and vanilla was gone before I ordered. Prices are reasonable for what you get (scoops from $5.50; pints $13)." - Shauna Lyon