Ciao Bella Gelato

CLOSED! Sigh… another business we love in that location closed forever.
No info about the closure just a sign about the business moving in.

Having recently returned from the south of France, I can say that Ciao Bella gelato holds its own. I really enjoyed my combo: Dulce de Leche with a scoop of mocha. Rich, creamy, and refreshing on a hot summer afternoon. Also, in response to a previous complaint about the service that I noticed, I found the service to at Ciao Bella to be very accommodating, patient, and kind. Tito H helped me out and even suggested the flavor combination I ultimately had the pleasure of eating. I am sorry that Lauren M had a bad experience, but I can say that mine was definitely a highlight of my afternoon of otherwise bland errands. Good job, Ciao Bella!

Great gelato! They also serve yummy coffee, so getting both is the way to go.
Expensive though. And chairs are sometimes sticky, so grab it to go.

The Mocha Chip was excellent. My wife had the Cookie Dough which was so-​so. The service was good and the prices were a little high but I think everything is overpriced in this shopping center.

This place just keeps getting better! And by «better», I mean «worse.»
A couple days after I updated my review to include a recent experience where my son slipped and fell on his butt in the wet doorway of this joint – only to be met with total apathy by Ciao Bella employees – Tito H. sent this charming «compliment» to my Unilocal inbox:
«For your review of: Ciao Bella Gelato
quit ur whining and get a life. jeez, did u need them to wrap a bandaid on ur kid and kiss ur kid’s boo boo? U Marin folks are all the same»
I was pissed so I did a little research. Turns out, Tito H only had one other review: a glibly rave review of CB and its «cute employees». Shocker. (Also not shocking: said review promptly disappeared.) It became clear to me that Tito either worked at CB or knew someone who did, so I called the shop, asked for him, and wound up talking to his brother who, I have to admit, is a really nice kid who has a brother who is probably also really nice but who did something unwise.
I was thinking about calling the regional manager of CB to tell him about this episode and the crappy service (or really lack of service) I got at CB in CTM, and, in fact, I called twice to reach him but he wasn’t in the SF shop either time. Ultimately, I decided against calling the next day when he was in because I’m not trying to get anyone fired. Nonetheless, I’m posting all of this because it *did* happen and it’s complete nonsense. A manager should know what kind of crap is going down in his shops so he can work with his crew to make sure it doesn’t keep happening.
PS: Tito, if you’re reading this: I wrote some bad crap about the shop where your brother works because they need to a) put a fucking rug in the doorway and b) acknowledge their customers when they walk in. And for future reference, please note that «we Marin folks» aren’t all the same. I’m the type of Marin folk whose family is a bunch of psychotic Sicilians from Queens. We don’t take a lot of shit, particularly when it’s aimed at our kids and their «boo boos.»

Putting the fact that it was 4.60ish with tax for two scoops aside, I have to say that my experience here was pretty great.
You how know when you look at gelato and it looks really smooth and creamy and soft and what not, but then you bite in and realize it’s more frozen than you think? Not an experience that I had here. It had the texture I was imagining it to have, which earned this place my fandom.
Flavor was another thing that did a good job too. The butterscotch could have been bad, but it was actually very good, although about halfway through, it got to be a little sweet for me and took on an odd flavor, but after eating some of my chocolate hazelnut, it went back to being good.
The chocolate hazelnut was rich, very rich, and had actual hazelnut chunks in it. They didn’t quite balance the hazelnut and chocolate as much as I would have hoped, but it was still pretty good. This flavor was a lot more frozen than the butterscotch, which may have been because it was the scoop on the bottom or maybe there’s just something about certain flavors that cause them to be less icy?
I’d definitely return for a treat. They had a lot of flavors that looked good. I suggest only a small scoop, because they are rather generous with the amount. The guy behind the counter was nice and offered samples as soon as I walked in. Next time, one scoop will be enough, because if I haven’t mentioned it enough yet, this stuff is RICH, yet good.

I thought it was tasty… until the Blackberry Cabernet caused me the worst gastrointestinal distress I’ve experienced since 2004.
Booooooo!

Consistently a good stop. All of their gelatos and sorbets are not equal, no surprise, but they have a few terrific ones like their lemon and the blood orange. I don’t go there all the time, but I make an effort when I’m in the neighborhood.

I love Ciao Bella ice cream. Usually only sold out high end markets, but this is a shop that you can go and eat fresh ice cream. I fell in love with their blood orange ones. Sometimes they sell its ice cream bar at Costco, and it is so good. Other ice cream is also wonderful as well. I miss this place and want to go again.

We’ve only had ciao bella from the store so was nice to visit the shop. A bit spendy, but was yummy.
Their lemon sorbet was tart and tasty, but I was craving more sweet so ended up with the mocha chip, one of my favs.

I love this place, I have cravings for their vanilla gelato weekly. I’ve learned to suppress these cravings though. Sure it might be a bit more expensive, but it’s quality gelato, not some watered down tasteless ice cream. It’s the best gelato you will find in Marin. The also have excellent sorbets if you don’t want the calories.
Although I think the location is nice and pleasant, it doesn’t receive the most foot-​traffic, and I think it would do better in a more exposed location. It’s kind of tucked away in the shopping center.
I’ve bought their small packaged pints to take home, (which you can also find at Whole Foods, and Scotty’s), and it’s not as good, mostly because most freezers are too cold for gelato, and it’s not as fresh.
When I want a really good treat, I come here!

Kinda average if you ask me, although their chocolate was very chocorific!

I wish Ciao Bella were a little bit less expensive for their gelato. I wonder if all of the great press they’ve gotten in magazines (posted around their store) has increased their prices.
Jeff was craving an iced coffee and the nearby coffee shops were closed. The iced coffee was yummy and only about $ 1.40 for a pretty big cup which is a steal! I think a small scoop of gelato is over $ 4 though which seems a little bit pricey…
They let me try their cookie dough gelato even though it was pretty obvious that we were just there for the coffee and would not be purchasing gelato on this trip. The cookie dough was SO yummy! I’ll probably come back for some cookie dough and an iced coffee sometime soon! (then the prices can even each other out too!)

As a recent ex-​employee, I will never return to a Ciao Bella and do not endorse the company at all. Unfair labor practices, overpriced product, horrible management and all. Do not reccomend them for anyone anywhere.

This place is sooo pricey, but their gelato is soo good. Someone needs to correct the title on this Unilocal,by the way. Ciao bella is two words. NOTONE.
I used to work near here and they have intense flavors. I sometimes would HAVE TO take some home and they have a little pint area. The pints are way cheaper to buy than getting the gelato fresh from the location. So if you want some gelato on a budget head straight for the pints.

Tried the guiness (good), chocolate marscapone (pretty good) and strawberry (chunks of strawberries. yum)

Nice after dinner place. Kind of quiet in the winter, but lots of nice flavors and fresh! Definitely Yum

I agree with Leon R. This gelato ain’t all that! Over priced, mass-​produced factory tasting. I’ve had it 3 times.
I like Double Rainbow ice cream better than this brand.

I don’t understand all the hype over this gelato. There are some great flavors, such as Valrhona Chocolate, Pistachio, and Malted Milk Ball, but overall good, though not awesome, ice cream. Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I have a hard time believing they really make the gelato in «small batches» as they claim, whatever «small» means these days. Seriously, this brand has even appeared at my neighborhood burrito joint.
I don’t do sorbet, so I can’t tell you anything about that. I’m closed-​minded like that.
While clearly not their specialty, they also serve panini, which ranges from inedible to above average. There’s not much worse than a sandwich with warm toasted bread on the outside, but blubbery congealed fridge temperature deli meat on the inside. I could picture their grand gelato master from Torino, Italy angrily sticking a finger down his throat to expel this disaster from his system.
To be fair, I gave the panini a brave second chance, but made sure to tell the employee to heat it evenly throughout. Presto, a decent sandwich. If only I took instruction that well… If you happen to order soup, get the tomato basil and avoid the tortellini vegetable. Your taste buds will thank you.
Assuming there are no temperature issues with the food, the lunch special is a good deal for $ 7.25. You get half a sandwich, cup of soup, and a small ice cream. Plenty of
enjoy in an atmosphere that could be best described as a poor man’s version of the poor man’s café at Wynn Las Vegas.

Wide selection of gelato and sorbet. Mango gelato and Campari grapefruit sorbet are stand-​outs. A small cup yields two flavors and is enough to satiate even a big appetite.
Excellent service and plenty of seating.