The Best Ice Cream in Heaton & Ouseburn

Heaton is not a seaside town, and it does not have a parlour on every corner. What it does have is a short walk to some of the best ice cream on Tyneside. The three places below sit on the edges of the neighbourhood: one down on the Ouseburn riverside, one in a park café at the top of High Heaton, and one on a tricycle at a Saturday market. Between them they cover a sunny afternoon, a walk with the kids and a weekend treat.

Di Meo's, Ouseburn

Riverside gelato with a century of history

Di Meo's is the big name. The family has been making ice cream in the North East since 1918, and the recipe they still work from dates back to 1925. Their Ouseburn outpost sits at 1 Riverside Walk, right where the valley opens out towards the Quayside, so it is an easy downhill stroll from Heaton Road or Shields Road.

The cabinet is the draw. The pistachio uses Bronte pistachios from Sicily, the strawberry is made with at least half fruit, and the range has picked up Great Taste awards and gold medals over the years. It is the kind of place where it is worth asking for a taste before you commit. The café also does coffee and pizza, which makes it a handy stop if you are already exploring the Ouseburn's galleries, pubs and city farm, and it gets a mention in our pizza and Italian guide too.

On a warm weekend expect a queue out of the door. It moves quickly, and the riverside is a fine place to eat a cone while you wait for the rest of your group.

Best for: Best for: a classic Italian-style cone after a walk down the Ouseburn.

Ciccarelli at Paddy Freeman's Park, High Heaton

Award-winning gelato in the park café

The café at Paddy Freeman's Park on Freeman Road reopened in summer 2026 under Ciccarelli, the Italian gelato family firm that started out with a single van in 1966. Newcastle City Council announced the new operator in July, with the café serving Ciccarelli gelato alongside hot and cold drinks and light snacks, and with locally sourced cakes and a refurbishment planned for the winter months.

Paddy Freeman's is the quieter neighbour of Jesmond Dene, with a boating lake, open lawns and a children's play area, so a scoop here fits naturally into a family afternoon. It is a good walk up from Chillingham Road through Heaton Park and along the edge of the Dene, and there is a small pay-and-display car park off Freeman Road if you are driving.

Ciccarelli is known for a long flavour list, so this is the stop for anyone who likes to try something different each visit. As the café is newly reopened, it is worth checking the opening hours before setting off on a cold day, as park cafés often trim their hours outside the summer.

Best for: Best for: a gelato stop on a family walk around the park and boating lake.

The Jesmond Ice Cream Company, Armstrong Bridge

A vintage trike at the Saturday market

Head along to Armstrong Bridge, on the Heaton side of Jesmond Dene by Armstrong Park, on the first and third Saturday of the month and you will find The Jesmond Ice Cream Company at Jesmond Food Market. It is a small family business selling Doddington's natural ice cream, made on a dairy farm near Wooler in Northumberland, from a traditional British-made tricycle.

There are around ten flavours, served in tubs, including a vegan lemon sorbet, and the family also sells home-baked treats. The market runs through the morning and into early afternoon, so it suits a Saturday browse among the food stalls before a walk down into the Dene. The trike also pops up at other events and parks around Newcastle, so follow its social media pages if you want to catch it elsewhere.

Best for: Best for: farm-made Northumberland ice cream on a market Saturday.

Tips for an ice cream day out

• Make a walk of it. Heaton Park, Armstrong Park, Jesmond Dene and Paddy Freeman's Park join up into one long green route, so you can link the Armstrong Bridge market and Paddy Freeman's in a single afternoon. Our parks and green spaces guide has the routes.
• Check the day. The trike is at the market only on market Saturdays, and park café hours change with the seasons. Di Meo's in the Ouseburn is the most dependable option for a spontaneous trip.
• Going downhill is easy, coming back is not. The Ouseburn sits well below Heaton, so allow for the climb home, especially with a pushchair.
• Supermarkets and corner shops. For a tub at home, the convenience stores along Chillingham Road and Shields Road stock the usual brands, but for proper gelato it is worth the walk to one of the three above.

Know a Heaton ice cream spot we have missed, or a café scooping something special? Tell us about it and we will take a look.