Napa is not just for wine.

After champagne tasting at Mumm, we had some time to kill before our next wine tasting experience in Calistoga, so we headed back to St. Helena for some ice cream at A Roman Holiday Gelato.

The small shop serves ice cream and sells espresso, coffee and tea. The ice cream changes from time to time, so you need to check the board for that day’s offerings.

They have set up tables and chair outside, under big umbrellas and it was actually quite pleasant to sit there, even in a rather hot summer afternoon. Even though it’s on the street just around the corner from the main one, it was a sleepy Saturday afternoon, and the only traffic were people going to the salon next door. We had a pretty pleasant time sitting there.

Mike got a cup of watermelon sorbet ($5) and he was actually a bit disappointed. The sorbet was actually a bit too sweet and it did not really have much of a watermelon flavor. I wonder if they used commercial watermelon juice (which doesn’t taste like watermelon either) instead of fresh watermelon.

My cup of brown butter chocolate chip cookie gelato ($5), on the other hand, was fantastic. I’m not sure if the brown butter referred to the ice cream or the cookie, but they were both terrific. The cookie had a rich, caramelized flavor and the ice cream was bright and flavorful and a great contrast. I was nice and shared it with Mike, because it was his birthday – but I’d eat a whole cup on my own.

A Roman Holiday Gelato
1336 Oak Ave Suite A
St Helena, CA
W-Mo 12 PM - 7 PM
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