Ice Cream in Šibenik: Momento Bar & Gelato

Ice cream in Šibenik: the short answer

Choose Momento Bar & Gelato if you want to sit down. Its terrace is by St James Cathedral, and it lists homemade gelato alongside coffee, Spritz cocktails and Croatian wines, so it works as an afternoon pause. If you would rather grab a cup and keep walking, look for a slastičarnica — the Croatian term for an ice-cream and pastry shop — where scoops are sold to take away.

If you only have time for one stop on a hot afternoon, take the terrace by the cathedral and eat slowly while the crowds move past. A dedicated slastičarnica is the alternative when you want a quick cup on the move rather than a sit-down table.

Momento Bar & Gelato: homemade gelato by St James Cathedral

Momento Bar & Gelato serves homemade gelato next to Spritz cocktails, coffee and Croatian wines, on a terrace by St James Cathedral. The position is the draw: you take a seat and eat slowly while the cathedral crowds move past. It is a café with an ice-cream offer, so the stop is a sit-down one rather than a quick cone.

Order a small cup if a proper lunch or dinner is next; a couple of scoops is plenty before a sit-down meal. Look at the flavours on display and pick from what is actually there on the day.

The terrace is not the place for a quick cone dash. Sit down, order a coffee alongside the gelato, and use the stop as a break from the walking. Our Best Coffee in Šibenik guide covers more cafés for a proper espresso nearby.

Slastičarnica: the dedicated ice-cream and pastry shop

A slastičarnica in Šibenik, as anywhere in Croatia, is a shop built around ice cream and pastries rather than a full restaurant table. Look at the flavours on display before you order and pick something you cannot get at home. If the counter is busy, a small cup to take away is the practical order.

A slastičarnica is a Croatian ice-cream and pastry shop, and its scoops are often sold in cups to take away. A pastry or coffee alongside makes it a fuller afternoon stop.

Gelato and slastičarnica: two kinds of ice-cream stop

Šibenik ice cream falls into two types. A gelato counter sits inside a café or bar, as at Momento Bar & Gelato, where the ice cream shares the menu with coffee and cocktails. A slastičarnica is a dedicated ice-cream and pastry shop. Knowing which you are walking into saves decision time at the counter; our Best Coffee in Šibenik guide covers more cafés for a coffee stop nearby.

The small cup is the normal order for a mid-afternoon stop. A larger cup is fine if you are skipping the next meal, but two scoops usually sits comfortably between lunch and dinner.

What to order: pistachio and classic flavours

At a place that makes its own gelato, ask which flavours are made in-house and start there. Coffee gelato pairs well with an espresso from the café and is a safe choice if the case is unfamiliar.

Fruit flavours such as sour cherry are the scoop to look for if you want something sharper than chocolate.

Ordering is simple: ask for one scoop in a cup, and point at the case if you are unsure of the flavour name. Staff in Šibenik serve visitors all summer, so a point and a smile works as well as a phrase.

Old town vs waterfront: where to eat it

Eat the gelato in the old town if you want to sit down in the middle of things and let the square do the work. That is what the Momento terrace offers, and it works best as a break before or after a walk through the old streets. If you are about to eat a full meal, a small cup is enough.

Eat it on the water side if you want to keep walking. A takeaway cup suits that, since you are moving rather than sitting.

If you are building the day around St James Cathedral, treat the gelato as the second stop after breakfast, not the main event. The Best Breakfast in Šibenik guide runs from eggs and pancakes to a quick pastry, so eat properly first, then walk the old town and take a scoop on the way back.

Paying in euros

Croatia uses the euro, so ice cream, coffee and pastry are all priced in euros. The Šibenik restaurant profiles are the place to see what a nearby terrace offers before you sit down on the cathedral square.

Where a price is not posted, ask before you order; that applies to any ice cream in Croatia, not just Šibenik.

Which Šibenik ice-cream stop fits your day

Pick Momento Bar & Gelato for the sit-down version by St James Cathedral, and a slastičarnica cup when you want to keep moving. Order small if a proper meal is next, and check the flavours on display before you commit.

If you are staying in a flat and cooking for yourself, treat the ice cream as a scoop stop rather than a grocery errand and buy it where you will eat it. The rest of the day's eating is a short walk away.