Best Ice Cream in Zadar: Where to Go for Gelato

Best ice cream in Zadar: the short answer

Go to Bob Rock. It is the name that keeps coming up for ice cream in Zadar's old town, and it has the range to suit a group with mixed diets rather than just a couple who both want vanilla. The shops sit in the middle of the old town, so an ice cream is a natural pause between sights rather than a separate trip across the city.

If you are building a morning or afternoon in the centre, pair the ice cream with a coffee stop. Our guide to the best cafes in Zadar picks out the places worth sitting down at before or after the walk.

Bob Rock: the old-town ice cream name to know

Bob Rock set up in Zadar's old town and became a stop that visitors found on their first walk and came back to. Locals and visitors alike started calling it the best ice cream in town. It now runs two central shops, so you are rarely far from one when you are wandering the old town.

One of the two is an Ice Cream Palace that opened in 2024 inside a historic building on Poljana Šime Budinića, which makes it as much an architectural stop as a scoop counter. The other shop is on Varoška 6, so the choice is not either-or; pick whichever is closer to where you are standing.

Where Bob Rock's two shops are in Zadar

The first address is Varoška 6, a lane in the old town. The second is Poljana Šime Budinića 1, a central square in the old town. Both are central, so the practical question is not which to seek out but which you pass first.

Because the two shops serve the same purpose, a sensible plan is to use whichever address you meet first on your route through the centre. If you are also stocking up for a picnic or self-catering, our guide to supermarkets in Zadar covers the everyday food shopping side of a stay.

What to order at Bob Rock: classic, premium, vegan, sorbet and gluten-free

The range is deliberately broad. Classic and premium ice creams sit side by side, so you can choose a familiar flavour or something richer in one visit. Vegan options, fruit sorbets and gluten-free choices mean nobody in the group has to settle for watching, which is the real reason Bob Rock works for families and mixed parties.

Ordering strategy is simple: match the scoop to your appetite rather than the display. If you want something light before a meal, a fruit sorbet does the job; if you are after a proper treat, go for a premium flavour.

If you would rather save your sweet stop for a sit-down cake, our guide to desserts in Zadar covers the slastičarnica side of the city. Ice cream is the quicker option when you are on the move, while a cake shop rewards a pause.

Ice cream in Zadar's old town in high season

In the height of summer, the old town's lanes and squares are busy, so an ice cream is easiest eaten on the move rather than saved for a long sit-down.

If you want to sit down properly, a coffee-and-cake stop makes more sense than trying to turn a scoop into an occasion. Start your day with our pick of the best breakfast in Zadar before the walking begins, then save the ice cream for the afternoon heat.

Bob Rock as a walk-through-the-old-town stop

Zadar's centre is compact, so an ice cream fits between the sights rather than beside them. Note the two Bob Rock addresses, Varoška 6 and Poljana Šime Budinića 1, and stop at whichever you reach first.

For the named markets and konobas with a guide of their own, see Zadar food landmarks.

What Bob Rock offers

Bob Rock's appeal is its range: classic and premium ice creams, vegan options, fruit sorbets and gluten-free choices, all from one counter in the old town.

Two things are worth pairing with the stop. First, the market side of the old town is a natural morning walk, and our guide to the Zadar market covers what is happening there; second, if you plan to cook, the bakeries in Zadar guide helps with the bread and pastries.

Which Bob Rock shop should you go to?

Both Bob Rock shops are central, so pick whichever address is closest to your route: Varoška 6 or Poljana Šime Budinića 1. In high summer, buy your scoop and keep walking rather than treating the stop as a long sit-down.

If you want a proper pause with coffee or cake, our guides to the best cafes in Zadar and to desserts in Zadar give you the alternative. Otherwise, Bob Rock's range of classic, premium, vegan, sorbet and gluten-free flavours makes it a strong all-round choice for a mixed group.