Lab G

Open since April 2011, Laboratorio Artigianale del Buon Gelato, or Lab G, has become a real draw to Brixton Village. Owned and run by chef Giovanni Giovinazzo, it sells some of the best ice cream in the country and attracts adults and children alike. In the summer, people queue outside the market entrance for the famed salted caramel gelato.

Lab G is a little piece of Italy in Brixton. Giovanni serves Italian coffees and liqueurs upstairs in the small hidden bar, but the star of the show is the gelato. The recipes are specially created for the Lab by Giovanni whose aim is to introduce proper Italian-style gelato to the UK. Softer and less sweet than most mass-produced ice cream, he uses a variety of base styles to create his wide range of flavours. Some like vanilla and coffee are classics, but others like torrentini (chocolate hazelnut) or zuppa inglese (trifle) are less well known.