Hi — we're The Gelato Lab, a little family shop on A.W. Grimes where my wife Andrea and I make gelato from scratch every single morning. So yes, we have a horse in this race. But we also spend a lot of time talking to folks who wander in after a ballgame or a soccer tournament asking the same question: where's the best place to cool down around here?

Round Rock summers don't mess around. And honestly, the answer depends on what you're in the mood for. Some days you want a nostalgic scoop with candy smashed into it. Some days you want something lighter and more intense. So here's our genuinely honest guide to the best cold treats in town — competitors included — with a little help figuring out which one is right for today.

Start Here: What Are You Actually Craving?

Before we get into specific spots, it helps to know that not all frozen desserts are the same thing. The two big ones people mix up:

• Ice cream is rich and heavy — lots of butterfat (usually 14%+) and lots of air whipped in. That's what gives it that fluffy, creamy-coats-your-mouth feel.
• Gelato (what we make) has far less butterfat and much less air. That sounds like a downgrade, but it's the opposite — with less fat and air getting in the way, the actual flavor hits you straight on. It's denser, silkier, and served a touch warmer so it's soft on the spoon.

Neither is "better." They're built for different cravings. Once you know which one you're chasing, the choice below gets easy.

1. The Gelato Lab — Handcrafted Italian Gelato & Sorbetto (That's Us)

We'll keep our own pitch short and let the work speak. We're right off S A.W. Grimes Blvd, and we make authentic Italian gelato and dairy-free sorbetto fresh, on-site, every day. No pre-made mixes. No artificial flavor pastes. No shortcuts. When we run out of a flavor, we run out — because it's made in small batches by hand, not pulled from a freezer in the back.

What makes ours different:

• Made from scratch, daily. Andrea trained as a chef, and we treat gelato like cooking, not manufacturing. Real milk, real fruit, real ingredients, churned here in the shop.
• Flavors that actually taste like the thing. Our Sicilian Pistachio tastes like pistachios. Our Dark Chocolate tastes like chocolate, not sweetened cream. That's the whole point of lower butterfat — nothing muting the flavor.
• 24+ flavors that rotate. Classic milk-based gelato alongside bright, fruit-forward sorbettos. Come back next week and there'll be something new to try.
• Warm waffles (gofres), too. Add a fresh Belgian waffle under your scoops if you want that warm-and-cold thing. It's a little dangerous. We're not sorry.

📍 Come find us: 1500 S A.W. Grimes Blvd #160, Round Rock, TX 78664
💡 Want the full nerdy breakdown? We wrote a whole deep dive here: Gelato vs. Ice Cream: What's Actually the Difference? (link to /blog/gelato-vs-ice-cream once that post is live)

2. Craving a Classic American Scoop? Try These

If what you really want is a big, rich, butterfat-heavy scoop or an old-school sundae, we're not going to pretend that's our lane. Here's where we'd point you:

• Amy's Ice Creams: An Austin institution. High-fat, super-creamy ice cream, mix-ins smashed in on a cold slab, and servers who'll toss your scoop in the air. Great fun with kids.
• Culver's: If frozen custard is your thing, their concrete mixers off I-35 are the real deal — thick enough to hold the spoon upright.
• Baskin-Robbins: Reliable, familiar, and hard to beat when you need an ice cream cake or a milkshake on short notice.

3. Dairy-Free or Vegan? You've Got Real Options Here

This one's close to our hearts, because "dairy-free" too often means "sad and icy." It doesn't have to.

• Our fruit sorbettos: Just water, real fruit, and sugar — nothing else. That makes flavors like Mango, Strawberry, and Passion Fruit naturally vegan and unbelievably fruit-forward. A lot of folks order them even when dairy isn't an issue, just because they taste that alive.
• Local Mexican paleterías: Round Rock's fruit-bar shops make water-based paletas with fresh lime, watermelon, and tamarind. A wonderful, refreshing, walk-around-the-neighborhood kind of treat.

4. Where to Grab Dessert After Round Rock's Best Spots

Planning a whole day out? Here's how to line up your treat run with wherever the day takes you. (We may be a little biased about the destination.)

You just came from…Distance to usThe moveDell Diamond~6 minutesRound out an Express game with a double scoop before the drive home.Clay Madsen Rec Center~2 minutesBasically next door. Perfect post-swim or post-playdate reward.Old Settlers Park~7 minutesThe classic "we won the tournament" (or "we tried our best") team stop.Kalahari Resorts~8 minutesSkip the resort lines — a short drive down A.W. Grimes gets you the real thing.

So — Where Should You Go Today?

Here's the honest cheat sheet:

• Want candy mix-ins and a rich, fluffy classic scoop? → Amy's.
• Craving thick Midwestern frozen custard? → Culver's.
• Want handcrafted, flavor-forward Italian gelato or a bright dairy-free sorbetto, made from scratch right here in Round Rock? → Come see us. That's the whole reason we opened the doors.

Come Say Hi This Week

If you've never had real gelato made the day you eat it, we'd love to be your first. Stop by, ask for a taste (we love handing out little spoons), and find your flavor among the 24+ we've got rotating right now.

📍 Address: 1500 S A.W. Grimes Blvd #160, Round Rock, TX 78664
📸 Say hi online: Tag @thegelatolabtx in your scoop photos — we genuinely love seeing them.

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