Where to Find Vegan Ice Cream in Heraklion
Summer without ice cream isn’t quite summer. But how easy is it to find vegan ice cream while you’re on holiday? Easier than you’d think — let me show you a few options around Heraklion, and you can thank me later.
Where to find vegan ice cream in Heraklion
1. Delights by Aristea
A wide variety of vegan flavours, including sorbet and parfait. The shop is in Alikarnassos, just 5–10 minutes from the centre of Heraklion, and there’s a cosy corner to enjoy a coffee too.
2. Savoidakis Bakery
A well-known Cretan bakery chain with branches all over the island. Among its vegan options you’ll find dark chocolate ice cream and strawberry sorbet.
3. Lartecono Da Vinci Gelato
Right in the centre of Heraklion, this gelateria serves at least three sorbet flavours, dark chocolate and a rotating range of fruit.
4. Melba – Salt & Sugar
A small local ice-cream chain in Heraklion, serving vegan dark chocolate sorbet and strawberry sorbet. You’ll find it at three spots around the city:
- Liontaria (centre): Plateia Eleftheriou Venizelou 9 (Lions Square) — map
- Deilina / Therisso: Andrea Papandreou 102 & Melinas Merkouri — map
- Oulof Palme: Katsambas / university area — also available for delivery via Wolt — map
5. Koumakis Bakery
In the heart of Heraklion, the Koumakis pastry shop offers vegan flavours — dark chocolate and fruit sorbet. It sits just opposite Georgiadis Park, a shady, tree-filled spot where you can happily enjoy your cone.
6. Stella’s Ice Cream
A small ice-cream producer (Pagoto apo ti Stella) with a handful of vegan flavours.
A few tips before you order
Many ice-cream shops aren’t familiar with the word “vegan”, so ask for sorbet and check the ingredients. Some sorbets aren’t actually vegan — they can contain colourings, honey or egg white — while others are perfectly vegan without the seller even realising it. When in doubt, ask what’s in it, or simply ask for the vegan options. With fruit-based flavours in particular, you’ll often find extra choices at shops beyond this list.
And of course, there are vegan options among the packaged ice creams in kiosks and supermarkets — the vegan label on the wrapper is all you need to be sure. The easiest to find is the Planet range of plant-based ice creams, stocked in most supermarkets across the island. And if you come across the packaged Ice Cream Lab range, give it a try: it’s made by a small local producer and comes in flavours like Black Forest, Cheesecake, Snickers and vanilla. You’ll usually spot it in small delicatessens.
