Eats: Indigo Gelato + Coffee
In September 2015, a lovely new coffee & gelato store called "Indigo" opened in the university area of Stranmillis in Belfast. It has since become popular with students, professors and local residents who go there for the great coffee and fabulous gelato. We spoke with Ryan, one of the co-founders of Indigo to find out the inside scoop (pardon the pun) on his business.
Inspired by Established in Belfast, Ryan and Michael decided to set up Indigo together in 2015. They felt that Stranmillis needed a great new coffee place but also wanted to offer up something slightly different. Having visited London and experienced the brilliant and unusual ice-cream and gelato offerings, they decided to set out and create their own original flavours. Northern Ireland has a lot of ice-cream fans - think Portrush, Maud's, Barnams - and Ryan felt this was a great potential audience for what they were doing!
To date the guys have created a range of weird and wonderful flavours, from sweet potato and marshmallow to spinach to beetroot, maple syrup and coconut milk! At Indigo they try to use all natural products and have created a great range of vegan ice-creams using coconut milk as a base. These are just as rich and sumptious as the traditional ice cream and just as delicious also (we tried some and can testify).
Indigo's most popular ice-cream flavours are Honeycomb and Mango which people also seem to love combining together! One of the ice-creams which didn't leave the test phase was their fig + date ice-cream which Ryan said ended up looking like and being the consistency of bread.
Indigo recently set up a Gelato club inspired by Burger Clubs they had seen in London which had between 100-200 people enjoying food and a good chat. They aim to build a similar community with their club and so far it has been a success with people returning for each gelato night. Club members get to try the best and most unusual flavours fresh from the testing kitchen. Indigo's club has created a great buzz but Ryan also mentioned that it's a great excuse to bring out the music and disco-ball!
Indigo is a must visit for coffee and gelato with a side of fun!
Indigo Coffee + Gelato
86 Stranmillis Rd,
Belfast BT9 5AD
