Avolato

The Beach Road area has been seeing quite a number of new openings of the late; with more established names such as that of The Coconut Club, Hvala and Birds of Paradise Gelato Boutique opening up along the stretch of shophouses that faces the PARKROYAL on Beach Road, it is easy to overlook on the establishments that are opening near the Golden Mile area. Avolato is a new gelato parlour which has recently found new digs within the ground floor of Citygate — the residential-cum-commercial development also is home to other F&B establishments such as Ubin Express and Evan’s Kitch. Being more of a cosy spot for gelato, Avolato is decked out rather simply, though the small shop space does make the seating a little more claustrophobic than what we would like it to be — the three dine-in tables adopts odd seating layouts to maximise the usage of space here. Primarily serving gelatos, Avolato does allow patrons to have their gelatos in cups, house-made waffle cone (either Plain or Charcoal), or with waffles, croffles, or UFO bun (likely similar to what Apiary was serving some time back, before it was removed from the menu). Other bakes such as the Banana Cake and Fudge Brownies were also available during the of our visit. Beverages available at Avolato include specialty coffee, as well as tea by the Gryphon Tea Company.

They have quite a decent variety of gelato here — this includes more “safer” flavours such as Pistachio and Belgium Chocolate, as well as more interesting ones such as Fruit Loops. Opting for a double scoop, we opted for the flavours that stood out to us the most — the Bourbon Dark Chocolate, as well as the Avocado Lime flavours. It was hard to say which was better of the two considering they are very different flavours — the Bourbon Dark Chocolate came with an aesthetic that was so dark that it looked pretty much similar to the Charcoal Waffle Cone that we also opted for; it does remind us of a truly good chocolate gelato where they went all to ensure it’s rich, decadent and luscious. The booziness from the bourbon definitely went well with the bittersweet notes of the chocolate used — its fairly indulgent and luxurious to say the least. In retrospect, the Avocado Lime is more of a lighter flavour meant to reset the tastebuds; no doubt one that is creamy, but the inherent buttery note of avocado seems to work well in gelato form. In an effort to introduce yet another flavour profile for a contrast, the addition of lime helps to provide the subtle tang that lingers as a finishing note to the gelato. Both flavours are actually well-churned; smooth and creamy despite the Avocado Lime one feeling a bit lumpy when we provided with a sample over the counter. That being said, the two flavours we opted for aren’t too complimenting of each other — the Bourbon Dark Chocolate pretty much dominates the Avocado Lime due to it being the stronger flavour of the two.

Being just a small nook, seats are definitely a rarity in Avolato so this is something for those who are intending to drop by to note. While the flavours available during the day of our visit were a little less wild, it is interesting to see how Avolato has their own ideas to align their offerings towards its namesake — the Avocado Lime being a good example; we are hoping if they would be experimenting more Avocado-based flavours in their gelato line-up in the future, as well as to also have a pure Avocado-only gelato as part of their offerings. A spot that would make a decent stopover or grab-and-go whilst in the area.