The Quest for the best Granita

As summer comes into full swing, we sometimes find ourselves looking around for a cooling alternative to a cup of tea. The best substitute that we have found is granita.

The granita at BamBar, Taormina

Originally from Italy, granita is reminiscent of a posh 90s slush puppy. In its most basic form, a street pedlar wheels around a trolley of crushed ice and pours lemon syrup on top. Delicious, refreshing, easy and cheap!

On the opposite end if the scale, you have the BamBar granita of Taormina, Sicily. Made with fruit fresh from this morning's market, this local institution draws in diverse celebrities from Italian pop star Zucchero to Antonio Banderas (according to the pictures on the walls).

But our latest find was Haden in Pavia. All the fresh fruit is laid out for you to decide on your flavour, Then it is quickly blended up with ice and syrup for instant summer refreshment.

For the same experience slightly closer to home, we recommend the College House in Cardiff. Run by the lovely Michela Chiappa from the Simply Italian TV series, they do excellent Italian food. If you're feeling overdone by the heat, pop in for a quick granita. I promise you won't regret it!

Peach Granita with a slice of Ciambella at the College House

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