I Spent $12 for a Gelato Pop At This San Ramon Gelateria. Worth it?

San Ramon, California – Even in the era of $40 McDonalds visits and $400 grocery runs, most people would hesitate to spend $12 on a popsicle.

Yet, I did just that at a Gelateria in San Ramon, and I have absolutely no regrets.

Gio Gelati has been a staple of the San Ramon community for years now. The store weathered the slow early days of City Center’s opening, the duldrums of the pandemic, and multiple chilly winters.

I once got ice cream there on a day where it was so cold, you could see snow on Mount Diablo.

At around $7 for a small size, Gio Gelati’s handmade gelatos aren’t exactly a bargain from the get go. But a new treat at the store takes things to a different level.

Gio Gelati just introduced homemade, chocolate covered gelato pops. Make from milky flavors like hazelnut and coconut, these pops are hand dipped in dark chocolate and covered in toppings like chopped nuts.

Imagine one of those chocolate coated popsicles you had at the ice cream truck as a kid, but all grown up and made with bespoke care and tip top ingredients.

With the closure of Popbar in Concord, it’s nice to see someone else taking up the slack in the “overly fancy popsicle” market.

So, how do the pops taste? Decadent. Rich. Creamy. Crunchy, as the solid flakes of dark chocolate shatter and combine with the dusting of hazelnuts.

And, yes, totally worth $12.

The pops were so good, in fact, that I went back into the store and got a second one for another person in my family.

That’s right: I spent almost $30, after adding tax and tip, for two popsicles.

Clearly, Gio Gelati’s pops aren’t an everyday indulgence, unless you can afford a $360 per month gelato popsicle budget.

But if you’re taking the kids to Gio Gelati and want to treat yourself to something other than a little cup of ice cream, the new gelato popsicles are undeniably the way to go.

Gio Gelati is also selling other bespoke items, including holiday treats imported from Italy. The store is so hardcore about authenticity that they even import their little plastic spoons from the Continent.

So much of what we do in the Bay Area feels overpriced and uninteresting. I could do without paying $272 per month for trash service, for example.

Even if it’s clearly an indulgence to spend $12 on a popsicle, it feels good to splurge a bit and actually get something you want for your money.