New ice cream kiosk by Brook Green tennis courts is serving up smiles

A new ice cream kiosk has opened under the trees by the tennis courts in Brook Green.

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Bears at the Pavilion located under the trees by the tennis courts in Brook Green

A new ice cream kiosk has opened under the trees by the tennis courts in Brook Green.

The ice creams and sorbets at Bears at the Pavilion are already familiar to many local residents from the popular Bears Parlour, the traditional Icelandic-style ice cream shop which opened in 2016 just north of Ravenscourt Park in Goldhawk Road.

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The Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir (pictured left) visits the popular Bears Parlour in Goldhawk Road

The ice cream parlour’s opening is music to the ears of Cllr Andrew Jones, H&F Cabinet Member for the Economy, after the council launched its new Shop Local Shop Safe campaign to support high streets and small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. 

“It’s fantastic to see Bears at the Pavilion opening its doors and working alongside other suppliers and businesses in H&F, underlining how important it is to back our local businesses and help boost our local economy as the lockdown eases,” said Cllr Andrew Jones, H&F Cabinet Member for the Economy.

Flavours

The new kiosk on Brook Green had been due to open in March, just as lockdown struck. So, owners Phil Harrison (Mr Bear) and Vera Thordardottir, an English/Icelandic couple, were forced to delay.

“We are beyond excited to open Bears at the Pavilion, and make it a community hub for young and old with delicious ice creams and high-quality savoury options,” said Phil, formerly head chef of the Anglesea Arms pub in Brackenbury Village.

It was there that he started churning his own ice creams and sorbets, and experimenting with daring flavour combinations, before launching the Bears Scoop Club last year, doing online ice cream deliveries of ice cream tubs to local postcodes. Last year, he won a Great British Taste Award last year for his vegan double dark chocolate ice cream.

The lockdown has given Phil the chance to experiment with even more innovative flavour mixes and combinations, including creating cocktail sorbets with the help of local drink producers and glassware makers.

“The aim is to surprise and excite ice cream lovers who dare to ‘go off-piste’, but who also appreciate the more classic flavours,” added Phil.

Suppliers and Friends

Working with local suppliers and the ethically sourced Scotties Coffee, the new kiosk has close ties with the Friends of Brook Green and backs its efforts to make the area a cool destination.

There are vegan ice creams made with oat, soy and rice milk, soft-serve flavours that range from salted pumpkin seed nougat to rhubarb crumble and custard, passion fruit and dark chocolate freckles to milk chocolate, raspberry and hazelnut... or even lemon curd, marshmallow and biscoff crumb (if you close your eyes it’s like slurping a lemon meringue pie).

There’s an intriguing range of sorbets too, including the vegan mango and jasmine tea flavour, and the remarkably deep red-coloured beetroot, raspberry and wasabi.

Choose cones or tubs, add fruit or choose from a rich range of sprinkles – dipped, rolled or smashed. The kiosk also sells packs of Vera’s ‘Scandi candy’.

Bears at the Pavilion is open 10am-6pm, while Bears Parlour at 244 Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush, is open from 1pm to 6pm.

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