Coolato Gelato

Coolato Gelato brings an authentic Italian bistro to Knoxville’'s front door. Enjoy a true cafe with steaming hot beverages like espressos, hot chocolate and cappucinos. Coolato also serves fine Italian wines to pair with paninis and pasta, like the stuffed pasta salad with feta cheese and kalamata olives. Delicious salads like the Caprese with piles of mozzarella cheese and tomatoes with basil and olive oil are also offered every day, along with specials like chicken salad. But the restaurant is named for its gelato and for good reason, because the authentic, frozen treat comes in a variety of delicious flavors that often change. Cookies are also served to make gelato sandwiches or to enjoy on their own, as they are also authentic Italian desserts, along with other traditional sweets like tiramisu.

From the YUMMM! Restaurant Guide:

Allen and Cherryl Meuret brought their little taste of Italy to Knoxville three years ago, and they just keep adding more Italian comfort-food treats. First, there’s the Italian gelateria and cafe’s namesake, the creamy, milk-based Coolato Gelato, created from fourth-generation Italian recipes and served in fun-shaped Italian-imported cups. Just a sample of the flavors includes pistachio, tiramisu, and donatello. Their sorbetto is a water-based treat made with fresh fruit, like blackberries, peaches, or lemons. It’s around a third of the calories of ice cream, and good for the lactose intolerant, while the gelato is high in protein and about half the calories of ice cream. No wonder Coolato Gelato was chosen two years in a row for the Knoxville stop of the Cooking Channel’s Ice Cream Truck national tour.

Then there’s the distinctly Italian fresh food, including a turkey-avocado homemade cherry tomato chutney panini; traditional Cobb salad; and caprese and strawberry spinach salads. Cherryl is a magician with soups. The soup bar always has homemade soups like her award-winning tomato basil, gouda and roasted red pepper. New this season was the vegetarian potato dill, and the ever popular chicken toscana, where the soup is built in the bowl. Another taste sensation: Cherryl’s Italian cookies, artisan-made right there, like Italian wedding cookies that come from her own 35-year recipe. Lemon ricotta, orange cranberry, biscotti and heavenly red velvet with cream cheese filling cookies all make an appearance at the cozy, brightly colored cafe, and all the cookies have “butter, butter, and more butter,” she says with a laugh.

Breakfast on the run features fresh-baked bagels, homemade quiches, scones, and muffins.. New this year are Cherryl’s line of special-occasion Italian gelato cakes. “These are decorated entirely different than American ice cream cakes, and they’re healthier and beautiful—there’s really no comparison,” Cherryl says.
Coolato Gelato also offers food/wine pairings—like panini and red or dessert wine with brownies—and caters, spreading the joy of on-site gelato to parties, weddings, and employee-appreciation events.

Restaurant Details

Locally Owned	Wifi	Patio	Live Music	Accepts Reservations	Party Room (20+)

Kids Menu	Delivers	Buffet	Waterfront	Vegetarian Dishes	Vegan Dishes