FAQs

Gelato has long been known as italian ice cream, but there are actually many differences between the two. On of the main difference is that gelato contains less fat than ice cream, as gelato uses milk while ice cream is made with cream. Gelato doesn´t use egg which is a common ingredient in ice cream. Gelato is also served at a lower temperature, so its melts faster than ice cream and has a smoother texture and warmer feeling. In the freezing process, less air is churned into the gelato, so it has a more intense flavor. Summarized, gelato is a denser, more flavoursome frozen treat than ice cream.

Yes, our special ice cream is produced after a traditional and secret Lasagna family recipe. We constantly add new varieties.

Our gelato is produced with traditional handicraft. We only make ice cream with the freshest and highest quality ingredients that meet our high-quality demands. We use only fresh milk processed daily, which comes directly from farmers in the region who
are united in a cooperative. Within 20 hours this milk is processed into our delicious gelato. Our cows enjoy a mild climate all year-round on lush green pastures between the North and Baltic Seas. We only use fresh curd, yogurt and skyr from German producers and strictly avoid milk powder from unknown countries. Giovanni L. uses only natural raw materials. No industrially manufactured powders, pastes or other additives. All our products are created in our production facility in the heart of Northern
Germany. Where we have the expertise and experience to ensure the highest standards through regular taste testing of ingredients
and finished products.

You can find further information on our Gelato de Luxe here.

The Giovanni L. production facility is EU-certified and located in Germany’s northernmost province Schleswig-Holstein.
We only work with the finest ingredients, whether sourced locally or from around the world. All ingredients must meet our high standard of quality. We care about where our ingredients come from and we know our customers care as well. Because we value tradition, our nougat and marzipan are source locally from the originating town of Luebeck; the fresh milk comes directly
from farmers in our region and our sugar is from Germany. Because we are always looking for the very best ingredients that are not available locally are sourced from around the world. For example, our pistachios and lemon juice come from Sicily, chocolate from Ecuador gives our Stracciatella gelato it’s distinctive flavour and richness.

We divide our Gelato into the Classic, Saison, Royal, and Trend categories. The latter two varieties are indeed a bit more expensive. This is necessary to produce varieties containing a lot of high-quality ingredients which we are very proud of.

You can find further information on our Gelato de Luxe here.

The different Giovanni L. stores have varying display sizes. Some stores can therefore offer a broader variety of flavours than others. The management of the local stores decides which flavours are on offer in the individual stores.

We offer convenient thermo boxes at many locations to let you enjoy Giovanni L. at home as well. Simply ask at one of our locations. Customers in Northern Germany can find five selected varieties in 350 ml packaging at the Hofgut product range at Famila stores.

All Giovanni L. stores have the same basic design elements which create a special and warm ambience where our customers feel at home. We work together with many partners with franchising and licensing systems and allow them a certain freedom in adapting the design to their own demands. The original and authentic Giovanni L. design line can however always be found at all flagship stores in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

You can find an overview of our flagship stores here.

We basically have no problem with you taking a seat in our ice café for a short time when you are enjoying one of our Gelato de Luxe ice creams. Here, however, certain strict legal rules apply: German taxation law obliges us to use two different tax rates when selling ice cream: 7% for take-away ice cream and 19% for ice cream which is consumed at a table.

If you would like to eat your ice cream at a table, we will gladly personally service you. If you would like to eat your ice cream, that you ordered at the counter, while sitting, we will also gladly serve you at your table – we are however obliged to charge you a tax of 19%.

Please use our contact form to contact a certain store. To do so, simply select your desired location and send us your request. We will gladly further process it.

You can find our contact form here.

But of course he does! The first Giovanni L. ice cream parlour already opened up shop in Hannover in 1961. Founded by the grandfather of the namesake Giovanni Lasagna, who has expanded on the traditional Italian hand-made ice cream craft since he was young, now representing the third generation of ice cream makers. The passion, know-how, and creativity of the two-time World Gold Cup winning ice cream maker Giovanni Lasagna is combined with the highest quality standards and best ingredients to create an ice cream of unrivalled quality.

You can discover more at GIOVANNI L.

All our gelatos are basically gluten-free.

You can find further information on our Gelato de Luxe here.

As a rule of thumb, the following applies: ice cream with crunch contains gluten.
It should however be noted that our gelato is produced in a factory where products are used that contain grains with gluten. It is therefore possible that people with severe allergies will have an allergic reaction to any of our gelatos. We recommend people with less severe allergies to have a look at our current product specifications available at all our counters. Of course, it is always possible that small waffle crumbs and/or decorations containing gluten can find their way onto an ice cream cone during the day.

You can find ALL allergens subject to labelling on a convenient list. This list includes not just ice cream but also all other items on our menu (e.g. sundae, cakes).

All our fruit sorbets, two of our alcoholic cocktail varieties (%), and – our new – special Chocolate and Vanilla versions are vegan and lactose-free. Our vegan ice cream is produced without milk. Therefore, it does not contain milk protein or lactose. Furthermore, we pay very close attention that all individual ingredients are not of animal origin (e.g. gelatine).

The vegan varieties are marked on the ice cream menu.

You can find further information on our Gelato de Luxe here.

All our gelato varieties are suitable for diabetics. Gelato is however an indulgence that contains sugar. We will gladly provide you with product specification at the counters upon request, so that customers can inform themselves and decide whether the gelato fits in their diet plan. You can find information about carbohydrates, sugar, and calorie contents in the specifications.

We have a new sugar-free variety: Chocolate Praliné – 35% less calories compared to Mozart Praliné.

Frozen Yoghurt (44 % natural yoghurt) and Skyr with Blueberries and Elderberries (33% Skyr) are recommended varieties for healthy enjoyment with less calories. They contain high-value protein and healthy lactic acid bacteria.

We differentiate between two groups of ice cream which differ in type and alcohol content:

Varieties which, according to youth protection legislation, may not be given to children and adolescents due to their alcohol content. At the moment, these include our “Cocktail” ice cream varieties Gin Tonic, Pina Colada, and Strawberry Margarita. These still only contain about 1-2% alcohol. These varieties are strictly prohibited from distribution to people younger than 18 years. On the ice cream menus, they are also marked with “from 18 years of age“ and we explicitly mark them with “Vol. %”.

Further ice cream varieties contain alcohol in such small quantities that there is no requirement to label them and they are not subject to a prohibition to distribute to minors.

The question “Whether it contains alcohol?” might still be very important to some guests (e.g. children, pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding, or sober alcoholics). Ice cream varieties with trace amounts of alcohol are e.g. Amarena, Eggnog-Stracciatella, Malaga, Rhubarb-Quark, and Tiramisu.

These varieties are produced under consideration of the halal specifications and certified as halal varieties be the European Halal Certification Institute (EHZ). It is however not specially marked at the counters in Germany. In case you have any questions at the counter, you can refer to the specification binder for information on the varieties.

You can find further information on our Gelato de Luxe here.

The rules for labelling ice cream are legally defined in the guiding principles of the German Food Code for Ice Cream, latest version from 29/11/2016. We currently offer fruit ice cream, fruit sorbet, dairy ice cream, and yoghurt ice cream.

Fruit ice cream / sorbet: The contents are defined in the guidelines depending on the taste-giving fruit. Strawberry ice cream requires at least 20%, strawberry sorbet at least 25% fruit content (our strawberry ice cream contains 36% fruit and may as such be called sorbet). Our lemon ice cream contains 15% pure Sicilian lemon juice and may as such also be called sorbet, our raspberry ice cream contains 50% fruit and meets the requirements for sorbet to 20%, our mango ice cream (at least 15%) contains 35% mango…

All our fruit sorbets are vegan.

Dairy ice cream: The majority of our ice cream varieties is “Ice cream with milk”. All our ice cream varieties that contain milk may carry this description. The main ingredient of our gelato varieties is fresh milk from the Holtseer Meierei. Our gelato is processed within 24 hours after milking – it doesn’t get any fresher than that.

Ice cream with yoghurt: All our ice cream varieties that contain yoghurt may be called “Ice cream with yoghurt”. Our Frozen Gioghurt has a yoghurt content of 44%, our Skyr ice cream a Skyr content of 33%.

Legally, nut ice cream needs to contain at least 5% nuts, our pistachio ice cream contains 12% pistachio pulp, our hazelnut ice cream 9% hazelnut pulp. The taste-giving components of our vanilla ice cream come from the vanilla bean.