What is sorbet?From Persian sharbat to Italian sorbetto, and our mango, blood orange and lemon sorbets at Fiena, King's Cross

Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from ice combined with fruit juice, fruit purée or other ingredients such as wine, liqueur or honey. It's usually made with fresh fruit and a simple sugar syrup. In France, a fruit sorbet has to be at least 25% fruit, or 15% for sharp, acidic fruits.

• Sorbet is ice and fruit, with no milk or cream, which is why fruit sorbets are often suitable for vegans.
• Gelato is Italian ice cream, made with milk.
• Sherbet means different things in different places. In Europe it can still mean a flavoured drink; in North America it's like sorbet but with some dairy.

The word has travelled a long way. English took "sorbet" from French, which took it from the Italian sorbetto, which came from the Persian sharbat, a drink. Sharbat itself was borrowed from the Arabic verb shariba, "to drink". The first Western mention of sherbet is an Italian reference to something that Turks drink.

Ice and snow were prized ingredients in several ancient cuisines, including Greek, Chinese and Japanese. You may have heard that the Emperor Nero, Marco Polo or Catherine de' Medici invented sorbet, but there's no known evidence for any of those stories. What we do know is that recipes start appearing in Europe in the late 17th century:

• 1674: the first French recipe for flavoured ices, in a book by Nicholas Lemery.
• 1692: recipes for flavoured ices begin to appear in François Massialot's books on preserves and liqueurs.
• 1694: recipes for sorbetti are published in Antonio Latini's Lo Scalco alla Moderna (The Modern Steward), which promised a fine texture like "sugar and snow".

Once Europeans worked out how to freeze sherbet, they made sorbetto by adding fruit juices and flavourings to a frozen sugar syrup. The great French chef Auguste Escoffier later described sorbets as very light ices that "serve in freshening the stomach". Tart sorbets are still served as palate cleansers between savoury courses. Background from Wikipedia's sorbet page.

On our dessert menu, served all day, the Sorbet comes as three scoops, with three flavours, all marked vegan:

• Mango
• Blood orange
• Lemon

The menu notes that additional flavours are available, so ask our team what's on. Blood orange sorbet also comes with our Vegan & gluten-free chocolate brownie, a warm dark chocolate brownie. Prefer something creamy? The Gelato, also three scoops, comes in vanilla, wild strawberry and salted caramel, or try an Affogato, ice cream with espresso. See our posts on tiramisu, gelato and affogato, our brownies and vegetarian and vegan dining.

A scoop of lemon or blood orange is a light finish after a rich pasta such as the Spaghetti carbonara or the Lasagna, or after something spicy like the Diavola pepperoni pizza with nduja. See our posts on carbonara, lasagna and spicy Italian food. Bringing children? See family-friendly dining.

Guests often say they'll be back for more. Ryan, who stayed for dessert and a flat white, wrote: Wonderful flavour, the servers were welcoming (Ryan, Google review) Celia found us very family friendly. (Celia, Google review) And one guest enjoyed food and drinks that were delicious and beautifully presented (Google review).

“Great food, great service, great food.”

Matt, Google review, 2026