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A grandmother has slammed a popular ice-cream chain for charging nearly €6 for a plain vanilla cone for her grandson.

Granny Trish Nolan got a cold, sharp shock when she brought her grandson, Kookie, 9, for an ice-cream treat in Dublin city centre to cool down in the Summer heat.

A regular cone in Gino’s Gelato cost €5.90, with a small one coming in at €4.30.

The cost of two vanilla cones – one regular, one small – was more than a tenner in the George’s Street branch of popular Irish chain Gino’s.

The sweet treat was more expensive than the most expensive gelateria in Geneva, Switzerland - one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Trish, from Blessington, Co Wicklow said: “Kookie loves vanilla ice-cream so we stopped for a treat when I came to see him in Dublin.

“I was surprised to only get small change from a €20 note. At first, I thought they had accidentally overcharged us, but when I looked at the receipt, I saw it really was that expensive.

“It seemed a lot for two cones. It’s ten times the price of an ice-cream cone in McDonalds. But they do taste particularly good!”

Kookie, 9, from the Liberties in Dublin, is something of an ice-cream connoisseur, as it is the only sweet treat he likes.

“It may be much more expensive but it’s the best ice-cream cone in Dublin. I say: no pay – no gain.

“It’s not the best ice-cream of all though: that’s Haagen Dazs vanilla. But Gino’s is not really ice-cream, it’s gelato.”

Gino’s Gelato specialises in artisan ice-cream made fresh on the premises. It sells gelato – an Italian premium recipe which has less fat than regular ice-cream, as it uses less cream and sugar and more milk.

It is churned more slowly and so has a denser texture. All ingredients in Gino’s are organic and Irish-made and all packaging is biodegradable.

Gino’s Gelato is an Irish family business operating since 2009. Its co-owners Jonathan Kirwan from Bray and Anthony Murphy from Limerick both come from generations of ice-cream sellers. They were responding to a demand for ice-cream “like you get in Italy” to be available in Ireland.

Gino’s is now a global brand and has won international awards for its ice-cream. It has 18 outlets nationwide is now a global brand and has recently expanded into the UK.