Our gelato
Dairy-forward classics and seasonal fruit — churned fresh in small batches, sold until we sell out. Crema, chocolate, pistachio, and whatever the orchard delivered that morning.
Now churning
Delta peach & Sorrento lemon on the board
Small-batch gelato steps from the Sacramento River — bright fruit, classic crema, and flavors that change when the season (or our mood) shifts.
See today's board
Who we are
Mira Chen and Tom Delgado met on a ferry in Lisbon, bonded over a shared complaint — American ice cream was too sweet, Italian gelato was too hard to find — and spent years chasing proper scoops from Sicily to San Francisco before landing in Rio Vista.
They opened River Bend Gelato on Main Street to make it the long way: pasteurised base, slow churn, no shortcuts. The kitchen sits behind the counter; on churn days you can smell warm custard from the sidewalk. Neither of them trained as chefs — Mira was a graphic designer, Tom a river guide — but both believed a small town deserved a scoop shop with real ingredients and a sense of humour on the menu board.
Dairy-free & sorbets
Water-based sorbets with real fruit — raspberry-lime, coconut mango, and blood orange when citrus peaks. No compromises on texture.
On the downlow
Off-menu scoops for regulars who ask nicely — follow us for secret-drop flavours that never make the chalkboard. Last month: brown butter sage.
Our latest flavors
Chalkboard menu — listed when we open, gone when we sell out.
- Sorrento lemon
- Strawberry river
- Sky blue vanilla
- Dark delta chocolate
- Sicilian pistachio
- Delta peach
- Coconut mango sorbet
- Raspberry-lime sorbet
- Matcha crema
- Brown butter sage
- Honey lavender
- Midnight espresso ripple
- Roasted cherry swirl
What people say
"The lemon gelato tastes like sunshine — tart, not sugary. We drive from Fairfield every other weekend."
— Elena M.
"Finally a scoop shop that takes pistachio seriously. Green, nutty, not neon."
— James & Priya K.
"My kid asked for 'sky blue vanilla' three days in a row. That blue is weird and we love it."
— Tomás R.
"Dairy-free sorbet that doesn't taste like ice chips. The raspberry-lime is dangerously good."
— Nina W.
"Small shop, big flavours. Mira remembered our order from last month — that matters in a town this size."
— The Okada family
"Dark delta chocolate is the reason I stopped buying pints at the grocery store."
— Marcus D.
Stop by the scoop shop
25 Main StreetRio Vista, CA 94571, USA
(707) 374-2208
[email protected]
Wed–Sun, noon to eight · Mon–Tue closed
Hours & parking