Galata Turkish Ice Cream in downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter opened its flagship location at 226 Fifth Avenue in March 2026, a Long Beach-based cafe expanding the 300-year-old Turkish dondurma tradition to San Diego's busiest pedestrian corridor. The signature ice cream is made with salep flour derived from orchid roots, producing a chewy, melt-resistant texture distinct from the churned custard base at Cali Cream Homemade Ice Cream up the block. Dondurma masters brought exclusively from Turkey perform tableside cone-flipping tricks — twisting, tossing, and pulling the stretchy ice cream — that turn each order into a performance piece rooted in Kahramanmaras street vendor culture. Twenty-four flavors rotate between traditional Turkish profiles like mastic gum and black mulberry alongside dairy-free sorbets, complemented by baklava, Turkish delight, and pomegranate tea in a pistachio-walled interior designed by Istanbul-based artist Apo in the same Gaslamp sweets corridor as Parfait Paris. The most elaborate format is the full dondurma tasting paired with a traditional Turkish dessert spread and Turkish coffee service.