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Rimini Cafe

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 Vail, 81657

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About

Rimini is Lionshead's gelato and chocolate stop, a café in The Arrabelle at Vail Square that also pours espresso and wine and turns out crêpes and baguette sandwiches from breakfast into the evening.

It works for a family treat after a day on the hill, a coffee before the gondola, or a small gift box of chocolates to take home.

The gelato

Rimini's gelato is made with milk rather than cream and eggs, with no high-fructose corn syrup and nothing artificial. Cups come in one, two or three flavors, and pints and quarts are hand-packed to take away. An affogato, with a double espresso or the house hot chocolate poured over vanilla gelato, bridges the dessert and coffee menus.

Beyond the scoop

Breakfast runs until 11 a.m., with breakfast crêpes, an egg sandwich on herbed focaccia, French toast and oatmeal brûlée. Sweet and savory crêpes follow through the day, alongside European-style cold sandwiches on baguette, such as prosciutto with fresh mozzarella. There is a short list of beer, wine by the glass and spiked coffees and hot chocolates for the après crowd.

The chocolate story

Founder Michael Schneider named the shops after the Italian town where he fell for gelato. He launched Chocolatier Magazine in 1984 and later produced the National and World Pastry Team Championships, and he opened the first Rimini shops in Vail and Beaver Creek in 2008. The handmade chocolates sold in the café are also available online through Rimini Chocolate.

Finding it

The café is in the Arrabelle building on Vail Square in Lionshead Village. It is open daily, from morning until evening. Rimini also runs a second café in Avon. For catering and special orders, contact the café through its website.

Sources: Rimini Cafe, Rimini Cafe menus, Rimini Chocolate. Checked September 24, 2026.

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Contact Information

Company Name
Rimini Cafe
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Location
675 Lionshead Pl
Vail, 81657

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About Rimini Cafe

Quick answer: Rimini Cafe is a gelato café at 675 Lionshead Pl, Vail, CO 81657. Gelato, handmade chocolates, crêpes and espresso at The Arrabelle in Lionshead, open from breakfast into the evening daily.

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Rimini is Lionshead's gelato and chocolate stop, a café in The Arrabelle at Vail Square that also pours espresso and wine and turns out crêpes and baguette sandwiches from breakfast into the evening.

It works for a family treat after a day on the hill, a coffee before the gondola, or a small gift box of chocolates to take home.

The gelato

Rimini's gelato is made with milk rather than cream and eggs, with no high-fructose corn syrup and nothing artificial. Cups come in one, two or three flavors, and pints and quarts are hand-packed to take away. An affogato, with a double espresso or the house hot chocolate poured over vanilla gelato, bridges the dessert and coffee menus.

Beyond the scoop

Breakfast runs until 11 a.m., with breakfast crêpes, an egg sandwich on herbed focaccia, French toast and oatmeal brûlée. Sweet and savory crêpes follow through the day, alongside European-style cold sandwiches on baguette, such as prosciutto with fresh mozzarella. There is a short list of beer, wine by the glass and spiked coffees and hot chocolates for the après crowd.

The chocolate story

Founder Michael Schneider named the shops after the Italian town where he fell for gelato. He launched Chocolatier Magazine in 1984 and later produced the National and World Pastry Team Championships, and he opened the first Rimini shops in Vail and Beaver Creek in 2008. The handmade chocolates sold in the café are also available online through Rimini Chocolate.

Finding it

The café is in the Arrabelle building on Vail Square in Lionshead Village. It is open daily, from morning until evening. Rimini also runs a second café in Avon. For catering and special orders, contact the café through its website.

Sources: Rimini Cafe, Rimini Cafe menus, Rimini Chocolate. Checked September 24, 2026.

Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Desserts Chocolate Coffee & Tea Cafes Sandwiches Lionshead restaurants restaurants/lionshead restaurants/bakeries-desserts restaurants/coffee-shops
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Business Hours

Open daily · 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Amenities at Rimini Cafe

  • Gelato case
  • Dairy-free sorbets
  • Espresso bar
  • Breakfast service
  • Crêpes
  • Sandwiches
  • Beer and wine
  • Spiked coffees
  • Hand-packed pints and quarts
  • Takeout
  • Chocolates sold online
  • Catering and special orders

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Rimini Cafe's hours, and does it close in the off-season?
In season, Rimini is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at The Arrabelle in Lionshead (675 Lionshead Pl, (970) 476-1712), and the official site lists the same hours for the Avon café. Two seasonal facts matter more than the daily line. First, Rimini closes for the spring off-season: in 2026 the Town of Vail list had it closing at noon on April 12 and reopening at the end of May, and in 2024 it closed from April 21 to May 24, so expect roughly five to seven closed weeks each spring and check before a spring trip. Second, shoulder-season hours can shrink (the spring 2024 schedule was 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.), so the 9 p.m. close is the in-season close, not a year-round promise. Within the day: breakfast is served until 11 a.m., crêpes until 8 p.m., and sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the last hour of the day is gelato, coffee, drinks and chocolates.
What does Rimini Cafe serve, and what does it cost?
Gelato first: cups of one, two or three flavors at $9 to $11.25, made with milk rather than cream and eggs, with no high-fructose corn syrup and nothing artificial; the business's own profile describes 24 flavors served daily. Around the case: breakfast until 11 a.m. (breakfast crêpe and egg sandwich $12 to $14.25, French toast $12, oatmeal brûlée $9); sweet and savory crêpes ($11 to $14.25) served 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; European-style cold baguette sandwiches ($18, with chips) from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; espresso drinks, chai and hot chocolate ($3.50 to $7.25); and for après, beer ($5 to $7), wine by the glass ($9 to $10) and spiked coffees and hot chocolates ($6 to $12.25), including an affogato ($8 to $8.50) and a boozy affogato ($12.25). The full menu is at theriminicafes.com/rimini-cafe. Prices are quoted as ranges because the café's own site publishes two menu sets at slightly different prices; the counter menu governs on the day.
What do reviews say about Rimini Cafe?
As of October 2026, Google rates the Vail café 3.7 out of 5 from 224 reviews, a polarized record rather than a poor one: diners praise the flavor selection, the pistachio gelato, the crêpes and what several call the best hot chocolate in Vail, and families return year after year for the post-ski gelato run; the recurring criticisms are price and small portions (a single cup is $9 or more, and reviewers have complained about it for a decade) and occasional brusque service at busy times. Quote the figure carefully if you reuse it: a stale directory mirror shows 4.5 from 19 reviews, which is not the live Google record, and the Avon café's review record (2.9 from 160 ratings on Restaurantji) is a different shop's, not this one's.
Is Rimini known for its hot chocolate?
Yes, it is the café's quiet signature. Rimini's house-made hot chocolate ($6 to $7.25 by size) is the drink a current Denver Insider guide leads its Best Hot Chocolate in Vail roundup with, and AI answers about Vail hot chocolate name Rimini Gelato & Chocolate alongside the Four Seasons' famous cup as the slopeside option. It is also the base of two of the café's spiked drinks, the Peppermint Patty and the Spiked Mocha, and it can be poured over vanilla gelato as a hot-chocolate affogato.
Where is Rimini Cafe, and is there another one?
The Vail café is inside The Arrabelle at Vail Square, 675 Lionshead Place, in Lionshead Village, beside the ice rink and a short walk from the Eagle Bahn Gondola; call (970) 476-1712. There is one sister café: 45 W Thomas Place in Avon, (970) 949-6156, at the base of Beaver Creek. Older guides and TripAdvisor call that same Avon shop the "Beaver Creek location", which is why the web seems to show three Rimini cafés; there are two, opened by founder Michael Schneider in Vail and Beaver Creek in 2008. Park in the Lionshead Parking Structure or ride the free Town of Vail bus to Lionshead, then walk across Vail Square.
Can I take gelato home, and can I order ahead?
Yes. The café hand-packs pints with up to two flavors ($25 to $28) and quarts with up to four ($35 to $38), priced as a range because the café's own site publishes two menu sets. A Toast online-ordering page for the Vail address (675 Lionshead Pl) also exists and is the order-ahead route; the café's official site does not link it, so search "Rimini Gelato Vail Toast" or ask at the counter.
Does Rimini have dairy-free options?
Yes, sorbets. The café's own business profile states that alongside its 24 daily gelato flavors it serves "sorbets for those who are lactose intolerant", including a dark chocolate sorbet, and an editorial guide describes dairy-free sorbet flavors such as raspberry and dark chocolate. Two cautions: the café's current menu page publishes no flavor list, so the sorbet flavors on a given day are a counter question, and no source describes the sorbets as vegan-certified, so ask if that distinction matters. The drinks menu also offers soy and almond milk for coffee drinks.
Is Rimini Cafe kid friendly?
Yes, it is one of Lionshead's natural family stops: gelato cups in three sizes with $0.50 toppings (sprinkles, cookie crumbles, toffee crunch, mini chocolate chips), sweet crêpes, and a hot chocolate children and parents both rate, a few steps from the Lionshead ice rink, with reviewers describing the post-ski gelato run as a family ritual. There is no children's menu, because the whole menu is effectively one, and no reservations: it is a walk-in café, and lines form after dinner in busy weeks, so earlier is easier with small children.
Can I buy Rimini chocolates online, and does Rimini cater?
Yes to both. The handmade chocolates sold in the café are the Rimini Collection at riminichocolate.com: assorted Signature boxes at 9 pieces for $45, 16 for $78, and 25 for $110, plus gift cards and a corporate gifting program. They are founder Michael Schneider's original trade (he created Chocolatier Magazine in 1984 and produced the National and World Pastry Team Championships before opening the cafés in 2008). For catering and special orders, the café takes requests through the contact route on theriminicafes.com.

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