Houston’s dynamic dining scene doesn’t just consist of expensive steakhouses and Michelin-starred restaurants. In addition to chic local chef-driven hotspots and lauded global franchises, the city has excellent places to score a scoop of ice cream or gelato. From old-school neighborhood institutions and inventive small-batch makers to internationally inspired gelaterias and over-the-top dessert destinations, Houston’s frozen treat landscape is every bit as diverse as the city itself. And, while frozen treats are a good idea year-round in Houston, these creameries offer an especially welcome respite from the heat and humidity during the dog days of summer.
When hunting for your next cone or cup, consider one of these top Houston creameries.
Honeychild’s Sweet Creams
This Houston-born frozen custard brand was founded by Kathleen Morgan with a commitment to quality ingredients and local sourcing. At its Heights-area shop, Honeychild’s offers year-round flavors such as black chocolate, buttermilk pie, pecan praline, and Texas sheet cake, along with seasonal additions like Meyer lemon, king cake, and fig. Located inside the M-K-T Heights development, it’s an easy stop for dessert after dining nearby or walking the trails, whether you’re grabbing a scoop, sampling a flight, or taking a pint home.600 N. Shepherd Dr., honeychildssweetcreams.com
Lick Honest Ice Creams
Founded in Austin more than a decade ago by Chad Palmatier and Anthony Sobotik, Lick Honest Ice Creams has grown to eight locations across Texas, including two in Houston. The company sources its milk and cream from family farms in Texas and Wisconsin while partnering with local growers and producers for many of its seasonal ingredients. Signature flavors include caramel salt lick, goat cheese with thyme and honey, and Texas sheet cake, while rotating offerings range from tres leches to lemon sugar cookie. Dairy-free options are also plentiful, with flavors such as chocolate chocolate and pecan joy ensuring vegans don’t miss out on the fun. Multiple locations, ilikelick.com
Van Leeuwen
What began as a single scoop truck in New York City has grown into a nationally recognized ice cream brand with storefronts in 11 states, including three Houston locations, as well as a presence in grocery stores across the country. Known for its commitment to all-natural ingredients, Van Leeuwen offers both dairy and dairy-free treats, with standout vegan flavors such as peanut butter brownie honeycomb and triple chocolate swirl. The menu also leans playful and inventive, featuring options like marionberry cheesecake, dulce de leche brownie, and brown sugar cookie dough brownie. Multiple locations, vanleeuwenicecream.com
Kwality Ice Cream
For a taste of South Asia, head to Kwality Ice Cream, with locations in Houston, Richmond, and Sugar Land, a beloved brand that has been serving Indian-style frozen treats for decades. Unlike traditional American ice cream, Kwality’s offerings often draw inspiration from classic Indian desserts and ingredients, resulting in flavors that are rich and aromatic. Favorites include mango, kesar pista (saffron pistachio), rose, malai kulfi, and sitaphal (custard apple), alongside a rotating selection of seasonal specialties. The Houston shop also serves falooda, kulfi, and other traditional frozen desserts. Multiple locations, kwalityfoods.com
Jenni’s Splendid
Founder Jeni Britton helped define the modern craft ice cream movement when she began developing recipes in 1996, later opening the first Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002. Known for its natural ice creams made with carefully sourced ingredients, the company has since earned Certified B Corporation status, while Britton won a James Beard Award in 2012 for her dessert cookbook. The flavors remain a major draw, from creations like citrus glazed pound cake to favorites such as darkest chocolate and buttercream birthday cake. Houston is home to four Jeni’s scoop shops, including a Montrose location set inside a historic building with porch swings out front, making it an especially inviting place to linger over a cone. Multiple locations, jenis.com
Carvel at Buttermilk Baby
Berg Hospitality’s Buttermilk Baby is a colorful celebration of nostalgia, made even sweeter by the addition of Carvel soft serve to its menu. Equal parts family-friendly destination and Instagram-worthy backdrop, the restaurant offers plenty of frozen treats beyond the classic cone, including shakes, sundaes, floats, ice cream sandwiches, and the indulgent Carvelanche, loaded with mix-ins like Oreos, cookie dough, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. For those craving a taste of childhood, Buttermilk Baby also offers Carvel’s iconic ice cream cakes, including the beloved Fudgie the Whale. 600 N. Shepherd Dr., buttermilkbaby.com
Fat Cat Creamery
Fat Cat Creamery’s ice cream can be found at restaurants and coffee shops across Houston, but the brand’s Heights scoop shop is the best place to experience its full lineup. Made with milk and cream from Texas’ Mill-King Creamery and eggs from Ole Dad Farms, Fat Cat’s small-batch ice creams highlight local ingredients and creative flavors. Signature offerings include Mexican vanilla, strawberry buttermilk, coffee and cream, and chai tea coconut, while seasonal varieties might range from whiskey butter pecan to buttered rum raisin. Beyond scoops, the shop serves ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, and rotating soft-serve flavors topped with house-made additions such as toasted coconut, marshmallow sauce, and meringue kisses. 1225 W. 34th St., fatcatcreamery.com
Underground Creamery
Ice cream maker Josh Deleon is the creative force behind Underground Creamery, a cult-favorite concept that operates almost entirely online. Each Saturday, Deleon unveils new pint flavors on Instagram, where customers can receive pickup details for the latest drop. The process may require a bit of planning, but devoted fans eagerly await each release, drawn by Deleon’s inventive, small-batch creations. Recent flavors have included malted S’moreo, Ritz cracker Fluffernutter, and peanut butter buttercake, showcasing the playful experimentation that has earned Underground Creamery a loyal following. For the best chance at securing a pint, customers should watch for updates on Instagram. 1010 N. Shepherd Dr., undergroundcreamery.com
Milk + Sugar
With the motto “Life is too short for plain vanilla,” this Houston-born concept from Perry and Chou Wong specializes in freshly churned ice cream with a heavy emphasis on mix-ins. Signature flavors include cereal milk ice cream blended with toasted Frosted Flakes and dulce de horchata, a rice-and-cinnamon ice cream finished with a house-made caramel swirl. The menu gets more adventurous with options like yum cha, a swirl of pandan and chrysanthemum ice creams. For indecisive guests, the shop also offers the option to split a scoop into two half flavors Multiple locations, milkandsugarcreamery.com
Flower & Cream
With three locations across Houston, this ice cream and frozen yogurt shop is among the city’s most charming destinations for artisan frozen treats. Its bright, airy storefront features a colorful display of signature Konery cones, while the outpost inside POST Houston offers the added perk of enjoying your dessert before heading up to Skylawn for sweeping views of the Downtown skyline. Flavors range from classics like French vanilla bean to more indulgent options such as Kahlua and cookies, alongside vegan favorites including peanut butter cup and chocolate cookie. A generous selection of toppings—from Lucky Charms marshmallows to hot caramel drizzle—allows guests to customize each cone or cup to their liking. Multiple locations, flowerandcream.com
Amy’s Ice Cream
Famous for its Mexican vanilla ice cream, Amy’s first opened in Austin more than 40 years ago. With two locations in Houston, the Texas ice cream brand keeps adding to its line up, with new flavors and treats like ice cream cakes and Texas-themed shortbread cookies. Amy’s even offers homemade dog treats, playfully called pawstries. As far as ice cream for humans, flavors include Belgian chocolate and coffee, while the Smooth & Creamy collection has options like fluffer nutter, honey habanero, and ube cheesecake. Customers who are 21 and up can try one of the spiked ice creams, like St. Arnold Irish Hello and Negroni. Multiple locations, amysicecreams.com
Amorino
Childhood friends Cristiano Sereni and Paolo Benassi launched their gelato brand in Paris more than two decades ago, and it has since grown into an internationally recognized name with two Houston locations. Made with all-natural ingredients, Amorino’s signature gelato is hand-sculpted into the shape of a rose, with colorful petals formed from flavors such as coffee, caramel, pistachio, and stracciatella. Beyond its eye-catching presentation, the shop offers a wide variety of flavor combinations and upgrades. Multiple locations, amorino.com/en-us
La Argentina
Argentinian-born Florencia Mansilla opened this Katy gelato shop in 2016 as a tribute to her father, Daniel Mansilla, who founded a gelato brand in Venezuela more than 40 years ago. Today, the family legacy lives on through a menu of handcrafted gelato in flavors such as Mexican vanilla, strawberry, caffe Bologna, and pistachio. Beyond gelato, the shop offers an array of sweet treats, including fruit-forward sorbets, chocolate bonbons, delicate macarons, and freshly baked pastries, alongside a selection of espresso drinks and coffee-based beverages that pair perfectly with a scoop. 3750 S. Mason Rd. #200, Katy, argentinagelato.com
Cosmic Ice Cream
Husband-and-wife team Julian and Camille Haynes opened this Webster scoop shop during the pandemic, and its popularity quickly led to additional locations in Spring Branch and Pearland. The menu balances nostalgic favorites with creative seasonal offerings, featuring year-round flavors such as banana pudding, campfire s’mores, and cosmic birthday cake, alongside rotating selections that may include key lime pie, carrot cake, or circus animal cookie. Guests can sample multiple flavors with a flight of mini scoops, enjoy any flavor blended into a milkshake, or go all out with the shop’s crowd-pleasing ice cream nachos. Multiple locations, cosmichtx.com
Red Circle Ice Cream
At Nickey Ngo’s scoop shop, ice cream is playful, inventive, and occasionally downright unexpected. Case in point: the limited-edition crawfish ice cream that pops up on the menu each spring. While it contained no actual crawfish, it captured the spicy, savory flavors Houstonians associate with the beloved crustacean. The creativity doesn’t stop there. In addition to handcrafted ice cream, Red Circle serves made-to-order churros and Hong Kong-style bubble waffles, with a rotating lineup of more than 100 flavors that can range from lychee strawberry and horchata to adventurous options like durian and Hot Cheetos. Multiple locations, redcirclefranchising.com
Rocambolesc
Originally founded in Girona, Spain, by Michelin-starred pastry chef Jordi Roca and his wife, Alejandra Rivas, Rocambolesc opened its Houston outpost at Uptown Park in 2022. Beyond its whimsical desserts, the shop is known for its commitment to creating employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The menu centers on soft-serve-style gelato in flavors such as yogurt, chocolate, vanilla, and mango-passionfruit, served in cups or cones and customizable with a seemingly endless array of toppings. For something a little different, order the popular panet, a warm brioche-style pastry filled with gelato that has become one of Rocambolesc’s signature treats. 1101 Uptown Park Blvd., Houston, rocambolesc.com/usa
Booza
Booza offers a taste of a centuries-old Middle Eastern dessert tradition. The Montrose shop specializes in booza, a stretchy, chewy style of ice cream made with mastic and salep, which give it a uniquely elastic texture. Flavors range from classics like pistachio, rose, and orange blossom to more contemporary creations, all made in-house using high-quality ingredients. Guests can enjoy scoops, sundaes, and seasonal specialties, but first-timers should start with a traditional pistachio-coated booza to fully appreciate what makes this frozen treat unlike anything else in Houston. 5922 Richmond Ave. Ste. A, Houston, booza1941.com
