It’s an exciting time to be an ice cream lover in the Big Apple. Famous for hot dogs, black-and-white cookies, pastrami sandwiches, and pizza slices, New York is, in fact, an ice cream town.
Frozen custard was actually invented on the shores of Brooklyn, in Coney Island, over 100 years ago. And while New Yorkers may enjoy ice cream year-round, come summertime we’re out in droves, queueing up for the coolest flavors around, beating the heat one scoop at a time.
With shops all over all the five boroughs from Manhattan’s Chinatown to City Island in The Bronx, here are 10 standouts, including the best scoop shops in the city. Each of these cool spots are doing something special in a unique way.
Davey’s Ice Cream
Since the fall of 2013, the wonderful team at Davey’s Ice Cream have been serving East Villagers homemade ice cream. Since then, the brand has expanded to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, much to the delight of many commuters.
Founder David Yoo quit his day job to open this shop which serves handcrafted ice cream (and incredible ice cream cakes) with thoughtful flavors like Vegan Rocky Road, Peppermint Chip, and the special Chocolate Chocolate and Vanilla Vanilla. 309 E. 9th St., East Village, daveysicecream.com
Malai
You can thank Malai founder Pooja Bavishi for bringing the innovative flavors of Southeast Asia to New York City in the form of ice cream. Pooja came up with every flavor on the menu, and her passion for unique-yet-approachable desserts roots back to childhood.
At Malai, there is a taste of India in each of the 12 seasonal flavors that rotate throughout the year, including saffron pistachio, spiced date cake with coconut caramel, and the most popular flavor, rose with cinnamon roasted almonds. Malai is now in Philadelphia and D.C. along with the original Brooklyn shop, and New Yorkers should look for another West Village location popping-up again this Spring. 268 Smith St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, malai.co
Soft Swerve
The story of Soft Swerve is a New York City kid’s dream. It started with two friends, Jason Liu and Michael Tsang, grew up in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan, started an ice cream business, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Like the name implies, Soft Swerve specializes in soft-serve ice cream with Asian-inspired flavors like ube, matcha, and black sesame, served in a signature chocolate waffle cone, or a regular cone if you’re not feeling fancy. Credited for kicking off the soft serve craze in the city, Soft Swerve shops have been sprouting up since they first opened 10 years ago on Allen Street on the Lower East Side, with six locations total, and counting. Multiple locations, softswervenyc.com
Caffè Panna
On any given day, along the charming block of Irving Place near Gramercy Park, ice cream devotees line up at Caffè Panna for of-the-moment scoops and sundaes. The Italian-inspired ice cream and coffee shop changes its scoop and pint flavors daily, though you can always expect one of the seven classic scoop flavors, plus a variety of affogatos to grace the menu.
Owner Hallie Meyer, a self-described lifelong ice cream fanatic, was inspired by Roman cafes and gelaterias. She nailed the formula to creating viral sundaes by dropping the latest special ice cream flavors and sundae combinations on Instagram @caffepanna and delivering a truly rich and yummy product. In 2024, Caffè Panna expanded to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 77 Irving Place, Gramercy Park, and 16 Norman Ave., Greenpoint, Brooklyn, caffepanna.com
Sugar Hill Creamery
Sugar Hill, the Harlem neighborhood for which the ice cream shop is named for, is as magnificent, diverse, and layered as the sweet flavors inspired by the husband-and-wife team’s Caribbean and Midwestern backgrounds. Nick Larsen and Petrushka Bazin Larsen, longtime Harlem residents, founded Sugar Hill Creamery to serve handmade, small batch ice cream and pay homage to the historic Sugar Hill neighborhood.
Mission accomplished. The flavors rotate seasonally, and look for a Haitian hot chocolate flavor called Saturday Morning and the signature cream cheese-based ice cream with graham crackers and blueberry jam, called Chairperson of the Board. Plus, the shop makes custom cakes, birthday cakes, ice cream cakes and has non-dairy and vegan ice cream options too. Multiple locations, sugarhillcreamery.com
The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
For nearly half a century, the family-run Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has been serving Asian-inspired flavors, like durian, pandan, and red bean, as well as American favorites such as vanilla, rocky road, and mint chip. The small shop also has special appearance flavors like jelly doughnut, and Chinatown residents, locals, and tourists can’t get enough.
People love it so much, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory expanded to Queens and Essex Market on the Lower East Side, and ice cream birthday cakes along with the cute merch, featuring CICF’s signature green dragon, is just as popular as the array of 30-plus rotating flavors, all made in-house. 65 Bayard St., Chinatown, chinatownicecreamfactory.com
Sundaes and Cones
Head to this bright, sunny shop in the East Village for the specialty of the house: ice cream sundaes. At the longstanding Sundaes and Cones, around for 20 years now, you can mix and match unique Asian inspired flavors such as wasabi, Thai Tea, and black sesame, along with American classics like rocky road and cookies n’ cream. No matter the choice, each scoop gets served in cups and cones (waffle, sugar, wafer) with toppings galore (marshmallows, candy, syrups, fudge, nuts, and sprinkles). The shop also makes ice cream cakes. 95 East 10th St., East Village, sundaes.nyc
Julia Jean’s
Still a new kid on the Clinton Street block at just under a year, Julia Jean’s started as a pop-up but thankfully found a home on the Lower East Side. “It’s always ice cream season at Julia Jean’s” is the motto, and the shop is open year-round with longer hours in the summertime.
Julia Jean’s is named for the owner and ice cream maker Ayanna Quint’s mother. Quint and her team serve classic flavors like cherry vanilla, coffee, and orange sherbet, along with an array of fruity sorbets (mango, blackberry, nectarine) and chocolate shaving toppings which Quint calls “ice cream showers.” The ice cream is also available by the hand-packed pint too, and don’t skip the baked goods and ice cream sandwiches either. 202 Clinton St., Lower East Side, julia-jeans.com
OddFellows Ice Cream Co.
Acclimated pastry chef Sam Mason is the wizard behind the inventive flavors at OddFellows Ice Cream Co., which started out as a single shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn back in 2013. Since then it has expanded throughout the city, the country, and the world.
It’s no wonder, what other ice cream company has flavors like miso cherry, Italian cookie crumble, and fudgy favorite Brooklyn blackout, along with classics like strawberry jam, vanilla bean, and sprinkles? Since opening, Sam has concocted over 500 flavors (and counting). Multiple locations, oddfellowsicecream.com
Eddie’s Sweet Shop
For over a 100 years, Queens residents, visitors, tourists, and locals have visited Eddie’s Sweet Shop, quite likely the longest-running ice cream parlor in New York City. After all, it’s been a fixture in Forest Hills and run by the Citrano family since 1968.
At the nostalgic retro shop, everything from the famous whipped cream to butterscotch syrup to ice cream are made in-house. Not to mention, generations of New Yorkers have tried their first banana split, egg cream, and ice cream sodas here. Bonus, ice cream flavors rotate with the seasons, so you can always go back for something fresh. 105-29 Metropolitan Ave., Flushing, Queens, eddiessweetshop.nyc
