ICE CREAM & GELATO
It's always the right season for frozen treats. Here's a guide to some of our favorite ice cream shops, many with multiple locations.
You can also find outposts of these at food halls. More spectacular sweets available in our over-the-top dessert destinations guide.
Cups & Cones
Milk & Cream Cereal Bar
Live your childhood breakfast fantasies with soft-serve ice cream, milkshakes & bowls of milk with classic sugary cereal and other topping mix-ins. Signature flavors include ‘Froot Berry Bliss’ (With froot loops, strawberries, blueberries, fruity pebbles and gummy bears) and ‘Apple Jack Avalanche’ (Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Granola Crisp topped with a caramel drizzle) plus fun temporary collabs with brands like Spongebob and Ninja Turtles.
Monday-Thursday 2 pm – 9 pm
Friday 2 pm – 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday 1 pm – 10 pm
Mister Dips
A retro airstream trailer parked at the William Vale hotel seasonally serves burgers, fries (get yours ‘dirty-dipped), inventive, can-be-boozy shakes & soft serve ice cream dipped in candy shells. Scenic views and lots of outdoor seating.
Also at Seaport.
Wednesday – Sunday 12 to 9:30 pm
Taiyaki
Unicorn lovers can get their sweet fix with edible horns & ears in artisanal soft serve served in fish-shaped Japanese waffle cones. Smoothies in a mini unicorn pool float and seasonal creations like Christmas Tree and Easter Bunny cones also available.
Also in Williamsburg and Flushing.
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream Flagship Store
Choose from 88 inventive flavors of texture-driven small-batch ice creams like Tahini Caramel and Black Coconut Ash and even French Fry (plus ‘American Classics’ including five variations of vanilla), in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.
Samples available (two per customer).
The extensive dining menu also includes elaborate sundaes, ice cream pies, floats and ice-cream based cocktails.
Sunday-Thursday 12 pm-11 pm
Saturday-Sunday 12pm-Midnight
Jacques Torres Chocolate
Rich hot cocoas come in classic or spicy ‘Wicked’ and pair well with the large buttery chocolate chip cookies at the original Dumbo location of Jacques Torres (aka Mr. Chocolate), French chef turned celebrity New Yorker and Reality TV star (‘Nailed It’).
Try truffles, adorable bonbons, chocolate bark, giftable chocolate-covered cheerios and pomegranate seeds, ice cream sandwiches and more. The 60% baking discs are perfect for at home baking (or snacking).
Not far from happening Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Also in Grand Central Terminal.
Mon-Fri 12 pm–6:30 pm
Sat-Sun 10 am–7 pm
Cones
Argentinean-style small-batch ice cream and sorbet comes in traditional and adventurous flavors including sweet potato with brie cheese, yerba mate and the popular sweet corn with cinnamon.
Monday-Friday 5 pm–10pm
Saturday & Sunday 1 pm–10 pm
OddFellows
Enjoy small-batch ice cream company with creative, wacky and weird flavors alongside reimagined and improved classics. Take your cone, cup or sundae to nearby Domino Park for incredible views.
Also at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Empire Stores in Dumbo, McCarren Park and Rockaway Beach. The Manhattan locations closed during COVID and we miss them.
Daily 12 pm – 11 pm
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream
All of the NYC ice cream in this artisanal scoop truck turned nation-wide empire is made from scratch in Greenpoint with nothing more than fresh milk and cream, cane sugar, and egg yolks. Excellent vegan scoops in over ten flavors are made with housemade cashew milk, organic coconut milk, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic cane sugar, pure cocoa butter, and organic carob bean.
Special flavors featuring seasonal ingredients change monthly in addition to the wide selection of classic and innovative flavors, Enjoy in cones, sandwiches, shakes or floats with a range of toppings.
Multiple locations throughout NYC include Boerum Hill, East Village, Hudson Yards, Macdougal Street, Murray Hill, Nolita, Prospect Heights, Rockefeller Center, Seaport, Soho, Tribea, UES, UWS and more.
11 am – midnight
Mikey Likes It Ice Cream
A pop-cultured inspired ice cream shop uses premium ingredients and building lasting relationships with local businesses, customers and other great people. Innovative rotating flavors with catchy names include Ice Ice Mikey (a blend of 3 types of vanilla beans), Pink Flloyd (strawberry & cheesecake) and Brady Bunch (banana pudding, Vienna Fingers, and crushed vanilla wafers).
Milk shakes, floats and waffle ice cream sandwiches also available.
Sunday-Thursday 1pm – 11pm
Friday 1pm – 1am
Saturday 12pm – 1am
Ample Hills Creamery
GELATO
Eataly Chocolate & Gelato
Try rich Italian hot chocolate and/or some of the best gelato in the city in a range of flavors.
Shop by weight from bins of colorful Venchi bon-bons or pick up artisanal chocolate made in Italy with raw ingredients in a variety of shapes and textures according to traditional recipes, from smooth spread to crunchy bars to elegant cigars.
Also at Eataly Downtown.
Venchi Chocogelateria
Sip decadent Italian hot chocolate by a giant chocolate waterfall at the US outpost of a 140-year-old Italian chocolatier.
Shop a vast selection of flavored bon bons and bars plus try gelato in a variety of chocolate and other delicious flavors. Make it even yummier with creamy base of Suprema chocolate spread or a cone dipped in seasonal sprinkles like granules of Piedmont Hazelnuts, Nougatine, Chocaviar or Raspberry.
Some seating in the back by the waterfall wall or enjoy your treats in nearby Union Square.
Also at Columbus Circle (1796 Broadway), Columbus & W 69th St and 233 Bleecker St.
L’Arte Del Gelato Stands
This artisanal Sicilian gelato shop, always at Chelsea Market, sets up carts in the summer in front of cultural destinations across NYC including the Met, the Guggenheim, Natural History Museum, High Line, Lincoln Center Plaza and Oculus at World Trade Center. Gelato and sorbet flavors vary; if you’re lucky they’ll have Nocciola delle Langhe (hazelnut).
il laboratorio del gelato
Choose from 48 classic and creative flavors of creamy, dense gelato and sorbet, as well as sundaes and shakes at a ‘lab’ where flavor creation and recipe development take center stage. This provider of hand-crafted, small-batch gelato for top NYC chefs and restaurants uses high-quality ingredients, from vanilla beans to purple ube to avocado, sourced locally and organically when possible. Flavors change throughout the day to ensure high quality and freshness Favorites include Pistachio, Honey Lavender and purple UBE.
Also in Hoboken.
SIT DOWN
Serendipity 3
Get the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, a creamy secret blend of 14 exotic cocoas, and other decadent, over-sized desserts at this legendary restaurant and store with whimsical antique-store-meets-ice-cream-parlor decor. Heraty burgers, foot long hot dogs, mac ‘n’ cheese variations, salads and sandwiches are also available. A favorite of actors, artists and tourists for the last 67-years.
Minimum food or drink purchase of $16.95 per person so bring an appetite – portions are huge.
Daily 11 am – 11 pm
Max Brenner
Select from nine hot chocolates – Italian Thick, Oreo, Peanut Butter and more – at this huge cafe and store that feels like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, with tubes of liquid chocolate criss crossing the space. Choose from a variety of creative, high-quality chocolate concoctions to fo, gift or to eat on site.
Salads, paninis, pizza, cocoa spiced waffle fries etc. available on the extensive menu, but the real draw is the over-the-top desserts from marshmallow chocolate pizza to three types of chocolate fondue to a melting s’mores sundae to a syringe full of chocolate goodness. Lots of cocktails, including a chocolate peppermint martini, available for grown-ups.
Advance reservations recommended.
Mon-Fri 12 pm-11 pm
Thu-Sat 11 am – midnight
Sun 10 am–11 pm
Pick up chocolates & hot cocoa to go at the Times Square outpost (720 7th Ave at West 48th St).
BLACK TAP
Kids go crazy for these world famous Crazy Shakes topped with candy, cookies, fruit pebbles and more ($15-$18 and humongous). Also get award-winning New York style burgers, fries, wings, craft beers, mason jar cocktails, salads and sides in a fun retro setting.
Also in Soho at 529 Broome Street.
Monday-Thursday 12pm – 10pm
Friday-Saturday 11am – 11pm
Sunday 11am – 10pm