Best Ice Cream in Brooklyn
Temps have finally warmed up here in NYC and we’re ready for a relaxing Brooklyn picnic and a scoop or two—or four—of ice cream. As we sat pondering the wide range of flavors, textures and toppings at our favorite local creameries, we couldn’t help but make a list of the best ice cream in Brooklyn. And we put it in ABC order for your easy reference.
Ample Hills Creamery
We’re partial to the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, creamy vanilla ice cream mixed with St. Louis-style butter cake, and The Munchies, pretzel-infused ice cream with Ritz crackers, potato chips, pretzels and crushed M&Ms. But we encourage you to sample all the flavors because it’s hard to pick favorites—and because so many have such interesting names (e.g., It Came From Gowanus).
Aside from the delicious ice cream we also love that Ample Hills is big on community and equality. They donate to various charities including the Human Rights Campaign, Okra Project and Ali Forney Center.
Ample Hills Creamery
(Various Brooklyn locations)
Photo by Markus Spiske
Blossom Ice Cream
This shop specializes in hand-rolled ice cream and offers vegan options as well. Flavors include Wild Berry Lavender, Key-Lime Pie and Chocolicious, and vegan Rose (a mix of rose and strawberry) and vegan Irish (soy vanilla and Irish cream). Don’t forget to grab a hot tea or an Instagram-worthy Light Bulb Ice Drink while you’re there.
Blossom Ice Cream
196 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11021
Blue Marble
If you’re looking for “ice cream with integrity,” look no further. Blue Marble prioritizes “real food” that’s organic and non-GMO, while their mission dictates adherence to the “highest standards of corporate social responsibility.” Their flavors are more classic than experimental, including standouts like Banana Cream Pie, Salt-Kissed Caramel and Cinnamon Double Dark Chocolate. They also offer a few vegan flavors.
Underscoring their mission to do good in the community, their non-profit, Blue Marble Dreams, builds women-led ice cream shops in distressed areas to catalyze economic progress and community vitality.
Blue Marble
(Multiple NYC locations)
Photo by Cadence T
Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain
One of the cutest retro shops in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain is housed in a 1920s apothecary and stepping inside feels like a bit of a time warp. Since 2010, they’ve been serving a giant menu of desserts that includes sundaes, scoops, floats, egg creams and ice cream sandwiches. This is the type of place you go to for the classic vibe and experience rather than adventurous flavor combinations.
If you haven’t been, check out this video that will immediately have you craving an egg cream.
Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain
513 Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
With an original location at the landmark 1920s fireboat house looking out toward the Brooklyn Bridge, this iconic shop has been serving homemade old-fashioned ice cream (made with less butterfat and no eggs) and decadent homemade hot fudge since 2001. Now you can find them across the street from their original location and in Greenpoint.
No analysis paralysis here when it comes to picking a flavor because there are just eight classics from which to choose—and each is consistently airy, creamy and refreshing.
Brooklyn Ice cream Factory
(Various Brooklyn locations)
Creme and Cocoa Creamery
Specializing in fresh small-batch ice cream with a nod to their Caribbean roots, husband-and-wife owners Omar and Astrid Thorpe offer boozy flavors such as Margarita Mama and Henny Colada, sunny options like Mango Tango and Passionate for Cake, and dessert-lovers’ favorites like Peach Cobbler and Midnight Chip.
Follow Creme & Cocoa on Instagram for their exciting flavor updates.
Creme and Cocoa Creamery
1067 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Photo by Jason Richard
Lady Moo Moo
Being home to some of Brooklyn’s best ice cream and sorbet, Lady Moo Moo offers a range of carefully perfected house-made varieties including Black Sesame, Tahitian Vanilla, Pistachio and Earl Grey Lavender. The Infatuation describes their Rooftop Honey flavor as “creamy gold” and we agree. If you prefer sorbet, Yuzu Lemon is a fine choice.
Lady Moo Moo
365 Chauncey Street
Brooklyn, NY 11233
L’Albero Dei Gelati
The L’Abero Dei Gelati (translated to “tree of gelato”) family started making gelato by hand in Lombardy, Italy, back in 1985, using high-quality seasonal ingredients. In 2007, some of the family members embarked on a journey to find the perfect farmers and ingredients to launch their Brianza expansion. And in 2013 they opened in Brooklyn. We’re glad they did.
With no artificial flavorings, dyes, preservatives or artificial additives, gelato never felt so healthy. Their sweet and savory flavors change depending on which crops are in season, and their sorbets are gluten-free and vegan friendly. We love their Olive Oil and pretty much all of the other savory flavors we’ve sampled over the years.
L’Albero Dei Gelati
341 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Lotus Scoop
Influenced by Soul food desserts, Caribbean delights and Latin flavors, Lotus Scoop makes inventive, flavorful pints that include Soursop Guanabana, Guava & Cheesecake, Sweet Cornbread Cake, Sweet Potato & Banana Caramel and Coca-Cola Double Fudge Cake. The second best thing about this ice cream (aside from how good it is)? It’s available by the pint at so many Brooklyn grocers.
Lotus Scoop
(Multiple Brooklyn retailers)
Photo by Wesual Click
Malai
Figuratively meaning “cream of the crop,” Malai is a Brooklyn ice cream shop drawing inspiration from globally sourced whole ingredients, aromatic spices and unexpected Indian flavor twists.
Their dairy flavors include Golden Turmeric, Lemon Cardamom, Baklava and Tulsi Chocolate Chip. Non-dairy and sorbet options include Hibiscus Chaat Masala, Lychee and Passionfruit Cilantro. For more about the shop, check out this lovely New York Times article.
Malai
268 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
OddFellows
Made in a Bushwick laboratory, OddFellows offers small-batch ice cream in a delightful range of ever-evolving flavors such as Carrot Cake Cream Cheese, Lemon Shortbread Thyme, Matcha Rocky Road and Miso Peanut Butter. They also sell classics like Vanilla, Chocolate Chunk and Cookies & Cream, as well as a whole line of boozy flavors. Their soy-free vegan selection is made from a variety of milk alternatives including coconut, hazelnut, macadamia and oat milks.
OddFellows
(Various Brooklyn locations)
Teo’s Ice Cream Shop
Owned by NYC’s Hungry Ghost Coffee, Teo’s serves small batches of ice cream made by OddFellows. For the fellow ice cream enthusiast, we recommend the flight of six flavors.
Teo’s Ice Cream Shop
194 Garfield Place
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Photo by Benjamín Hazael Rojas García
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
On a mission to “make good ice cream that makes you feel good,” Van Leeuwen has been making us salivate since 2008 when they started serving some of the best ice cream in Brooklyn. We recommend their Honeycomb which is actually made with caramel candy rather than honey. It’s perfect for those times when you feel like a simple sweet flavor but you want something slightly more complex than vanilla.
They also have an entire menu of decadent vegan flavors made from cashew and oat milks, and even available in bar form.
Van Leewen Ice Cream
(Various Brooklyn locations)
What’s the Scoooop
Enter this playful ice cream shop and you’ll instantly feel like a kid again. The seats are swings. The walls are covered in vibrant cartoons and comic strips. And they have the coolest colorful cones—Birthday Cake, Red Velvet, Matcha and Salted Blue Corn. The ice cream flavors are more on the classic side, including multiple vegan options, with indulgent toppings to dress things up.
What’s the Scoooop
1214 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11218
Still craving something cold? Wash down your ice cream with one of these 15 Brooklyn milkshakes.
