Two more worth knowing: Soft Swerve on the Lower East Side (85B Allen St) is the Asian-flavor benchmark — ube, matcha, black sesame — and there’s finally a real walk-in Carvel in Manhattan at 430 E 14th St for Flying Saucers and Fudgie the Whale. For more dessert, see our best cheesecake guide.
Best Ice Cream NYC: 12 Top Scoop Shops (2026)
The best ice cream NYC has right now isn’t hiding — it’s the line down the block at Caffè Panna in Gramercy, where the flavor list changes every single day and gets posted to Instagram each morning. It’s the black sesame and lychee scoops that have been pulling crowds to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory since 1978, the wild flavors at Morgenstern’s on Rivington Street, and the ube soft serve at Soft Swerve on the Lower East Side. This is our running list of the 12 best ice cream and gelato shops across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens — ranked by what we’d actually wait in line for, not by who has the prettiest storefront. Scoops run roughly $5–9 citywide. Bring a card; some of the best spots have gone cashless.
The short version:
12 spots across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens · Single scoops about $5–9 · Most open until 9–11pm, peak season spring through early fall · Top pick: Caffè Panna for the daily-rotating scoops and free whipped panna on top. Go mid-afternoon to beat the line.
The Best Ice Cream NYC Has Right Now
Ordered by what we’d send a friend to first. The list mixes modern flavor labs with old-school scoop counters, because the best ice cream NYC offers isn’t one style — it’s both.
Caffè Panna
Italian-inspired ice cream lab · 77 Irving Pl, Gramercy
Hallie Meyer’s Gramercy shop is the one everyone names first, and the lines back it up. The menu rotates daily and gets posted to Instagram each morning — regulars like Cookies ‘n Panna and the Red Flag never fully leave, but you go for whatever’s new that day. Everything’s made in-house with a high butterfat base, every scoop comes with free whipped panna and a topping, and the soft serve and affogato are just as good as the scoops. It’s card only, no cash, and there’s no seating — eat it on the sidewalk or walk it to the park. There’s a second location in Greenpoint with an exclusive granita.
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream
curated flavor shop · 2 Rivington St, Lower East Side
Morgenstern’s reopened on Rivington Street in 2026 and still isn’t shy — Salted Egg Yolk Chili Crisp and Yuzu Yamazaki sit on the same board as a textbook Peaches & Cream. The room reads like a 1950s parlor; the menu does not. If the wild stuff isn’t your thing, the classics are dialed in. For soft serve, head to Soft Swerve on the Lower East Side instead.
Van Leeuwen
French-style scoops + serious vegan menu · Multiple locations
What started as a yellow truck in 2008 is now all over the city, and it earns the footprint. The dairy ice cream is rich and stuffed — Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb is the one to get — and the vegan menu is the best in NYC, not an afterthought. Flavors run from straightforward to stunt collabs (Mac ‘n’ Cheese has happened). This is the dependable pick when you don’t want to wait 40 minutes: there’s almost always a Van Leeuwen within walking distance, and it’s never a letdown.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
Asian-flavor institution since 1978 · 65 Bayard St, Chinatown
The yellow storefront with the dragon logo is an unofficial Chinatown landmark, family-run and third-generation. The draw is the Asian-inspired flavors you won’t find done this well anywhere else: black sesame, lychee, red bean, ube, ginger, durian, and egg custard (don tot). It’s tiny with no seats and they let you sample before you commit. Single scoops can run up to about $8 here. Get the black sesame, then a second scoop of whatever sounds strangest.
Soft Swerve
Asian-flavored soft serve · 85B Allen St, Lower East Side
The purple ube soft serve went viral years ago, but Soft Swerve held up after the hype faded. Ube Purple Yam is the first-timer order; matcha and black sesame are right behind it. Load it with cereal toppings or mochi and you’ve got the best soft serve cone south of Houston. There’s a second shop in Kips Bay that runs a Vietnamese coffee flavor worth the detour.
Ample Hills Creamery
Brooklyn small-batch, dessert-stuffed flavors · 623 Vanderbilt Ave, Prospect Heights
Ample Hills closed during its 2020 bankruptcy and is now back under the team that relaunched it after its 2020 bankruptcy. The reason to go is the same as always: flavors that turn desserts into ice cream — Salted Crack Caramel, Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake, and a rotating seasonal board. Order a flight if you’re with friends so you can taste six. There are also open shops on the Upper West Side (526 Amsterdam Ave) and in Astoria.
Salt & Straw
Portland import, farm-to-cone rotating flavors · West Village & UWS
The Oregon transplant brought its monthly rotating “series” model to NYC and it works here. The standing menu — Double Fold Vanilla, Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons — is excellent, but the limited-run collabs are why people line up. They’ll hand you spoons of as many flavors as you want before you decide, so take your time. Three NYC shops so far: Williamsburg, the West Village, and the Upper West Side.
Eddie’s Sweet Shop
NYC’s oldest soda fountain · 105-29 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, Queens
Eddie’s has been scooping in Forest Hills since 1925, which makes it the oldest operating ice cream shop in the city. The ice cream is made in-house — so are the hot fudge and the caramel. Everything happens at a marble counter that’s barely changed in a century. This is the move for an old-school sundae or a real egg cream, not a flavor-of-the-day chase. Worth the ride out on the E or F to 71st Ave.
The Best Gelato in NYC
Ice cream’s denser, lower-butterfat cousin has its own scene in NYC, anchored by a handful of shops doing it the southern-Italian way. If you’re hunting the best gelato in NYC specifically, start here.
il laboratorio del gelato
200-flavor gelato lab · 188 Ludlow St, Lower East Side
Jon Snyder opened il laboratorio on Orchard Street in 2002 to supply restaurants, then opened the doors to everyone. The Ludlow shop has a glass-walled production room so you can watch them make it, and the repertoire runs nearly 200 flavors — wasabi, black sesame, vanilla-saffron, avocado — with 40 or so out at a time plus a deep bench of fruit sorbets. The flavors are clean and precise. This is gelato as a science project, in the best way.
Anita Gelato
Tel Aviv import, dozens of flavors · Upper East Side & Tribeca
Anita started in Tel Aviv and the NYC outposts kept the formula: a case packed with dozens of flavors that look almost too good to wreck, and a toppings setup that lets you build something excessive. Pistachio Crunch is the signature. It’s gelato as pure indulgence — go when you want choice and a little theater. Locations on the Upper East Side and in Tribeca.
L’Arte del Gelato
Sicilian-style gelato · Chelsea Market, the Oculus & the High Line
L’Arte does a tighter, more traditional Sicilian-style gelato — fewer gimmicks, cleaner flavors. The Nocciola or Pistacchio Siciliano is the one to order, and in summer they’ll serve it Sicilian-style stuffed inside a brioche bun, which is the correct way to eat gelato and a meal at once. Easy to find: Chelsea Market, the Oculus downtown, and a High Line stand in season.
Gelateria Gentile
Old-world Roman gelato · Greenwich Village & Williamsburg
Gentile is the old-world pick — dense, authentic, no fireworks. Fior di Latte (sweet cream) is the test flavor, and it passes. The Greenwich Village and Williamsburg shops both draw weekend lines, so go on a weekday if you can. If Caffè Panna is gelato’s flashy new wave, Gentile is the traditionalist counterweight.
Best Soft Serve in NYC
If soft serve is the goal, you’ve got real options beyond the Mister Softee truck. The best soft serve in NYC right now is the ube swirl at Soft Swerve on Allen Street, but it’s not the only one worth a trip. Caffè Panna runs a daily soft serve alongside its scoops — check the Instagram before you go, because it sells out. Van Leeuwen shops often have a soft serve option on rotation. For a classic cone with cereal or mochi toppings, Soft Swerve still wins.
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Best Ice Cream in NYC by Neighborhood
Where to point yourself depending on which part of the city you’re in:
- Lower East Side: Soft Swerve for ube soft serve, il laboratorio for experimental gelato — both within a few blocks. Pair it with a night out on the Lower East Side.
- Greenwich Village / Chinatown: Morgenstern’s on West Houston and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard, an easy walk apart. Both close to East Village dinner spots.
- Gramercy / Union Square: Caffè Panna on Irving Place, full stop. Make a night of it near Union Square.
- Brooklyn: Ample Hills in Prospect Heights, Salt & Straw and Gelateria Gentile in Williamsburg, Caffè Panna in Greenpoint.
- Queens: Eddie’s Sweet Shop in Forest Hills and Ample Hills in Astoria — see more across Queens.
For more citywide picks, browse the Manhattan and Brooklyn guides, and check our NYC deals page before you head out.
How to Find the Best Ice Cream in NYC: FAQ
What is the best ice cream in NYC?
Caffè Panna in Gramercy tops most lists right now, including ours, for its daily-rotating flavors and high-butterfat base. For Asian flavors, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is the classic; for vegan, Van Leeuwen is the best in the city; and for sheer flavor count, Morgenstern’s runs up to 88.
What is the oldest ice cream shop in NYC?
Eddie’s Sweet Shop in Forest Hills, Queens has been open since 1925, making it the oldest operating ice cream parlor in New York City. Everything — the ice cream, the hot fudge, the caramel — is still made in-house at the original marble soda fountain.
Where is the best gelato in NYC?
il laboratorio del gelato on the Lower East Side runs nearly 200 flavors and is the deepest gelato bench in the city. For traditional Roman-style gelato, Gelateria Gentile in Greenwich Village or Williamsburg; for Sicilian brioche-stuffed gelato, L’Arte del Gelato.
What’s the best soft serve in NYC?
Soft Swerve on Allen Street for ube, matcha, and black sesame soft serve with cereal and mochi toppings. Caffè Panna also does excellent soft serve — Caffè Panna’s rotates daily and sells out, so check their Instagram first.
How much does ice cream cost in NYC?
Expect roughly $5–9 for a single scoop at most of these shops, with the most popular spots and specialty flavors at the top of that range. Caffè Panna and several others are card only, so don’t count on paying cash.
Last updated: June 2026. Deals, hours, and flavors are subject to change — flavor menus at shops like Caffè Panna rotate daily. Confirm with the venue before visiting.
More NYC guides: Best Date Night Restaurants in NYC · West Village Happy Hour · Lower East Side Happy Hour · Williamsburg Happy Hour · NYC Deals
More sweet picks in our best desserts in NYC hub.
