The 12 best ice cream shops in NYC

A family-run Chinatown institution for more than 45 years, this popular scoop shop sells durian, pandan, red bean and other lesser-seen ice cream varieties. The place is compact, so plan on taking this perfect treat for a walk through the neighborhood. 

If you want a real trip down memory lane, Eddie's Sweet Shop paved the road with sugar and cream. The Forrest Hills staple's been scooping frozen treats for more than 100 years. Its simple homemade ice cream and malted milkshakes make it look easy to withstand the test of time.

Nick Morgenstern’s flagship Greenwich Village parlor has tons of fun flavors to choose from, and they're tinkering all the time. Among the ever-inventive options they've been scooping up since 2014, you'll find nontraditional stuff like Olive Oil Chocolate Orange, Strawberry Pistachio Pesto, Salt & Pepper Pine Nut, Pineapple Salted Egg Yolk and Charred Banana.

The East Village has an abundance of incredible dessert spots, and this is the king cone. The shop isn't playing games with Instagram Things or toppings like edible fire. Instead, it wows with wasabi, black sesame, ginger, corn and other flavors you won't find just anywhere.

One of our favorite store-bought ice cream varieties also has a brick-and-mortar shop in Cobble Hill. Founder Pooja Bavishi's Malai serves up egg-free flavors like Golden Turmeric, Date Tamarind, Carrot Halwa, Cherry Black Cardamom and Butterscotch Butter Pecan.

Although it first came to fame as a fairly precious artisanal, local ice cream truck then a more widely known scoops chain, Van Leeuwen's more recent (and national) renown is for its successful stunts like a "limited edition" mac and cheese flavor. But it still offers options like chocolate, honeycomb and Sicilian pistachio, all churned from scratch. Van Leeuwen also offers an array of vegan options. 

This circus-striped ice cream spot has expanded into multiple locations, including Williamsburg's Domino Park. Chef-owner and WD-50 alum Sam Mason whips up unique flavors like lemon thyme shortbread and matcha rocky road.

If you're searching for proof that New Yorkers love to pantomime simpler times, this old-timey soda fountain is the pudding. The antique-y spot evokes a Rockwellian universe, where sweethearts dip straws into a single egg cream and scrappy dogs lap up milk shake spills. Plus, there's an emphasis on seasonal, local ingredients—just like in the old days.

When only soft serve will do, Soft Swerve wildly improves on some old familiars of the form. Our favorite flavors include ube purple yam and Thai tea, which you can dress up with all the crunchies (toasted coconut, cookie crumbles) and drizzles (caramel, condensed milk). 

Ice cream truckers Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff offer their quirky soft-serve creations in a cute Manhattan shop, emblazoned with a giant rainbow-swirled cone. Crowd favorites like the Dorothy (vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche and crushed Nilla wafers) will make you feel like a golden girl.

This modern, industrial tasting room offers 40 flavors at a time, plucked from a 300-strong repertoire that includes wasabi, vanilla-saffron, avocado and a range of chocolate flavors, plus dozens of fruit sorbets. Its glass-walled production room is visible from the street for dessert and a show. 

This is the brainchild of graphic-designer-turned-dessert-maven David Yoo, who's churning out all-natural sweet cream-based parlor classics like salted caramel and roasted pistachio, along with oodles of toppings. If it's one of those days where a few scoops won't do, whole ice cream cakes are also available.