NYC: Best Soft Serve
I’m a sucker for a creamy swirl of soft serve ice cream, and given how many places in NYC have invested in machines in recent years, I can’t be the only one! Below you will find a running list of (nearly) every cup I’ve tracked down with my honest thoughts and favorite flavors.
Caffé Panna (77 Irving Pl)
Every week, Caffé Panna offers one soft serve flavor that can be enjoyed “naked” or as a sundae with pre-determined toppings. Some of my favorite creations to date have been the “Teddy Graham Hibernation” with cinnamon soft serve, teddy graham crunch, and market honeycomb, and the “Rhubarb Crisp Soft Serve” with vanilla soft serve, Valhrona shell, and homemade rhubarb crisp. They announce the weekly flavors in real time on their Instagram page.
GLACE by Noglu (1266 Madison Ave)
Glace by Noglu is best known for their viral hot chocolates, but their ice creams are the real star of the show in my opinion. Their ice creams are hand-made using organic and seasonal ingredients, and everything here is 100% gluten-free. Flavors rotate weekly, and some of my favorites to date have been the Oreo soft serve (pictured above) and the Frozen Hot Chocolate soft serve sundae with toasted marshmallow and hot fudge.
L’Industrie Pizzeria (254 S 2nd St. or 104 Christopher St.)
L’Industrie Pizzeria is best known for their slices, and for good reason, but don’t sleep on their soft serves! The flavors rotate, and my favorite is the Pistachio which is made with pistachios from Bronte, and topped with L’Industrie’s own EVOO imported from Puglia and flaky sea salt. It’s super creamy, and strikes the perfect balance of sweet yet savory.
Milu (333 Park Ave S)
Milu is a Chinese restaurant near Madison Square Park that serves a unique Egg Custard Soft Serve topped with caramelized puff pastry. It’s sweet, rich, and creamy, and to me, can be best described as tasting like a frozen creme brûlée. It’s available daily, in addition to a seasonal soft serve flavor.
Fan Fan Doughnuts (448 Lafayette Ave)
Fan Fan Doughnuts is home to some of my favorite doughnuts (and hot chocolate) in NYC. Fanny Gerson can do no wrong, and it is no surprise that her seasonal soft serve is great. The flavors rotate weekly, and some of my favorites to date have been the strawberry-mascarpone (pictured above) and blueberry-corn.
Softside (51 Spring St.)
Softside in Nolita (next to Upside Pizza) offers a variety of different cones, sundaes, and milkshakes made from a base of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or pistachio soft serve. My go-to order here is “The Riff” sundae which has vanilla soft serve topped with EVOO, honey, and sea salt.
Orchard Grocer (78 Orchard St.)
Orchard Grocer on the Lower East Side offers a delicious dairy-free Peanut Butter Soft Serve that’s available year-round. They also offer a vanilla flavor (and possibly others are in the rotation too) but I feel strongly that the peanut butter is the way to go!
Dreamery (299 Greene Ave)
Dreamery is a plant-based soft serve shop in Brooklyn located next-door to sister concept Clementine Bakery. They’re open March-September (ish), and offer self-serve soft serve, candies, popsicles, and more. I loved the birthday cake flavored soft serve.
Morgenstern’s Bananas (2 Rivington St.)
Morgenstern’s Bananas is a dairy-free soft serve concept from Nicholas Morgenstern of Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream. Flavors here rotate seasonally, and are 100% natural in terms of both flavor and coloring. Each flavor has it’s own specially curated dairy-free milk base, and the quality is notable. My favorite flavors in summer 2023 were the Peanut Butter and Mango.
Dudley’s Deli (85 Orchard St.)
Dudley’s Deli opened in summer 2023, and they’re serving chocolate and vanilla soft serve with a variety of toppings, 80% of which are Australian themed (think: Tim Tams, Milo powder, and more). Their hours vary, so call to check for if they are open before heading over.
Librae Bakery (35 Cooper Square)
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Librae Bakery is my happy place. Librae Bakery is a Middle Eastern Bakery in Cooper Square serving some of the highest quality croissants, cookies, and focaccias I’ve had in my life. They also offer a fun seasonal soft serve on random days throughout the summer. The flavors may vary, but when I visited, it was a “Coffee & Cardamom” soft serve topped with a dark chocolate cookie and drizzles of Brightland olive oil. The texture was icier than I prefer, but the flavor was nice. I recommend checking their instagram for availability before showing up.
Lilia Caffé (567 Union Ave)
When I think of ice cream + olive oil, Lilia’s is the first to come to mind. It’s not easy to get a reservation at their restaurant, but luckily, you don’t need one to try their iconic “The Italian Job” soft serve, because it’s available at their next-door caffé too! It features vanilla soft serve gelato topped with honey, olive oil, sea salt, and fennel pollen. It may sound strange, but trust me, it works.
Supermoon Bakehouse (120 Rivington St.)
In the summer months, the iconic Lower East Side Bakery Supermoon Bakehouse serves a weekly rotating flavor of homemade soft serve, and it’s worthy of your attention. My favorite flavor to date was this Olive OIl soft serve made in collaboration with Graza. You can check Supermoon Bakehouse’s instagram page each week to see what flavor is on tap.
Patti Ann’s (570 Vanderbilt Ave)
If you find yourself in Prospect Heights and are craving soft serve, you can head to Patti Ann’s where they have a self-serve soft serve machine churning out nostalgic chocolate and vanilla swirls with simple DIY topping selections. I wouldn’t go out of your way for this cup, and don’t think this does the other pastries there justice, but it gets the job done on a scorching summer day.