Best Ice Cream Shops in Seattle: The Controversial List

Ice cream shops in Seattle are serious business. Everyone has their favorites, and they’re really loud about their opinions to persuade you it’s one of your favorites, too.

But I’m going to say it: I don’t agree with a lot of those “best ice cream in Seattle” lists. There are some big-name ice cream places in Seattle who have achieved super-star status. They’ve helped pave the way for Seattle to become a hot spot for artisanal ice cream shops focused on handmade ice cream with ingredients you can pronounce. And I’m thankful for that.

However, the ice cream at these places can be argued as “good”. But the “best”? That’s where I draw the line.

At first I thought there was something wrong with me because zealots would consistently say they had a life-changing flavor at some of these places. National magazines cover some of these places in their print publications (that’s prime real estate).

So I decided to think really hard about the places I would consider the best ice cream shops in Seattle. Out of the dozens you’ll find here, there were really only a few that I’d recommend to my foodie friends as places they can’t miss when visiting.

So here it is. My possibly controversial list of the best ice cream shops in Seattle.

Best Ice Cream Shops in Seattle

Before I dive right in with my curated list of the best ice cream shops in Seattle, I think it’s important to know what I expect from my ice cream. To me, the best ice cream should:

• Be creamy. I have no patience for ice-y ice cream.
• Have intense flavor. I don’t want to be saying, “Hmm…I ‘think’ I taste X.”
• Not look or taste artificial. I can’t stand when a flavor doesn’t taste anything like the real thing. And it better not be fluorescent.
• Be consistently good. It can’t taste different from batch to batch.

I said before that there’s a lot of arguably good places for ice cream in Seattle. I’m not trying to undermine the hard work they put into their ice cream or, in some instances, their successful efforts in putting Seattle on the map for ice cream. It’s just that if I was to sit someone down and have real talk about the best ice cream shops in Seattle, they wouldn’t be on that list because they don’t meet one or more of my expectations for ice cream.

So here we go, my definitive list of what I consider the best ice cream shops in Seattle. If there’s one you read about, but don’t see on this list, it’s safe to say I wouldn’t consider them the best.

The Pastry Project

website | 165 S Main St | neighborhood: Pioneer Square | recommended flavor: strawberry-passionfruit dip if available

The Pastry Project is a bakery that offers free training to individuals with barriers to education and employment. They don’t operate as your typical grab-and-go bakery, but rather do a pastry subscription, sell mixes, and offer regular pop ups throughout the year.

Come summer, though, is when the real magic happens. From around May through September they operate a soft serve window out of their bakeshop. The flavors change regularly and they’re always exceptionally creamy and creative. My absolute favorite thing about The Pastry Project, though, is their dips.

They offer fancy versions of the dip cones I grew up eating, where soft serve is dunked into a chocolate sauce that hardens. I’m super traditionalist and typically only get chocolate, which The Pastry Project has, but they also do creative versions that don’t taste artificial.

For example, I had a strawberry-passionfruit dip the last time I went that blew my mind. It reminded me of Hawaii but didn’t taste chemically at all. You can also get creative mix-ins that stick into the dip, which is something I haven’t ever seen before. All in all, they’re making some of my favorite ice cream in Seattle!

Spice Waala

website | neighborhoods: Capitol Hill & Ballard | recommended flavor: whatever’s available, as it rotates

Spice Waala is one of the best Indian restaurants in Seattle and a mainstay on my Ballard food tour. They serve affordable kathi rolls, which are a popular street food somewhat like a burrito.

However, each summer they offer soft serve that highlights the many wonderful Indian flavors. For example, the last time I went they had cardamom rose, and right now they have a mango lassi flavor. They only have one option at a time, but the ice cream is always creamy so pop in when they have a flavor that intrigues you.

Nutty Squirrel

website | neighborhoods: Phinney Ridge, & Magnolia  | recommended flavors: pistachio and nutty squirrel

The Nutty Squirrel is another place to get incredible gelato in Seattle. I mentioned above that I look for creaminess in ice cream. Gelato delivers on that because it naturally has a denser, creamier texture thanks to less air being incorporated into it when mixed. Plus there are less calories and fat because it’s made mostly with milk instead of cream. This means fat doesn’t coat the taste buds as much, so flavors are more vibrant.

This explains why Nutty Squirrel is so damn good. I never knew why pistachio was always my go-to gelato flavor until I interviewed D’Ambrosio. They said, “Pistachio is the litmus test of gelato.” Their argument is that it’s super difficult to make authentic-tasting pistachio gelato with crappy or artificial ingredients.

Nutty Squirrel passes this litmus test. It’s that muted green color I look for and subtle nutty flavor that almost tastes like amaretto if you close your eyes.

Another amazing option is their Nutty Squirrel flavor when available. It’s a vanilla cream base with French caramel, peanuts, and chocolate flakes. The peanut is super intense, but somehow light (no peanut butter vibes here). And I love the dose of little chocolate flecks.

Frankie & Jo’s

website | neighborhoods: Ballard, Capitol Hill, & University Village | recommended flavor: date shake when available

Being a bit of an ice cream snob, I didn’t think one of the best vegan restaurants in Seattle would make ice cream that passes my test. Yet, Frankie & Jo’s is hands down one of the best ice cream shops in Seattle.

This B-Corp makes completely plant-based vegan ice cream out of gum-free coconut milk and oat milk. You’d think the texture would be affected by not using dairy, but Frankie & Jo’s makes some of the creamiest ice cream on this list while still catering to people with dietary needs like vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free.

I honestly like most of the flavors at Frankie & Jo’s, such as their popular mint brownie and salted caramel. But I’d say my favorite is their date shake, an ode to the popular milkshake you find everywhere in Palm Springs. It’s sweet and reminds me a bit of butter pecan sans the pecans. Definitely try this if you go!

Indigo Cow

website | 1911 N 45th St | neighborhood: Wallingford | recommended flavor: black sesame

Indigo Cow has soft serve ice cream that matches the creaminess I’m accustomed to on the east coast. But what’s interesting is that the recipe actually comes from Japan, which uses Hokkaido dairy to create a supple soft serve ice cream (also known as “soft cream” in Japan).

Founder Keisuke (Kay) Kobayashi grew up in Hokkaido and works with Iwase Farm, a famous pasture back home, to get milk from dairy cows that roam freely and eat nutrient-rich grass.

The result is an ice cream that’s rich and silky in texture, which you can get with creative mix-ins that complement it perfectly. Their waffle cones are also exceptionally good, so make sure that’s your vessel. Just eat fast: It’s delicate and starts losing its integrity fast!

You’ll always find plain Hokkaido milk, which is like vanilla, and matcha tea that you can get on their own or in a swirl. However, they also have rotating flavors like a subtly nutty black sesame, which is what I recommend getting if it’s on the menu. Top it with fruit or chocolate drizzle for sure, and if you’re a fan of mochi get the Shiratama Kuromitsu Kinako balls too.

Bluebird Ice Cream

website | 7415 Greenwood Ave N | neighborhood: Phinney Ridge | recommended flavors: Caffe Vita & Snickerdoodle

Bluebird is another one of those old-school soda fountain type ice cream shops in Seattle. They make their own small batch root beer and serve beer, both in standalone pints and in their ice cream (hello boozy flavors!). But my favorites are their coffee and snickerdoodle flavors.

The coffee flavor uses local Caffe Vita beans and has a deep, espresso flavor. I hate when you get coffee ice cream and it’s more like a water-down iced coffee. This is more like that irresistible first cup in the morning.

The snickerdoodle has that sweet and spicy flavor from the cinnamon, similar to the topping of one of my favorite childhood cookies.

I don’t typically get toppings, but I love how Bluebird has real chocolate chunk sprinkles. Every time I go back to the east coast, I get soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. And every time I say, “I can feel myself getting cavities.” I love how these are just like eating little bits of chocolate. I’m still probably getting cavities, but at least it doesn’t get stuck in your molars like those artificial jimmies.

Note, they used to have a bunch of brick and mortars but now do popups and farmers markets mostly.

Shug’s Soda Fountain

website | neighborhood: Downtown | 1525 1st Ave | recommended flavor: vanilla

Shug’s is one of the most Instagrammable restaurants in Seattle. It’s got that old school soda fountain vibe with pastels, marble everywhere, and those cute little vintage glass ice cream cups. You may remember I mentioned them before in my guide to exploring downtown Seattle and my Pike Place Market guide.

They serve Lopez Island Creamery‘s ice cream, now made in Anacortes but originally from this little island in the San Juan Islands.

Using Lopez Island Creamery’s bean-flecked vanilla ice cream as its base, Shug’s used to make a knockout banana split made with brûléed bananas. However, you can get that same caramelized magic with their s’more sundae.

Husky Deli

website | 4721 California Ave SW | neighborhood: West Seattle | recommended flavor: strawberry

This family-owned business sits among some of the best restaurants in West Seattle and is the type of shop I grew up getting ice cream at on the east coast. It’s no frills, inside a convenience store, and has a ton of flavors lining the case. You wouldn’t think they’d make their own ice cream, but they do. And it’s extra creamy just the way I like it.

They have a ton of classic flavors including coffee Oreo, pralines and cream, and mint chip. I love that even though they have “gourmet” flavors, they aren’t so artisanal as to be honey lavender or other wildly popular flavors made popular by that popular Queen Anne and Portland chain.

However, I’m partial to their strawberry. It tastes like strawberries without feeling artificial. It’s also the perfect flavor mixer when you want to get more than one scoop since it goes with so many of their other flavors.

Baiten

website | 510 E Pine St | neighborhood: Capitol Hill | recommended flavor: sesame

Tamari Bar is a popular sushi restaurant that operates a Japanese bakery window to the right of their entrance. You’ll find fruit sandwiches, ice cream cookie sandwiches, and Japanese soft serve similar to Indigo Cow.

What makes Baiten different is that they only offer one flavor of ice cream, vanilla, and the idea is that you add flavors with syrups and mix-ins. The Deluxe Sundae has a crumbled bread that’s rolled in mung bean and other flavors to add texture.

I didn’t get this, but instead got the sesame syrup. It wasn’t too sweet or thick, which was a pleasant surprise. It was very sesame forward and came in this striking black color. I also loved the sesame cookie it was served with, as it reminded me of the Sicilian sesame cookie I grew up eating.

Milk Drunk

website | 2805 Beacon Ave S | neighborhood: Beacon Hill | recommended flavor: anything with the magic shell

This ice cream shop in Seattle is owned by the same people behind one of the best Mediterranean restaurants in Seattle, Homer. In fact, it was at their finer dining restaurant that they started selling soft serve ice cream out of a window before expanding to create Milk Drunk. This more casual space a little ways down the street from Homer serves ice cream and fried chicken, a match made in heaven.

Their ice cream is often made with interesting flavors like turmeric, fig, Persian rose, and plum, which makes this place more chef-y. They’ve been able to achieve great consistency in their soft serve, and some of the flavors are really great.

My favorite thing here though is the magic shell. It’s a sauce that hardens to make a candy-like shell around the ice cream. I’m partial to the chocolate because it reminds me of the beloved dip cones of my childhood.

While I find Milk Drunk’s shell a bit sweet and overpowered by coconut oil flavor compared to the OG style I’m used to, there’s no denying it’s good. My one complaint is that the shell is rather thick, so if you get it in a cup you can’t easily break it with the dinky tasting spoon they give you. So get ready to use some muscle!

Hot Cakes

website | 1650 E Olive Way | neighborhood: Capitol Hill | recommended flavor: vanilla with chocolate shell

Hot Cakes has locations in Ballard and Capitol Hill, but it’s their Cap Hill location that has one of my favorite desserts of all time: chocolate dip ice cream. I grew up eating these on the east coast and they’re sort of impossible to find in Seattle.

While Pick-Quick and King’s Deli & Grocery have the most “authentic” version to my childhood nostalgia I’ve found, Hot Cakes elevates this typically chemical-laden treat and pumps up the flavor. You can taste real vanilla in their creamy soft serve, and the chocolate is excellent.

So while it’s a bit more artisanal than the version I grew up eating, it’s damn good and I’d eat it again and again. Word of warning: It’s messy AF so get lots of napkins! PS – The pic below is from a spot in LA to show you what it traditionally looks like. I’ll update with a Hot Cakes photo next time I go!

Matcha Man

website | 6014 12th Ave S | neighborhood: Georgetown | recommended flavor: taiyaki cone

I’m sensing a theme here: Most of the best ice cream shops in Seattle have Japanese roots. Matcha Man focuses on taiyaki, a street food common in Japan. It’s a fish-shaped cone that’s more like a thin pastry cake than a crispy waffle or wafer cone.

While the ice cream isn’t as creamy as the Hokkaido style at Baiten or Indigo Cow, they make wildly interesting flavors like ube, pineapple, matcha, and sesame that you can get by itself or in a twist.

Then the real magic happens when you add on toppings. First you get to choose a stuffing for your cone. I love the Nutella, but there’s also custard or mung bean paste. Next, you get a choice of two toppings like sprinkles, Oreos, etc. Lastly, you choose a sauce drizzle. I love the strawberry sauce, so get that if it’s available!

If you make your way to Matcha Man, check out my self-guided Georgetown food tour for more awesome eats within walking distance.

Trophy Cupcakes

website | 2612 NE University Village St | neighborhood: U-Village | recommended flavor: soft serve vanilla

Last time I was in U-Village I got a pleasant surprise while picking up cupcakes for my sister: ice cream! Trophy started offering soft serve with rainbow sprinkles that’s a great treat when shopping. I loved how the consistency was creamy and felt familiar, but it wasn’t super chemical-y like a lot of the styles I grew up eating on the east coast.

D’Ambrosio Gelato

website | 5339 Ballard Ave NW | neighborhood: Ballard | recommended flavor: pistachio

I haven’t tried all the gelato in Italy. But I can tell you the pistachio gelato at D’Ambrosio is better than any of the gelato I’ve had there.

Their gelato is creamy and has that authentic, pistachio taste. It’s a muted, pale green. Exactly the color pistachio ice cream should be. If you see fluorescent green in pistachio ice cream, please run. There’s no food that’s naturally that color. Yes, even mint chip.

A trick I learned from an Italian in Italy was that if you walk by a gelato shop and it’s puffed up into a beautiful peaked mound, you should find somewhere else. That is a tell-tale sign that that it’s not legit. D’Ambrosio passes this test.

More desserts in Seattle

Once you make your way through the best ice cream in Seattle, fulfill that sweet tooth craving at these other spots:

• Best Cookies and Desserts in Seattle
• Dessert Delivery in Seattle
• Chocolate Made in Seattle Worth Seeking Out