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It doesn’t matter if you’ve eaten a little sandwich or a Thanksgiving-level dinner: There’s always room for ice cream. It’s the sweet nightcap (or in extreme cases, breakfast) that we all crave. In New York, it’s not just the taste of ice cream that makes it such an appealing dessert. It’s the presentation. Few cities compare to the creative ice cream options Manhattan has to offer. We’ve put together a delicious arrangement of the 10 most outrageous ice cream shops in NYC, all of which specialize in something unique. Whether it’s boba-inspired flavors, flower-shaped scoops, or cake slice-sized toppings, these desserts are sure to satisfy your sweet-tooth cravings and look picture-perfect!
Soft serve cones are a comfort food. Soft Swerve is an adventure. There are few ice cream shops that are able to put so many rare toppings on one small-sized colorful cone, but to Soft Swerve in Chinatown, it’s second nature. If their baby blue and white color scheme isn’t enough for your grid, their product will certainly satisfy. A one-cone post can display a concoction of Mochi, marshmallows, or cotton candy toppings with any type of drizzle and dip the shop has to offer.
Among the most vibrant and photogenic flavors for the feed are Thai Tea, Frozen Hot Chocolate, and Ube Purple Yam. Before you retreat from the uncommon combination of a vegetable and ice cream, don’t let the Yam name fool you. Their specialty flavor has all the sweet vanilla-like taste of a purple yam combined with a deep-toned lavender color. Whether you want a simple cup or a complicated cone, Soft Swerve guarantees a consistently beautiful swirl. You can find Soft Swerve locations in the Lower East Side, Kips Bay, Flushing, Chinatown and Brooklyn (coming soon).
The East Village’s Stuffed is famous for a few things, like their original bunny body-shaped cone or their glazed donut ice cream sandwiches. Yet nothing is as striking or as Instagramable as their ten-scoop bouquet cone. Yes. BOUQUET. Choose any of their vividly colored flavors, (Cookie Monster is a personal favorite) and Stuffed will stick the scoops together in the shape of a flower on a single cone.
Stuffed’s name doesn’t lie. The shop is known for putting as many scoops as possible into any order. If ten scoops are too much, try a donut sandwich which is preserved in a sleek portable bowl that’s guaranteed to stay intact long enough for a photo. And really, who doesn’t want to know what “Unicorn Poop” and “Thai Kwon Dough” tastes like?
You’d never guess by the name, but if you’re looking for the picture-perfect ice cream of your dreams, your next stop should be BlackTap. A secret weapon on their already popular lunch menu in Midtown, or in Soho, is their milkshakes. BlackTap ensures that if a few slurps aren’t enough, there’s a bigger treat attached to the experience. Any serial scroller on social media is going to stop when they see a giant slice of cake perched on a decorated glass.
BlackTap covers the rim of their milkshakes with any sticky sweet, like chocolate fudge or buttercream frosting, and takes “topping” to a new level by placing a giant brownie, cake slice, or even an ice cream sandwich at the head of the cup. The focus and execution of the presentation are so meticulous, one might think the drink itself is an afterthought. Luckily, after a personal visit, we can vouch for the fact that the BlackTap dessert tastes as good as it looks. As the restaurant’s Instagram comments section reads, the experience is “Epic!!!”, “so tempting”, and “O. M. G.”
If there’s a manual on how to make ice cream beautiful, Surreal Creamery wrote it. Located in Midtown and Greenwich Village, Surreal specializes in two, equally photogenic, desserts: their Signature Mason Jars and Floateas. Intensely colored ice cream seems to be a New York trademark, because this shop’s unique flavors, like Taro, Matcha, and Monster Cookies and Cream are as brightly hued as the shop’s assortment of toppings.
Surreal carefully sticks any cereal topping to their soft serve swirl in a Mason Jar, and tops off the masterpiece with a cookie, a cracker, or even little teddy bears. Their Floateas are a combination of bubble tea with pearls and a boba-flavored swirl of ice cream on top. Either confection is a treat for the eyes as much as for the taste buds.
You had to see this one coming. Amorino Gelato invented the concept of Instagramable Ice cream. Their page looks like an edible version of the Botanical Gardens. Amorino is known to create three-dimensional flowers on cones. It’s not made with scoops, but with careful crafting and tools, and the result is a stunning, edible, fully bloomed rose. During our personal exploration, it made for a refreshing surprise that their Signature Gelato piece puts a gelato-filled macaroon on top of the flower.
Their natural fruity flavors stay intact on a hot summer’s day and look stunning in any lighting. But if you can’t take our word for it and you’re worried about being able to finish the cone, Amorino has another option. Whether you’re in the Upper East Side, Times Square, or Greenwich Village, Amorino sells their gelato flavors on top of fluffy waffles and delectable-looking crepes.
KITH is the definition of cool. For any Instagram user whose feed is neutral-colored, minimalistic, and easy on the eyes, KITH Treats is made for their page. The ice cream is not only a seamless blend of cereal and a base flavor, but it’s also in a luxury sneaker store.
Walking into KITH is a futuristic experience, and the ice cream flavors fit the theme. Unlike any other ice cream parlor in NYC, Kith cups are entirely cereal flavored, whether it’s Lucky Charms ice cream, Cookie Crisp ice cream, or any other household brand cereal. The ice cream base is topped with a candy, a drizzle, and a churro of your choice all served in a sleek cup display, to match the retail label. You’ll find KITH Treats on Lafayette Street in Manhattan or Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.
Although New Territories is currently under renovation, it will make a tasty addition to your city itinerary when its Chinatown location remodel is finished. The adorable light pink packaging, french fry containers, and priority on presentation is a recipe for Instagramable ice cream. They’ve got almost everything you could want in a sundae: big waffles, roasted marshmallows, boba kits, and diligently decorated glass jars. Their savory sorbet is a summer necessity, but any flavor or however many toppings you choose will, without a doubt, look good from any angle.
The Chinatown shop had a playful aesthetic and walls that made for beautiful photo backgrounds before, so when it reopens, it’s sure to be just as charming. One of the most eye-catching aspects of New Territories is their Golden Boba topping, which catches the light perfectly in any photo. If the shop couldn’t get any cuter, it goes the extra mile with its whipped cream shapes, butterfly decor, and product names like “U-Be Trippin” and “Mr. Grumpy”.
Fish-shaped soft serve cones. Teddy Bear holders. Mochi donuts bigger than your hand. Any picture of a Taiyaki NYC desert looks like art. Taiyaki, or “baked sea bream” in Japanese, is a fish-shaped cake with a filling inside. Taiyaki NYC has ice cream and topping combinations with names like Matcha Better and It’s Choco-lit, but you can also pick your own combination of filling, ice cream, and topping flavor.
What sets Taiyaki apart from the rest is their embellishments and attention to detail. Some cones have ears and unicorn horns, some have a vibrant baby umbrella to protect your ice cream from melting before you can capture the perfect shot, and one holiday cone, in particular, is a portable Christmas Tree. It seems like with every visit to Taiyaki, there’s a new limited-time item on the menu, which means there’s a good chance this summer that they’ll be something new for you to try!
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, NYC is well known for their elegant, simple, and minimalistic hard ice cream cones, but recently, it opened a new location on 2 Rivington Street that ice cream lovers go bananas over. Their new exclusively dairy-free soft-serve location, Morgenstern Bananas in Nolita, features homemade flavor recipes and perfectly swirled cones that pop against the retro exterior of the shop.
Everything in Bananas makes for a good picture, whether you want to post a photo of the shop, your ice cream order, or even the machine they make it with. A Morgenstern Bananas treat is vegan-friendly and for everyday ice cream lovers who enjoy the look of a clean, well-tailored cone.
Last, but certainly not least, is only for our 21+ readers. Most ice cream outings are a chill way to wrap up a busy and tiring day. But, if you want to add the kick to your kickback, TipsyScoop should be your first stop. Tipsy specializes in something rare: liquor infused Ice cream. Their Manhattan and Brooklyn Locations sell pints, ice cream sandwiches, seasonal sundaes, and ice cream cocktails.
Tipsy Scoop rises above the expectation that because there’s alcohol involved, presentation isn’t a priority. Their glass jars are coated in toppings, their whipped cream is perfectly placed, and their vibrant flavors are accentuated by the flying banner on top of their sundaes that read, “#BoozyIceCream”. The NYC Barlour is the best place for your friend group to take a Friday night photo or film the laughs that the dessert is guaranteed to cause.
Next, check out NYC’s Oldest Ice Cream Parlor
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