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Philly has an astounding amount of excellent ice cream, and it goes well beyond the basics. There’s a spot that delivers whether you’re looking for the best vanilla you’ve ever had, a unique flavor combination, or an over-the-top sundae.
We’ve sampled our way through lots of scoops (yes, those are my hands and our desserts in the photos). While it’s hard to go wrong, here are our recommendations for the places worth a stop (or two).
Milk Jawn
The Philly-style (egg-free) ice cream from Milk Jawn is bursting with bold, inventive flavors. Lemon Curd with Blueberry Basil Swirl is one of their most popular combos. We’re also fans of Caramel Apple Pie and Dark Chocolate Orange, and Mint Stracciatella is in heavy rotation. Lines can be long in the summer as people queue for the delicious concoctions, but they move fast, and the wait is worth it. An unexpected treat: they make an incredible candy cane flavor served with hot chocolate that’s a winter essential for us.
The small-batch, super-premium creations are scooped at their East Passyunk and Northern Liberties locations.
Irv’s Ice Cream
A newcomer to the South Philly ice cream scene, Irv’s is already gaining attention for its flavorful scoops using locally-sourced ingredients. On the Friday night we visited, there was a long line of people curious about the sweet corn flavor made with New Jersey’s best and the butter pecan that uses housemade pralines. Our favorites were the horchata brimming with cinnamon and the chocolate peanut butter brownie overflowing with brownie chunks. The scoops are rich, and the portions are generous.
Franklin Fountain
It’s not unusual for the line at this tiny shop with an old fashioned soda fountain vibe to stretch around the block on summer weekends, proving that Franklin Fountain is one of the best ice cream stops in the city. The menu boasts 2 dozen traditional and exotic flavors. You’ll find standards like vanilla bean and Hydrox cookie as well as flavors like black sesame, peppermint stick, and more that are added seasonally. Many flavors have an historic or local tie, such as their apple butter ice cream that includes local apples and apple butter from a 130-year-old Pennsylvania company. We almost always opt for the fudge brownie and the root beer float that includes house-made root beer.
Ice cream sandwiches, shakes, and sundaes with house-made toppings are available along with some baked goods and seasonal specialties like hot chocolate. The products here are premium priced but worth it.
Bassetts
With its prime location in Reading Terminal Market, Bassetts is many people’s introduction to ice cream in the city. And what a fabulous introduction it is. Any of their over 35 flavors of ice cream and sorbet is a good bet from classic mint chocolate chip to English toffee crunch.
As the oldest ice cream company in the US, Bassetts has been around so long that it’s easy to forget just how good the ice cream here is. In addition to its market counter, Bassetts is also sold at grocery stores across the area, and it is featured in scoop shops such as the Chestnut Hill staple Bredenbeck’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Vanderwende Farm Creamery
If you spend much time at the Delaware beaches, you may already know Vanderwende’s Farm Creamery, which runs four shops, including ones in Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island. Their only PA location, the scoop shop on Market Street in Old City has dozens of flavors made using the milk from their fourth-generation family dairy. Salty caramel and chocolate fudge ripple are our picks, but it’s hard to go wrong here.
D’Emilio’s Old World Ice Treats
As an expert in artisanal water ice and the best soft serve we’ve ever had, D’Emilio’s Old World Ice Treats is the perfect dessert spot in any season. Using his grandmother’s sorbetto recipe, Chris D’Emilio makes numerous creative water ice flavors using fresh, mostly local ingredients.
It’s possible to buy water ice only here, but with soft serve like this, you’d be missing out. Add some soft serve for a gelati (pro tip: birch beer and vanilla tastes like a root beer float), or go all-in on the soft serve alone. D’Emilio’s makes amazing sundaes with fanciful names like Love Ya to Reeses packed with peanut butter flavor, the Unicorn Sundae featuring the colors of the rainbow, and the Pooh Bear sundae complete with clover honey. The menu is posted daily on Instagram.
1-900-Ice-Cream
Using local dairy and an unlimited variety of mix-ins, 1-900-Ice-Cream prides itself on (almost) never making the same flavor twice. They’ve created over 560 options so far. The rich ice cream in every flavor under the sun is packed with a head-spinning variety of swirls and mix-ins ranging from rainbow chocolate chips and amarena cherries to carrot cake and pop-tarts.
Check out their Fishtown and Rittenhouse locations for pints, soft serve, and scoops. Follow on social for current offerings and shipping promotions. Lines can be long.
Weckerly’s
With over a decade serving great ice cream in the city, it’s fair to say that Weckerly’s is an institution. They continue to churn out delicious ice cream and ice cream sandwiches while overseeing all parts of the production process. From pasteurizing their own milk and making their ice cream base to perfecting the flavors and mix-ins, no detail is overlooked here. It’s no wonder it’s a Fishtown favorite, and they have recently added a location in Rittenhouse.
Flavors are seasonal and include delicious options like chocolate peanut butter pretzel and eggnog. German chocolate cake and whole bean vanilla are the hits in our house.
Gran Caffe L’Aquila
While it doesn’t qualify as ice cream, any list of the best creamy frozen treats in the city would be incomplete without a mention of Gran Caffe L’Aquila. You know gelato is good when the mix-ins are visible and the colors are natural (no electric green or bizarre pink here). We usually go with classics like hazelnut or tiramisu.
Scoop DeVille
The offerings of Scoop DeVille are unique because customers get to make their own custom blends. Whether you want Junior Mints, strawberries, or brownie bits, you’ll find your choice among the nearly 100 options that get mixed into over a dozen ice cream flavors. The possibilities are nearly endless. If that’s too many options, there are suggested blends, too. We’re partial to the Oreo Mudslide with plenty of hot fudge.
Fiore
We’ve loved the gelato at Fiore since before their relocation to Kensington from Queen Village. Thankfully, that’s given us a lot of time to consume not only the pints and scoops they offer to go but also the desserts in the restaurant (the affogato is crazy good). From the caramel swirl gelato we once got for Thanksgiving dinner to the recent cherry and chocolate chip (pictured above), every scoop is laden with the perfect amount of mix-ins and flavor ribbons.
Zsa’s
The ingredients in Zsa’s ice cream are locally sourced, and many flavors include home-made baked goods like their stand out Cookie Jar that features four types of cookies. Flavors rotate seasonally, and some of our favorites include Black Magic (coffee and brownie), peppermint bark, and strawberries and cream. Sadly, this great neighborhood spot has announced they will be closing at the end of 2025, but at least there are a few months left to enjoy the deliciousness. Order at the back door and pick up at the side window.