The Best Ice Cream in Brooklyn Right Now

By Scott Lynch

Ice cream tastes exactly as delicious in February as it does in July, which is why I’ve eaten at least one serving of the stuff every single day for the past two decades or so. Maybe that’s excessive? Possibly, but also I don’t care. Joy is joy, get it whenever and wherever you can.

That said, I totally understand that we’re in prime ice cream parlor season right now, when a trip to your local makes for the perfect cap to a long summer’s day, or a special treat on a too-hot afternoon. Often the best place to go on such occasions is simply whatever’s closest to you, but if you’re looking for actually amazing ice cream, with luxurious texture and flavors that are strong and true (not just “cold” and “sweet”), these eight spots represent Brooklyn’s elite class of parlor.

Black cherry cardamom and rose with cinnamon roasted almonds (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Malai
268 Smith St.

Pooja Bavishi, the chef and owner of the incomparable Malai, which brings the South Asian flavors of her family’s heritage to some of the richest, creamiest ice cream in town, is on an expansion tear. This past year has seen new Malai parlors open in DC, in Philly, and, soon, the West Village in Manhattan. But the flagship on Smith Street remains the heart of her empire, and a recent visit confirmed that everything from OG offerings like rose with cinnamon-roasted almonds to new creations like black cherry cardamom still totally rule. Plus: here you’ll find the best vanilla scoop in the city. Brooklyn is truly blessed that Bavishi calls the borough her home.

Salted caramel with chocolate shell and pistachio cherry sundaes (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Birdee
316 Kent Ave.

The multi-Michelin-starred pastry chef Renata Ameni opened the stellar Birdee in the spring, a bakery and all-day cafe in the iconic (though completely rebuilt) Domino Refinery on the Williamsburg waterfront. And then in June, this great news got even better, as Ameni added four incredible ice cream sundaes that you can get for just ten bucks each and swoon over in the breezy, shady plaza in the park right outside. My favorite is probably her salted caramel one with the chocolate shell, but Ameni’s pistachio cherry sundae with crunchy kataifi is almost as good—destination-worthy desserts for sure.

Ultra classic affogato sundae (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Caffe Panna
16 Norman Ave.

Last summer, our irreplaceable ice cream queen Hallie Meyer opened Caffe Panna on an industrial corner in Greenpoint, and fans have been flocking to Norman and Banker ever since for scoops, pints, sundaes, and the borough’s best affogatos. I’d tell you what my favorite Panna creations are, but Meyer changes her menu literally every day, so there are probably hundreds from over the years on my list! Just show up and follow your cravings. Everything here is pretty much guaranteed to make you happy.

Black Is King and Selassie Swirl (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Kente Cones
527 Stanley Ave.

Kente Cones is the newest addition to the Brooklyn ice cream parlor scene (it just opened on Juneteenth this year), and straight out the gate, it’s one of the absolute best. Owned and operated by chef Ashley Marrero, an East New York lifer who is thrilled to serve her community today, Kente Cones scoops eggless ice cream (so it’s extra luscious) in flavors like Black Is King (made from Ghanaian chocolate and oreo dust) and Selassie Swirl (Ethiopian coffee with a fudge swirl). Both of these are truly elite-level scoops. The shop is super cute too.

Caramelized soy and jujube toffee (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Win Son Bakery
164 Graham Ave.

Superstar pastry chef Danielle Spencer, who along with Trigg Brown and Josh Ku turned the corner of Montrose and Graham into the borough’s hottest brunch party when they opened Win Son Bakery here in 2019, is extremely good at making many different things, from mochi donuts to red date cake to, most relevant to our discussion today, some crazy rich and lux ice cream. Available as pints only in Brooklyn (the Manhattan branch gets scoops), all of Spencer’s ice cream is phenomenal, but maybe especially the caramelized soy and the jujube toffee. Dream date idea: sit outside the place at a table with a pint, two spoons, and someone you love.

Coffee toffee and fresh minty chip (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Heap’s
171 Seventh Ave.

Sarah Sanneh will always have a prominent place in my personal Brooklyn restaurant-people pantheon for bringing the great Pies-n-Thighs to us during Williamsburg’s hipster heyday. And then last year, she and partner Matt Lieber opened the fun and friendly ice cream parlor Heap’s in prime Park Slope, featuring flavors like mango sticky rice, coffee toffee, caramel stroopwafel, and passionfruit guava sorbet, plus some of the best ice cream cakes and ice cream sandwiches in town. Just incredible stuff. Get a double scoop of whatever, sit under an umbrella on the front patio, and be grateful that we live in the same timeline as Sanneh.

Coffee au lait with oreo and ooey gooey butter cake (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Ample Hills/The Social
816 Washington Ave.

Forget the years of drama and more drama that Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna have been through scooping ice cream in Prospect Heights under both the Ample Hills and The Social names. Forget the fact that this corner spot on Washington Avenue is lately looking a little worse for wear (the couple are no longer involved), and definitely try to forget that weird, crumbling, nasty ass fudge sauce photo-op throne (?) back by the bathrooms. Just get a double-scoop of sweet, chunky Ample Hills classics like Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake and Snap, Mallow, Pop! and pretend like it’s 2013 again. Because really, if you’re in the right mood, this stuff still hits exactly right.

Blueberry pie and moose trax (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Brix Haus
406 Rogers Ave.

Tara Glick’s first Brix Haus (and, after she closed her Park Slope and Williamsburg branches earlier this year, her only Brix Haus at the moment) is the perfect neighborhood ice cream parlor, a place where locals stop in for a scoop or two after school or supper and sit at a table out on the sidewalk and just relax for a minute or three. Honestly, there should be something like Brix Haus every few blocks all over Brooklyn. Glick took over Glou, the wine bar on the corner, renamed it Trove, and so, is busy with that, but her ice cream at Brix is still handmade, still fun and creative, and still very good.