Best of Philly

Best Ice Cream

2022 Best Soft-Serve

Small Oven Pastry Shop

Small Oven’s two flavors of soft-serve per weekend get the same consideration as the dessert menu at a Michelin-starred restaurant. In the height of summer, pastry chef Chad Durkin makes peaches and mascarpone or watermelon and lemon-lime. In the fall, there’s cappuccino and tahini or apple pie and butterscotch. Toppings include homemade sauces and cubes of pound cake that are as thoughtful as the ice cream. Read More »

2204 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Ice Cream

Milk Jawn

Order pints online in flavors like Earl Grey, flecked with handmade honeycomb candy, or lemon curd, swirled with made-from-scratch blueberry basil compote. Classic options include chocolate peanut butter and vanilla, made with a double-strength extract. Either way, you’re getting some of the city’s most exciting (and straight-up delicious) new ice cream. Read More »

3525 I Street Unit B06, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Restaurant Ice Cream

Vernick Fish

Chef Greg Vernick’s menu is inspired by his summers at the Jersey Shore. It’s why his seafood is fresh as hell, it’s why James’ saltwater taffy comes at the end of the meal, and it’s why his ice cream, made with seasonal fresh fruit, instantly transports you to the boardwalk. Read More »

One North 19th Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2019 Best Ice-Cream Sandwich

Flow State CoffeeBar Pizzelle

This portable piece of luxury features Melanie Diamond-Manlusoc’s famous vanilla bean gelato sandwiched between two pizzelles that are dipped in ultra-fancy chocolate and dressed with almond crepe crispies, flaky sea salt and gold leaf. Read More »

2413 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 267-702-0280 | Website

2019 Best Ice-Cream Cone

Cafe Clover

This Korean sweets/scoop shop is the only place in the region making taiyaki cones — fish-shaped, waffle-like baked shells that hold scoops of gelato in flavors like Oreo, Thai coconut and green tea. Read More »

1333 West Cheltenham Avenue, #103, Elkins Park, PA | 215-635-3071

2018 Best Ice Cream

Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream

There’s a reason the best ice-cream shops are always located on farms. Peak strawberry season? Mix ’em into ice cream. Blueberries are plump and ripe? Blueberry ice cream it is. Pumpkins ready to be picked? Well, in Bucks County, the entire month of October is basically dedicated to Uncle Dave’s pumpkin ice cream. Read More »

931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley, PA | 215-968-1670 | Website

2017 Best Ice Cream

Tubby Robot

Yes, the ice cream is handmade from local ingredients, and it’s really, really good. But nobody’s judging if you only go for the Wall-O-Vision, in which video games are projected onto an outside alley wall but controlled by a joystick inside. Bring the kids if you need a plausible excuse for another visit. Read More »

4369 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-423-4376 | Website

2017 Best Trendy Ice Cream

Winterfell Dessert

While the rest of the city is rolling ice-cream roses with paint scrapers, Winterfell went with a Game of Thrones-themed Taiwanese shaved ice shop. For the uninitiated: Shaved Thai ice is what happens when ice cream and cotton candy fool around together. Read More »

32 South 40th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-387-4561 | Website

2016 Best Soft-Serve

Pizzeria Vetri

If the fior di latte soft-serve were any smoother, it would slide right out of the cup. Read More »

1615 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-763-3760 | Website

2015 Best Soft-Serve

Big Gay Ice Cream

It's all delicious, though the Salty Pimp, with dulce de leche and sea salt, is the one people talk about as they should. Read More »

521 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-886-8024 | Website