Ice Cream Shops in Philadelphia

When I arrived in Philadelphia, I started a Tweet thread of ice cream shops that are or aren’t as good as Rain or Shine back in Vancouver, which was the ice cream place I frequented most often since they have a location on the UBC campus. (I don’t have a thread or a list for ice cream shops in Vancouver, but you really can’t go wrong with Rain or Shine or with Earnest.)

Here I collect a list of the shops that are as good as Rain or Shine, ordered from west to east. Prices are for the smallest (non-kid’s) scoop in a cup, including 8% tax, excluding tip. This isn’t a total ranking of the ice cream shops, because I think they’re all worthwhile to visit if you want ice cream. However, I’ve put stars next to the ones I especially like, so if you find yourself equidistant between an entry with a star and one without, do go for the one with a star instead of flipping a coin.

This list only has shops specializing in ice cream scoops (which they call “hard” or “frozen” ice cream here, for some reason, as if anyone would want unfrozen ice cream). I will not include soft serve, rolled ice cream, shaved ice, or large ice cream chains like Ben & Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs — if I can buy a pint at a grocery store back in Vancouver, there’s no point including it on a Philly-specific list. If you’re curious about where I might visit next, my map of ice cream shops includes both places on this list and places I’ve yet to visit. Photos can be found in the Twitter thread above, or in my Instagram guide.


West Philly

Weckerly’s Ice Cream 🌟

265 S 44th Street (bw Spruce & Locust)
Single scoop: 4.99$

Brewerytown

Harper’s Ice Cream

2827 W Girard Avenue
Single scoop: 4.32$

Over the Moon Ice Cream

2623 W Girard Avenue
Single scoop: 4$

Centre City

1-900-ICE-CREAM

229 S. 20th Street (bw Walnut & Locust)
Single scoop: 6.48$

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

1901 Chestnut Street
“Single” scoop (two flavours): 6.75$

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

115 S 18th Street / 119 S 13th Street
Single scoop: 6.21$

Gran Caffè L’Aquila 🌟

1716 Chestnut Street
Small gelato: 5.94$

Passyunk

Milk Jawn 🌟

9 E Passyunk Avenue (by Dickinson)
Single scoop: 5.94$

Arctic Scoop [FB]

2 E Passyunk Avenue (by 13th & Moore)
Single scoop (w/ topping and drizzle): 5.40$

Bella Vista

Anthony’s Italian Coffee & Chocolate House

903 S 9th Street (by Christian)
Single scoope: 5$

Queen Village

Cuzzy’s Ice Cream Parlor 🌟

618 S 5th Street (by South)
Single scoop: 4.50$

Mount Airy

Zsa’s Ice Cream 🌟

6616 Germantown Avenue
Single scoop: 5.94$

Manayunk

Tubby Robot Ice Cream Factory

4369 Main Street
Single scoop: 5.12$

Honourable Mentions

Safa Plant Company

Manayunk — 4165 Main Street
Rose and saffron ice cream: 4.86$
Not in the main list since it’s not an ice cream shop, but for some reason this teahouse-turned-plantstore has one (1) single ice cream flavour and it’s really good??

Float Dreamery

Fishtown — 1255 E Palmer Street (on Thompson)
Ice cream sandwich: 5$
They only do pints and ice cream sandwiches, not scoops. But the sandwich is very good.

Matcha Panda Cafe

Chinatown — 202 N 9th Street (by Race)
Soft serve: 7.29$
They have a matcha and a hojicha flavour. A little ridiculously expensive, but the flavour is excellent and very strong.

Vanderwende Farm Creamery

Centre City — 243 Market Street
Single scoop: 6.48$
According to their site, they use milk from their own cows, which I think is very unique and impressive.
A shame that the ice cream is incredibly melty, way too sugary, and overall not that good.