Sick and tired of eating Campion ice cream? So were we, which is why we decided to head into the city to find fun treats that you wouldn’t find around campus. Not only did we get to try unique ice cream flavors, but the overall experience of each shop will make your trip into the city well worth it. If you’re looking for a break from the typical scoop, check out these five fun ice cream shops in Philly.
*The employees recommended all of the flavors pictured in this article as being the most popular choices.
- Our first and favorite stop of the trip was to N2 Sweet Cafe. It’s a modern little ice cream shop with friendly employees and a homey atmosphere with a comfy seating area. What sets this creamery apart from all of the others is their method of making the ice cream. They use liquid nitrogen to quickly freeze the room temperature cream into a smoother and creamier frozen treat. It is then decorated with toppings like fresh fruit or chunks of cheesecake and looks very aesthetically pleasing and tastes delicious.
2. Scoop Deville was the second stop on our trip and puts an interesting twist on your standard ice cream. They have crazy flavors like “Tickle my Pickle” which is (you guessed it!) pickle-flavored ice cream, and grab and go treats, such as ice cream sandwiches and chocolate covered Oreos. The most exciting part of the experience, however, was that they let you pick your flavor of ice cream and blend in whichever toppings you’d want. They also offer dairy free, gluten free, and vegan options, and deliver ice cream to your door which makes their ice cream available to everyone!
3. Little Baby’s Ice Cream is a small corner shop with brightly painted walls and wild ice cream flavors. A few of the flavors were “Everything Bagel”, “Pumpkin Latte”, and “Wheatgrass”. The offer cute little “baby-sized” cones that are perfect for little kids or for anyone who just wants a taste of one of their crazy flavors.
4. Sweet Charlie’s has one of the most unique and photogenic takes on the delicious dessert that we’ve ever seen. Instead of scooping their ice cream, they freeze it on a cold metal plate, then use a spatula to scrape it up into spiral rolls. It is topped with however many toppings you want with a beautiful presentation. This is definitely a fun place to experience ice cream in an unconventional way.
5. Although our final stop on the ice cream tour was not in Philly, it was worth mentioning because of its uniqueness. Tubby Robot is located on Main Street in Manayunk and offers more to their customers than just delicious ice cream. They have old-fashioned video games that customers can play for free while they eat. When it’s nice outside, they open their windows, creating a very inviting and relaxing atmosphere. When we visited, the owner of the shop told us that he rotates the arcade games every week so customers always have new games to play and that he makes the ice cream twice a week in-house so it’s fresh and homemade.
For all of the ice cream lovers out there looking to get more out of their ice cream experiences, these five places will make everybody scream for ice cream!
