20 Greater Cincinnati Ice Cream Parlors You Need to Visit This Summer

By CityBeat Staff on Fri, Jul 17, 2020 at 2:17 pm

From old school creameries to Thai rolled, nitrogen-infused and gelato, the Queen City has plenty of options when it comes to getting your sweet, frosty fix.

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Best Chocolates

1. Aglamesis Bro’s, aglamesis.com
2. Maverick Chocolate Co., maverickchocolate.com
3. Esther Price, estherprice.com

Photo: Hailey Bollinger

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Old Milford Parlor

119 Main St., Milford
Sister shop to Pendleton Parlor in Pendleton, Old Milford specializes in the “fusion of espresso and ice cream,” while dabbling in the edible cookie dough business. Choose from “old school” flavors like vanilla or rainbow sherbet or “top shelf” flavors like chocolate brownie or peanut butter pretzel. And don’t forget to top everything with cookie dough.
Photo via Facebook.com/OldMilfordParlor

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Hello Honey

633 Vine St., Downtown
This downtown gem has been scooping from-scratch sweets since 2012. The ice cream flavors rotate based on seasonal availability and have included amazingly interesting and decadent options like banana honeycomb, charcoal black sesame, Earl Grey blackberry, brown butter caramel and basic but delicious options like Dutch chocolate. Pro tip: always ask to top your ice cream with a homemade marshmallow. Now offering pints.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

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Schneider’s Sweet Shop

420 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue
Schneider’s Sweet Shop has been an essential neighborhood destination for sugary treats since 1939. The shop offers ice cream, handmade candies — like their signature Opera Creams — and a Northern Kentucky delicacy called “Ice Balls,” which are shaved ice with your choice of flavor and some ice cream.
Photo via Schneider’s Sweet Shop Facebook

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Loveland Sweets

124 West Loveland Avenue, Loveland
Founded in 2006, this nostalgia-inducing confectioner offers a blend of housemade items and an array of other specialty sweets including their small-batch ice cream. Taste a variety of flavors including Nutella and pistachio and take your cone or cup on a walk around adorable downtown Loveland.
Photo via Facebook.com/LovelandSweets

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Fort Thomas Ice Cream

1013 S. Ft Thomas Ave, Fort Thomas
Offering vegan options and popsicles along with their classic ice cream, Fort Thomas Ice Cream serves up over 20 homemade flavors a day on waffle cones. Try unique options like spicy pineapple sorbet or honeycomb, or keep it classic with strawberry or mint chip. Can’t pick one flavor? Try an ice cream flight: four flavors with four toppings.
Photo via Facebook.com/fortthomasicecream

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Milkman Ice Cream

6063 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge
This brand new walk-up, located outside of Pleasant Ridge's Revolution Rotisserie, offers ice cream and milkshakes on weekends and freshly made donuts on Sundays. With both boozy and non-alcoholic options, Milkman has been selling out almost every weekend since opening, so you know it’s delicious. Try flavors like Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble or Lemon Basil Blueberry.
Photo via Facebook.com/milkmancincy

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Buona Terra

1028 Delta Ave., Mount Lookout
This Mt. Lookout shop features 24 flavors of gelato and sorbetto daily. As for ingredients, it rotates flavors regularly, but maintains staples like caramel and chocolate. For the most part, availability of fresh produce determines the gelato and sorbetto flavors. Keep an eye out for unfamiliar options, including Earl Grey and white chocolate lavender and refreshing sorbetto flavors such as mango passion fruit, melon and blood orange.
Photo via Facebook.com/BuonaTerraGelato

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La Grassa

7014 Miami Ave., Madeira
We know: Gelato isn’t technically ice cream. But it’s close enough. If you wanted to try every flavor of gelato available at La Grassa in Madeira, you could. Entertain no fear of being too picky or taking too long to decide on a flavor — proprietor John Berman wants you to find your favorite. Choose from unique flavors like creme brulee, espresso chip and passion fruit sorbet. Ice cream or not, there’s something for everyone.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

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Buzzed Bull Creamery

1408 Main St., Over-the-Rhine; 6052 OH-48, Maineville
Cincinnati-based boozy ice cream chain Buzzed Bull Creamery opened the doors of its first storefront in 2016 and has since opened a second location in Maineville (with several franchises opening across the nation). Known for its liquid nitrogen-infused ice creams and milkshakes, Buzzed Bull serves both boozy and non-boozy creations like Death by Chocolate, Dreamsicle and Honey Bourbon Pecan.
Photo via Facebook.com/buzzedbullcreamery

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Village Ice Cream Parlor

22 S. Broadway St., Lebanon
Lebanon may be a little far north for some, but we can’t leave out one of Greater Cincinnati’s favorite classic parlors. A staple in the Lebanon community since 1969, they offer traditional treats like a Turtle Sundae, plus new creations including a Lemon Raspberry Cloud Sundae — all smack dab in the middle of the picturesque downtown.
Photo via Facebook.com/VillageParlor

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Pendleton Parlor

1216 Broadway St., Pendleton
At Pendleton Parlor, a bona fide second location of Old Milford, visitors can cool down their choice of mint chocolate chip or rainbow sherbet ice cream or opt for some creamy whip with a variety of flavors mixed in ranging from strawberry to Thin Mint. More adventurous customers can opt for edible cookie dough by the scoop, choose to blend the batter into a shake or enjoy it in a sundae or a side by side.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

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Craft Cream Works

7736 Dudley Drive, West Chester
With over 70 flavors in rotation, and new creations popping up all the time, Craft Cream Works has something for everyone: No, seriously, everyone. They have debuted four vegan flavors including Thin Mint and Peanut Butter Oreo to make sure that dairy-free folks can enjoy ice cream as much as everyone else. Non-vegan flavors include creative picks like PB’NJ, Biscoff Cookie and ‘Merica Cheesecake, but these are subject to change since they “keep it fresh.”
Photo via Facebook.com/CraftCreamWorks

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Scoopz Maineville

34 W. Foster Maineville Road, Maineville
Serving up Ohio-based Velvet ice cream, Scoopz’s motto is “Life’s short... Eat dessert first!” Indulge in classic flavors like Moose Tracks and mint chocolate chip, all served up in a fresh-made waffle cone.
Photo via Facebook.com/scoopzmaineville

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Simply Rolled Ice Cream

32 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine
A franchise from Columbus, Simply Rolled Ice Cream offers made-to-order Thai rolled ice cream creations with a vegan-friendly option and over 20 toppings and mix-ins. It also has 10 signature ice cream rolls such as the Pina Colada, Buckeye Madness and seasonal options like Orange Rollsicle and Cotton Candy Fizzaz. All ice creams are priced at $6.50.
Photo via Facebook.com/simplyrolledicecream

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La Michoacana Ice Cream Factory

1338 Northland Blvd., Forest Park
Mexican ice cream chain La Michoacana has a location in Forest Park. The creamery offers a selection of housemade ice creams, popsicles and fresh fruit creations — plus savory snacks as well.
Photo via Facebook.com/LaMichocanaIceCreamCincinnatiOhio

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Milk Jar Cafe

3880 Paxton Ave., Oakley
Previously dubbed Milk Bar, Milk Jar offers Thai-style rolled ice cream along with Bubble Tea and gourmet cereal (but we’ll stick to the ice cream for today). Try combinations like Choco Loco (chocolate syrup and vanilla), Java Lava (coffee and condensed milk), Monkey Business (banana and Nutella) and Campfire Delight (graham cracker, chocolate syrup with a marshmallow on top) or create your own with unlimited toppings.
Photo via Facebook.com/milkjarcincy

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