J.P. Licks

Hands down BEST ice cream in Boston, bar none. Waaaaaay better than any of those upstart frozen yogurt pretenders. Creamy, natural, no aftertaste, great thick texture that melts evenly, not watery. You can’t go wrong in any of the locations that I’ve seen.
If you opt for their larger offerings like my personal fave banana split with brownie batter ice cream, marshmallow & hot fudge, walnuts, chocolate sprinkles & peanut butter sauce, bring a friend to help u eat it. You can pick different ice cream flavors & split it up, (making a real banana «split», lol) Now I’m getting punchy even thinking about it. :)
Even during those good old days as a starving grad student in the Boston area, I would have to skip dinner if I had any intentions of coming close to eating the majority of it. But SO worth it! It’s heaven on earth, but huuuuuuuuuuuge!

3.5 stars — 4 stars for ice cream quality, 3 stars for staff attitude. Loved the coffee with cookies and cream — perfect dose of sweetness and texture from the cookies and cream without overwhelming the coffee base.
Didn’t love the staff who clearly was annoyed there were customers interrupting her otherwise empty night. Asked for a kiddie cone, but got scoops smashed onto a cake cone instead. Was too off-​put by said staff to bother mentioning.
Will think twice before visiting this location — huge contrast vs. Harvard Square location.

Comparable to Eskimo King there are numerous flavors at J. P Licks. I can remember my favorite flavor of Coconut Almond Chip which is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream to this day. If you live in Boston and haven’t been to J. P Licks you’re missing out.

Coffee cookies and cream. So very good! You can buy them by the pint and quart, $ 6ish and $ 11ish.

Even when you’re full from dinner, there’s always room for dessert… Especially when it’s ice cream! After having dinner at one of the eateries nearby, I stumbled upon J.P. Licks. There were a few people in line, but it wasn’t overly crowded. J.P. Licks offers a handful of regular ice cream flavors, as well as monthly flavors. They also have soft and hard yogurt, sorbets, and sherbets if you’re not feeling like ice cream. After sampling a couple of flavors, I decided on the Maple Walnut. There were chopped pieces of walnut mixed in the ice cream. Not bad!

I read about this place on Unilocal and immediately bookmarked for my trip! I admit coming to Boston in November did not scream ice cream to me but thankfully while passing this place they had the magic words — Best Hot Chocolate! Ok sold, I’ll go!
The staff was nice explaining the different flavored. I went with the white chocolate and my aunt did the classic hot chocolate. While waiting for our drinks to be made I was pleasantly surprised to see «souvenirs» and they even had mini bottles of their famous hot chocolate! Small bottle but servers 12 drinks for just $ 3.99 I bought 2 for gifts to bring back home!
The drinks were amazing! Just the right amount of sweet and the marshmallows made it even more delicious! Wish I could have had some ice cream but this Miami girl was already freezing!

Ew just left this place after the girl behind the counter started to prepare my dairy free ice cream right after changing the trash can liner and bringing old trash bag elsewhere. She didn’t wash her hands or put gloves on and grabbed a scoop and a cup and started digging into my dairy free ice cream.
I said «um you didn’t wash your hands after touching the trash can.» And I got the LOOK OF DEATH from her… if looks could kill. I said never mind and turned around and left this place.
How about training your employees about food safety!!! This isn’t that difficult… it’s scooping ice cream.
Disgusting!!! Avoid!

This ice cream place was great for a quick little treat. They have lots of flavors and I like that they have a kiddie size so you can just get a little bit. I love that you can try flavors too. Their seasonal pumpkin flavor was awesome even if I could never eat a whole scoop. Just one little taste was perfect and then I ordered something more traditional.

My raging sweet tooth usually leads me into patisseries and twee bakeries, sometimes chocolate shops, but factor in summer heat — and I only have eyes for ice cream. This time, only JP Licks would do. After seeing them listed on multiple ‘best ice cream in Boston’ lists, I trucked past plenty of gelato shops and froyo parlours, until I hit JP Licks. It was absolutely worth the trip.
I had a sugar cone with half brownie batter, half raspberry linzer — both were marvelous. The brownie one is as intensely rich and gooey as you might expect, while the linzer had chunks of cookie and a raspberry swirl. My husband had the coffee cookies and cream, combining his two all-​time favorite flavors into one. This flavor — definitely greater than the sum of its parts, to misquote noted ice-​cream aficionado, Aristotle.
While writing this review, I visited the JP Licks website, to see what sort of October flavors they have. This was a bad idea, as I am now saddened that this ice cream is 400+ miles away.

I had the coffee cookies and cream hard yogurt. I must say it was really delicious! Huge downsides to this place is that surface was extremely slow and it’s pretty pricey for ice cream. Overall, doubt I’d return.

Love all the different flavors they offer with cookies and cream… i got the cooffee cookies and cream. Big chunks of cookies and very smooth coffee flavor.
Unique flavors (varies by month) and pretty afforable prices. open a little later than normal. close to the ball park i believe.
Ice cream is ice cream and unless it is very bad, it is good lol!

Got sundaes here and they were incredible! This place is where it’s at. Blondie in my blondie sundae was warmed up and very dense. Portions are great and tons of options. Cookies and cream flavor was loaded with cookies. Ice cream was velvety rich. Worth every penny!

Who said Toscanini’s is the best in Boston? JP LICKS is absolutely the best ice cream i have ever had in boston! for an indulgent binge, a decadent splurge, and a heavenly treat!!!
I have had coconut almond chocolate chips, chocolate brownie batter, cookie and cream before and all of them are sooooo incomparably good: rich, creamy, not too sweet, right texture, plus they are homemade.
My only concern is how not to get addicted?!

Best all-​around ice cream joint in Boston (and tied with my other all-​time favorite: The Hub in Tucson).
I’m a genuine ice cream afficianado. I am also fit/​health-​conscious, so a single scoop is maybe a once/​week treat for me. Consequently, I never buy from a grocery store, no matter my craving or the brand. It has to be from a parlour that churns their own custom concoctions using fresh, natural ingredients. Fortunately (unlike even just 10 years ago) nearly every city can boast such establishments and central Boston/​Cambridge has two outstanding ones: Toscanini’s and JP Licks. Between the two, JP’s gets the photo-​finish for a couple of small reasons.
Raves: JPs has both a rotating, flavors-​of-​the-​month menu and a staples menu, altogether they provide a good two flavors to select from. We sampled 4 – 5 and opted for a large (triple-​scoop) of coconut-​almond chip, coffee and cookies, and salted caramel. We loved that JPs offers 1, 2 and even 3 scoop sizes, because (a) the large is always the most economical and (b) when we travel, we almost always spring for the 3-​scoop and get 3 different flavors to share. At $ 5.70 for the triple it was only a few cents more than the 2-​flavored double at Toscanini’s (which, surprisingly, is the largest size you can get there… and they won’t allow you to split that amongst 3 choices).
Flavors and texture were outstanding. The ice cream was just the right consistency (not hard, but not melted either) and easily eaten with the plastic spoons provided. Undoutbedly a 30+ percent fat content (but that’s why it’s a treat!). We wished we could have squeezed in one more visit to eat a few of the custom flavors too.
We went on a Thursday afternoon, and despite Boylston and Newbury being busy with summertime shoppers and visitors, there were only a handful of folks in front of us. The establishment is kinda bohemian chic with a loft-​like feel. There is free water easily accessible (a must to chase down all that ice cream). And, despite scaffolding and construction above/​around this venue, its location was condusive to either sitting or strolling the many shops while nibbling.

J.P. Licks is my go to place for ice cream!
I really enjoy their flavors! They have their classic flavors that are there all the time: brownie brownie batter, mint cookies n’ crème, and pistachio are among some of my favorites!
They also have monthly flavors and some of them can really creative. If you go this month (July), I’d recommend the butter almond!
This location does get busy, but definitely not as busy as the one in Coolidge Corner. Go here if you want to avoid the lines a little!
Also, free wifi courtesy of Berklee!

Pretty good ice cream! I had the salty caramel and my sister in law had the cookies’n’cake batter with a pineapple topping — I tasted it and it was awesome!

I’ve been here twice so far, and overall JP Licks is pretty good. I would come back just because I don’t know where else to get ice cream in Boston, but the ice cream is incredibly sweet.
The overall store is very nice – clean, cute, lots of baked goodies sitting out and tempting you. There’s a fair bit of seating in the back, and a row of cute seats in the front by the window (with some tables up by the entrance too).
The first time, I got cookies n crème as it’s my typical go to. It was pretty good. Definitely satisfied my ice cream craving. There is a lot of diversity on the menu in terms of offerings (shakes, sundaes, sorbet, ice cream) and a lot of different flavors to choose from. Love that they seem to have monthly flavors that they switch out as well. When I ordered the cookies n crème i noticed they have cookies n cake batter and I was so excited! I told the guy behind the counter I totally should’ve gotten that instead, and he said it was awesome and I definitely should try it next time.
So the second time visiting, I eagerly ordered the cookies n cake batter. Wow I thoroughly regretted this decision. Let me tell you, I am a lover of all things ice cream. I scour cities for good ice cream places and demolish whatever I order within minutes. I frequently finish a large before my friends finish their smalls.
This order of cookies n cake batter is only the second time that I can recall in my entire life where I did not finish my ice cream (first time was at this ice cream shop where whatever flavor I ordered just tasted straight up awful). It was just SO sweet and thick. I was expecting cake batter, yes, maybe even chunks of cake, but nothing this disgustingly sweet. My boyfriend ordered sorbet and I was so thankful I could cleanse my palate with the sorbet after every 5 bites of the cookies n cake batter.
Seeing how I haven’t found another accessible ice cream place in South End the last couple of times visiting Boston, I will likely come back here. But I will definitely steer clear of the cookies n cake batter in the future. At least they have a lot of variety, and I’m sure I’ll find other flavors I like. Just hope not everything else contains so much sugar…

Pros:
+ Unique flavors
+ Well-​made ice cream
+ Patient and friendly service
+ Clean space
+ Ample seating
Came here for dessert with my fiancée on Saturday afternoon. I got 1 scoop of coffee cookies and cream ice cream (in a waffle cone) and my fiancée got 1 scoop of mint chip yogurt (also in a waffle cone). The ice cream was very yummy, creamy, and not overly sweet. The coffee and cookies and cream hybrid (which I have never encountered) was well-​done. The staff was very friendly, and were very patient as we tried out different flavors. The space was clean and there was ample seating. There was no line when we ordered, but then again it is still beginning of spring in Boston (a.k.a. winter) so maybe not everyone is clamoring for ice cream. No idea how crowded it is during the summer.

You’re in the city, so of course it will be rather expensive. The ice cream is good, and some flavors are even great. The classics, like vanilla and the hot fudge sundaes are very good.
Portions are ok, and no gluten free options for cones or chipwiches yet :) Hoping for that in the near future.

Oh man, it is SO DANGEROUS for me to fall in love with an ice cream place. Once I get hooked, I go ALL THE TIME. And this place is so close to home! No! Go away go away… just kidding. I’m going to put my coat on as soon as I’m done with this review and visit again :)
I love coffee ice cream. I also love cookies & cream. I mentioned this to the girl behind the counter and her response was absolutely perfect.
«We have coffee with cookies & cream! Would you like to try it?»
…uhm YES YES YES
The moment I SAW the ice cream I knew this wold become my new favorite flavor. In fact, why don’t they sell this in CVS?! Anyways, coffee and cookies&cream is the flavor you should go for. All the time. It’s a perfect mix of creamy coffee with bits of soft cookies. i got a medium last time, but I would be happy with small. The cup sizes are deceiving since I felt like the medium was too much even though it looked so small in the beginning!
Friendly staff, delicious coffee with cookies&cream, ample room for sitting around and talking = brb grabbing my coat now.