Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

So fantastic. Got the Earl Grey ice cream (and I don’t even particularly like Earl Grey tea) and black sesame donut. The donut was cakey and icingless. My kind of donut.

The ice cream here can’t be beat. Pricey but worth treating yourself every now and then. They had a butterscotch pecan special that was the best thing I’ve tasted in quite a while.

This place has really grown on me. Their specials are always really delicious and the staff friendly. Their recent sour cream ice cream with gingerbread & cherries is probably the best I’ve had so far. A Greenpoint favorite.

They were out of whipped cream so I tried the vegan version and couldn’t tell the difference. Actually it was exceptionally good. I loved the organic sprinkles, honey comb, and nutter butter ice cream. Can’t wait to try more flavors.

DE-​LISH!!! Great non-​dairy options, and creative flavors! shop is super cute.

Call me crazy, but the vegan pistachio ice cream is the REALLEST frozen delight you will have this year.
Also the non-​vegan (what, I don’t hate) ice cream is made with real cookies made in-​house.
Again, this place is the truth and serves it up.

I love this place! Everything from the atmosphere to the open hours to the prices, and of course the ice cream! I’m dairy free and always love to find places with vegan and/​or sorbet options and boy does this place deliver. Not just one or two options, but 5+ ongoing flavors! The even have a special vegan sundae with vegan chocolate sauce. It’s truly heaven for me. I don’t know if it’s possible or realistic to make gluten free waffle cones but I would die a happy woman if they did this. Just saying. Must check them out!

Van Leeuwen means serious business when it comes to ice cream. It is definitely as good as it gets in my books. The flavor options are usually simple, nothing too fancy or creative, but always tastes exactly the way you’d expect each flavor to taste. The texture is just right as well — firm so that you can actually bite into it (if that’s your kinda thing), but not too hard like it’s got freezer burn, and yet soft and creamy, but not to the point where your ice cream is handed to you as just cream. Some shops/​brands pride themselves on making the creamiest ice cream, but ends up being way too creamy, almost to the point of sticking to the roof of your tongue like peanut butter. You won’t get that here.
I’ve tried their various flavors in the past, but during my most recent trip, I ordered an affogato, which is normally served as a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass of a fresh espresso shot. I opted for the earl grey ice cream instead of vanilla and that thing blew my mind… apart from my taste buds. The earl grey tasted as if one brewed a quality cup of earl grey with just the right amount of condensed milk and then popped it in the freezer. The taste and texture was on point. 10 out of 10. Not only that, but the flavors from the earl grey and the espresso meshed really well together, giving a smooth and rich taste and consistency, while still being able to taste the individual flavors of the ice cream and the espresso.
In terms of interior décor, it’s simple, yet an understated type of fun and classy. Also despite the small space, a decent use of space (but don’t count on finding seats if you’re bringing in a larger crowd and/​or visiting on a Friday night or weekends). I would hope that their other locations offer just as tasty treats as this one, if not better. Otherwise, I am a big fan of Van Leeuwen’s and I love bringing friends and family here, especially if they’re visiting from out of town.

Amazing selection of ice creams with both dairy and vegan options. I think the best pistachio vegan ice cream I’ve ever had. My cousin got the dairy– ginger one and that was also really good. The only thing is that the place is maybe a little too brightly lit. Otherwise great atmosphere and gorgeous interiors.

I really love little places like this. The ice cream tastes so simple and delicious. I ordered the salted caramel on a cone and the flavor was a perfect mixture of sweet and salty.
It is a little pricey at $ 5+ for a small cone and additional cost for vegan ice cream. I was also disappointed that the cones seemed like bulk order, every day cones you could find at your local grocery store. For such great ice cream it deserves a higher quality cone!
But don’t be discouraged! With so many great food spots around, this ice cream spot is perfect for that dessert on the go you’re looking for!

The city has suddenly become flooded with ice cream shops. All promising organic and natural ingredients.
The ice cream here was decent but nothing wows me about it. The flavors are pretty simple and… Boring. The pistachio was just okay. The flavors reminded me of a dark green tea. The earl grey tea was okay. Not bad at all.
But overall nothing impressed me. The ice cream sandwich looked like a beast though. Maybe that’s worth a try.

It’s rare to find an ice cream shop where you do not find a single flavor you do not like. But at Van Leeuwen, you have plenty to choose from and each is amazing. The nice thing is that they also offer gluten free options, and trust me, there is a market for that here in good ol’ Greenpint ;) Clean establishment, friendly service, vinyl’s playing for a nice hipster-​like atmosphere and just good, delicious ice cream. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area, and with the G train conveniently located on the same block, it’s a lot easier to make that happen!

I was a doubter. I am converted.
While there are multiple locations that are roughly equivalent (and the aforementioned UES carrier) the original Manhattan Ave branch was my first experience with Van Leeuwen so I’m rating it here. After having Van Leeuwen at a few different locations across NYC, I couldn’t really figure out the reason for the accolades and the fandom.
I recently figured it out:
It’s the vegan, stupid.
In this case, it’s not that Van Leeuwen offers a vegan alternative that made for a place only vegans could love; having tried it though (for that reason) at The Sweet Shop NYC I realized that their vegan ice cream is somewhat surprisingly their best product.
It is expensive. A vegan small (which is really a tiny double) bears the double pricetag of $ 5.75. Hipster tax included on top of sales tax? Start with the pistachio and then branch out from there.
Van Leeuwen is admittedly still not my favorite frozen treat in the city but it’s reliable and effortlessly accommodating for those challenged by lactose or afflicted with veganism. If you’ve written them off without trying the good stuff, give it one more chance.

After moving from 632 six doors down (the sign’s still there after 6 months. and the truck was very close too) and their PayPal offer disappearing*, they posted up here and decided A/​C wasn’t appropriate on a 90-​degree afternoon. Their ShopKeep receipt is brilliantly just called ‘Greenpoint’ so they clearly don’t realize how emails are formatted. Went with crackle and banana nut samples which weren’t spectacular, so settled on a $ 5.25 small salted caramel and pistachio.

During an unofficial food tour of Greenpoint on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Van Leeuwen was our final stop — and boy was it worth the wait! We had two seemingly very simple flavors, Vanilla and Earl Grey, and yet each mouthful was an explosion of richness and quality ingredients.
I’m a vanilla ice cream kinda guy, and this is not the VIC I grew up with! You can taste the flavor of ground vanilla bean in every smooth spoonful. The Earl Grey was mellow and wonderful too. We had to take ours to go, but if you’re going during peak time, expect to enjoy yours from the sidewalk. Honestly, it doesn’t matter as long as you get your ice cream from Van Leeuwen.

My brain says one thing, but my taste buds say another.
I’m sure they use better ingredients than at Carvel’s or Baskin’ Robbins. As for taste, the former two would win. Texturally, the ice cream at Van Leeuwen was on point. It was creamy and smooth: definitely mouth-​friendly and void of any icy bits. I chose the Earl Grey tea for my top scoop and the Italian pistachio for the bottom.
I give them accolades for packing in such a tea-​flavored punch. The Earl Grey would be a good choice for the summertime as it was refreshing and cooling. The pistachio, however, left much to be desired. I am used to having little bits of crunchy pistachio nuts, but this had none. In fact, I didn’t taste any pistachio flavor whatsoever. How that’s possible is beyond me.
$ 5.25 for 2 small scoops of ice cream atop a cone or in a cup was pricier than I’d like to pay, especially since I thought it was mediocre in taste. Did I mention the hole in the bottom of my cone? It got messy before I took notice. I could name a few other places with unique flavors that would give this place a run for its money. As for cooling off in the summer, I wouldn’t bank on this location as it was quite cramped. There were only a few high stools and a couple of small tables.

Great coffee selections and even better ice cream. We got 2 scoops of the Earl Grey ice cream and tried a few other flavors. The tea flavor is spot on with lots of bergamot. I wanted to know how they got the tea flavor so strong, but the person working there had no clue how they made their ice cream (bummer!). They also have nice sweets from other local shops.

I stumbled upon this place when I walked off the subway and decided to give it a try. I had no idea it was an ice cream shop when I walked in so I was pleasantly surprised.
The décor is fairly understated with vinyl records being played over the speakers for a nice ambiance. It is small so the three tables were taken when I came in, but I was able to snag one of the four bar stools against the wall.
I was looking for a pick me so I was able to combine my love of espresso and ice cream with an affogato. The vanilla ice cream was sweet and creamy while the espresso was unlike any I’ve ever had before. Not bitter at all! Smooth with dynamic caramel/​chocolate undertones that were complimented by the sweetness of the ice cream. This was my first affogato and I fear others will never measure up!
Sadly I was not able to try other items on the menu which was quite vast. This just gives me an excuse to return!

New location! Cute small shop with fresh ice cream packs a lot of flavor. Stopped in for $ 1 scoop promotion which appears to be a steal as scoops normally go for a lot more.
I got a ginger ice cream, which was delicious, while my boyfriend got the vegan sticky toffee pudfing. Mine was so creamy and the flavor was just out of this world (I love ginger though!), his not so much… he says it didn’t really stick well together.
I also was stopped and complimented by a cute guy while going in to the shop, which made my experience that much more pleasurable (although I guess technically the store had nothing to do with that they will benefit by proxy).
UPDATE: They sell the ginger ice cream in the whole foods on 3^rd avenue and 3^rd street. Praise be to god!

Condensed version: Their ice cream is BANGIN’.
Detailed version: I ordered one scoop of earl grey tea and one scoop of sea salt caramel. My bf ordered the strawberry and gianduja (Rich chocolate with hazelnut: Nutella-​esque flavor).
The earl grey stole my heart. It tasted like a strong yet creamy and delicious cup of tea. The sea salt caramel had the perfect balance of sweet and salty. The gianduja was amazing! It was decadent with tiny pieces of hazelnuts you can taste in every bite! The strawberry was also pretty good, nothing too special. A little pricey than most ice cream shops (based on the scoop size) but their frozen goods are top quality.
The store as a whole is very tiny –we almost missed it looking for it at night!
They have other offerings such as baked goods, espresso drinks, and tea, as well as typical ice cream parlor treats– sundaes, shakes, etc.
PS: They have vegan options for their ice cream!