Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

I love it here so much! as someone with a severe dairy and egg allergy (life threatening) it’s refreshing to have a place with great vegan options. the staff is always super friendly and efficient. as an idiotic Unilocaler reviewed that the aesthetic is «depressing»… never walked in here or left depressed. took my mom here when my mom visited and she really enjoyed herself. great place and scoops are always extra generous

Great ice cream and coffee but…
Need to work a little bit on accuracy. We came in with albeit large but not that large of a group for some icecream. Ordered. Not so much impossibly complicated but not your plain vanilla stuff. Several items didn’t come out correctly and had to be re done.
Granted the employees owned up to the mistakes and got them corrected quickly but it already makes the business suffer as a result.
But I can’t say enough of good things about quality of the ice cream and coffee it was … It was…
Just go ahead and try it … That’s what it was!

Vegan Options. Yes.
I’ve been here a couple of times, got a sundae once, it was good.
Made my own sundae thing once. That was good too.
They have vegan options. YES.
PS. It’s cute in here =)

The ice cream is good but the staff doesn’t smile and the 1-​scoop sundaes are $ 9 each

Here are your instructions:
1) Go here
2) Order Carmelized banana nut
3) Savor
4) Write a 5 star review

As I walk in I’m hearing what sounds like Morrissey coming out of the speakers. I soundhound it and find it’s Voxtrot. I know I can’t keep up with the cool kids, so I decide I’m in the right place.
I order a cold brew and pull up a seat at a booth. I’m now marveling at the renovation they’ve done. Really cute space with walnut booths that are really comfortable. It’s ice cream joint chilly, so I’m glad I brought my hat. :)
Honestly I don’t know how much ice cream eating is going on, but for me Van Leeuwen means Toby’s cold brew coffee. Ironically this morning, when I rode by here I was on my way to Toby’s!
If you haven’t tried the cold brew, I have to insist you do. It is pure perfection in a class. Tastes ever so gently sweet by some magic of the brewing process. It it smooth to the tongue, and a delight to drink.
Yes they have wifi, current password is icecreamtruck. perfect for a relaxed freelancers morning.

Finally got to visit the new location after several trips to the Truck on Bedford. Was delightfully surprised by the amount of flavors in store! I had the Cookies n Cream, Honeycomb, and Apple Crumble special. All were amazing and overall a good price for the ice cream that it is. Love the locations wood furniture and relaxed interior.

Now this is an ice cream place. Worth every dollar. Came in, ordered a vanilla scoop on a cone and it was BANGIN. Sometimes you just want vanilla… Amirite? Last ice cream place I was in had the audacity to not carry vanilla ice cream… I digress.
Come here it’s a good time.

no cold weather or potential hurricane can stop me from getting ice-​cream. i have zero self control especially when this ice-​cream place has been on my list ALL summer! I’m glad they decided to open on in williamsburg and is so conveniently located.
Ive never been to the other locations so i can’t really compare but i thought this shop is spacious bright and simple looking. Decided to get the honeycomb flavor and it was creamy and subtly sweet. One scoop was a total of 5.50 each so it was expensive but worth a try. I saw pictures of other unique flavors so hopefully i’ll get to try them in the future!

Another new location for Van Leeuwen and I am excited that I have a new ice cream spot in Williamsburg. Tried the Honey Comb ice cream today and it was sweet but not overpowering. There were also little pieces of the honey comb. And it’s always a plus that fresh ingredients are used. The scoops are pricey, but I guess the quality justifies the cost … a bit. Their flavors are definitely my cup of tea. They have the simple classic flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, but also have flavors like early grey tea and ginger for those who want to try something different.
I love how they have a wide variety of vegan scoops as well. House made cashew milk, organic coconut milk, organic carob bean etc, definitely a vegan heaven! Keep in mind though that you will be paying an extra 50 cents or so for vegan scoops.
The décor of this location is very simple and similar to the West village location I’ve visited. I came on a cloudy day but I bet this place is beautiful when the sun light spills through the glass. Lots of seating available and probably one of their bigger shops. And for those who are looking for a more «old-​school» feel, I recommend visiting their East Village location instead.
Overall, I like the ice cream and the flavors available here. Love the to-​stay bowls! Fresh pastries and doughnuts from Ovenly and Doughnut Plant, as well as Toby’s Estate Coffee.

Great spot for ice cream! They have interesting flavors — the honeycomb is a personal favorite. It is a bit pricey, so I would go in for multiple scoops in the same cup if you’re with a friend or significant other. The times I’ve been the service and been quick and courteous and they are willing to let you sample all the unique flavors.

Yep. «Eek» pretty much sums it up.
When you charge $ 5+ for a small scoop of ice cream, well, it better be fantastic. Three of us visited (and tried three different ice creams) and none of us were wowed by our experience. (–1)
Meanwhile, what’s with the über-​cheap/​flourescent vibe? Classic ice cream shops offered a lot more atmosphere and comfort than this. Formica tables/​chairs? Monochromatic everything else? Yuck and yuck. I think that the owners/​conceivers aimed for easy clean up over authenticity. Along the way they forgot to make anything comfortable or inviting. When you charge this much for your treats, you need an atmosphere that conveys (or at very least supports) enjoyment of the same. These digs looked and smelled like bad airline lounge meets bad fast food joint. (–2)
Oh, and you might want to let your employees know that smiling is contagious. We probably got the «deer in the headlights» service because we visited on night number two, but we now have the same look when we think of returning.
BOTTOM LINE: I’ll happily return to my Talenti, Breyer’s et al over this. For less dough I get lots of yum and lots of servings. Well, depending on my spoon/​bowl size! If you’re after something that’s not in your freezer (or the freezer section!), there are better shops in our hood (e.g. OddFellow’s).
UPDATE (re: Laura O’s – aka Van L.‘s – comment): Regardless of the materials used, the vibe of this location is underwhelming/​depressing, and it’s neither comfortable nor attractive. As if customer’s need a «design understanding» to comprehend comfort or attractiveness? Yeah, not so much. I get that an owner thinks that their opinion matters most, but it doesn’t. Every customer experience matters and every customers’ opinion should be valued. This business’s unfriendly, arrogant, and instructive tone is much more telling of its values than any of the self-​promoting, lofty words that were shared in response to my review. My original review still stands. (–1)

Best vegan ice cream I’ve ever had! Great place to go after dinner. Lots of seating and complimentary water. Staff was cool and they stay open late. Love the vegan options!

The space is large and reminiscent of an old school ice cream shop. The ice cream itself is fine. The price they charge for a single, incredibly tiny scoop (about what you can buy a pint of it for down the street at the grocery store) is not.

The shop is very simple and very clean. I like that it actually had a lot of seating. I really wanted to like the ice cream more than I did. I tasted the Kaffir Lime, which I should have known would taste like curry. Lol I really didn’t like it. I settled on the mint chip. It was decent. Too sweet for me for some reason but the ingredients tasted really fresh and of good quality.

Atmosphere of new Williamsburg location is beautiful. Very spacious and a lot of ice cream flavor options. The non-​vegan flavors weren’t exciting me too much so I decided to go with the vegan peanut butter chip. It was $ 0.50 extra for a vegan scoop and it was merely okay. As a lot of vegan ice creams are, it was overwhelmingly coconut-​milky and airier than your average dairy scoop. I’ve been to their other locations in the past and I didn’t recall the vegan scoops being more expensive. $ 6 is rather steep for 1 scoop of ice cream. That being said, their dairy mint chip is an all time favorite of mine. I’ll be back, but I’ll probably stick to the diary scoops.

$ 11 for two separate scoops of the worst tasting «ice cream» we’ve ever had: pistachio and pandan sesame. Literally walked over to Odd fellows, dropped in the trash (2 bites missing), and got some good ice cream. Can’t overstate that one visit is one too many. Disappointing for the neighborhood.

I’ve been a huge fan of their ice cream for years and I’m happy to see how much they have been expanding. This new location is spacious and full of light which is perfect for Instagram fiends. With that said I have a few things to complain about.
They have continuously been increasing their prices over the years but now it’s getting a bit outrageous even for me. In Williamsburg you can consider paying up to 5 dollars for a scoop anywhere but they have now made one scoop 5.50 and $ 6 for a single scoop do their vegan icecream which is the only thing you should actually come here for since the regular ice cream is mediocre. Also, if that’s what you’re charging people then atleast give them a decent scoop! I’ve been here twice and they give these itty bitty scoops. Not happy.
The only icecream that is MAYBE worth the prices they charge is the vegan mint chip which is unlike any other mint icecream I’ve tried. It’s so creamy that you would never know its vegan.
Once again, their regular icecream is not great while their vegan is amazing. If you want regular icecream go to Daveys on Bedford. Much much better.
I also feel like they’ve lost their quirky charm that existed when they were first coming up, they just feel like any old ice cream place now.

Expanding now to a huge NYC footprint of 5 locations (plus all the trucks still), the new Williamsburg flagship is one of the nicest spots yet.
Along with several big booths lining the perimeter, there is a big bar in the center with several more stools surrounding it and the servers taking the orders for ice cream.
Just like all the other locations, there is a big list of regular and vegan flavors to choose from, as well as some excellent special flavors.
Among the best ones I tried tonight were the amazing Fluffernutter, which is in the regular rotation, and two special flavors, the Kaffir Lime Coconut Macaroon and Black Sesame Pandan (triple scoop in a cone goes for $ 9.50). I picked well for this cone, as these are among the best flavors I’ve tried here. Other standout favorites include their famous vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and also the excellent Salted Caramel and Honeycomb.
They also have a big selection of sundaes, including a great special one consisting of Earl Grey Tea ice cream, marshmallow sauce and some of the most deliciously chewy, soft brownies ever.
The ice cream wars are really heating up here in Williamsburg. This new location is going to really force me to make some tough decisions with both the original OddFellows and the new Davey’s both just a short few blocks away in each direction. Some of the flavors at Van Leeuwen are right up there with the best of the best, so I’ll definitely be here frequently in the coming months any time I’m in Williamsburg.