We’re always in search of the best ice cream in Columbus, Ohio! This list of ice cream shops will keep your taste buds busy all summer long!
Columbus is an ice cream town. Columbusites may be *almost* as passionate about their favorite ice cream shop as they are about their football team. Either way, we have tons of options to choose from when it comes to ice cream in Columbus!
These local ice cream shops are some of the best places to get ice cream in Columbus! I am a HUGE ice cream fan, so I am always looking to try something new! I’m not gonna lie, I can be a sucker for a classic chocolate and vanilla soft-serve twist, but even I branch out occasionally to try some of these unique flavors!
Try out one of these local spots for some of the best ice cream in Columbus, Ohio!
1. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
- Multiple Locations
- Website
Unless you’ve been living under a rock in Columbus, you already know about Jeni’s! We’re proud to be the hometown of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams! It all started at a stall in the North Market then a shop in Grandview and now Jeni’s is a national brand with scoop shops in many major U.S. cities.
We love the unique and intense flavors at Jeni’s! It’s very common to look at the name of the ice cream, let’s say blueberries and sweet corn for example, take a bite, and say, “That’s exactly what it tastes like!” I’m a classic girl with salty caramel and dark chocolate as my go-to combination, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a flavor I don’t like at Jeni’s!
Did you know you can get free Jeni’s ice cream on your birthday? It’s true!
2. Graeter’s Ice Cream
- Multiple locations
- Website
Graeter’s Ice Cream is right up there at the top of the list of favorite ice cream shops in Columbus! Graeter’s began in Cincinnati and we’re so glad they traveled north to bring us their humungous chocolate chips embedded in tasty ice cream!
Of course if you’re someone who does not like humungous chocolate chips (I can’t relate) you can order non-chip flavors. But why? LOL Graeter’s has several locations around Columbus so check the link above to find the one nearest you!
3. Clown Cones & Confections
- Address: 3431 Cleveland Ave F, Columbus, OH 43224
- Website
If you don’t like clowns, do NOT go to Clown Cone!! There, now that I’ve given my disclaimer, let’s talk about the unique ice cream shop that is Clown Cones & Confections! This local shop in the Northern Lights Shopping Center sells candy, custom cakes, party favors and, of course, ice cream!
Clown Cone offers up to 40 ice cream flavors including seasonal options. You can also choose from specialty sundaes, banana splits, floats, slushies and more! And yes, the shop is filled with clown decor.
4. Dulce Vida Ice Cream Factory
- Multiple locations
- Website
This bright and colorful ice cream shop is one of our favorites in Columbus! My whole family loves the paletas here and there are also many flavors of homemade, hand-dipped ice cream to choose from! You can get so many different ice cream concoctions here like milkshakes, elaborate sundaes and more!
My kids always seem to chose the Mini Pop Cup which is one scoop of bubble gum ice cream with sprinkles topped with a bubble gum-flavored paleta. I’m kind of a sucker for the Oreo paleta myself!
5. Mardi Gras Homemade Ice Cream
- Address: 1947 Hard Rd Columbus, OH 43235
- Facebook Page
Mardi Gras in Northwest Columbus is a must-try ice cream shop known for unique and international flavors of ice cream! You can sample any of the flavors before you choose!
I tried an International Sampler and picked Green Tea, Sweet Rose and Pista Kulfi, all of which I enjoyed but I think I liked the Pista Kulfi (a pistachio flavor) the best!
If you’re feeling really brave, try the Fire and Ice flavor! I couldn’t even finish the small sample because it was truly like fire on my tongue! There are plenty of other “regular” flavors to try as well, but trying one of the International Flavors gives you a taste of ice cream you can’t get anywhere else!
6. Little Ladies Soft Serve
- Address: 673 Worthington Rd, Westerville, OH 43082
- Website
If soft-serve is your jam, you have to try Little Ladies Soft Serve! Track down their ice cream truck at a local event or head out to their ice cream shop in Westerville, Ohio!
The draw here is the delicious ice cream sundaes made with soft-serve ice cream and topped with unique toppings. Topping examples include fruity pebbles, brown butter graham cracker crumble, Nutella, cookie dough, crushed potato chips and so much more! You can choose from one of their Sundaes or Extra Special Sundaes or create your own! There are always special, seasonal sundaes available too!
7. Johnson’s Real Ice Cream
- Multiple locations
- Website
Stop by your nearest Johnson’s Ice Cream for a hand-dipped ice cream cone! Johnson’s is a local ice cream shop that first opened in Bexley, Ohio in 1950! This family-owned ice cream shop has been going strong ever since and has recently begun expanding to more locations in Central Ohio!
8. Yard Milkshake Bar
- Address: 1055 N. High St, Columbus, OH 43201
- Website
The Yard Milkshake Bar in the Short North offers a long list of extreme milkshakes! These decadent shakes come in a Pint Jar that you can take home as a souvenir! Don’t worry, they have a sink available in-store where you can wash out your jar.
You don’t need to order a Specialty Shake to get your ice cream fix. The Yard has tons of flavors of hand-dipped ice cream that you can order by the scoop. You can choose your own toppings or get a Specialty Bowl which consists of hand-dipped ice cream and unique topping combinations.
9. Tony’s Coneys
- Address: 5266 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43228
- Facebook page
Everyone will be happy at Tony’s Coneys because they can choose between hand-dipped ice cream or soft serve. Tony’s Coney’s has a pretty extensive menu of ice cream options and they also have a second location in Orient, Ohio.
Options include shakes, sodas, floats, malts, and sundaes in addition to hand-dipped ice cream and soft serve. They have their own menu of specialty sundaes like “Worms ‘n Dirt” or an “Upside Down Banana Split” or you can get a classic with whipped cream and nuts.
10. Mona’s Eats and Treats
- Address: 4362 Broadway, Grove City, OH 43123
- Website
I love a mom-and-pop ice cream shop that serves all kinds of ice cream treats, especially soft serve! I will search them out wherever we travel! There are so many options to choose from at Mona’s Eats and Treats in Grove City, Ohio and it’s a great place to enjoy your sweet treat with seating inside and outside!
For your ice cream treat, you can choose from hard ice cream, sundaes, shakes, blizzards, snow cones, slushies, banana splits and so much more! Mona’s is a seasonal business so keep an eye on their website for summer hours!
11. Diamond’s Ice Cream
- Address: 5461 Bethel Sawmill Center, Columbus, OH 43235
- Facebook Page
Diamonds Ice Cream is located on the northwest side of Columbus at the corner of Bethel and Sawmill Roads. This Mexican ice cream shop features a wide menu of ice cream and frozen treats! Banana splits, hand-dipped ice cream, paletas (Mexican popsicles) candy and other treats are available here.
12. Sticky Fingers Ice Cream Parlor
- Address: 5140 Cheshire Rd, Galena, OH 43021
- Website
Sticky Fingers Ice Cream Parlor is located on Alum Creek Lake in Galena, Ohio. (There is an additional location a little further north in Delaware, too!) This ice cream shop carries over 20 flavors of ice cream plus seasonal flavors.
Sticky Fingers also offers ice cream floats, milkshakes, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes and lots of topping options. A major highlight at Sticky Fingers Ice Cream Parlor is ice cream flights featuring 4 different flavors of ice cream!
13. Coppa Gelato
- Address: 925 N State St, Westerville, OH 43082
- Website
This gelato shop in Westerville has rotating flavors of gelato, including seasonal flavors. You can always check their Facebook page where they announce their flavors daily! Here’s another place where you can get an ice cream (gelato) flight!
14. Laguna Mexican Street Food & Ice Cream
- Address: 1980 Hard Rd, Columbus, OH 43235
- Website
Laguna Mexican Street Food, located on Hard Rd in Columbus, serves homemade ice cream called “Nieves de Garrafa” which is a water-based sorbet. They have milk based options as well. Additionally, you can get a Lagunda: ice cream topped with chamoy sauce, chili powder, fresh fruit and tamarind candy or shaved ice.
15. La Plaza Tapatia
- Address: 255 Georgesville Rd., Columbus, OH 43228
- Website
La Plaza Tapatia is a huge Mexican market on the west side of Columbus. It offers tons of prepared Mexican specialty foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, a coffee bar, a food truck pad, a candy shop and Titi’s Heladitos: an ice cream shop within the store!
There are tons of ice cream and paleta flavors to choose from, all of them bright and beckoning! How to decide?! Pick one of their delicious frozen treats head out to the patio to enjoy it or peruse this massive Mexican market for more tasty finds! It’s a gem!
16. Toft’s Grand Scoop
- Address: 1288 W 5th Ave, Columbus, OH 43212
- Website
I was shocked (in the best way) when I heard that Toft’s was opening an ice cream shop in Grandview! We have loved visiting Toft Dairy in Sandusky on our summer trips to Lake Erie but I never imagined they would open an ice cream shop in Columbus!
The ice cream is so so good! Toft’s Grand Scoop sells 20 permanent hand dipped flavors, 4 rotating flavors, 2 soft serve flavors, cookie sandwiches, milkshakes and more!
Their best seller is Lake Erie Cookie Island Monster which features a blue cake batter ice cream with cookie dough chunks, chocolate chips and chocolate cookies and cream. Sure, it feels like a kid’s flavor, but after sampling it, I had to order it!
I hope this list of some of the best ice cream shops in Columbus will give you something new to try! Feel free to leave your vote for the best ice cream in Columbus in the comments and we’ll give it a try if we haven’t already!
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