I love ice cream. I have great memories of it as a child from visiting my grandparents in Louisville, KY. We would always go to Graeter's ice cream shop. I loved (and still love) this ice cream, and I truly believe that it is the best ice cream that I have ever and will ever taste. With that being said, when I moved to St. Louis for college, I was excited to try some new restaurants and some new ice cream places. I am not a picky eater, but I am extremely indecisive when it comes to picking ice cream. I will try all of the different ice cream flavors before I finally decide what I want. I hope that this list will give you insight to what I believe to be the 6 best places to grab ice cream in St. Louis.
I will be judging these places out of 10 cones with 10 being the best on Earth and 1 being the worst (no place on this list is either of those extremes).
Number 1: Bailey's Chocolate Bar
Bailey's Chocolate Bar is not technically just ice cream, rather it is a dessert & martini bar. However, it is the best place that I have ever gone for dessert. It is in a building that has really nostalgic architecture and it would be perfect to go for a date night or a fun girls night (like my friends and I did). I personally suggest getting the Lovers' Plate and splitting it with someone. In this plate, you (and whoever you decide to split it with), essentially get a sample of the best items on their menu - a s'mores brownie (my favorite out of the entire plate), a tart noir, and caramel cheesecake, just to name a few.
They also have some other really good menu options such as the Brownie Royale. Several of my friends got it and immediately fell in love with how good it was. I would most definitely recommend going here at least once! I think that this is hands down the best place to get ice cream in St. Louis.
Score: 9.5 cones
Number 2: The Fountain on Locust
The Fountain on Locust is number one on the list of best places to get ice cream in St. Louis. This place is truly an experience. The moment you walk in and see the art deco styled interior, you know that the ice cream has to be as incredible as the location. What is even more incredible about this place is that they also sell (yummy) chocolate and serve delicious food in addition to having great ice cream.
The Fountain truly has everything you could ever want: late hours, ice cream martinis, surprise sundaes, and brownies in a cup! I could honestly go on for ages, so I will focus on why I think this is the best out of the list. They call it their "Sundae Gambler," but in reality, it's what you choose when you see how amazing their menu is and cannot decide what you want. The "Sundae Gambler" involves the cooks making a masterpiece that is completely random. This is the best item on the menu because they know what flavors pair well with each other and it is completely random each time!
Score: 9 cones
Number 3: Ices Plain and Fancy
Up next on the best places to get ice cream: Ices Plain and Fancy. This place is a true surprise. Ices uses liquid nitrogen to churn their ice cream right in front of your eyes. Situated on a cute little corner in St. Louis' Tower Grove, the doors of Ices Plain and Fancy open into a cute little shop with flavor creations beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Some of their flavors include Rocky Road, Salted Dulce de Leche Custard, and many other seasonal flavors. They also have cocktail ice cream creations such as the Frozen Dude (vanilla ice cream, vodka, and Kahlua) and Ok Fine! (vanilla ice cream, whiskey, and pralines).
The creation that I had - Campfire Smore's - honestly truly blew my mind. I ordered it because I love smore's and I thought it would be interesting to try. What I was not expecting was the way that they were able to capture the smoky smell and flavor of roasting a marshmallow over a campfire. I also wasn't expecting to have pieces of said marshmallow within the ice cream itself. This place is perfect to show how unique ice cream in St. Louis can be.
Score: 8 cones
Number 4: Tower Grove Creamery
Tower Grove Creamery is a really cute little corner-store in an older part of the city called Tower Grove (hence the name Tower Grove Creamery). It has an older exterior, and when you walk in, you are welcomed with smells of ice cream and freshly made waffle cones. They have a good variety of flavors (one of the reasons why it is #3 on my best places to get ice cream list) such as Extreme Chocolate, Muddy River, and Burgundy Cherry. They also offer a dairy-free sorbet that is really flavorful and refreshing, and is always changing.
When I went here with my roommate, I got a cone with Extreme Mousse Tracks and a tropical fruit sorbet that they had at the time. We were both pleasantly surprised by how good the flavors were, and also how well-priced a double scoop cone was. This place truly shows how small, local ice cream shops are hidden gems in St. Louis.
Score: 7.5 cones
Number 5: Jeni's Ice Cream
Jeni's Ice Cream is an adorable chain ice cream shop that has stores across the United States. I thought it deserved a place on this list because it is one of the places that I frequently go to with my friends. It is slightly pricey, but I think you do get a solid amount of ice cream for the price that you pay. In addition to this, they always have unique flavors that are always really interesting to try.
Last time I went, I got their ice cream sampler that comes with three half scoops of ice cream and a triangle cone sample. Even though it is "half scoops" the amount of ice cream that you receive is more than enough for one person. In my sampler I tried the Lavender, Darkest Chocolate, and Blueberry Lemon. All of the flavors were amazing, and I will most definitely go back.
Score: 7 cones
Number 6: Clementine's Naughty and Nice Creamery
Clementine's Naughty and Nice Creamery is an ice cream creamery that is right next to Washington University's campus in St. Louis. It is right in the middle of a neighborhood and has a small-shop vibe. The neighborhood and vibe of the store helps to push it to be one of my favorite and (I think) best places to get ice cream. They are "naughty and nice" because they have made-from-scratch ice cream with and without alcohol (hence the "naughty"). Their world-famous vegan ice cream is also one of the best in the country. All of their flavors are really well-thought out and perfectly executed. For example, their Vegan Coconut Chocolate Fudge ice cream was so rich and flavorful it made me want seconds.
Clementine's is very well priced for the ice cream that you buy. My roommate and I went here with one of our friends, and we were extremely surprised by both the price and the flavor. My roommate got the Thai Tea ice cream and Gooey Butter Cake while I got the Coconut Chocolate Fudge and Mango Tropics Sorbet. I was not meaning to get vegan ice cream, but I decided based on the flavors because I love mango and chocolate. I will admit that it was a weird combination of flavors but it was most definitely worth it in the end. I will be going here again to look at what other small batch flavors they decide to produce!
Score: 7 cones
Number 7: Gelateria Del Leone
Gelateria Del Leone is a comfortable coffeehouse/gelateria/bakery on South Grand. The bold red store front draws people in from the neighborhood and entices them to try their traditional Italian coffees and gelatos. When I went, I was really surprised as to how welcoming and warm the inside of the store was. When you walk in, you are met with an enticing décor and a visually appealing array of the gelatos that they make from scratch.
I tried this gelateria with my roommate (of course) one time late at night when we both really wanted something sweet without the heaviness of ice cream. We decided on this place because it was close - it is around a 5 minute drive from SLU's campus - and it was a reasonable price . I tried a small size with their ginger gelato and their Stracciatella. The ginger gelato was so good. I am someone who loves ginger and this gelato embodied it perfectly. The Stracciatella was also really good because it helped to mellow out the sharpness that was brought on by ginger. Overall, my experience here was amazing and I will most definitely go back to try more of their flavors as well as the coffee that they make!
Score: 6.5 cones
Number 8: Ted Drewes
Ted Drewes is a must since it is considered a famous St. Louis business. Ted Drewes offers a huge variety of frozen custards - they have a ton of unique flavors such as Terramizzou or Crater Corpernicus. I typically order a chocolate concrete with brownie or cookie dough in it, and it is always well priced and tastes amazing. I do recommend going here if you want something that many St. Louis locals love!
While this is not 'technically' an example of ice cream in St. Louis (because it is custard), this is a great local establishment. Without the people in St. Louis loving Ted Drewes, it would not have grown to become one of the well-known places for ice cream in St. Louis.
Score: 6 cones
This list concludes my 8 best places to get ice cream in St. Louis! I hope that this list helps anyone who is wanting to try some new (and flavorful) places around the city. Also, these are just my few favorites and there are sooooo many places around STL to go grab some dessert. I tried to choose a mix of places that are very well known (like Ted Drewes) and some that maybe are not (like Tower Grove Creamery). I guarantee you can't go wrong with any of these!