44 Cool Places for Ice Cream in Rhode Island

Soft Serve

Helado Taiyaki combines Japanese ice cream with Latin flair.

No need to face a hard decision. We found the best soft serve that will make you melt.

Helado Taiyaki
102 Dean St., Providence, 400-9604, facebook.com
Japanese ice cream meets Latin flavors with these Insta-worthy sweet treats. Try the unique ube flavor or go classic with XStrawdinary featuring Pocky straws and Teddy Graham crackers. Build your own or choose from their specially crafted sculptures. Bonus: there’s a vegan version of brown sugar cinnamon oat milk ice cream. No matter which one you choose, you’ll end up holding a freshly baked fish cone with whichever creation you’ll concoct.

Frosty Freez
496 East Main Rd., Middletown, 846-1697, frostyfreez.com
Vanilla, chocolate or a twist of both, we can’t write about ice cream without a nod to the traditional soft serve favorites. Make it Rhode Island-fied with a twist of coffee soft serve infused with Autocrat coffee extract. Its consistency is creamy and utterly smooth.

Sundaes Ice Cream
775 Oaklawn Ave., Cranston, 942-8150; 95 Greenville Ave., Johnston, 233-9100; 259 Taunton Ave., Seekonk, Mass., 508-336-5584, sundaesicecream.com
Tap into your soft [serve] side, pick your favorite flavor and pair it with a serving of moist pound cake slices, sweet strawberries, fluffs of whipped cream and a cherry on top. The result? A strawberry pound cake soft serve sundae that will have you savoring every bite.

Eskimo King
29 Market St., Swansea, Mass., 508-379-0202, eskimoking.com
With an extensive (and we do mean extensive) list of more than 350 soft serve flavors, it is no surprise that Eskimo King is the place where ice cream rules. From butterscotch honey almond to black licorice, white chocolate cranberry truffle, peanut butter and jelly and everything else in between, this road-side stand has every taste bud covered.

Cool Licks
1808 Smith St., North Providence, 353-2615, facebook.com
You don’t have to travel to Disney World to savor a Dole Whip. Made from non-dairy soft serve mix, this sweet treat is pineapple perfection. Try the soft serve watermelon sherbet for a refreshing burst of fruity flavor. Slightly creamy and all good, this frozen treat made from skim milk, watermelon extract and other ingredients is 99 percent fat free and will leave you with a guiltless gut.

Photograph by Angel Tucker.

Here’s the Scoop

Rhody’s most delicious flavor faves.

Mint Chocolate Chip @ Like No Udder
Like an Andes mint melting in your mouth, the delicious creaminess from the cashew base won’t leave you missing the dairy at this vegan ice cream shop. It tastes like a swish of fresh mint fluoride, but in an udderly delicious way. 170 Ives St., Providence, 228-3880, like-no-udder.com

Black Raspberry @ Brickley’s Homemade Ice Cream
It’s got everything you want in a frozen treat: The flavor is sweet and fruity, the base rich and creamy and the hint of summer berries delivers a balanced yet delightful flavor. 921 Boston Neck Rd., Narragansett, 789-1784; 322 Main St., Wakefield, 789-1784, brickleys.com

Butter Brickle @ Clementine’s Homemade Ice Cream
The sweet but restrained, smooth and buttery finish complements subtle notes of pecan, while small butter candies add a dense crunch to each bite. 2934 South County Tr., East Greenwich, 234-9742, 62 Wave Ave., Middletown, 324-5840, clementineseg.com

Chocolate Brownie Oreo @ the Ice Cream Barn
This “cow to cone” sweet treat is made with the milk that comes from the cows on the farm. The flavor? Chocolate lover’s paradise. 289 Locust St., Swansea, Mass., 508-567-6278, theicecreambarn.com

Peanut Butter Caramel Cookie Dough @ Lincoln Creamery
Everything a peanut butter lover has ever wanted, the vanilla-based peanut butter ice cream combined with peanut butter caramel sauce and peanut butter cookie dough provides a rich and sumptuous, sweet and salty taste. It’s like eating a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar. 276 Front St., Lincoln, 724-1050, lincolncreamery.com

Cappuccino Crunch @ Wright’s Dairy Farm and Bakery
As if coffee ice cream wasn’t enough to fulfill a late-night caffeine-flavored craving, enter this decadent flavor of coffee ice cream with a dark chocolate spiral with crunchy toffee pieces. We’re drooling. Wright’s retro vintage trailer, 200 Woonsocket Hill Rd., North Smithfield, 767-3014, wrightsdairyfarm.com

Orange Pineapple @ the Ice Cream Machine
Much like an orange creamsicle: a burst of sweet orange goodness in your mouth, with a light and refreshing jolt that will make you want to eat the entire carton in one sitting. 4288 Diamond Hill Rd., Cumberland, 333-5053, icecreampie.com

Cookie Monster @ Chelsea’s Creamery
A perfectly sweet, rich and chocolate balance with Chips Ahoy and Oreos pulverized into blue-tinted vanilla ice cream. It’s like traditional cookies and cream, but better. Way better. 654 Metacom Ave., Warren, chelseascreamery.com

Grandma’s Goodies @ Three Sister’s Homemade Ice Cream
Brownies, cookies and blondies, oh my! Get baked with your grandma’s favorite treats straight from the oven studded throughout vanilla ice cream in large, delectable chunks. It’s like heaven on Earth but in your mouth. 1074 Hope St., Providence, 273-7230, threesistersri.com

Honey Vanilla @ Aldo’s Bakery
Aldo’s homemade ice cream is a surefire way to beat the heat; you’ll want to lick your spoon clean of honey vanilla ice cream. The palate is delicate and floral but bright and fragrant, courtesy of honey from Littlefield Farm right on the island. 130 Weldon’s Way, Block Island, 466-2198, aldosbakery.com

Graham Canyon @ Kow Kow
It’s your spruced-up favorite flavors: graham cracker ice cream with a salted caramel drizzle, fresh strawberries topped off with crumbled graham crackers, but we’re most enchanted by their bubble waffle cones, which come in four drool-worthy variations: original, matcha, chocolate chip and vegan/gluten-free. 120 Ives St., Providence, kowkowfood.com

More Sweet Spots

Gelina’s Ice Cream Factory, 975 Tiogue Ave., Coventry, 826-7374

Scoops Ice Cream Shop, 265 Putnam Pike, Smithfield 

Holy Cow, A Heavenly Experience, 500 South County Tr., Charlestown, 213-6235

Sacred Cow Scoop Shop and Market, 17 North Brow St., East Providence, 537-4424

Papa’s Ice Cream, 2987 West Shore Rd., Warwick, 739-4975

Lickety Splits, 39 Kingstown Rd., Wyoming, 539-9047

The Vanilla Bean, 757 Matunuck Beach Rd., Wakefield

Tizzy K’s Cereal Ice Cream, S Water Street (across from Plant City), Providence

Courtesy of Green Line Apothecary.

Make Your Own Root Beer Float

Create these two recipes at home.

For the kids
Ingredients: Mug (preferably chilled from the freezer)
12 ounces of Yacht Club Root Beer soda
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
Fill the chilled mug about three quarters of the way
to the top with the Yacht Club Root Beer soda. Plop in a scoop
of vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

For the adults twenty-one and older
Ingredients: 6-8 ounces of Yacht Club Root Beer soda
1 ounce of Sons of Liberty Spirits Company Single Barrel Bourbon
1–2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
Combine the Yacht Club Root Beer soda and Sons of Liberty Spirits Company Single Barrel Bourbon into a chilled mug.
Top with vanilla ice cream

Enjoy the sweet chill of vanilla ice cream combined with a spritz of root beer and notes of toasted caramel for an adult twist on a classic favorite.
Yacht Club Soda, 2239 Mineral Spring Ave., North Providence, 231-9290, yachtclubsoda.com
Sons of Liberty Beer and Spirits Company, 1425 Kingstown Rd., South Kingstown, 284-4006, solspirits.com