Top 5 Places for the Best Ice Cream in Chicago

Margie’s Candies

Chicago’s Margie’s Candies is the best place to satisfy your craving for nostalgic ice cream. Moreover, an ice cream shop that boasts The Beatles as former customers must be great. Furthermore, dated music machines, and a candy counter provide for the perfect setting for those who enjoy extra-large sundaes and splits.

Chicago’s best ice cream can be enjoyed at Margie’s. However, they add whipped cream to their sundaes to make them extra delicious. The greatest split in town, for example, is Margie’s banana split. It features chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice creams, rich hot fudge, whipped cream, and crushed peanuts.

Windy City Sweets – One of the best ice creams in Chicago

Windy City Sweets is your winning ticket if you’re searching for the best ice cream in Chicago that seems like it might have been plucked straight out of a Willy Wonka movie. You may virtually acquire a cavity simply walking through the front door of this historic Lakeview hangout, it’s so full of Americana sweets and ice cream. There are a ton of sweets (and fudge!) available, but the ice cream is what really sets this place apart. Windy City Sweets expertly selects Chicago’s best ice creams that are thick and creamy, decadent, yet fortunately moderate in sweetness. For the most authentic experience, get it in a chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-studded cone.

You know you’re in a kid-friendly restaurant when you see sugary cookie dough and “Superman” ice cream in fluorescent colors on the menu. One of our favorites is the birthday cake ice cream, which has a flavor that’s spot-on for cake batter but doesn’t smack you over the head with sugar. A cone of pure whimsy!

Address: 3308 North Broadway Street, Chicago, Illinois 60657

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream

Although some supermarkets may claim otherwise, Jeni Britton Bauer is the true ‘dairy queen’ for bringing the best ice cream in Chicago. The lady whose namesake ice cream store sparked an ice cream revival in Columbus, Ohio is now virtually associated with specialty ice creams that change with the seasons. She opened a chic scoop store on Southport Avenue in Chicago after having success with her quaint items in many Ohio locales. Jeni’s innovative use of taste and texture is what sets her apart. Clearly, she approaches the creation of ice cream from a chef’s perspective, as seen by her use of surprising flavors more typical of plated restaurant fare.

The best strategy is to order many varieties of Chicago’s best ice creams and compare them. Significantly, combine the Yazoo Sue ice cream with rosemary bar nuts, almonds, cashews, cherry wood-smoked porter, peanuts, pecans, brown sugar, and cayenne, and you’ll have a good idea of Jeni’s aesthetic preferences. The former is robust and forceful, whereas the latter is airy and subtle. Add some dark chocolate “gravel”—crunchy ice cream toppers—and the two make a beautiful yin and yang.

Address: 871 N. Wabash Ave.Chicago, IL 60611

Phone: (773) 261-8449

Website: https://jenis.com/blogs/scoop-shops/chicago-il

Scooter’s Frozen Custard – Out of Best Ice Cream in Chicago

It would be negligent if we didn’t include Scooter’s Frozen Custard on the list of the best ice cream in Chicago. Their frozen custard is so exquisite that it borders on the realm of ice cream. Scooter’s specializes in “concretes,” a type of frozen custard so thick that you could throw it off a building and it wouldn’t spill out of the cup, made by pulverizing sweets, cookies, and peanut butter. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly are the most preferred here because of the rich combination of vanilla frozen custard, peanut butter, and black raspberry jam. It has the flavor of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that is frozen and blended into a milkshake.

Black Dog Gelato

Black Dog Gelato’s gelato, created by the ingenious pastry chef Jessie Oloroso, is another refreshing treat worth mentioning. Their unconventional gelato tastes are intriguing because of their luxurious texture and radiant colour. Whether you choose the rich malted vanilla or the goat cheese-cashew caramel, you can’t go wrong. This is a must-try best ice cream in Chicago. 

However, a root beer float is a foolproof method of cooling off this summer. To be clear, this isn’t your average root beer float. Goose Island root beer is used here; it has a caramel flavor and is fantastic on its own, but it takes on a whole new level when combined with milk stout gelato. Root beer comes in a variety of flavors so that guests may choose their favorites, but milk stout is the best. Smoothly blending the boozy, velvety flavor of gelato with the earthy sweetness of root beer results in a wonderful beverage.

Urban Belly

Bill Kim’s soft-serve is Chicago’s best ice cream, and it is as noteworthy as the ramen. He is also known for the best Latin-Asian fusion dishes. Undoubtedly, our personal favorite is the peanut butter and jelly soft serve at Urban Belly. In a tall cup striated with copious amounts of crunchy peanut butter and huckleberry jelly, the velvety, sweet soft-serve is piled high. The sweet infusion of crunchy peanut butter gives this ice cream a sort of feuilletine-esque taste, like biting into the interior of a Kit Kat. It’s an adult twist on a classic school meal.