A Note on Seasonality
Minneapolis ice cream culture is intensely seasonal. Most shops are open year-round, but the experience transforms between June and September — lines stretch down the block, limited-edition summer flavors appear, and the ritual of cone-plus-lake-walk becomes the city's unofficial pastime. Some shops reduce hours or close entirely in deep winter. If you're visiting specifically for ice cream, aim for late May through early October. But the truly devoted Minneapolitans eat ice cream in January too — it's a point of pride.
Shops
3
Specialty
Artisan & creative
Best For
The highest concentration of elite scoops in the city
Bebe Zito
Bebe Zito is the most exciting ice cream shop in Minneapolis right now. Husband-and-wife team Zeke and Gabriella Eidex opened this tiny storefront on Lyndale in 2020, and it has become a genuine destination. The flavors rotate constantly and read like fever dreams that somehow work — Gochujang Brownie, Mushroom Pecan with candy cap mushrooms, Strawberry Fields 4 Ever with rhubarb-raspberry jam and cream cheese. The base is Italian-style, dense and creamy, and every mix-in is made in-house. Lines form on summer evenings. They are worth it. This is the shop that made national food writers pay attention to Minneapolis ice cream again.
Milkjam Creamery
Chef Sameh Wadi opened Milkjam on Lyndale in 2016, and it quickly became the neighborhood’s ice cream anchor. The flavors are playful and unapologetic — Cereal Killers (fruity cereal milk with candied Fruity Pebbles), Ridin’ Duuurty (Oreo milk, Oreo chunks, salted peanut butter), and the namesake Milkjam, a three-milk caramel that is absurdly rich. About half the menu is vegan-friendly at any given time, which is rare for a shop this creative. The space is small and the lines are long in summer, but the quality justifies the wait. Milkjam does not make safe ice cream. That is why people love it.
Sebastian Joe’s (Franklin Ave)
The original Sebastian Joe’s, opened in 1984 by three brothers at the corner of Franklin and Hennepin. This is the shop that proved Minneapolis could support handcrafted ice cream year-round. The flavor list runs nearly 200 deep across the rotation — Pavarotti (caramel, banana, chocolate chips) is the cult classic, but Chocolate Coyote (cinnamon and cayenne) and the seasonal offerings are equally worth seeking out. The coffee is roasted on-site daily. Forty years in, Sebastian Joe’s remains a benchmark.
The scene: The Wedge has become Minneapolis’s unofficial ice cream district. Within a few blocks of Lyndale Avenue, you have Bebe Zito’s boundary-pushing creativity, Milkjam’s playful maximalism, and Sebastian Joe’s four decades of craft. No other neighborhood in the city offers this density of quality. On a warm summer evening, the sidewalks here are full of people holding cones, and it feels like the entire city has the same idea. If you only have time for one ice cream neighborhood, this is it.
Explore Lowry Hill East→Shops
1
Specialty
Classic handcrafted
Best For
Lake walks with a cone, neighborhood institution vibes
Sebastian Joe’s (Linden Hills)
The second Sebastian Joe’s location, and for many Minneapolitans, the definitive one. Nestled in the heart of the Linden Hills commercial node, steps from Lake Harriet, this shop has the same rotating roster of nearly 200 flavors as the Franklin Ave original — Pavarotti, Salty Brownie, Black Cherry Truffle, Bailey’s Coffee Chip — but the setting elevates the experience. The routine is simple and perfect: get a cone, walk to the lake, watch the sailboats. Sebastian Joe’s has been family-run since 1984, and it shows in the consistency. The ice cream is dense, the waffle cones are fresh, and nobody here is chasing trends. They do not need to.
The scene: Linden Hills is a one-shop neighborhood for ice cream, but that one shop is Sebastian Joe’s, which has been an anchor of this community for four decades. The location’s proximity to Lake Harriet makes it the best ice-cream-plus-lake-walk combo in the city. Families, dog walkers, and couples on dates all converge here on summer evenings. It is not flashy, but it is deeply Minneapolis.
Explore Linden Hills→Shops
2
Specialty
Gelato & handmade scoops
Best For
Date-night dessert, evening strolls near Bde Maka Ska
Sonny’s Ice Cream
Sonny’s has been making ice cream on the corner of 34th and Lyndale since 1945, which makes it one of the oldest continuously operating ice cream shops in Minneapolis. The operation is part scoop shop, part Italian-inspired cafe — they make 22 flavors of ice cream, gelato, and sorbetto in-house using organic cream from Minnesota dairies, alongside a full espresso bar and a wine list. The gelato is the star: dense, silky, and genuinely Italian in texture. Sonny’s does not get the social media hype of newer shops, but the people who know, know. This is a place that has survived eight decades by being excellent, not trendy.
Milkjam Creamery (walkable)
Technically in the Wedge but an easy walk from South Uptown and Lyn-Lake. See the Lowry Hill East entry for the full review — but if you are in the Lyn-Lake area after dinner, Milkjam is the move. Open until 10 PM most nights, with a rotating vegan menu that is genuinely as good as the dairy options. The Poppin’ Bottles champagne sorbet with sprinkles is the celebration flavor.
The scene: South Uptown’s ice cream scene pairs beautifully with its proximity to Bde Maka Ska and the Lyn-Lake dining corridor. Sonny’s provides the old-school charm and legitimate gelato credentials, while Milkjam is a short walk away for something more adventurous. The summer evening routine of dinner on Lyndale, ice cream from Sonny’s, and a sunset walk by the lake is one of the best nights Minneapolis offers.
Explore South Uptown→Shops
2
Specialty
Organic & locally sourced
Best For
Families, lakeside afternoons, dog-friendly patios
Pumphouse Creamery
Pumphouse is a tiny storefront on Chicago Avenue that punches well above its square footage. The ice cream is handcrafted in small batches using cream and milk from a farm in Osceola, Wisconsin, with mix-ins sourced from Door County cherries to locally baked cookies. The lemon-infused olive oil and sea salt flavor is legendary — the kind of thing that sounds like a gimmick but tastes like a revelation. Twenty rotating flavors, all made with genuine care for sourcing and craft. The shop itself is narrow and no-frills, but that is part of the charm. Pumphouse lets the ice cream do the talking.
Grand Ole Creamery (Minneapolis)
The Grand Ole Creamery’s Minneapolis location sits near Lake Nokomis, bringing their legendary St. Paul operation south of the river. This is a third-generation family business, established in 1984, that rotates through over 300 flavors and makes their own malted waffle cones in-house — the kind with a Whopper tucked in the bottom, which is a small genius move. Black Hills Gold and Sweet Cream are signatures. The cones alone are worth the trip: hand-rolled, warm, and smelling like a county fair. Grand Ole does not experiment wildly, but what they do, they do at an exceptionally high level.
The scene: Nokomis offers a quieter, more neighborhood-focused ice cream experience than the Lyndale Avenue corridor. Pumphouse Creamery is a legitimate destination for ingredient-driven scoops, and Grand Ole Creamery brings decades of family tradition. Both shops benefit from their proximity to Lake Nokomis — grab a cone and walk to the beach. The vibe is less scene, more genuine neighborhood life, and that is exactly what makes it great.
Explore Nokomis→Shops
2
Specialty
Soft serve & over-the-top
Best For
Instagram-worthy treats, brewery crawl dessert
MN Nice Cream
MN Nice Cream is not trying to be a serious artisan scoop shop, and that is exactly why it works. Katie Romanski launched this soft-serve operation in 2016, and the Northeast location on Broadway (next to Able Brewery) has become a destination for people who want their ice cream to be an event. Homemade vanilla and chocolate soft serve gets buried under edible glitter, Fruity Pebbles, homemade puppy chow, cookie dough, and towering arrangements that are engineered for joy. It is maximalist, unapologetic, and genuinely fun. The soft serve base is good — not transcendent — but the experience is the point.
Bebe Zito (Malcolm Yards)
Bebe Zito’s second location lives inside the Malcolm Yards food hall in Southeast Minneapolis, easily accessible from Northeast. The menu is a condensed version of the Lyndale flagship — fewer flavors but the same boundary-pushing creativity and dense Italian-style base. A perfect addition to a Malcolm Yards food hall crawl, and often with shorter lines than the original.
The scene: Northeast’s ice cream scene matches the neighborhood’s personality: creative, a little loud, and not afraid to be different. MN Nice Cream is pure fun — the kind of place where adults act like kids and nobody judges. Bebe Zito’s Malcolm Yards outpost adds serious craft to the mix. Hit either one after a brewery visit on the Northeast taproom trail, and you have a perfect Minneapolis afternoon.
Explore Northeast→Shops
1+
Specialty
Creative artisan
Best For
Eat Street dessert, walkable from everywhere
Milkjam Creamery
Milkjam sits right on the border of Whittier and Lowry Hill East at 2743 Lyndale Ave S, and Whittier residents rightfully claim it as their own. The Eat Street adjacency is a major advantage — you can have dinner at one of the dozens of international restaurants on Nicollet, then walk a few blocks west for a scoop of Thai Tea or Hard Knock Life (dark chocolate, salted pretzels, brownies, chocolate fudge). The vegan options are not afterthoughts here; they are full members of the rotation. See the Lowry Hill East entry for the full review.
The scene: Whittier’s claim on the ice cream map is Milkjam, which sits on the neighborhood’s western edge. The real advantage is context: Eat Street provides one of the best dinner-to-dessert walks in the city. Have pho on Nicollet, then finish with a Cereal Killers cone on Lyndale. Whittier also benefits from being central enough that Bebe Zito and Sebastian Joe’s on Franklin are both a short walk or bike ride away.
Explore Whittier→Shops
1
Specialty
Classic family-run
Best For
Neighborhood regulars, no-hype quality
Sebastian Joe’s (coming presence)
Sebastian Joe’s announced a third location after neighborhood kids literally made the case for it — a testament to how deeply the brand is woven into south Minneapolis life. Kingfield residents have long made the short drive or bike ride to the Linden Hills or Franklin Avenue locations for their Pavarotti fix. The Nicollet Avenue commercial corridor and proximity to the Kingfield Farmers Market make this neighborhood a natural fit for ice cream culture, even if the dedicated scoop shop density is still growing.
The scene: Kingfield is still building its ice cream identity, but its proximity to the Sebastian Joe’s universe and the neighborhood’s strong food culture (Five Watt Coffee, the Kingfield Farmers Market) mean the pieces are in place. The residential calm and family-friendly streets make it a natural ice cream neighborhood — the kind of place where a summer evening walk ends with a cone, even if you have to go a few blocks to get it.
Explore Kingfield→The Minneapolis Ice Cream Shops We Miss
Izzy's Ice Creamclosed in 2022 after more than 20 years, unable to recover from the pandemic. It was once called the best ice cream shop in America, and the signature “Izzy scoop” — a bonus mini-scoop on top of your cone — was a Twin Cities icon. La La Homemade Ice Cream in Linden Hills, known for flavors like Cardamom Honey and Lemon Poppyseed, has also closed its retail storefront. The Minneapolis ice cream scene is vibrant, but these losses remind us that even beloved institutions are not guaranteed. Support the shops that are still here.
Keep Eating Your Way Through Minneapolis
Ice cream is the dessert course. Explore our neighborhood food guide for the best restaurants, or find the perfect patio to enjoy your scoop al fresco on a summer evening.