18 Best Ice Cream Shops in Orlando, FL (2026 Local’s Guide)
Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Des
We put this list together the same way we do all of our local guides: real Google ratings, real addresses, and our own honest take on what’s actually worth ordering, not just what looks good in a photo. A few of these are places we go back to constantly (Kelly’s, The Greenery Creamery), and a few are newer additions we’ve been hearing about from friends and other locals (Baby John’s, Mochiry). Either way, everything on this list is a real, currently operating shop with a strong reputation, not a random scrape of “top rated” listings. We hope you like our list of the Best Ice Cream Shops in Orlando, Florida.
Quick answer: The best ice cream shops in Orlando in our opinion right now are The Greenery Creamery and Sampaguita for adventurous small batch flavors, Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream for a classic local favorite with multiple locations, and Gelato-Go in Winter Park for the best true gelato in the city.
Orlando’s ice cream scene goes way beyond the soft serve stands lining the tourist strips. The best of it is spread across neighborhoods like Mills 50, Audubon Park, Winter Park, and Thornton Park, Filipino inspired flavors, Venezuelan gelato, a chocolate house that doubles as a wine bar, and a shop that lets you dip your ice cream cone in an actual chocolate fountain.
This guide covers 18 of the best ice cream shops in Orlando, organized by neighborhood, with the current Google rating, address, and our pick for what to order at each one. We’ve also added links to the ice cream shops instagram pages so you can check out their tasty treats.
Quick Answer: Top 5 Ice Cream Shops in Orlando Right Now
- The Greenery Creamery (Downtown/Thornton Park) Orlando’s original artisanal ice cream boutique, incredible vegan flavors
- Sampaguita Ice Cream (Mills 50) Filipino inspired flavors like Ube Cookies ‘N Cream and Soy Sauce Butterscotch
- Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream (multiple locations) the local favorite everyone in Orlando already knows and loves
- Gelato-Go (Winter Park) the closest thing to real Italian gelato in the city
- Candy Cream Cafe (International Drive) 83 flavors, open past midnight, right by Universal
Best Ice Cream Shops in Orlando Location Map
Downtown Orlando & Thornton Park
This part of the city has more foot traffic than almost anywhere else in Orlando, which means the ice cream shops here have to work harder to stand out, and the ones that have survived downtown’s rent prices tend to be genuinely worth it. It’s an easy add on if you’re already doing a Lake Eola walk or a night out downtown.
Downtown is where Orlando’s artisanal ice cream scene really started, and it’s still where some of the most creative flavors in the city are made.
1. The Greenery Creamery
4.8★ (1,279 reviews) · 420 E Church St Unit 112, Orlando, FL 32801 Billed as Orlando’s first artisanal ice cream boutique, this is the shop most locals point to first. The vegan flavors here are genuinely excellent, not an afterthought, Coconut Ash and Toasted Ube S’mores are the ones people talk about. Get here early on weekends; it fills up fast.
View on Instagram: Click Here
2. MilkShake Factory Downtown Orlando
5.0★ (54 reviews) · 595 W Church St K, Orlando, FL 32805 Less about scoops, more about the shake, thick, over the top milkshakes with fresh chocolate samples while you wait. The Banana Foster shake is the one worth the trip.
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3. Mochiry Orlando
4.6★ (136 reviews) · 20 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801 A downtown late night spot mixing mochi donuts, boba, and dessert in one place, open until 3-4 a.m. most nights, which makes it a genuine after hours option most of this list can’t compete with.
View on Instagram: Click Here
Mills 50
Mills 50 has become Orlando’s most walkable food and dessert corridor over the past few years, and it shows in how creative the flavor programs are here compared to more tourist facing parts of the city. If you’re doing a Haan Coffee or Lineage Coffee run (see our coffee shop guide), both of these are close enough to make it a full afternoon. If you’re also after good coffee chop recommendations visit our Best Coffee Shops in Orlando blog post.
Orlando’s most concentrated food corridor isn’t just for coffee and Asian cuisine, it’s home to two of the most distinctive dessert shops in the city.
4. Sampaguita Ice Cream
4.8★ (1,094 reviews) · 1233 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803 Filipino inspired flavors in the heart of Mills 50’s Asian food scene. Ube Cookies ‘N Cream and Soy Sauce Butterscotch are the two flavors that keep coming up in conversation, and they make their waffle cones fresh in front of you.
View on Instagram: Click Here
5. Matcha Cafe Maiko
4.7★ (987 reviews) · 639 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803 Technically a matcha cafe, but the matcha soft serve here deserves a spot on this list on its own. The Ube soft serve is a favorite among regulars, and it’s an easy stop if you’re already doing a Mills 50 coffee or dinner run.
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Audubon Park & SoDo
6. Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream
4.8★ (1,964 reviews) · 3114 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32803 This is Orlando’s hometown ice cream brand, and the Corrine Drive location is the original. Handcrafted, made locally, with dairy and non dairy options both done well. Kelly’s has expanded to multiple neighborhoods across the city (Winter Park, College Park, SoDo, and more), but this flagship location is the one most locals mean when they say “let’s get Kelly’s.”
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7. Scoop’s Co
4.7★ (219 reviews) · 4789 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32806 A Peruvian dessert shop bringing something genuinely different to this list, try the lúcuma flavor if you want to taste something you won’t find anywhere else on this list, alongside a strong iced coffee program.
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Winter Park
Park Avenue in Winter Park has the highest concentration of dessert shops per block of anywhere on this list. It’s genuinely walkable, you could do three of these in one outing without moving your car, which is rare for Orlando. Pair it with an afternoon of window shopping along Park Avenue itself.
Winter Park has quietly become Orlando’s most dessert dense neighborhood, and it’s worth a dedicated trip on its own.
8. Gelato-go Orlando
4.9★ (1,236 reviews) · 513 S Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789 Venezuelan owned and the closest thing to authentic Italian gelato in the Orlando area, smooth, rich, and not overly sweet. Stracciatella is the classic order, but ask what’s fresh that day.
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9. AJ Chocolate House
4.7★ (1,350 reviews) · 552 S Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789 Part chocolate shop, part dessert restaurant, and a genuinely special occasion kind of spot. The Dubai chocolate shooter and pistachio mascarpone cake are the two things regulars order again and again.
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10. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
4.5★ (249 reviews) · 510 N Orlando Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789 The well known national artisan chain, and the Winter Park Village location holds up well against the local independents on this list. Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is the flavor most people come back for.
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11. LA DIPERIE
4.9★ (35 reviews) · 501 N Orlando Ave Ste 317, Winter Park, FL 32789 A dip-and-top concept, soft serve dipped in a hardening chocolate shell, then loaded with toppings. Fun for kids, and they offer pup cups too if you’re bringing the dog.
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12. Baby John’s Ice Creamery
5.0★ (15 reviews) · 129 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789 A newer, small local shop, reviews are limited so far, but every one of them is a perfect score, and locals are already calling it a hidden gem worth watching.
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International Drive & Universal Area
I-Drive gets a bad reputation for tourist trap pricing, and some of that’s fair, but the shops on this list have earned their ratings despite being surrounded by chain options charging theme park prices for less. These are the ones locals specifically drive out to I-Drive for, not just the closest option to a hotel.
If you’re staying near the parks, these are worth knowing about instead of settling for the first soft serve stand you pass.
13. Candy Cream Cafe
4.8★ (1,173 reviews) · 7527 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819 Over 80 ice cream flavors, open until midnight or later most nights, and genuinely one of the better dessert stops near Universal’s resorts. Good vegan selection too.
View on Instagram: Click Here
14. Ginther’s Swirls Ice Cream
4.6★ (1,491 reviews) · 11036 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32821 A hidden gem locals specifically seek out to avoid overpriced theme park treats. Big menu, dairy free and fat free options, and the pineapple float has a small cult following.
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15. Mr. Cool Ice Cream & Boba Tea
4.5★ (1,329 reviews) · 6550 International Dr #104, Orlando, FL 32819 Thai style rolled ice cream made fresh in front of you, plus boba and fruit tea. The Matcha Love rolled ice cream is the most ordered flavor.
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16. Twistee Treat of I-Drive
4.3★ (881 reviews) · 6314 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819 The iconic cone shaped building is a Florida institution on its own, soft serve focused, and a fun quick stop between attractions.
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17. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream
4.7★ (344 reviews) · 5584 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819 Made fresh on site daily. A national chain, but this location consistently gets called out for friendly service and generous scoops.
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Near Universal / Kissimmee Corridor
18. The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar
4.7★ (668 reviews) · 5741 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34746 Not technically ice cream, but the over the top dessert milkshakes here (think brownie loaded mason jars with whipped cream towers) are worth the drive if you’re already in the Kissimmee/Universal corridor. Vegan options are genuinely good too.
View on Instagram: Click Here
Our Final Take
At the end of the day, putting together the best ice cream shops in Orlando list came down to one simple question: where do we actually keep going back to? Kelly’s is the one that feels like home to us, it’s the flavor of Orlando we love to eat, and it’s still the first name that comes up whenever someone asks where to get ice cream in this city.
The Greenery Creamery earned its spot because it proved vegan flavors don’t have to be an afterthought, and Sampaguita gave us flavors we hadn’t tasted anywhere else in Florida. Winter Park surprised us the most, we didn’t expect to find that much dessert packed into a few walkable blocks, and Gelato-Go alone is worth the drive out there.
This list will keep growing as we find more spots worth recommending, but every shop above earned its place the same way, real quality, real ratings, and the kind of place we’d genuinely bring a friend to. If you try one of these and it becomes your new favorite, that’s exactly why we do this. Grab a cone, pick a neighborhood, go find your favorite, and don’t forget to let us know! Look for the best restaurants on I-Drive? Check out our guide here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best ice cream shop in Orlando overall? The Greenery Creamery and Sampaguita Ice Cream are the two most consistently recommended by locals, but Gelato-Go in Winter Park has the highest rating (4.9★) among shops with a large review base.
Where can I find real gelato in Orlando? Gelato-Go in Winter Park is widely considered the closest thing to authentic Italian gelato in the Orlando area.
Is there good ice cream near Universal Studios or International Drive? Yes, Candy Cream Cafe, Ginther’s Swirls, and Mr. Cool Ice Cream & Boba Tea are all a short drive from Universal and are genuinely better options than most theme park adjacent stands.
Are there vegan or dairy free ice cream options in Orlando? Yes, The Greenery Creamery has an extensive vegan menu that stands equally alongside its dairy options, and Ginther’s Swirls and Candy Cream Cafe both offer dairy free and fat free choices.
What’s a unique or unusual ice cream flavor to try in Orlando? Sampaguita’s Ube Cookies ‘N Cream and Soy Sauce Butterscotch, and Scoop’s Co’s Peruvian lúcuma flavor, are the most distinctive options on this list, not something you’ll find at a typical ice cream shop.
Is there a good ice cream shop open late at night in Orlando? Yes, Mochiry Orlando stays open until 3-4 a.m. most nights, and Twistee Treat and Candy Cream Cafe both run later than most shops on this list, making them solid options after a late park day.
What’s the best ice cream shop for kids in Orlando? LA DIPERIE’s dip and top format is especially fun for kids, and several shops on this list, including Kelly’s and Ginther’s Swirls, offer pup cups if you’re bringing the family dog along too.
Are there any ice cream shops in Orlando good for a date night? AJ Chocolate House in Winter Park is the clear pick here, it’s more of a full dessert-and-wine experience than a quick scoop, and the atmosphere is built for it.
Ratings and review counts current as of July 2026 and sourced from public Google
