Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream

We were in the area and looking for some unique good ice cream. Saw this place and decided to give it a try. I ordered the Aurora sundae, my husband ordered the gingersnap ice cream and then we tried a small blueberry. The aurora sundae was good, just vanilla ice cream though. The gingersnap ice cream was okay it did not have much ginger flavor and would be better if it had pieces of candied ginger. The blueberry was good. It had a weird texture like it may have a different base than the other flavors we tried.

Sadly the quality fell way off in 2025, in every way. The ice cream is mediocre at best, extraordinarily expensive, the selection is a third what it used to be, and the customer service is dull. I will have a hard time supporting this once-beloved local shop unless some drastic changes are made.

Go expecting a wait and sticker shock! Overall I would not return. I ordered 4 shakes and 1 small cone. They had two shakes fairly fast then proceeded to give others that ordered after me their ice cream and drinks. I finally had to ask were the rest of my order was and was told its on the way. The two shakes where about gone by the time my others came out. Also as you can see in the picture i ordered two drinks of the same kind, size and price yet the are actually different size cups. $61 without tip for four shakes and 1 small cone. I only gave 2 stars as the shakes were actually good.

While the ice cream was delicious, I would beware of the drinks. One member from our group purchased a Shirley Temple, which tasted like pure syrup. When we asked to remake it, they refused. She simply asked to dump some of it out and refill with sprite or what not, but was declined. 5 scoops of cherry syrup is simply too much, and the service was a disappointment.

Lots of flavours to choose from. One of the best milkshakes I've ever had. A bit expensive but totally worth for the quality and quantity.

Hot Licks is a cute ice cream stand with a strong variety of homemade flavors. My wife and I tried 4 different flavors that were all enjoyable. The price was reasonable and service was lackluster in the excitement department but otherwise fine. It did strangely seem to take a little while for my wife's 2 scoop order but who knows. The setting is nice with lots of outside seating which is greatly appreciated. I think it's ice cream and if you enjoy ice cream you'll be pleased. Enjoy!

I've visited 3 days in a row now in May 2023. Each experience has been awesome! Friendly and quick customer service. Delicious ice cream, and cool variations of flavors and names. Plus, there's ample table seating with umbrella shades and the prices are appropriate for high quality ice creams. Love it! Hot Licks homemade Ice Cream is a gem of a spot in Fairbanks during these summer months.

Really great spot to enjoy some delicious ice cream. Ordered the ice cream sundae and was met with a lovely decadent piece of ice cream that wasn’t cloyingly sweet and a nice balance of flavor v creaminess. Prices are reasonable as well and there’s a large outdoor seating area to enjoy.

The ice cream flavors here are classic And unique. There is lots of outside seating here. The staff here are friendly and they'll explain the flavors and let you sample. I got the Nanook Nosh which has chocolate chips inside. Soo yummy!!

Located on a busy road but plenty of parking available in front. There are also plenty of seating to enjoy your dessert. Workers were very nice and were able to give us samples of the flavors we wanted to try. They have some pretty unique flavors here. I ended up getting a scoop of the AK blueberry and the sweet cream. Sweet cream was a creamier version of basic Vanilla and the blueberry flavor is made from Alaskan blueberries. I really enjoyed the AK blueberry flavor - can tell they really use fresh blueberries. Scoops were pretty standard size ordered in a cup. Two scoops were 7.50 too which isn't bad. I would have liked to see the option to add toppings for a bit more customization to my dessert, as well as have the option of a split scoop. Overall, enjoyed coming here for a sweet treat and would come back again!

Hot Licks is a cute ice cream stand with a strong variety of homemade flavors. My wife and I tried 4 different flavors that were all enjoyable. The price was reasonable and service was lackluster in the excitement department but otherwise fine. It did strangely seem to take a little while for my wife's 2 scoop order but who knows. The setting is nice with lots of outside seating which is greatly appreciated. I think it's ice cream and if you enjoy ice cream you'll be pleased. Enjoy!

Decent ice cream to go Fast friendly service from local kids. I was really looking fwd to blueberry syrup from Alaska blueberries. They make my Tongue itch and face flush from the intensity. The blueberry topping they had wasn't what it used to be. It was pretty bland. I

My mom and I stopped by here on a whim, not knowing much about this place, but just thought ice cream sounded good. We did the Alaskan blueberry and it was out of this world. So creamy and fresh tasted. Yes, it is a bit pricey, but no more than ice cream stands I saw in Anchorage and it was much better tasting.

The pistachio ice cream was the best! It was my first time coming here during the summer and I absolutely loved it!

Great ice cream! We all loved everything we got. Locally owned, very busy but good service.

Great service, great ice cream, and extremely friendly/generous owner and employees. Would suggest getting salmon berry Thank you for everything.

My friend and I were visiting Fairbanks from Los Angeles. And we have been craving ice cream through out our time in Fairbanks. We found hot licks through google. When we arrived my friend and I were warmly greeted by a woman putting stuff away in a black truck letting us know that it doesn't close til ten. As we walked to the other side I couldn't help but notice how cute and quaint the building was. We were then greeted by the cashier at the window to order. We sampled the praline and cream and the blackberry, both of which were great. I ended up getting the praline & cream and the granola in a waffle cone. Ice cream was great and my friend got a vanilla shower milkshake with added bananas. Also delicious. The staff were very friendly and the ice cream was rich and creamy. Prices were also fair. Would return if I'm in the area.

Nice flavors. We stopped by on our way to the airport hoping to find fireweed flavor, but no, they didn't have any. So we got rum and raisin, coconut almond bits and a blackberry. They were all so delicious. Highly recommend stopping by and checking out their daily specials! They also have a covered patio.

Tastes like ice milk, not the same quality as it used to be. Pity. Was a fun place to go and enjoy ice cream.

The ice cream was delicious. Some of the staff were very friendly, but some do not want to be working. There was a mishap with an ice cream as I asked the ingredients to aurora borealis and they left out that it has bits of chocolate in it. To my dismay, I saw the chocolate when it came out the window. They didn't seem too thrilled when I asked for something different because I can't do chocolate, but another worker gladly scooped a replacement without chocolate. I do think the ice cream prices are a bit steep for what you get, but it was very tasty so I can get down with good ice cream for a bit more.

Tasty but expensive. We tried a coconut sorbet, Alaskan blueberry, chocolate soft serve and a vanilla malt. All small except the milk shake which they will make thick.

We've come here multiple times every summer for years and for the last two years or so Hot Licks has gone down hill. The ice cream isn't as tasty as in years past but it's the customer service which was really lacking. When asked questions about flavors we were told they didn't know and have never tried it. No offer for a sample or willingness to ask other workers for a response. There was one 3 part order ahead of us, it took 2 minutes to fulfill. Ours was one cup with three scoops and it took 10+ minutes to get to us. All the windows are frosted with plastic contact paper so it's hard to see what is going on behind the register. Sadly Hot Licks is not what it use to be and not a spot we will frequent.

I came here to grab some dessert after dinner, and it was yummy! I liked the waffle cone, which I believe is made in-house. I don't remember the flavors we got, as it was a complicated name... Their menu looks a bit complicated, and they seem to rotate flavors somewhat often. There is plenty of outdoor seating here. The staff was friendly, and they give you a limited number of samples per person.

A long line usually means it's worth the wait, and Hot Licks did not disappoint. Great ice cream, and there was a live band on the patio outside. Highly recommend the sundaes.

Waited a long time for one shake to come out, for what reason I do not know. Scooping ice cream and mixing shakes does not take that long. There were also so many employees in there. Really confused about what the reason for the wait was. The set up is kind of terrible. Allergens are not easily accessible and there's a line behind you waiting. I felt guilty asking about allergens and trying flavors so I went with the cashier's suggestion. I got some rare flavor which was gritty from the amount of chocolate syrup (?) and cost me $13. Not worth it. Saw someone comparing it to wild scoops in Anchorage, it's not even close. Grab a pint from FM instead. Staff was nice & there was a sh*tty customer in front of me, they handled it well for being teens.

I'm an Anchorage resident who grew up in Fairbanks and was in town to show my daughters around and visit some of my favorite spots. Sadly, I removed Hot Licks from that list due to an unacceptable experience on August 11, 2024. We rolled up at 11:55am, saw employees in the shop and approached the window which was wide open. A woman curtly informed us that they weren't quite open (they opened at 12pm), so we waited. 12:02: Approached the window again and ordered for one of my daughters and myself. My other daughter had difficulty deciding which flavors she wanted and the woman taking our order sighed heavily and looked highly annoyed. Let me add that my daughter wasn't taking THAT long - a couple minutes at most and there was NO line. I finished our order, handed over my CC (tip included!) and took my receipt from the woman. The woman gave me a "look" and I walked away and I heard her mutter something. I didn't hear what she said. Surpringly, maybe thirty seconds later, the woman comes out of the Hot Licks building and confronts me with an attitude, "IS THERE A REASON YOU SNATCHED YOUR RECEIPT FROM ME?!" I actually felt bad because I realized I probably did snatch the receipt in order to hurry along since she seemed so annoyed that my daughter had taken "so long" to order her ice cream. I'm very surprised and replied, "I didn't mean to snatch it, my apologies. I wasn't trying to be rude." The woman replies, "ARE YOU SURE?!?" in a very confrontational tone (was she about to fight me over a snatched receipt?!). I apologized again, trying to diffuse the situation. She walks back into the shop. I felt bad and a minute or two later, I walked back over to the window and apologize AGAIN. The woman didn't look up, wouldn't make eye contact, kept counting money and curtly says, "Yeah I don't even know what that was. Your order will be out shortly." She dismissed me, not that I cared at that point. I was irritated and if I hadn't already paid, would have taken my business elsewhere. In hindsight, I should have demanded a refund and left. It gets better though. As we are driving away, my older daughter asks, "Did you hear what she said when we walked away from the window after we ordered?" - Remember, I heard her mutter something but I didn't fully hear her? - My daughter tells me, "She said 'and don't - UCKING COME BACK!'" I was so upset and disgusted. There I was, trying to have a fun ice cream outing with my two daughters before we drove back to Anchorage and that is what we got. We had a very long conversation about customer service and how we, the customers, PAY their wages, keep the lights on etc......We also discussed that this woman is likely struggling with other things in her life & clearly doesn't want to be working in an ice cream shop. She most certainly doesn't belong in customer service. She was Polynesian, flower in her hair with bright lipstick. She must be a manager/team leader based on money counting and paperwork she was completing through the window. It should be noted that the few young employees scooping ice cream looked miserable and slightly scared. I vote you avoid this place based on principle alone. I won't speak to the ice cream because my review will be tainted based on the terrible customer service. Hint: 3/3 of us didn't finish but that might be due to losing our appetite over an unfortunate, unnecessary situation. Still sad I spent $ there and even left a TIP!!!!! Never again Hot Heads.....errr, I mean Hot Licks.

I arrived to what was supposed to be a lovely place to get ice cream with my daughter. There were three young women at the establishment all who looked at me with dirty looks and we're on their cell phones. Not only did they not serve us, but they were incredibly rude. Unfortunately I wasn't able to taste what was supposed to be the best ice cream around Fairbanks.

one of the great finds of Fairbanks, kind of further out of downtown but not too bad of a drive. I got coffee ice cream on a cone and it was so affordable. Everything in Dallas, Texas is expensive so It was refreshing to find something that cost under $5 for a scoop of ice cream. It was also super yummy! so creamy and I wanted to take some home but I didnt know to keep it from melting.

Yummy ice cream! They make their own flavors and waffle cones, but their flavors seem to always be limited somewhat due to rotations and seasons. It makes it hard to read their menu though. The staff is very friendly and you get a limited number of samples (3 i believe) I'd say the ice cream is good, but not mind blowing.

This was open and on our way (we were waiting for reservations at a butterfly burger grill nearby). The line was really long and the ice cream was surprisingly good, maybe just because of the heat or the fact that it was so close to the little outdoor market and we were able to walk over and eat on the way back. Wish they had more fllavors, not the best ice cream in the world and definitely a little overpriced but hey, the walk made for fun memories and I enjoyed my waffle cone a lot

HOT LICKS HAS THE BEST ICE CREAM EVER MADE, DONT @ ME. no but seriously, if youre eating any other ice cream, wyd? This place stays open pretty late in the winter so that's always great too. its a cute pull up shop, with benches, GREAT flavors, and great costumer service. I have come here for YEARS, and nothing changes. The prices are higher than most places only cause its special ice cream, made by special people. A TRUE must try.

My husband and I got the Non-Dairy Maui scoop on a Sugar Cone. The icecream had a very good flavor plus with the small pieces of pineapple made it even better. This is definitely the place to go for flavorful icecream, they hace quite an assortment of flavors. There's sitting outside, benches to sit and wait for your icecream or other goodies that they have. A lot of people waiting in line as well as sitting down or standing enjoying their icecream. We will definitely stop by again before we fly back home. It's a must haha.

Courteous service and great ice cream. Root beer float was delicious. Would definitely go there again. And again.

Walked thru the drive thru, which was a mistake on my end. It was hard to get the staff's attention that way so I ended up staring in and standing in the snow for a while before I knocked on the window and startled the staff (sorry!!) but I got a scoop of the coffee ice cream- delicious! I learned that they make everything from coffee to cones in house. And I did notice they use Monin syrups for their drinks too (this is a good thing!) I do wish that their prices were not so outrageous. Or that at least the base price can be higher but the double/triple scoop not be that much more to incentivize people to buy more so business can earn more. They have military discount for military personnels/families.

I was gone for 20+ years and recently came back for a visit. Hot Licks is still great, and the only place I've been that has delicious malted grape nut ice cream. It's fantastic in a hot fudge sundae!

Hot Licks continues to be the best ice cream on the west coast. Service is always top notch and with the ever changing variety you can't help but want to try them all. We moved out of AK a few years ago and Hot Licks is high on the list of reasons we make the annual flight to Fairbanks!

Good ice cream. The brownie they use for the brownie sundae is straight fudge, not really a brownie. A bit tough to cut through with a plastic spoon.

My husband and I love love love Hot Licks Ice Cream. I enjoy the flavors of the day - especially the ones made with locally grown and harvested berries. They have tons of menu options and flavors. I highly recommend getting an ice cream sundae - it comes with whipped cream, a cherry, and several topping options (my favorite is almonds and strawberries). Hot Licks is truly a local favorite so if you're in town just visiting be sure to add Hot Licks to your list of places to go.

Best ice cream this side of the Rocky Mountains. Friendly and engaging staff. Expect to wait in line, as they're almost always hopping. But it's worth the wait.

This place is open until late in Fairbanks, which in itself feels like a big deal! The reviews were great, and so was our experience. Very friendly staff that tolerated our group of eight folks sampling all flavors on the menu - full points to the amazing staff :) Pretty cool and rotating flavors! Loved the Moose Antlers, Non Dairy Maui, Coffee Oreo, and Hotlicks Hash flavors the most.

While visiting Fairbanks for work, I decided a trip for ice cream would be awesome. Unfortunately ice cream doesn't seem to be available in many places around here, or maybe just not ideal places. We had to drive a ways to get to Hot Licks, but it was so worth it. There was 5 in my party and we all got different thing, and we were all happy with our choices. They offer military discount! Hope to return! Really want to try the Earl Grey ice cream!

I personally cannot recommend Hot Licks -- I would rather go buy a pint of ice cream from Fred's than come here. It's just nothing special to me. Many might disagree with me about this... First off, like I said, I can't recommend the flavors that Hot Licks features (or at least the flavors it featured while I lived in Fairbanks). I am alumni at UAF, so I visited Hot Licks quite a few times while attending. I seriously don't remember how anything tasted and never out-rightly desired to stop by. I only ever went because my friends wanted to go with a new student. I am being honest when I say I'd rather just go buy ice cream from the store -- its better there. Lack of any special or memorable flavor alone is not the only think I'm not a huge fan of here, though. The prices are OUTRAGEOUS for what you get, and this makes matters much worse for me. Again...just go buy a pint from Fred's. You'll get way more bang for your buck. I'd give 3 stars if it weren't for the service of the employees. They hire a bunch of young people who act as if they could not possibly care less to be there. I've always had weird experiences with the girls at the window -- not bad, just not quality customer service. The bosses I've had while working in customer service positions would have killed me if I was as nonchalant and uncaring as the girls who've served me at Hot Licks. Having lived in multiple cities and multiple states, I can say Fairbanks far outdoes itself in its quality of restaurants. I love Fairbanks for its food, which I never thought I'd say. But Hot Licks personally doesn't do it for me like other Fairbanks restaurants.

It is the best ice cream I ever had in United States and I feel i can say proudly since I have been to most of the so called city's best Ice cream shop. I had rum raisen. The taste of rum and fresh raisens in creamy ice cream not sugary. And molten grapenuts. I am a true believer that this place is Fairbanks institutional place to be! If I can say one thing, waffle cone is not the best but I am here rating ice cream.

Today, I was played. Im a fool. I paid almost $10 for 2 hollow cones. I wanted to go back and get the rest of the ice cream I had paid for, but I didnt want to chew out the sweet girl in the window. So, I'm the clown. On opening day, the cones were filled, and the sprinkles were generous. That was an obvious LIE. I will not return to Hot Licks, and I will warn my friends of the Mickey Mouse games they play.

After dinner my fiancé and I decided to go for ice cream. Found this place on google. It's definitely underrated on Yelp! We ordered the banana split to share. We chose strawberry, almond joy, and lemon raspberry cheesecake. All flavors were phenomenal. Along with the usual banana split toppings we added the strawberries, Alaska blueberries, and almonds. All were great choices! There's a military discount which just made this lil shop even better! The staff is very friendly as well. The outdoor patio is complete with cute flower pots and busy little bumblebees.

Good tasting ice cream, but WOW expensive for a scoop. It's not the price. It's how much you get for the price. See photos of a scoop in a white ketchup cup. I'll spend my $3.00 elsewhere. But it's tasty. It's like paying for a bag of your favorite chips at gas station prices, then only get one chip in the bag. Lol.

Mediocre ice cream that's overpriced. You can do better buying a carton from the grocery store.

Lots of flavors, good size scoops, they don't skimp on the toppings and plenty of options for people who don't dig a traditional scoop of ice cream (shakes, floats, sundaes, etc).

Favorite ice cream place on the planet! I was glad to get to go back. I'm a huge fan of the AK wild blueberry and the buttermilk & honey.

Not quite sure what the draw is for this place? The ice cream was okay, but it was not, "OMG good!" My wife felt the ice cream was "gritty." The only thing that was "OMG" about Hot Licks was the price. I understand it costs more to ship things to Alaska, but how do you justify $10-12 for a milkshake? If a family of four or more wanted an ice cream treat you'd be spending at least $40 for ICE CREAM! Seriously, I could buy the most expensive ice cream at Safeway or Fred Meyers + milk + vanilla extract and make a dozen shakes for that same $10-12. We will not be spending our money here again. I don't feel guilty about this review either because the customer service we received was apethetic at best.

Home town goodness... I hope you have the chance to stop by this Fairbanks local hotspot and try out one of the many daily flavors that are all delicious...!

some of the best ice cream i've ever had. the little band on the ice cream board were clearly playing hot licks. ha. he got it. my friend. blueberries are dank

Delicious! Friendly staff too :D We are on vacation and this is the best ice cream we have had in Alaska !

My friend and I were visiting, and a couple google searches indicated this place might not be open, and we tried the phone number which didn't work. HOWEVER, we are so glad that we drove by--this place IS OPEN (I think until 7 most nights?). I had the cookies + cream, and the earl grey ice cream and they were so good. My friend had the pumpkin ice cream which she loved. Really glad to have tried the ice cream, some of the best that I've ever had!

Perfect summer treat. Unique and traditional favorites. Lines can be a little long but it's a summer tradition to stop in. AK blueberry is a must. They've recently begun to post on their Facebook page the flavors of the day which is very helpful

We ordered 5 small cups of ice cream and they were very small for the price we paid. The ice cream was good but not amazing. Not sure we will return.

$ 4.50 for this one scoop of ice cream. Just sad. They need to have some instruction on how to make an ice cream cone.