Lil' Tiger Ice Cream

My husband and I took out of town relatives here for Father’s Day and everyone loved the ice cream. We always receive excellent customer service but they did an especially good job of making sure the dads felt special on Father’s Day. The owner recommended a pistachio and chocolate combination to us that was delicious. It was also fun to meet the mascot and their new puppy. Thank you for making us feel welcomed each time we get ice cream!

Really a gem in lake city. The only ice cream shop in the area - brought to the community by popular demand :,) owner shared his super moving story of how the shop came to be and it felt like a local seattle story through and through. Everything is homemade (even the marshmallows!) every flavor has a story. Really special. Definitely make a stop here! You can feel how deeply rooted in community it is. Show them some love!

Everything in the shop is homemade (other than maybe the whipped cream?) so it's all excellent. In terms of ice cream flavors, the standouts for me were the Spinnaker chocolate, the raspberry cheesecake, and the Reese's. The pistachio is also really good if you really like the flavor of actual pistachios; it's not fake pistachio flavor like a lot of ice cream is, so be ready! No matter what flavor you pick, you gotta get some toppings too. The toaster marshmallows are a must-try: made from scratch and freshly toasted. The hot fudge is also really good, almost more like brownie batter or something. The waffle cones are thick, crunchy, and delicious.

They have a dog named Lil' Tiger, a basset hound, and you can greet him, so if you have dog allergies, be forewarned, dogs seem welcome here. The interior is relatively small, but long. The scoops of ice cream are generous and don't immediately melt. I got lemon custard, some kind of ginger and Graham cracker ice cream, and added a Raspberry syrup. It was very Tangy and sweet, which is what I wanted. I would visit to pet the dog and try a waffle cone.

I've lived in the area for years but finally visited and really enjoyed the experience. I appreciate that Lil' Tiger is an independent ice cream joint that makes their own ice cream. They have a lot of flavors to choose from. Some that stuck out to me were the banana fudge brownie, Spinnaker melted chocolate which uses chocolate from the underrated Seattle chocolatier, and pistachio. I tried the pistachio and it was the best pistachio ice cream I've ever had. It's not very common but I've tried a bunch of different versions but Lil' Tiger's was the freshest tasting - the ice cream wasn't cloying or too rich - it just has a fresh pistachio flavor. The banana fudge brownie was also excellent. This stretch of Lake City has still been spared by gentrification, and I'm glad they're here. I will be back!

absolute 10/10. some of the best ice cream i've ever had. open til ten so it's a classic lake city hangout. must see

Cute little ice cream shop with lots of flavors and sundae options. They even have a cotton candy ice cream burrito! The rocky road was the best flavor I tried there😋

Emphasis on the milk in milkshake -- if I wanted a glass of cold milk, I would've just gone home. Ice cream was freezerburned and the staff looked like their dream of an ice cream shop died long ago. Dogs are sweet but they shed, all while being left to boil in the heat clad in a mascot shirt and tied up to a pillar. The other dog was napping on a discarded jacket on the floor -- classy! Visibly saw numerous flies, they have a watering bucket in their sink for some reason, and the establishment was dirty. Food safety rating was "okay," so clearly they passed with flying colors. Cashier seemed genuinely upset that I asked for a milkshake. I do not recommend.

I recently read the Eater list of best ice cream in Seattle and they specifically mentioned how Lil' Tiger Ice Cream makes their own ice cream base, which intrigued me enough to visit. This is one of only a handful of independent, non-chain scoop shops that I've seen make their own base. It's actually very difficult to do because FDA and state regulations (for Washington specifically, it's WAC 16-144-010) require the base to be pasteurized, which requires all sorts of expensive equipment. This is just a guess, but probably 90%+ of independent scoop shops purchase premade base to avoid the additional cost. Everyone running this shop is super friendly. On our visit, there was one of the owners in the back, making a fresh batch of banana and peanut butter mix, and the other scooping in the front, making friendly conversation with everyone walking in. Not to mention the two lovely Basset Hounds just lazing around on the floor! 1 Scoop, Ube ($6.00) - Woah! Super strong and rich ube flavor. Amazing, one of the best ube flavored things I've actually eaten, especially in terms of how powerful the flavor is. In the freezer, I saw ice crystals on top of the ice cream tub, but before serving us, Richard (one of the owners) scooped the entire top layer of ice cream up and threw it in the trash can. That's a sign of a great ice cream shop that really wants to do the best for their customers. The ice cream itself is very solidly low overrun and doesn't have much stretch, which usually means a low amount of stabilizers added. There aren't any ice crystals in the scoop itself. It's so thick that it's hard to actually get the spoon in! Definitely super premium. It's also not overly sweet. I do have to say that the scoop size isn't the largest; it doesn't even fill up the entire cup. We had a chat with Richard and he said they use purely ube extract and powder for this ice cream, and a ton of it at that to get that really full-bodied flavor. Super delicious ice cream. (5/5) I will be honest - the difference between a quality premade base and homemade base is probably small enough that I can't tell the difference. Still, it's always nice to see an ice cream shop go all out with their ingredients and technique!

This is your neighborhood is cream parlor. Everything is made fresh and you can see drawings of dogs from kids that colored them on the wall. The flavors are all solid and it reminds me of a small town old fashioned style. I've tried almost all of the flavors and have yet to try the ice cream burrito. You often see lots of families and cyclists that stop for a scoop. All the staff are friendly and it's a fun place to try.

Amazing homemade ice cream. My favorite is the dairy free ube ice cream. It is made with real coconut cream

I knew I liked Lil tiger bc it's cute, they make their own fun flavors, and the owner is friendly but now I've been dairy free for a year and oh my, THE DAIRY FREE ICE CREAM IS THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD! Today I had pistachio and chocolate and it was so creamy and flavorful!!

Review by my 7 yr old kid: Amazing service. The nice man was so fast at making the banana split!! The music was so good!! the ice cream was better than all the stores that I went to!!!

Me n my gf's fav local ice cream in Lake City. We visited this store 14 times I the past 4 months and got a free banana split at our tenth visit. The portion of each scoop is huuuge. Highly recommend the blueberry cheesecake and lemon custard pie flavors!

Lil' Tiger Ice Cream is a great find! The ice cream is small batched with the ingredients thoughtfully sourced. The service was great, even had a good conversation with one of the owners about sourcing ingredients directly from the companies and appreciate the explanation of the process of making the making ice creams, toppings and sauces. The place ot self was warm and inviting and their lovely dogs were even there hanging out near the fireplace.

Absolutely delicious ice cream and waffle cones. I had the coffee and doughnuts flavor and was blown away. The toasted marshmallow topping is unreal!

Great little home made ice cream shop in Lake City. Wide array of ice cream flavors and toppings make for a yummy treat. They even had a cotton candy machine for that topping. You can watch them making ice cream in the glass windowed work area. Nice seating inside and out. Don't forget to pet the bassets if they're visiting.

the girl who served our ice cream was super friendly, welcoming and nice! i got the coffee doughnut flavor and i loved the bits of doughnut in the ice cream. my boyfriend got the chocolate ice cream in a cone and it was good! there's parking in the front and back and this place is an adorable little ice cream shop! they also serve malts :)

Delicious flavors and dairy free options. Loved the raspberry cheesecake and dairy free butter pecan.

I can't believe I just found Lil' Tiger. This little neighbor scoop shop has great homemade ice cream. I had vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and cherry chocolate chunk and all of them were delicious. Thee vanilla one was amazing, you can tell it's made from actual vanilla beans. Not your typical meh vanilla. For the chocolate one they use local Spinaker Chocolate, great classic chocolate. The strawberry one was so good too, it has some strawberry jam swirled into the ice cream. And my favorite one, the dark cherry chocolate chunk I think has become my favorite cherry ice cream. I love B&J's Cherry Garcia but this one is even better. Big cherry and chocolate chunks, smooth ice cream, tasteful, homemade, what else can I ask for? Oh yeah, the strawberry sauce. Get that too. The service was good, the staff was nice and friendly. The shop is cute and filled with children's drawings of Lil' Tiger. There's also parking in the back. Bonus point: if you're lucky, you might get to meet Lil' Tiger himself. One more reason to keep coming. Definitely a great option for ice cream in this area of town.

First time here and the gentleman behind the counter was very nice. Took his recommendation and tried the dark chocolate chunk cherry ice cream-yum! I normally don't like cherry anything so this was really good! Had that and the Tiger Caramel as our choice for the S'mores sundae. Toasted marshmallows and all, it was a good choice for us. Definitely going to be a favorite! Also please say hi to the dog, he's super friendly and is the face of Lil Tiger!

Delicious ice cream with creative flavors. Extremely pleasant customer service, and nice indoor and outdoor seating. The dogs are adorable! Will be going back here - tried the raspberry cheesecake this time, but there were several other flavors which interested me.

They got amazing ice cream, fun coloring activities and old DOGS. I had the milkshake with the ice cream of my flavor and it was amazing

This is a great hole in the wall nothing fancy who needs decor when we got ice cream--all made in house with love and egg.yolks for that creamy dreamy mouth taste that.puts.a.smile.on your face-try the "Spinnaker melted Chocolate" (hand crafted single origin chocolate bars roasted by.removing the.shells of the cocoa beans first and just using the nibs) ice.cream --make.it a.double with "Dk Cherry Chocolate Chunk"then like the song you get to "knock on heaven's.door" single scoop @$5.25.two.scoops @$8.50 handmade waffle cone add $1. Split scoop @$5.75 kid.scoop @$4.25.This is the place that.started the slogan "Ice.Cream Ice.Cream we all scream for Ice.Cream" and ".Without ice cream there will be.darkness and chaos" -- Rich Rugout 75.year old curmudgeon, owner.and chief bottle washer- make the.trip- make the day-cheers.al

Had a banana split, delicious! Chose own ice cream flavor, toppings, and sauces. Would go again!

I grew up in the area and must have driven by this shop hundreds of times. I was desperately searching for somewhere to get a root beer float with my 5 yo grandson and Little Tiger came up. It was close-by so we went and had a wonderful experience. Delicious ice cream and my grandson had a great time watching the cones being made. Highly recommend!

I love this place! Stopped in today for the first time and it's my new favorite ice cream spot. Plenty of flavor options, and the store itself is super cute with both indoor and outdoor seating. There is street parking in the back and I had no problem finding a space. They have a lot of flavor options and offer samples to help you choose! We tried scoops of vanilla, cotton candy, and chocolate, and got a pint of blueberry cheesecake to go. All delicious and tasted homemade, soooo much better than anything I could get at the grocery store. The lady behind the counter was very nice and friendly. Can't wait to come back for a weekly treat!

Homemade style ice cream. About 20 flavors ranging from standards (vanilla bean, mint chip, butter pecan) to fun ones like pina colada. I tried coffee&donut and honeydew. The coffee&donut didn't hit with me as much as the honeydew. The richness/smoothness were good on both. 3 tables inside and a couple on the sidewalk make for fantastic summer relief. Staff was friendly and polite. This is definitely a go-to spot after any of the many restaurants along Lake City Way. Street parking is limited (parallel parking!) and there's a bus stop nearby.

Delicious hard homemade ice cream with yummy specialty rainbow sprinkles !!! Helpful and fun servers. Fantastic deal with a frequent flyer card. Buy 9 and get the 10th ANY item on the menu for free. We will definitely come again.

This is a nice place to get some good quality ice cream and you can always pet the cute lil tiger while you're there. The service is quick and respectful. The ambiance is pretty local vibe so definitely recommend to check out the place.

The best pistachio I've cream in Seattle. It's so good. The chocolate hazelnut is also excellent. The two combined? Yuuuum. Not to sweet, you can taste all the flavors. I will come back for cheesecake cotton candy. Cuz that sounds Bomb

Best ice cream I've had in a while, and there is a ready cute basset hound there too. Yum!

I have only stopped by Lil' Tiger Ice Cream in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood twice (5/25/21 and 6/1/21). That's on me for not stopping in more often especially during our summer heatwave 2021. But what stood out were the incredibly welcoming staff working behind the counter, clean and bright interior, and generous scoops provided. Two scoops were practically a pint from other sites or from the grocery store freezers, but without breaking the budget. Their ice creams are crafted onsite and walking in you get that immediate waft of freshly made waffle cones. Ice cream is delicious year round. Go treat yourself and support an indie local.

Best chocolate ice cream we've ever had!! We also tried the orange creamsicle and it's delicious. Lil' Tiger himself was there to greet us and the shop has a shelf with games and coloring pages. My kids watched waffle cones being made from scratch while they enjoyed their ice cream. A customer ordered a root beer float that looked really good: scoops of vanilla in a cold cup with a bottle of root beer (I think Virgil's?) to pour over. Yum! If you can't find parking on Lake City Way, there's also street parking to the east directly behind the shop with a back door entrance. We will definitely be back to enjoy more of Lil' Tiger's ice cream flavors and get a pint of the chocolate to bring home. Support this sweet local business!!

Adorable locally owned ice cream shop, offering an impressive selection of flavors and toppings. They serve Cascade Glacier ice cream, which is handmade in Eugene, OR. You can opt for your scoops straight up, or in milkshakes, sundaes, sodas, and more. The shop is cute and pink, with a welcoming homey vibe. I love nostalgic flavors like their "Party Animal"; cotton candy ice cream with pink iced animal cracker pieces. It paired perfectly with the Lemon Meringue Pie, which tasted of lemon curd, and had pieces of pie crust and swirls of whipped cream mixed in. My husband got Moose Tracks, which had loads of mini peanut butter cups in it. All of the above were ultra creamy, and of high quality. Lil' Tiger is named after one of the owner's basset hounds, who we were lucky enough to meet. Highly recommended.

Beyond the charming interior and welcoming staff this place truly has some of the best ice cream in Seattle. The owners love their craft and it's evident in how they do business. We will definitely be back!

Came here after having some good Mexican dinner. It was almost their closing time, their was only one employee and 2 cute doggos on the floor. Its a cute shop. Surely kid friendly, their were crayons and coloring pages with line art. Many different variety of flavors are available. All very similar to what you get in an ice cream shop. We had their:- Kona Coffee- I have had way better tasting coffee ice cream, the coffee flavor was not that good. Birthday cake- Lately, I have been on a spree to trying birthday cake ice cream of any ice cream shop that we go. This is definitely not the best I have tasted, it was overly sweet. Overall, its a cute place to try once but still on search for the best one. One scoop in their small cup comes with a lot of ice cream which is worth for what you pay.

Absolutely delicious. The owner was super nice and the variety of ice creams was great, would definitely come back again!

So many choices, so many fun colors, and I cannot wait to return! What a lovely addition to the heart of Lake City. A cute shop adorned with a chalk menu ( someone has exceptional penmanship). The staff was lovely and offered samples of the lemon meringue pie and something with caramel cups and chocolate. Both were very GOOOOD. Heck, maybe Tooo Good! I'll be craving their ice cream often...ugh, there goes the diet! Hubby tried 1 scoop of salted caramel in a cone and it has HUGE!! That will be my go... The brownie a la mode was delish with their brownie being extremely rich and warm gooey. I wish I had two scoops. The Brownies and ice cream sandwiches are sourced from a local Bakery. Must try the ice cream sandwiches next time because they were sold out! Kiddos ordered shakes and LOVED them! We will see you soon friends

Delicate texture, high quality ingredients. One of the best handmade ice cream in town! Staff super friendly. Store is clean! Hidden local gem!

I'm so glad I finally got to try Lil Tiger. If only this was closer to where I live, since I'm in an ice cream shop desert! The prices are pretty standard for the area - not too high and not too low either. The best part of getting a milkshake is that you can get as many flavors as you want to mix together. I got a large milkshake with Cappuccino Irish Cream and huckleberry. My favorite ice cream flavor is coffee, so I had to get the cappuccino. The cappuccino here tasted the best out of all the other ice cream shops' coffee flavors I've tried, even compared to all the local ones (Molly Moon's, Bluebird, and Salt & Straw). The texture of Lil Tiger's coffee flavor was perfect, while Bluebird's is gritty and always makes me choke, and Molly Moon's has those annoying chips. The milkshake also had the best consistency I've ever had from a milkshake in the Seattle area. I'm so used to having uneven milkshakes that aren't ready to drink for 10+ minutes like from Baskin Robbins, etc. This one was ready to drink right away, and I didn't have to wait too long. There were other flavors I tried as well that I'd like in a cone or something next time.

The ice cream is delicious! We got there when they opened at noon. Everyone working there was very friendly. There are two huge Bassett Hounds that are inside to greet you. I am a dog lover & petted them because their so precious. Problem is they are smelly & dirty & it's hard not to get away from them. I don't think they should be in the small shop area. They have tons of crayons & pictures to color. We were with our granddaughters & each of us had a scoop of ice cream. Then we all had a hot dog. They were ok. I wish I hadn't seen the bathroom, it could use lots of work, rebuild & cleaning. I probably won't go back because of the dogs & hygiene from the dogs & bathroom.

I've been here only twice, once for a shake and once for a scoop, and both times were delightful. My second time we actually ran into kids and parents from each of my kid's schools, within 15 minutes of being there, which leads to my main objective in this review- local businesses really can be a glue that stitches together community. Half of the tips went to a designated organization in the area, this occasion was Coyote North. Now we don't need to drive 10 minutes away for our calorie bomb.

Loveeeee. Such a delightful place in all times of the year. I love their honeydew, lemon crumble, and all berry flavors. A must try in Lake city!

Good food! Know the owner...Nice guy . I think he serves soup in the cold weather! Ice cream is fabulous!

This ice cream shop is delightful. It's a family owned shop on Lake City Way NE. It is reminiscent of soda fountains of the 1950s and 1960s. They have over a dozen flavors made onsite and always have at least one non-dairy option. It has SO much more flavor than ice cream at franchise stores. The family is very friendly, also like the Good Old Days. I like the lemon pie and the cherry chocolate chunk. If you're near Lake City and love good ice cream you gotta check them out.

Cute little shop with street parking in the front and some parking in the back as well. There are a few tables inside to sit down that will likely fill up quickly as summer approaches. Ice cream has a lot of flavor and they give good portions. We got regular sundaes: my husband got s'mores ice cream and I got cherry amaretto and pistachio. Definitely make a stop here for your ice cream fix

Great ice cream and superb service. I recommend this place for a yummy treat! I loved the raspberry cheesecake ice cream, and my daughter enjoyed her cotton candy cone.

I think folks are just happy to have a place like this in the neighborhood. But, this place isn't it. I've been a few times and have had odd experiences each time. The first was getting whipped cream, having basically liquid cream glopped on, they said, "oh that's just how our whipped cream is." I've seen workers take off gloves to do several things that you really want them to wear gloves for. Another time, they had to toss a vat of ice cream because I think there was mold or something in it. Ice crystals gather on top of some of their ice creams often. Another time, they served my daughter's ice cream on a cone that was obviously cracked and broken. (Which became an issue as she ate.) The older man who works there is so unfriendly and the other day, he came outside to sit at their (unclean) outdoor tables to smoke while the other tables were full of kids. I'm sorry to say, the place just gives off dirty and unfriendly vibes. I hope they can adjust these things. I want to like them.

Amazing flavors and big scoops! We are big ice cream fans and absolutely LOVE Lil' Tiger Ice Cream.

What a welcoming ice cream shop! Super inviting owners along with their darling dogs!! Let us try multiple samples and told us about how they source their ingredients. They make it all in-house and it's delicious!! We'll be back!

Made fresh on site ice cream! Best I've cream in town. Everything is so good. I had the almond joy and added Carmel sauce. They make the Carmel sauce too. I am a big fan! My grandson had a cotton candy ice burrito you have to see it to believe it. Love this place. Did I say the make their own ice cream here! Come try it.

If I could I would give negative stars. Not for the ice cream but the guy who was serving it. I really don't care if it's the owner or the employee but I would never ever come back here. The most disrespectful staff I ever met in my entire life. Extremely rude and annoyed by my presence. I felt disrespected and treated by a xenophobic staff. I was talking in another language and he expressed his completely unsatisfied by simply our presence (I was with some friends). There was this guy with his kid and he looked at me unbelievably on how we are treated. At the end he was soooo pissed at us asking for a cotton candy without ice cream that he just slammed it on the counter and said "it's on the house". I would never ever in my life come back to this place. I would never recommend this for anyone specially with kids. To the staff/owner : If you don't like your job or you business just quit it. Don't treat people like shit like you did because we are not stupid. Do better and treat people with kindness

Came in on the afternoon to get my kids some ice cream. The man working the counter seemed immediately annoyed by me and my kids. Huffing and puffing, very short and aggressive questions and responses. When my daughter asked for some toppings on her ice cream he got upset and threw her ice cream scoops on the counter mumbling under his breath. He was so mean and aggressive I asked to just forget it. Just wanted to pay and get out of there and he threw the ice cream order on the counter and told us to get out. So nasty. So so nasty. I have never been treated so badly by an employee somewhere. To top it off, there were so many flies an employee was swaying them with a zapper and we saw an ant crawling on the counter. Gross.

The man making the ice cream was very friendly and offered to put a marshmallow on my icecream but i noticed he wasn't wearing any gloves when preparing this as well which is my only complaint. Otherwise the icecream itself was delicious!

I'll start by saying I'm not an ice cream person. However, I really enjoyed my selections here! I had both the lemon custard pie and the raspberry cheesecake. Both were not too sweet and had nice chunks of whatever inside! Will def. Make the drive back down!

What a great neighborhood ice cream shop. There are a lot of options including cones, shakes, and floats. The staff are cheerful and efficient. What I like best is that this shop is a great piece of the neighborhood and offers a friendly and accepting environment for residents. No Judgment on offer, only good ice cream treats.