Sideshow Gelato

Sideshow Gelato Is a place that I can truly say is magical. It's like stepping into an old, carnival or local festival that you might have experienced as a kid. There's all sorts of nostalgic decor around and the staff is extremely welcoming/ knowledgeable. Of course, the gelato is also delicious, with plenty of flavors for anyone to choose from classics to more experimental, exciting options. I wish I realized they also had shows because I would have come later in the day or on Saturday to check some of them out. But I'll definitely be going again to see what they have to offer and try more of the flavors. I have my eye on the pickle sorbetto.

My wife and I went last night for the Enigma show, we got there a bit early and got some gelato. She got a yummy sort of brownie batter tasting flavor and I got a Hot Toddy flavor that had Bischoff cookie crumbles in it. So yum! The place itself is super cool and there’s all sorts of carnival memorabilia everywhere. The show was super funny and my wife got pulled up for a bit lol. I was really pleased to read on their website that their shows are donation-based, making this among one of the most accessible venues in the city!!! Love this spot, I will be back. (:

I never knew a place like this could or would exist, but we are all lucky that it does. The whole set up is bright and inviting. To staff were all incredibly friendly and talkative, happy to show off their talents like magic or balloon animals. Lots of tasty vegan options, plus A REAL, LIVE CIRCUS SIDESHOW PERFORMANCE! It was such a great way to celebrate my friend's birthday. You would be well advised to visit this establishment, as I cannot wait to go back.

Our colleagues have been hosting performances here for a year. Love coming for a show and staying for the savory gelato. Hats off to the fun and friendly staff! 🎩

Exactly what you’d expect, and more. Amazing house-made gelato with unique flavors, and very quirky kids side shows! Very 80s retro vibe. Owner Jay is such a sweetheart. Adult shows are also really cool. Since 2 months ago, I’ve been coming here almost every weekend with my step kid. I’d just come here for good quality gelato but the entertainment is just cherry on top. Highly recommend. Definitely a great add-on to the neighborhood.

I don't think any dessert shop on the planet is quite like this place!! The girl working the counter was super polite and helpful offered suggestions and samples!! The decor and vibe are incredible I gotta make it back on a Saturday night for a live sideshow!!

A delightfully unique experience with delicious gelato. I grabbed a cup of pistachio and wandered around the quirky shop. The staff were gregarious and helpful. They put on an impromptu magic show for a few kids which I enjoyed just as much as an adult. Very cool that on top of providing a quirky hang and tasty gelato they also support local non profits. Well worth the short detour up Western. I will be back for an affogato!

Great entertainment. Gelato was tasty! Check out the images! Make your $10 donation and get a seat up front to be a part of the act! House lights could have been turned off!

Come for the gelato , stay for the magic Come to this one of a kind unique venture in #Chicago in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. They serve premium gelato, including vegan! What's special is that on many weekends they often host very affordable magic and sideshow (sword-swallowing, fire breathing) shows that will make both kids and adults gasp and cheer! A very cool carnival atmosphere right in the city! The owner Jay Bliznick and his team is a delight to work with! He helped me plan a special birthday party for my wife, and I can tell you everyone had a lot of fun (even if they had no idea what to expect). If you're looking for a private space to rent out that can fit up to 40 people, look no further than Sideshow Gelato. The shows are mostly kid-friendly, and I can say that all the performers are amazing at including kids as volunteers for tricks. Highly consider planning your next party or just coming in to get great gelato the next time. #magic #gelato

Step right up to Sideshow Gelato to taste unique flavors and witness mind blowing entertainment and unusual oddities under one roof! It's usually a case of hyperbole to say a place is unique or unlike any other, but there is honestly nowhere else like Sideshow Gelato. Since its grand opening in Spring 2023, this carnival tent inspired gelato shop has captured hearts and stomachs in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago by offering delectable handcrafted dairy and vegan gelato served up by talented performers ready to astound audiences. Now, whenever I find myself in Chicago I must visit this most amazing gelato shop! As well as being a venue for nation and international touring performers, in between serving gelato, each of the "scoopers" are young performers honing their juggling, magic, and performance skills before customers. On the days I was there, we were able to catch the house troupe preform their sideshow, along with special guests. Among other things, we witnessed magic, sword-swallowing, and a straitjacket escape all while eating delicious gelato; So much fun! Which brings me to the main attraction. Sideshow Gelato, is after all, first and foremost a gelato shop, and they serve the best gelato I've ever had. Not just in the Chicagoland area, no, I truly mean the best I've had! Never mind when he's eating fire, the owner/operator lights up the room with his enthusiasm and extensive knowledge. All of their gelato, whether the traditional dairy or vegan flavors, are made in house with the freshest ingredients, never from mixes or powered bases. The flavors are perfectly balanced, never too sweet, and the texture is consistently smooth and luscious. The staff is friendly and enthusiastic, always happy to offer samples, and help you find the perfect flavor. They clearly take pride in what they do, and it shows in the quality of their gelato and the overall experience. P. T. Barnum famously said "The noblest art is that of making others happy," and at Sideshow Gelato "everybody's happy on the inside!"

Ok. Two people walk into a gelato joint and a carnival breaks out. That is how you will feel when visiting this very curious establishment. Getting startup money from the City of Chicago covid fund, this place has many competing elements. The music is 1920s jazz. The gelato flavors tend to be chocolates, coffees and nuts with a few fruit flavors thrown in for good measure. The most experimental is a dark chocolate, blueberry and cayenne. It starts out sweet - and then BAM! The consistency of the gelato was a tad too soft. They have places to sit and old carnival ride seats. Once you are done you can wander around the promenade to learn about carnival marketing and tricks. Overall an odd and intriguing find that could have been on an episode of "Wild Chicago."

We came at a weird off time and it was a little quiet. I know they just opened a couple of nights ago and had a big grand opening soirée with entertainment. I'd love to know more about their programming because they obviously plan to host shows and entertainment regularly. Unfortunately, while I was there wasn't one of those times, but regardless, it was a nice little shop to take in some interesting facts and stories from the cute little museum. Great memorabilia and carnival kitsch galore! The gelato itself it very artisan with intriguing and unique flavor combinations. You can tell it's made by hand and with a lot of love. The texture was soft so it melted rather quickly, but the taste was outstanding. I had a tobacco and candied orange gelato that you wouldn't think was good, but wow! They were very generous with samples and great and guiding and making recommendations. I especially enjoyed the local homage throughout the space. Tons of local trivia and old lores all native to our great town and throughout Illinois. Plus they have made a wonderful commitment to support the community through giving back, sharing the space and making it a welcome and inviting area for families and people from all around. Not only is it cool how they're making it acceptable and encouraged to be weird, it's cleaning up that sad corridor that's sat vacant and unsavory for years. I hope it leads the way for many other businesses with a similar approach. I'm happy to continue to support them and all their weird and wackiness and I hope others do as well! Welcome to the neighborhood!

Get some gelato with a side of Sideshow! They make their gelato from scratch on site, and have many options that are dairy free and/or vegan. The gelato is delicious, and even if I didn't already know that what I had was dairy free, I wouldn't have guessed it! All the employees here are performers of one level or another and they have frequent scheduled shows.

Very great experience on a personal level. Pros: Dedicated performers, stage presence. Homemade gelato. Cons: None to speak of. We arrived not knowing what to expect. The show performers have a midwestern authenticity to them. They're not under the delusion that the audience will buy into a cheesey, overly enthusiastic presentation and they attempt to communicate with you that way. The performances are good-to-great quality and the execution is done in earnestness with a high level of skill. We very much appreciated how the performers try very hard to provide an entertaining performance and relate to all types of audiences. Thank you.

Sideshow Gelato is hands down a welcome addition to the Lincoln Square neighborhood. They offer unique and interesting flavor, much like Black Dog in West town, but with a side of entertainment! Even on a slow day, they take the time to provide patrons with a little bit of magical entertainment that is fun for both adults and children alike. How is their Gelato, you ask? Pretty darn good. What I love even more is that they have a variety of flavors for those of us who are lactose intolerant through their vegan selections. I had the chocolate Gelato and left nothing because of how rich and delicious it was! If you go on your birthday, you will also be able to partake in games with prizes! So please do visit and keep this fantastic small business open!

This is a cute neighborhood gelato spot - I wouldn't say it's my favorite gelato, but the person I was with really liked it. I do think it's super cool that everybody who works here is a performer and the concept behind this gelato spot is so fun. We went around Halloween and they put together a wonderful haunted house for the community. It was scary (I hated it lol, I'm sorry I don't love being scared, but it was really lovely to see kids come in and enjoy it). It was also a good vibes haunted house where they wouldn't grab you and ultimately wanted you to have a good time.

This was just what I hoped it would be. Not too slick good wholesome fun in a neighborhood location. Gelato was fine and the show was well performed with plenty of cornball humor. This is obviously a labor of love that deserves your support. Not just for kids but the two boys 6 and 9 were delighted. Decorated with vintage circus sideshow posters and paraphernalia. Don't worry no animals are exploited, they explain the difference between a circus and a sideshow. This is all about the human performers. A unique experience just north of Lawrence on Western Avenue. Easy access from the Western brownline stop, Western bus or Lawrence bus. Also plenty of closeby on street parking. Grab a few kids, your hipster friend or weekend date and check this out for funky city fun.

Great gelato, cute atmosphere, the staff is excellent and will push you to sample every flavor. Some friends and I went to the After Hours Adult Side Show, a couple weeks back and had a blast, BYOB to the show, $5 corkage for anyone drinking. I'll be back.

Great gelato, service, and atmosphere, and clearly lovingly created. This place is destined to blow up on tiktok, I just know it. Genuinely excellent gelato in both standard and unique flavors (I tried the pickle gelato and it was as advertised). They have dog friendly and vegan friendly gelato. The shop is filled with circus memorabilia; I particularly love the booths that are old Scrambler ride cars. Great place for a first date or first meetup, there's lots to comment on! The scoopers are all performers in some way; I was served by a juggler and a magician. All of the other patrons seemed to be having an excellent time watching them, especially the kids. They apparently have shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Overall, this place is a gem, and I'll definitely be back!

The ambiance was whimsical, entertaining and cozy! Friendly service and great vegan food opportunities. I loved their vegan gelato and ziti pizza. Would I go back, absolutely! I'll take pics of the food the next time.

I absolutely love this place!! The staff is always so friendly when I come by. And the gelato is delicious! I really like the creativity they have with their flavors. Each time I come in, there is always something new to try and see. The entertainment they have is fantastic too! I've never been to a place that does shows like they do! Sword swallowers, magic, burlesque, and so much more I can't wait to go back to see what they do next!!

We have been craving good gelato since Paciugo closed in Lincoln Square. We thought we would give this place a try. The gelato was super overpriced and not very good. None of it had any flavor. Usually if you are eating like a pistachio, you at least get a hint of that flavor. It was also extremely expensive. Not worth it in my opinion.

What a great spot! Great Gelato! Vegan options available Great space! Plenty of room to hang out and soak up the vibe. Occasional art shows, magic shows, all kinds of high level culture. Just going here makes you 25% cooler!

I was waiting in line while a couple was getting a sample of every single ice cream after like 10 minutes me and my dad left would not go again

My friend and I got there today, a little after they opened (which was 4 pm) and the door was still locked. One person was in there(maybe a workers kiddo?), and no one came to the door. We came from out of the area, so such a bummer. Instead, we had great service elsewhere and won't be coming back. Such a shame!!

What a wonderful place. Their oddities museum is a fascinating tour of the occult and weird history and is alone worth the trip. The performers literally went out of their way to greet me and my group and perform some spectacular sideshow acts right at our table. And one of the magicians gave me some advice that I'm still using to this day. The atmosphere is perfect and unforgettable. And they really do have some of the best gelato I've ever tasted. Can't wait to go back!

Housemade gelato combined with Ripley's Believe It Or Not carnival atmosphere. Great for kids of all ages. Magic shows and mentoring. Personal service by magicians of all ages. Old timey jazz

Wow! Even without having attended one of the shows - which I will soon - the gelato is first-class. Rich gelato - not just ice cream - all homemade, interesting flavors, or if you're like me and just want chocolate, you won't be disappointed. Sideshow is one-of-a-kind, clearly a personal project of its owner and employees, and a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.

Wonderful place! Went it right before closing, and they couldn't be more accommodating. And on top of that it might be the best gelato I've had in the city! All of that wrapped up inside a carnival! Glad this place exists!

We loved it! Great gelato! Great staff! Super fun place! We will be back! Try the lemon one, it's awesome!

Such a cool place to visit! Really unique gelato flavors, a knowledgeable owner you can tell really loves sideshows who told us all about his favorite carnies, fun displays, lots of places to take photos, free movie nights on Thursdays, and lots of events and sideshow performers! Cannot recommend enough. They also do charity work and focus on giving back to the community.

Went here a few weeks ago and the gelato was great. They have some interesting and surprisingly good flavors. The pickle gelato was unexpectedly good. They also have many standard flavors for the less adventurous. The staff was very friendly and showed us a few well performed magic tricks. Overall, I had a great experience and will be back.

I'm obsessed. I was waiting forever for this place to open and now that I've tried it, it seems like it was made for me! You can absolutely tell that the environment and food are crafted with love. The sideshow theme is super cool and is also splashed with a bit of Chicago history (Riverside and Hull House) in the museum section. The owner was the one scooping when I went in, and he explained the story behind the creation of the flavors I tried. I love that the flavors are so experimental, but they also have a classic chocolate and vanilla if that's more your style. They also have oat milk based vegan flavors and a synthetic nondairy milk vegan option. I didn't try it this time, but it's the same milk that Brave Robot makes ice cream with, so I assume it's just as good as the gelato made with real milk! Absolutely try the sweet corn gelato with caramel (The Wildman of Corneo) if it's available when you're in. It almost tastes like carmel corn, but fresher?

Sideshow Gelato is were weird, friendly, interesting intersect. Gelato is artisan and vegan. Friendly, talented scoopers serve and perform magic, Juggling and illusions. Saturday night shows are family friendly and great for date night. Performers are professional. Lemon Sorbetto is my favorite so far. Sideshow Gelato is generous with samples prior to buying and like anything in this world not every thing is for everyone. I encourage everyone to stop by and enjoy!

What a fun place to enjoy gelato. They had me at VEGAN! So refreshing and delicious, made with a flair for unique flavors. I tried the ginger blend and the highly recommended pistachio. Both were amazing! The staff couldn't be friendlier and the chef who created these flavors took the time to explain his process. After walking by several times to find them closed, I checked the hours and finally stopped in on a Friday night. I truly hope the neighborhood embraces them. I'll certainly be back. Check their hours and make a trip this weekend to a fun and unique establishment with delicious gelato. If you're vegan, you won't be disappointed.

Tasty gelato. Pretty expensive. Seems like a fun place to view a show but we didn't.

We were so curious to try the gelato when they finally opened but too many strange flavors and "chewy" lemon sorbet left unamused.

a gelato shop that dares to do something entirely different. not just your neighborhood malt shop, something much, much more. these people do things with a pistachio that will make you blush! i have never seen so much sideshow related memorabilla in one place. i am very old now, but man, i would love to have wandered in here as kid! anyhow, thanks you guys. you haven't seen the last of me!