Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery Ballard

This place had such good vibes and great seating. The guy serving was nice and efficient and are ice cream was amazing. I got banana and Nutella and chocolate. Ice cream was pretty good.

Best ice cream shop in town. My favorite flavors are the sweet cream and the darkside. Not a fan of any of their ice creams that have cookies or crumble (too much crumble and not enough ice cream).

Not sure what this was. Tasted like ice cream, but after three bites there was an accumulation of what felt like wax build up on my teeth (sweet cream ice cream). Excessively expensive for what you get also. Will not be coming back, I felt sick after eating the smallest scoop.

Sadly I wanted a scoop of a delicious vegan ice cream, which I tasted (you get one taste per person and that’s it), but when I asked for it, the employee told me there wasn’t enough for a full scoop so I had to get another flavor to make a full scoop. Since I only got one taste, I had no opportunity to try anything else. I wanted a full scoop of the only flavor I was allowed to try! Why would they even have that ice cream to taste if I couldn’t get a full scoop? What if I hated the other flavor I picked? There were only 3 vegan ice creams from which to choose! $5 for a tiny scoop of ice cream and they couldn’t even sell me what I wanted! Needless to say, they lost a sale and a future customer. I predict this location won’t be in business much longer. It is a sad and lonely place without another customer in sight! And while I respect not wanting to fill up landfills with disposable plastic spoons, use small reusable or recyclable spoons if you’re worried about waste. It’s just a a crazy policy of one taste only per customer! They literally have the power to change if they wanted to be more customer- focused. And the worst part, the employee did not care and was not even nice about it!

Loved the desserts, had 2 scoops of banana nutella crunch ice cream with espresso shortbread and caramel sauce in a waffle bowl

Fun flavors and vegan options, too. Employees were friendly and happy to give out samples. Cute ice cream shop in the corner of a doughnut and coffee shop, managed to catch their soft launch. I hope they get noticed and are a succees! Note: if things are slow they occasionally close a bit early - don't risk it, otherwise you end up with what allegedly passes for ice cream at Wendy's instead.

Used to be nice. Sad and empty little place now. No samples allowed, so not much point in the shop. Got a scoop of what turned out to be a disappointing flavor and just threw it out...it only took one bite to know it was bad, which I'm pretty sure is the point of letting customers try flavors. We will keep going to other ice cream shops in town for better experiences, especially Frankie & Jo's!

The ice cream here is delicious & there's an array of interesting flavors. I also love how there are options like the waffle bowl, that they're happy to do split scoops for indecisive people like me, and that everything is compostable. As much as all of that is absolutely amazing, what really sets Sweet Alchemy apart is the incredible service. Anytime my family and I have gone, we've been treated like we're the most special people in the world. I saw a t-shirt for sale there that says Magic Served Here -- that is 100% true! A trip to Sweet Alchemy is always a special & magical experience.

How I heard of this place: We were at the Ballard Locks on a warm first day of summer and our entire party of ten decided it was time for ice cream! We wanted something small and local and came upon Sweet Alchemy. Type of cuisine: Small batch ice creams in a novelty of flavors. Ambiance: A bit cold and open, missing the cozy neighborhood feel we had hoped for, the space is shared with Mighty-O in Ballard on Market Street. The interior is large and spacious, seating plentiful and eerily quiet. The two businesses are separated by a half-wall that closes in their respective dessert spaces, but share the merchandise display and seating areas. What I ordered: Only about a dozen flavors, including vegan and alcoholic ones are available but in a variety of intriguing flavor profiles. I sampled the Yuzu Almond Brittle and chose two scoops, including on Yuzu and one scoop of DarkSide - Valrhona dutch base with homemade "oreo" and chocolate ganache swirl. For my kids, a house-made waffle bowl with Banana-Nutella and Sweet Cream ice creams. Others in our group also selected Persian Rose. What I loved: The unique and interesting flavor combinations. Why I loved it: Not a lot of selection, and only one sample allowed per person, which makes for quick and easy decision making. Cost: Average to high

I had a good experience before so I decided to go here after seeing a massive line at Salt & Straw. I should have waited in line there. This shop had 1-2 customers, so it was quick. They have some vegan flavors for the lactose free people. The ice cream itself was gritty. I ordered their blueberry lavender. You can taste the lavendar, but no flavor of blueberry. We also ordered the vegan raspberry chocolate ice cream and it tasted off and not the flavor it described. It had good chunks of chocolate pieces though. The waffle cone, we thought would be good, but it's very thick and a bit soft. Wasn't crispy. We didn't like how it's one sample per customer. Guess you have one shot! We should have tried a sample but felt samples weren't encouraged. The worker was nice though!

I was pleased to find out that I was allowed one sample rather than zero but that is still wild to me! I was the only customer in the shop but I did feel a little unwelcome while trying to decide what single flavor to try. That being said, the dark side was absolutely delicious and I will be back to try more flavors solely because it is in a convenient location and they've got at least one good one.

We came here on a Monday night as a group of 6. The service was quick and there were a lot of super unique flavors. I ordered the cookie ordie flavor and it shocked me that such a small serving was $5.00. I really did enjoy the ice cream, but the price vs how much you got was enough for me to reconsider going back.

Service: good. This place is attached to Mighty o in Ballard and cashier was friendly. First time visit, I got the kettle corn ice cream. Mainly based on my love of Jeni's sweet corn ice cream, now after I ordered it I realized those are completely different things, so my bad on that. I was not a fan. It had a very weird texture which I chalk up to the fat content inherent in a butter flavored ice cream. I'm not knocking off stars for that because frankly I should've known, and I'm guessing/hoping the rest of the flavors don't have that sort of grainy / textured feel that I can't really describe but if you've had a very fatty ice cream you know what I mean. Almost like egg has broken, but more consistent in texture. Flavor was very underwhelming tho - most like old butter that's been sitting in the fridge. No caramel tho it was advertised as having it, maybe I got a bad scoop. Waffle cone was good. All in all not worth the $$ in my opinion but I do think my opinion suffers from the flavor I ordered so I'll probably try this place one more time with another flavor and maybe change my review then. As for now tho I've found better ice cream at the same price point in Seattle.

If you come here and you love lavender, you gotta go all in on the lavender stuff because this is their strong suit. I looove lavender and they do it right in this blueberry lavender vegan ice cream they have right now. They also have a lavender shortbread thing at the register that is amazing -- first time I had it I thought screwwww the ice cream: I'm coming back for THIS! And when I say their lavender is good, I mean it really is a bold, fresh flavor, which I haven't gotten from some other ice cream shops like Salt and Straw -- their lavender ice cream is super weak and disappointing. Anyway, yeah come here for the lavender. They have a lot of other interesting and unique flavors that come and go to but yeah, I've clearly got the thing that I love most here.

Long overdue Yelp post for Sweet Alchemy and totally late to the premium, small batch ice cream party. There are three locations: University District (original site on the Ave open since 2016), Capitol Hill at Chophouse Row , and Ballard along Market. And of course, it's great to support an indie business started by an UW alum! My first visit to the UDistrict site wasn't positive, never been to the CapHill site (still miss the predecessor, Kurt Farm Shop), but definitely love the *Ballard* site, located adjacent to Mighty O doughnuts. Primarily because I have better access to brief free street parking and all the counter staff have been friendly and welcoming. It had been on my radar screen for quite some time due to recommendations from The Homie, Wendy K, and the MKE Yelper. I also learned that if you return a cleaned glass pint jar, you get $1 off a future pint. Another recent visit, I just learned about and started a punch card. In the time frame from 6/30/21 to 10/31/21, I have purchased 20 pints to date. 6 of the 20 pints also were delivered to another business owner in Marysville. My personal favorites are Persian Rose, Dark Chocolate Earl Grey, and Darkside. The Homie enjoys the Sweet Cream and Coffee flavors. Note: there are also flavors available to folks who prefer non dairy or vegan. The organic dairy from Fresh Breeze Organics in Lynden, WA and seasonally sourced ingredients - one can really taste the difference. Sweet Alchemy also promotes sustainability and philanthropy. Fresh cones, cakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and party packs are also available. I enjoy several other indie ice cream, gelato, soft serve and creameries sites like Molly Moon, Bluebird, Kryse, Nutty Squirrel, et cetera. Sweet Alchemy Ballard is consistently top notch, a standout, and highly recommended!

The flavor was good but the texture isn't great. It wasn't very smooth. Also they don't allow sampling. The service was pretty good though. Considering the texture I prob won't go back

The darkside ice cream with housemade caramel sauce. You must get this. Also, impeccable and friendly service! So good.

No samples? In an ice cream place? I would have known that the Cookie Monster flavor was gritty, coconuty and overall bad if I was able to get a tiny taste. Like with salt and straw and Frankie and Joes close by I dont really know why you are here. Just avoid this place.

A small place shared next to Mighty-O donuts, it is easy to miss but it's a place not to miss! What stood out in this place is not only the flavors, but also the fact that you can get an unlimited number of flavors no matter the size. Obviously, getting 6 different flavors in a "1 scoop" order would be overkill and of diminishing return because you'll be mixing all the flavors at that point, but it did help me with my indecisiveness. I got 1 scoop "split scoop" of banana Nutella crunch mostly because it seems to be the go-to for most people, as well as the Dark Side. A nice contrast of prominent creamy, banana flavor with a crunchy texture, alongside a sweeter, heavier, chocolate flavor. The texture is great and is definitely a lot thicker than standard ice cream, and despite the small size, it is actually a very sweet dessert.

Sweet Alchemy Ballard is not located in a high traffic area of Ballard, but it's a definite "do not miss"! I really loved the Vegan Golden Milk. It has such a unique and creamy flavor. The toasted black sesame was also really a treat as this is a hard flavor to find. I liked their "tale of two teas" which is predominantly a matcha ice cream with a hint of ceylon. I would describe this as a "solidly good matcha ice cream." Like, if I had gone to a Japanese restaurant earlier in the night, this would be the perfect dessert. Their flavors change out periodically and I heard their different locations may have different flavors as well.

6/20/20 Ordered pints a few times for delivery during quarantine. Great job Lois and staff for quickly pivoting and being creative in a trying time for small businesses. Now that the Ballard location is open for take out I decided to swing in and make a purchase to support. I did find out there are more pint flavor options for delivery than at the Ballard shop so I may do delivery again when I see a flavor I really want to try. I have appreciated the quick thinking and safe approach to jeep things going for their employees and Sweet Alchemy did exactly that. Welcome to Ballard!!I Located in the Mighty-O. space allows for a lot more seating than. the UW location. Love the location on the Ave in the U District and try to swing by when I'm over there. It's nice that they have gluten and vegan options I'm lactose intolerant but if a good flavor is calling me I'll suffer. Sweet Alchemy is dedicated to producing small batch, organic, and locally sourced ice cream. That goes for their mix ins as well they make those in house as well. They're grand opening in Ballard was April 10th they were offering free upgrades to a waffle cone. I went with the banana nutella crunch and the s'mores. Taste like fresh bananas and not overly sweet. I usually get ice cream in a cup it was nice to try the waffle cone nice and fresh. Bonus is it's minority and woman owned there are a bunch of ice cream options in Ballard but this will definitely be one of my go to.

Great ice cream options (including three non dairy options), toppings were on point (including waffle cone brittle), and friendly staff (who let us in on the secret they can make ice cream donut sandwiches!). I had the vegan strawberry with coconut milk and rum and it had a great range of flavor and each bite was satisfying. My partner got a Thai iced tea and black sesame milkshake he raved about (and I didn't even think he liked black sesame). Well definitely stop here again, maybe as we head home after visiting the Sunday Ballard farmers market.

This is a review of the owner of this business. One star owner. Why? Well, making your employees sweat it out for hours and hours in a building with no AC, no fan, no air flow just isn't right. Summer is here and the heat is no joke. Take care of your staff and reply here and then I will update this review. Nuff said.

Updating review because 1 star isn't fair for not having actually tried the ice cream... but I'm still a little bitter due to the memorably rude service.

Adorable little ice cream shop located next to Mighty O donuts. Parking is definitely difficult, but, it's Seattle, so that's normal. Although it didn't bother me, you are still required to wear a mask inside even though it's not a state requirement. The interior of the shop is super cute, it reminded me of a cross between a fairy wonderland and an alchemist workshop. If you are expecting basic ice cream flavors, this is not the place for you. I got a Nutella, Carmel, banana scoop and an Oreo chunk with cold brew. The toppings are different also. If you're looking for sprinkles... nope. I got hazelnuts and caramel. The caramel must be made on site because it was chunky with bits of caramelized sugar. The cost is a little expensive for what you get. The customer service was excellent though. All in all I probably won't be returning. It's a cute shop but my cup of tea.

This is the best ice cream of all time. Like seriously it's amazing. The amount of cream they use leaves little butter specs and a buttery mouthfeel that I just love. The sweet cream ice cream was the best ice cream I've ever had and it's not even close like it's a 20/10 rating. The London fog and assorted cookie was good too. I'm bummed there are none in california I'll be dreaming of it.

This was our go-to ice cream place in Ballard. It doesn't do anywhere near as much business as it should, but it delivers delicious ice cream that critically DOES NOT leave you feeling heavy like a certain ice cream place nearby which shall not be named (which we also like, because we have no shame). The people who work here are always very sweet and this is another place that our dog loved to go (and is always welcome!). The variety of flavors is nice, but in reality there are 4 or 5 that I go back to regularly.

Sweet alchemy hits the spot! Even on a cold february night, this place was still the perfect night cap to a night of gorging! I am not a huge fan of Mighty O's donuts but for those of you who are, its is basically in the same space as one so you can get double the dessert. Not a massive selection but they are small batch and meticulously crafted after all with vegan and non vegan options. Went with the banana nutella walnut crunch which was amazing! Love the tiny Pico size option because sometimes you just need a tiny bit of sweetness to round out your fooding! Go here!

We got 3 pints to go from Sweet Alchemy last night and WOW! The flavors and texture was amazing! Sweet cream is an indulgent must - don't mistake it for vanilla. Vegan strawberry was a great coconut milk based flavor that my sister with nut allergies thoroughly enjoyed. My absolute favorite though was Jitter Bars - sweet cream with espresso shortbread and espresso caramel. All in all, amazing ice cream and experience and I can't wait to return to try a new flavor in a waffle cone!

Drove an hour to try the ice cream here and they were out of half the flavors and had no whipped cream. Worker was unfriendly and kurt. Total Bummer. Two ice creams, missing half the ingredients, for $23

Wow, how have we not this found place yet! Texture is the best feature - lot of mouthfeel, best way to describe it. It's not a smooth pasty texture but not grainy either... hard to describe. Of course, really unique flavors. We tried a whole bunch and got a couple each. Seems like rotating flavors. I loved the dark side with chocolate ganache... and Persian rose. Would go back! For context. I love Molly Moon, Frankie and Joes, and Tillamook (for home). Not a fan of salt and straw.

Fairly decent ice cream place . My favorite was the chocolate one. This shares space with a donut shop.

Great ice cream! Love the flavors. Good vegan options. Service a bit brusque. Might have just been the day I was there.

Very good ice cream, cookies, brownies and sometimes cupcakes. Im luck to have moved away from living near this location. I find myself eating much less ice cream these days.

I give this place a solid 5 stars for the quality of their ice cream, but only 1 star for customer service. I ordered a cake via text, which is the way they ask you to do it, clearly spelling the name of the person who was having the birthday to be on the cake. I had to pick it up as soon as they opened at 2pm, on a break from work, as we were having the celebration at 5pm. When I picked it up, the name was misspelled and the person working at the location I picked it up at didn't have any way to fix it and didn't offer me any solutions other than for me to contact the owner. And when I contacted the owner to let her know, about the mistake and that I had to basically scrape the name off the cake and try to cover up the mistake myself because there wasn't time to take it anywhere else to get it fixed cuz I had to get back to work, while she was very sorry and admitted she made the mistake on the spelling, I wasn't offered any kind of refund, store credit or anything to make it right. Mistakes happen, we are all human, but when businesses don't make an effort to make it up to customers when they make a mistake on an order, especially repeat customers as my family goes there often and we've ordered cakes from there before, it's super disappointing. I definitely won't order from them again and probably wont go back to this shop for scoops either.

Every time I passed by the location, I can smell the sweet aroma of the waffles. Finally, I had a chance to try their ice cream. During my visit, they have a total of 16 different flavors. When I looked through their website, the flavors in Ballard location is not as extensive as what's available through online ordering. I tried their waffle brittle and strawberry shortcakes. Both of them tasted amazing without the overwhelming richness. Love the textures of waffles and cake embedded in the ice cream. Would come back to try other flavors

Tried out Sweet Alchemy today on a win and am so glad I did--unique flavors, not too sweet but perfectly creamy ice cream, and wonderful service. They also had vegan and gf options, which was super helpful! I got banana nutella crunch--caramelized banana with swirls of nutella and toasted hazelnut and it was dreamy. Creamy nostalgic banana flavor with depth and texture from the hazelnut and nutella. My husband had the Jitters Bar (vanilla with espresso shortbread and espresso caramel) and it was smooth with wonderful bits of buttery shortbread and smooth caramel. I want to go back to try every flavor!

Some pretty dank ice cream in Ballard ! Interesting flavors and friendly staff. The banana Nutella crunch was great

Absolutely delicious ice cream! I got the smallest cup with earl grey and pistachio rose, and after the first bite of each, I immediately wished I had gotten a larger size. The ice cream was creamy and smooth, and all the flavors came out beautifully without being masked by a ton of sugar. Can't wait to go back!

Calling all banana ice cream lovers!!!! The banana Nutella crunch ice cream was absolutely superb. Great find, will be back.

We came at 3:45 on a July Sunday and they were closed. The MightyO doughnuts that is attached had rude staff. Finally a guy came and we asked what the deal was and he rudely said they had a slow start... Despite being open 11-11. Is this how you run a business?

I really wanted to love this place but it didn't stand out in terms of ice cream. Street parking. They're next to a donut shop. They were nice and friendly. Yet the ice cream wasn't as rich in flavor.

Finally got around to trying this place. Got a small cup with a split scoop of makgeolli and early grey flavor. The flavors here are not overwhelming but subtle in a way than can appreciated. I kind of wish it had a stronger makgeolli flavor though. Upon eating it I didnt think it was overly creamy but as I continued there would be some bites where it was way too creamy. Felt like my entire mouth was coated in a thick layer of creamy fat that wouldn't easily come off. Never had that happen to me with ice cream before and was really strange. Decent place overall though if the creamy thing didn't happen.

The chocolate ice cream with homemade oreo cookies is so decadent and good. It's like a richness bomb goes off in your mouth. Looks like I'll be giving up on some of my fitness goals and just eating this over and over.

Had the London Fog and Persian Rose on a chocolate covered waffle cone. Weighty creaminess that is well-rounded with flavors. Perfect for those who prefer dessert on the lighter side of sweetness. Great selection choices from Honey Milk to Blackberry Lime Jalapeno (vegan). Definitely worth a visit.

This is the best ice cream spot in Seattle. Better than Salt & Straw and Molly Moons in my opinion. They always have different flavors and the ice cream is super creamy. I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!!

I was so excited for this place for so long but the ice cream was just BAD. It was kind of grainy and really bland. We had the monster cookie, the dark (something i forget), the cookie explosion and the London fog. London fog was the only one that was enjoyable.

Best icecream to be had ! Small batch, locally owned and nice staff. Glad to see them expand beyond their u district location.

support your local small business! they need your help~ we love sweet alchemy and all her homemade delicious flavors of ice cream. we love their dedication to delicious flavors that also rotate depending on what is in season, also we are in line with Sweet Alchemy' commitment to giving back to the community. go eat some more ice cream! pro tip: espresso poured on top of your ice cream takes it to another level :)

Really good ice cream and you can make a donut ice cream sandwich out of the mighty O donuts that is right next door. They also have some vegan options.

This is literally my favorite ice-cream place in Seattle after trying so many ice-cream places. The quality of the ice-cream is great and the store made waffle is the BEST! I have friends come to town. They were not going to eat, but after the sample testing, mind changing. They love the ice-cream! The stuff is very friendly. We got dark side and sweet cream! Cannot wait to go back.