The Outside Scoop

This was my first time visiting The Outside Scoop, and I was really impressed by their professionalism and friendliness. I’ll admit the prices were a little on the higher side, but that’s to be expected in Ankeny—and honestly, for what you get, it’s fair. The quality and overall experience make it worth it. If I’m ever in the Ankeny area and craving ice cream again, I’ll definitely keep them in mind!

I took my sister and niece to The Outside Scoop yesterday, and we all walked away absolutely thrilled with our ice cream — it was that good. From the moment we walked in, the inviting atmosphere and the smell of freshly made waffle cones set the stage for something special. The ice cream itself? Phenomenal. I’ve been eating ice cream my whole life (36 years of dedicated experience 😄), and I can confidently say this is the best ice cream I have ever had. Every flavor we tried was rich, perfectly textured, and bursting with flavor — nothing generic or bland here. The attention to detail and quality really shows in every scoop. The staff were friendly and helpful, and they have a great variety of classic and creative flavors to choose from. It’s obvious why locals rave about this place — from the handcrafted, small-batch ice cream to the family-friendly vibe, this spot earns every one of its positive reviews. If you’re in town — whether you’re a longtime ice cream lover or just looking for a delicious treat — I highly recommend stopping by The Outside Scoop. You won’t regret it.

Visited this fantastic ice cream shop on a Friday evening for the first time ever! Both employees were super friendly and gave us a couple samples. It was so hard to pick what to get due to them having so many delicious sounding options, including a few seasonal choices! They offer sundaes, ice cream cake, pints, quarts, and have a decent selection of vegan options. The sizes pictured were one of their smallest and even still it was a great size. The store is super clean and tidy too. My only minor complaint is that they only have one milkshake size and it seems to be pretty large. I wanted a milkshake but didn't want a huge one. The price was relatively high too which was a bummer because shakes are usually my go-to. Overall, this didn't take away from the experience and we absolutely loved the ice cream shop!

In the nicest way possible, this place was so overwhelming!! There were over 60+ options & flavors to choose from. Everyone working there was so kind and patient with me. They let us try as many samples as we needed and let me roam around the flavors for several minutes because I couldn’t make up my mind LOL. I decided to be simple and get my reliable Rocky Road, but they had a lot of vegan, milk friendly, sorbet options as well! They were very generous with their scoop sizes, I don’t know why my friend insisted on getting 3 scoops 🫣. I would be interested in trying a sundae next time!

I enjoyed my time at the Outside Scoop. The service was very pleasant. As for the banana split, the ice cream was a bit stiff and hard to dig into. I didn’t taste much of the chocolate ice cream, the vanilla was good for flavor, and strawberry ok. The flavor was in the chocolate syrup and the waffle chunks that were added. At $14, I had better quality splits for much less. The rest of the experience was really good.

If I could give 0 stars I would! I drove 50 minutes out of my way to take my girlfriend on an ice cream date at Outside Scoop last night (2/17), a place I’ve always loved and recommended to everyone I know. What a mistake that turned out to be. First red flag: we were being GLARED at before we even got out of my truck. Not exactly the warm welcome you’d hope for. We walked in and stood there for a minute or two before anyone even acknowledged us, not a “hey, we’ll be right with you,” nothing. When someone finally came over, I ordered a Storm. Simple enough, right? Wrong. The girl behind the counter told me “actually we can’t make that at this time.” No explanation. No apology. Not even a sorry. We walked in before 8:45 PM, you don’t close until 9:00. You still had at least 15 minutes on the clock and you’re already shutting down the machines and turning away paying customers? Absolutely unacceptable. What made it worse was that she didn’t even have the decency to say sorry, not a single word of apology as we walked out the door. We left and went to Crumbl instead, which at least knows how to treat people. I’ve been a loyal customer for years and have sent countless people your way. After last night, that stops. If your employees enjoy glaring at customers from the window, and cleaning up early rather than doing their job for 15 more minutes, that speaks volumes about the culture of this place. Do better.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I wasn't impressed with the ice cream flavors here. I've never been here before but my husband and I ate dinner nearby so we decided to stop here for ice cream. When I saw all the different flavors they had, I had high hopes. I thought their flavors would be unique and wonderful like Black Cat in Des Moines, but I was very disappointed. I usually ask for samples of two different flavors before I make a decision, but after trying two different samples and not finding either one interesting, I asked for two more. I wasn't wowed by any of them, so I chose the one I thought was the strongest of all of them: Dutch Letter. It was ok but I was expecting a lot more of the almond extract flavor. It was very subtle. I didn't find it rich or creamy either. It tasted like an ice cream I could get at the grocery store if they had that flavor. It was nothing remarkable. The most objectionable thing to me was the cost of the scoop of ice cream. It was $5.99 for a regular scoop! My husband and I were shocked. We thought that surely for that price the scoops must be enormous, but alas, they were just average-sized. I don't know how they get away with charging that much, but the place was filled with people so they must be paying for it. The place was cute and a good number of tables but won't be back. We'll stick to Black Cat.

IA is not my neck of the woods but I ventured out to this ice cream place and was not disappointed. Plenty of GF flavors and yes, they will open to a new tub for you to avoid cross contamination with a clean scooper. Don't be afraid to try the blueberry or cherry with goat cheese. It was quite tasty. They even have GF cones to boot.

I had one of those chocolate cravings at 8:30 PM on a Monday and browsed to see where I could nab some in Ankeny. Luckily, The Outside Scoop is open late during the summer, and I enjoyed my first visit to their spacious shop. The great interior, fantastic artwork, and elite handwriting on the walls create a terrific atmosphere to explore the numerous options around their L-shaped counter. Plenty of interior tables and outdoor options abound, too. Good pricing! They have some single-scoop sundaes but also offer larger choices that sound incredible, so they're versatile and unique. My Chocolate Oreo Cookie Dough was incredible, and the waffle cone just added to the experience. It's a new favorite flavor. I loved their options, and I look forward to exploring many of them in future visits! I appreciated the staffer who had a lot of customers yet managed to keep calm and do a great job taking care of us.

A great ice cream shop in Ankeny! I've been here several times and always end up getting something different because they have so many rotating flavors to try! The service was quick and to the point. They have a large counter to walk around and see all the flavors which we did while in line. I chose a pumpkin cheesecake shake and it was so good! 4/5 stars because it is the most expensive shop around. Some seating indoors, more tables outside.

Simple ice cream shop with a variety of flavors, there wasn't much decor inside but they have plenty of seats. It was awkward that I asked to sample 2 flavors before deciding on a scoop and the "manager"/ older lady was hovering over the worker when she was giving me a sample, and was just eyeing everything the worker was doing and literally stuck next to her side every minute. Also, I got the wrong ice cream I asked for their flavor of the month - chocolate Oreo coffee but instead the worker scooped up cookies n cream, I kept it instead of having them waste the wrong ice cream. We also got a scoop of Kit Kat ice cream and it was good but nothing to rave about. A single scoop sugar cone & a single scoop bowl was about $10.50 after taxes.

Great spot for that quick sweet treat! All the ice creams were creamy and smooth! I got the Lavender Lemon, it was creamy, smooth, a bit or tartness from the lemon, and a hint of floral notes from the Lavender. It was not perfumey at all. It had lemon cookie crumbles that gave it a great texture too. Would recommend them either at their store here if even when they are out in town in the food truck!

Visited this fantastic ice cream shop on a Friday evening for the first time ever! Both employees were super friendly and gave us a couple samples. It was so hard to pick what to get due to them having so many delicious sounding options, including a few seasonal choices! They offer sundaes, ice cream cake, pints, quarts, and have a decent selection of vegan options. The sizes pictured were one of their smallest and even still it was a great size. The store is super clean and tidy too. My only minor complaint is that they only have one milkshake size and it seems to be pretty large. I wanted a milkshake but didn't want a huge one. The price was relatively high too which was a bummer because shakes are usually my go-to. Overall, this didn't take away from the experience and we absolutely loved the ice cream shop!

I will rave about this place until the cows come home, IT IS SO GOOD! I've tried about a dozen flavors at this point (they have sooo many fun flavors) and have enjoyed every single one. The dark chocolate raspberry is my go to and so delicious. I typically go for a couple scoops in a bowl but my husband always does malts and envoys them every time no matter the flavor. Staff has always been very friendly and attentive.

Ice cream is great, but the traffic pattern is really awful. Multiple young employees taking orders over each other and folks walking randomly to the ice cream cases leads to annoying bottle necks and line jumping. It's rare that I would suggest that an interior design enhances misanthropic feelings and behavior, but busy times at this shop make me despise other people. FORM A LINE, Ankeny!

We love this local ice cream spot!! It's easily become one of our faves in town. Small batch, lots of delish and yummy flavors! My top fave is the coffee toffee! My kids love the sorbet too! We always have a great experience and great service each and every time we go!

This is my in laws favorite place in the entire world. Every single time they're in town we have to make a stop. The remodel is absolutely glorious & I was able to get the chance to bring my nephews there recently. The amount of patience the entire staff has with the kiddos was amazing. He was on cloud nine. The ice cream is delicious & everyone has to try to goat cheese ice cream - it's the best thing you will ever eat. I will give myself a brain freeze every time. Gladly. The new interior is beautiful & very spacious, tons of extra spaces for more ice cream - keto & vegan options as well! Less guilty outings love the inclusions!

This place is the real deal! I hope they keep their cinnamon bun ice cream as a stationary flavor. Recently remodeled & expanded to display more ice cream, have more flavors, and cater more customers. More staff is great to pump through the line, but some could use training on how to make Lizzie's without overflowing the cup. Our go-to ice cream parlor! EDIT: This place used to have free water for customers, they will not give any water cups for paying customers even if they need to take medication. $2.14 for a water bottle after spending $40 on ice cream. The staff here used to be great, but with expansion and summer, some of the high school kids are rude and don't take their job serious. Still a frequent customer, will be more than happy to edit my review back to 5* if they bring back free water for paying customers!

Prices have absolutely exploded. Our favorite brownie sundae has literally gone from $5, to $6, to $7.99, to $14! You can see the progression of prices in the background of the Yelp/Google photos. That's an insane price hike for the exact same product. I skipped the brownie sundae due to the cost and chose a single scoop ($6) with one topping (+$1) of hot fudge. $7 for a tiny dish just wasn't worth it. The spoon was 3 times bigger than the scoop. The hot fudge used to be delicious but now it tastes like it's from a bottle. It was not warm at all. The shoppe was absolutely filthy. We walked to every single table inside and out but could not find one to sit at that didn't have melted ice cream, crumbs and sticky smeared handprints on it. Gross. The teens working were not at all friendly. Outside Scoop used to be our favorite local ice cream joint but it's just not worth it with so many other options in Ankeny now. Bummer.

The outside scoop is amazing ice cream. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Had a hard time deciding on what to get.....so many choices.

Cute shop with awesome ice cream flavors! This is the 2nd physical location for them, the other in Indianola. There is street parking nearby and outdoor seating, which is convenient. The store was busy during our visit, which is no surprise considering the temperature. Our party moved through quickly and the staff were quite pleasant. When I went for my first lick my ice cream fell off the cone, but I caught it! I went to ask for a dish and they offered to scoop it again, but I declined. I went to the very nice and tidy bathrooms to wash my hands and continued on. Everyone enjoyed their ice cream and my sister raved about her still warm waffle cone as well. Great addition to Ankeny!

The perfect way to take a refreshing break from the summer heat. Come chill with this amazing home made small batch ice cream. The flavors are extraordinarily extravagant as any proper ice cream should be. Try to convince yourself that you only need one treat per visit. So far I've been unsuccessful with this task. I cannot simply leave without trying more than one. I'm always a fan of restaurants that stem from the food truck industry. The Outside Scoop has two locations; this being their second. The other is in Indianola. If you're lucky, you'll come across their food truck around the metro.

Great location, amazing ice cream, and helpful staff! The staff allowed me to try the flavors I was torn between and helped me right away. The Outside Scoop has 12 flavors that are always available and 12 rotating flavors. I tried the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake ice cream and it was phenomenal. The cheesecake chunks were amazing (not your usually pre-bought pieces) and the raspberry tasted very fresh as well. Can't wait to come back!

My husband was skeptical that he would like this place. Now he asks me to come back! We love the different flavors. They're so unique! Dutch letter ice cream?! And keto sugar less ice cream!!!! That means I won't feel guilty coming here as often as we please!! The portions are so generous too. The staff is very nice too. They do a good job when it gets busy. We brought our puppy to the patio to enjoy some whipped cream. :)

Good homemade ice cream! However, I ordered an affogato and rather than espresso shots over the ice cream they brewed Starbucks coffee as a pour over on top of the ice cream scoops. Was definitely not what I expected. The salted caramel ice cream was very good but disappointed overall.

This is the kind of ice cream shop I look for!! The Outside Scoop is a perfect stop to satisfy your ice cream cravings. They serve a variety of flavors, including many that are unique to the establishment. I recommend ordering your icecream in a homemade waffle cone Very tasty!

The manager was so rude. Ive also heard from multiple people that they treat their employees horribly. They don't respect their availabilities as highschoolers. The manager "Jill" uses racial slurs such as the n-word. There's a lot more I could say but long story short, I would never support this business.

Ice cream is high quality, prices are not cheap but pretty typical for the quality. Check the daily specials for savings. Service here varies quite a bit. Sometimes the staff are very attentive, but I have been present when they were fairly contemptuous. I think they probably have a fair amount of turnover. But it's ice cream, so... you just deal with it and move on. But if high quality ice cream + really consistently friendly service is your thing I prefer black cat in DSM (but forewarning they don't have toppings, you won't need them with their flavors, but if you have a hot fudge craving for example they won't meet the need.)

I love all their homemade flavors. If you want real good ice cream that does not come from a fast food business this is the place you want to be. Go check them out.

The chocolate covered strawberry and orange chocolate homemade ice creams are my favorites!!

Wanted to believe the hype.. unfortunately it didn't live up to it. Would i come back? Yes, but is it amazing? Not at all. Best ice cream shop in the US is Sebastian Joe's in Minneapolis and this place while good doesn't come close. It's on the level of Over the Top and maybe a bit better but not much. I ordered the sampler which consists of 4 scoops, here are the flavors I tried and my ratings: Dutch letter: 4/5 stars, Dutch letters crumbled into vanilla ice cream, very good! Dark chocolate: 2.5/5 stars, just basic chocolate nothing rich or indulgent about it Pistachio: 3/5 stars, nice non green pistachio flavor but again not bursting with flavor Thin mint: 1/5 stars, this was bad, didn't even finish it, mint tasted artificial and couldn't taste the thin mint cookies. Was so disappointed. Look it's a good spot just not 5 stars, I will be back just because it's in Ankeny but if I had to drive I wouldn't...

Great little ice cream shop that has a nice selection of rotating flavors. Coming from Portland, sort of reminds me of a more quaint version of Salt and Straw. Nice to find places like this in the middle of Iowa.

I tried the Outside Scoop while I was at the 8035 Festival this year. I wasn't feeling too hungry, but once I saw this truck I had to try it. The flavor that caught my attention was the the goat cheese with roasted cherries. I know goat cheese is a little too funky for a lot of people, so I applauded the mild risk they took in featuring it as one of the few flavors they had that day. A single scoop was $4.00, which is a little pricey for ice cream, but I get it. They're offering something unique and festival prices are always a little gouged. This flavor was AWESOME. It had giant chunks of yummy cherries and the goat cheese flavor was really there. I highly recommended it to my friends, who ended up going with the Lucky Charms flavor instead. All in all it was a pleasant treat for a balmy festival day. I would definitely hit them up again.

Unique flavors, great quality ice cream! My nephews and husband love this place!!!! We come as often as possible. Definitely recommend!!

Great service, wonderful ice cream. Plenty of seating inside and out. You will NOT be disappointed!

Oh my this place is awesome! So many choices and so fresh. We had the Apple Crisp it has pieces of crumbles with it. We also had the Butter Pecan it had lots of nuts in it. Great stop off place to visit.

A must try ice cream shop with tons of options to choose from and yummy flavors. The ambiance inside is also really good. we tried the chocolate and brownie ice cream and the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake ice cream. Both tasted so good.

Great place for a family visit or even a dessert date. Tremendous options - can keep it simple if can have fun going overboard. Very friendly (and patient) staff. Highly recommend this place for the occasional sweet tooth fix.

The ice cream is delicious, but what really makes The Outside Scoop so great is the wide variety of unique flavors.

Absolutely salivating ice cream shop. They have such an interesting array of flavors including goat cheese and cherry, maple bacon, blackberry honey flake, and rice crispy treat. Staff is incredibly accommodating and didn't mind us trying a dozen samples.

Delicious ice cream, clean & great service! The raspberry white chocolate cheesecake ice cream is excellent. They have a nice atmosphere and outdoor seating.

Great options and ingredients. Not disgustingly sweet like ice creams from other places.

Best ice cream around. My family and I have been here multiple times and have yet to be disappointed. Love that they have rotating flavors but my favorite is the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake! If you want ice cream don't go anywhere else.

We love walking here for date night and eating on the way home! The shop is always busy but service is quick and the ice cream is well worth the wait. We love the Dutch letter and the goat cheese and cherries flavors. There's a nice seating area inside and outside as well.

Love this place. They have great ice cream, tons of flavors & options, and I love how friendly the staff is. We live very close & regular walks to this place are a favorite for our whole family!

Great ice cream, great environment and great prices! I'm always looking for a good ice cream option and this will be a new go to no matter what time of the year. I went with the salted malted candy bar and it was smooth as silk!

Love the variety of flavors, so delicious, take out of towners here all the time! Everything tastes homemade and the dipped cones are sooo good

I'm not usually a fan of ice cream places, even the usual local favorites tend to be all the same to me. The Outside Scoop is definitely the exception to the rule. They put amazing things in ice creams and it's all delicious, even when your first thought is ????Roasted Cherries and Goat Cheese, Dutch Letter, Key Lime pie, lucky charms! avacado and chocolate! Part of the fun is just seeing what's in rotation. Easily my favorite ice cream spot.

Best root beer floats ever!! Wonderful service, super cute decor. Love that the flavors are ever changing. Delicious, delicious!!

Great ice cream and the scoops aren't "Iowa size" they are normal size so you get what you paid for..

Love the Unique flavors and the fresh waffle cones. Service is always great too!

So good! We are so excited to have a quality and creative ice cream shop here in Ankeny!

Super cute and was excited. We had the truck requested and payment was accepted. 11 days before the 9 year old birthday party received a call to let us know a public event was more important and was priority so not able to be present at the party. Not worried about payment being refunded but good info to know that bookings can be canceled when/if something better comes along.

love the atmosphere and the ice cream of course! great family place of date night area!

The ice cream is really good, but it's not out of this world as some others have stated. The atmosphere was uncomfortable, to say the least... the music was way too loud and every song was some sort of Christian worship song... "Praise Jesus.... praise Jesus..." over and over. I could think of a lot better choices for music, including but not limited to a "coffee house" mix. At least turn the Jesus music down so I can have a conversation.

Get your taste buds ready for something different. Sweet corn ice cream? It was not my thing but I tried a sample. The Dutch letter ice cream could not be more Pelli unless they gave you wooden shoes. The next trip back included roasted cherry goat cheese ice cream. Oh they have vanilla but you will thank me if you go off on an adventure in ice cream. By the way the waffle cones are amazing.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Complex yet recognizable. Complex, not necessarily a word commonly used to describe ice cream. But best fit for this place. Because of their premixed complex options we haven't found a need to take them up on any of their offered toppings. Their base ice cream flavors are expertly crafted to caress your taste buds with a harmony of flavors and textures leaving you wondering why you've ever gone to Cold Stone or any other ice cream place and ever thought it was great. Their flavors like their vanilla malted wafer ice cream is pure bliss. The best way to compare or describe this place is sort of comparable to fine dining and how the flavors and textures are crafted well, you'll experience heaviness in flavor but won't feel like you're eating something heavy, where as you go to a fast food place and if it's heavy, man you can tell. Where a lower quality place is either heavy in sweet or heavy in salt but rarely if ever balanced. Where as fine dining walks your tastebuds along a flavor path that allows you to pick up on the various tastes and textures along the way. Thats their ice cream. It's like fine dining, complex, delicious, multifaceted and cold stone or some similar places is more like fast food and just overly sweet and one sided. Go here.