Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

Ice cream was very tasty but the only knock on this place is the price ($7.45 for the smallest size). Lots of unique flavor options though and some seating inside for eating on a hot summer day.

Delicious vegan ice cream, and a really good selection of vegan options! We had peanut butter, and cookie dough. Generous portion size too.

I had the pleasure of visiting Van Laureen Ice Cream Shop in Williamsburg recently, and I was absolutely blown away by the experience, all thanks to Joshua! From the moment I walked in, Joshua’s warm and welcoming hospitality made me feel right at home. He took the time to explain the unique history behind the shop, which was founded with a passion for crafting high-quality, small-batch ice cream. You could tell that every detail of the shop, from the ingredients to the atmosphere, was chosen with care and love for the craft. Joshua’s knowledge of ice cream and its flavors was truly impressive. He took the time to guide me through the menu, offering insightful recommendations and explaining the intricacies of each flavor. Whether you’re a fan of classic tastes or looking for something more adventurous, Joshua has a deep understanding of the flavor profiles and what works best together. What really stood out was his enthusiasm and genuine excitement about the ice cream he serves. It wasn’t just about selling a product — it was clear that Joshua really cares about the experience and sharing the joy of great ice cream with everyone who walks through the door. I highly recommend visiting Van Laureen if you’re in the area. Not only is the ice cream fantastic, but the warm, knowledgeable service from Joshua makes it a truly memorable experience. I’ll definitely be coming back!

I so wanted to love this place. I visited with two friends, both of whom requested lactose free/vegan ice cream, and both ended up feeling horribly in pain within a few hours with stomach cramps. We are not convinced that either the scoops were cleaned well enough, or that they were served the correct items. Sat inside, air-conditioned, comfortable. The girl serving wasn't very helpful either unfortunately. She had rather an attitude (something that is often on display in NYC, of course) and wasn't at all helpful when we asked questions. Mine, a standard vanilla ice cream, was delicious, I should add :-D

My family and I come here often and we've been lucky enough that most times Joshua is there. Joshua has amazing customer service. Joshua is soo welcoming, kind, and knowledgeable if you have ice cream questions. This location can get busy during the summer however, it never seems to fluster Joshua. Joshua is always cheerful, calm, and and lovely under the pressure. I've also noticed that Joshua always makes our ice cream with lots of care. I've been to other locations where that is not the case. Recently, I came and met Bella who was there with Joshua. Bella is another great addition to the team and I'm looking forward to thr next time I see either of them.

I've just found out Van Leeuwen is charging 20% higher prices for their ice cream when it's purchased from their own store. It's $11.14 for a 14 oz container here. The same product is $8.99 at Brooklyn Harvest, a 2 min walk away. And BK Harvest doesn't charge tax. When I asked the salesperson about it, they said that anywhere else they've ever seen Van Leeuwen products, it's always less expensive than in the Van Leeuwen store. This is price discrimination. Feels manipulative and lame.

Great ice cream!! So many unique flavors that are worth coming back to and trying. The staff is friendly and is more than willing to offer you samples. The atmosphere is laid back. They play some awesome tunes as well. I'm not vegan but theres lots of vegan options.

Great ice cream and wonderful service. Joel was so friendly and made our night! Very outgoing and kind we really appreciated his hospitality. Thanks Joel you’re awesome!

I'm a tried and true ice cream lover. When I buy ice cream at the store to have at home, my go to is Van Leeuwen. It's one of my favorite among the choices for artisanal ice cream. It may be a more pricey than some other ice cream but in my opinion, you get what you pay for. Their ice cream is made from high quality, (heavy cream, GMO milk, eggs...) simple ingredients. I try to stay away from food that has ingredients that I can't even pronounce. After doing a little shopping in Williamsburg I need a post shopping pick me up! It was hard to choose a flavor, so many I already know I love so, I wanted to try one of their fall seasonal flavors. The pumpkin cheesecake was delish. Two of my favorite things (pumpkin & cheesecake) together! A perfect flavor combination. When it comes to The ice cream flavors that are always available some of my favorites include: earl grey tea, honeycomb, Sicilian pistachio and praline butter cake. Go for some ice cream and enjoy!

I'm a big artisanal ice cream fan, and this shop has so many fun flavors. They let you sample a few. However, I cannot justify the price point. An ice cream cone here costs as much as a meal! I visited in the scorching summer heat, so we opted to stay inside to enjoy our ice cream. They also have pints available for sale.

First off, the staff member was super sweet (ha!) and helpful, the inside was clean and the ice cream was delicious. They have a variety of unique flavors. BUT, and that's a big but right there, one small scoop came up to a little over eight dollars! As delicious as this scoop was, which I wish I could afford every day, that is just a line of insanity I cannot see myself crossing again soon, no matter how much I crave ice cream.

I did not photograph my ice cream, but the flavors are always wonderful. The staff was definitely helpful; and letting us know that it was free topping Tuesday was the "Cherry" on top. There's a new electronic menu board with a clean new look.

Van Leeuwen's Williamsburg spot is water in the desert. A dessert desert, that is. Can you believe how few scoop shops there are in this neighborhood that is otherwise filled with food options galore? I know there's love for ice cream here, so I'm wondering if the profit margins are too slim for mom and pop ice cream shops to survive here. I know Van Leeuwen is a chain now, and they've leveled up from their food truck days, but I remember when they were a hyper local brand. Their base cream passes my super scientific test - which I can confirm is everything. The flavor selection isn't huge, but quality over quantity. Even their vegan options are surprisingly delicious and I'm usually a dairy ride-or-die. It's my go-to when I need a reliable treat in Williamsburg.

Really cute location and has plenty of seats and booths for the hot summer months . I got the strawberry shortcake and the banana pudding both vegan and a cone . The strawberry shortcake almost made me cry it was so good and the banana pudding hit as well . I was a little confused about where to order or where the line was but other than that it was awesome . Pricier but honestly so worth it

I'm a big fan of this place. The flavors are so unique and delicious. Stopped in for a few scoops and it didn't disappoint. The employees were helpful with helping me decide on my flavors. They offered samples of whatever I wanted. They have gluten free and vegan options too. As a gluten free person, I chose the seasonal Thandai which tastes like Thai Tea and the Vegan Sweet Potato Marshmallow Pie. Both were so good! Definitely recommend! If you're by a Van Leeuwen's, you go!! Awesome customer service! Very friendly and knowledgeable about all of the flavors! Cute little ice cream shop that was very welcoming.

Nice staff. Didn't want to pay for an $8 single scoop ice cream so got a cookie to fulfill my sweet tooth. Tasted like a horribly dry Chips Ahoy. Cost me $4 Gross!

A Manager has to look at my review. Only one girl at the front busy afternoon. The line have been talking forever....and it's messed up :'( I asked her banana pudding flavor band I was told it's sold out... and look at the menu at the sec I've ordered another one, she started to talk to multiple people and didn't listen to my order at all. There's no menu at the front. We all have to be the side to look at the screen. The screen shot changes every 2sec and it's very hard to read. I'm not sure who made this idea...it's very inconvenient. Please fix it. The worker was alone and she forgot to give a spoon. I needed to ask her to give it me . I remember this location have 3-4workers all the time. Some of the customers are very rude. When I went to the bathroom, the door was locked I needed to punch into the code. Due to only one worker I waisted patiently and tried to ask there bathroom code but kids with a mom ( west Asian look) sneaked into the bathroom and has no manners at all. This is why, they'll have to have at lease two workers.

I tried the limited edition thandai flavour and it is one of the best ice creams I have ever had! I hope they sell it in store as well. Also staff was really nice and even told me how they make their black tea ice cream (which is also super delicious!) nearby.

There's usually a line but they move fast. They let you try flavors also. Got the praline butter cake flavor and it was really good. Plenty of seating inside.

My first time trying this, we got the berry pop flavor. It was fresh and flavorful. Two scoops in a cup was around $9. I would come back to try other flavors like cookies and cream. We went to this location around 12:30pm and I was dying from the heat outside so this was a good treat. There are plenty of seats inside. The waffle cones smelled delicious as they were making them fresh. There are also ice cream pints you can just grab and go to bring home.

Wow this was amazing !! Best ice cream I've had !! I got grey earl tea 100/10 and the special monthly ice cream which was fresh blueberry lemon also 100/10 and make sure you get the waffle cone o m g.

If you haven't had their honeycomb ice cream oh bit you are missing out! Always kind and helpful

I stoped by Van Leeuwen for their popup recently and let me just say it was SO worth it! There was a bit of a line because it's Van Leeuwen, but it moved fast and all the employees were so nice and friendly. I tried the Lavender Spritz flavor which was a tasty cream base with light lavender flavor mixed with berries and some kind of crumb mixture. Honestly it made my day! Their location in Williamsburg is also super convenient. They're pretty close to the water front so if you don't want to sit in the store (which is really nice and cute too!) you can walk your ice cream down to one of the best views of the city! Love Van Leeuwen, their flavors and service always impress me!

I have heard many good things about Van Leeuwen to satisfy ice cream cravings, so I was excited to finally try it after visiting Smorgasburg in Williamsburg! There was plenty of seating in the location and the line moved pretty fast. They also happily provide good sized scoops for samples if you are interested in trying some of their unique flavors! I got a scoop of the pina colada ice cream in a cup, and it came in an interesting white and red color. My friends got the passionfruit flavor, which also came in an interesting color combination of yellow and blue. As a big fan of pina coladas, I would say that this is a pretty accurate rendition of the ice cream version of the iconic drink and did not taste too artificial or sweet. Overall, I would say that Van Leeuwen is definitely worth trying if you are in the area!

Pretty nice ice cream. Van Leeuwen is one of the most popular ice cream shop in NY. I tried their ice cream from whole foods before. I personally not a big fan of the earl grey tea flavor cause it tastes pretty weird to me. But other flavors such as chocolate is pretty good. Worth to give it a try in such a hot summer season. Especially, their staff is super patient that they let me to try different flavors and explain their favorite flavor to me, etc. my family and I both had a pretty good experience here. Small shop but busy during weekends.

My daughter has a severe nut allergy, and while the facility does not claim to be nut-free, we checked the ingredients of the flavors of ice cream we ordered from the QR code on the counter. However, my daughter fell severely ill after eating about half a scoop. We landed in the ER after giving her an epi pen and never again will I come back here! Later did we find out after putting two and two together that we got the vegan version of the same flavor - they really need to do a better job labeling their ingredients and allergens in BOLD!!!!!

Love VL but minus one star for the classist no cash ish. With the penalty fees they rightfully must pay for not accepting hard earned currency it could explain why the treats are so costly. With all that said this is the smoothest best creamiest vegan or cow ice cream I've ever had and yes it is worth the steep price. I normally wait for the pints to be on sale at my local grocery store though ^_^ Overall get your debit card and stuff your emotions of the horrific realities of gentrification with some sweet treats.

Ice cream is always good, but if you have cash you want to use, run the other way. They make you use a "reverse atm" to basically buy a gift card to use, because they "don't take cash at the registier." But the card I had literally just put $20 on was declined repeatedly as I tried to swipe it to pay for my sundae. So basically they were like "don't worry about it" and I ended up leaving the card there so they could swipe it later. So... $20 for a $13 sundae because the card they make you get instead of just taking your cash doesn't work. Super annoying. Why not just take cash like everywhere else?

I usually like to try a place at least 2 times before writing reviews but I've only had to try Van Leeuwen ONCE to fall in love and can't wait to go back for more. My friends and I got a scoop of the Earl grey flavor in a cup and holy moly, we devoured it before it even started to melt. We scooped everything out until there were no more liquid in the cup because it was THAT good. All the flavors sound so good! Def want to try others like honey comb, cookies and cream, peanut butter brownie, ugh just ALL OF THEM. Looking forward to going back and trying other flavors. It is kind of pricey for each scoop but it was mouthwatering delicious, creamy, smooth, so I would recommend it. I didn't get any toppings because it just didn't need it, it was delicious the way it was.

Staff was great, the place was clean and pretty. They had a great menu. They had frozen ice-cream to go as well. Definitely love it because of my stomach issues. I actually could enjoy icecream without having an issue!

I went here on a date last week. My choice. I said fried chicken and ice cream and ventured on a walk from Pie and things to This gem. My sister called me on the way like what's the address. The walk sucked it was hot like a mother. There was a long line when I arrived and it kind of snaked in an odd direction and there were so many flavors and ppl talking so I opt d for a pre made sundae. There are open until midnight #clutch I thought the attention to detail whole making my ice cream was awesome and I thought the homemade whip was DELISH. I posted a pic. Maybe it was more about the adventure but the ice cream was worth the price and the walk

Great place for ice cream, all original flavors with some unique options like the honeycomb. They offer vegan options too, and plenty of seating. These are located all over Brooklyn and the city... I remember the first one that ever opened a few years ago and they've maintained consistency and growth in overall quality. I would recommend this ice cream to everyone.

The ice cream was great! Had a scoop of the cherry bourbon on a waffle cone and it did not disappoint. It was so creamy and yummy and definitely satisfied my dessert craving. My friend had the cone with a scoop of chocolate and strawberry and said it was yummy as well. Will definitely return! Great spot to try out in the warmer months.

This is a great place to grab ice cream after grabbing dinner in Williamsburg at one of the other fabulous location. Be prepared to wait because there will always be a long line for an after dinner treat

Ice cream is whatever but the service was trash man. I can let things go but the two behind the counter didn't say anything during every step of the transaction even when I said thank you but kept flirting the whole time lmao . 5:30 pm shift on July 29th 2024 .

I've seen this popular ice cream place everywhere so when our friend suggested we should go there I jumped that opportunity. There have a lot of flavors and vegan options as well. If you're not sure what you want, you can ask to try a sample of something you're considering and they will take care of you. I tried the Lemon creamsicle flavor but it wasn't what I wanted. I decided to go for "All the cookies" the first few tastes were pretty good but it was really rich! I couldn't even finish eating it because it was so sweet. My favorite part was the waffle cone, it was so good. I would come back to try something less adventurous.

This Van Leeuwen Ice Cream shop is one of my favorites, solely because of its location. It's right by the North 5th Street Pier and Park, one of the most scenic spots in Williamsburg, offering spectacular views of the East River and the Williamsburg Bridge. There have been several evenings where I've grabbed a scoop or two from Van Leeuwen and wandered around the waterfront, watching the city lights from across the river. I typically go for their specials, but sometimes I opt for the classics, such as vegan mint chip. Vegan churros & fudge is another frequent flavor, consisting of dark brown sugar and cinnamon ice cream with churro pieces and chocolate fudge swirls. To be honest, it's pretty difficult to pick a "wrong" flavor here. The specials can be experimental though, so if something sounds like a weird combination, there's always a list of standard options that rarely changes.

SO GOOD! Stopped by while I was in Brooklyn and it was the perfect treat on a warm day. The wait was fairly short and the icecream was so creamy and delicious!

The bathroom smelled absolutely foul. I mean so bad I didn't even want to use it. The toilet paper was everywhere and the handle was wet. Besides that, the place was clean on the inside and the ice cream was okay. Certainly nothing to write home about -- a typical chain.

One of my favorite ice cream places. We were around the area and craving ice cream after our bike ride. I usually always get the same flavors: pistachio and peanut butter brownie. So good! I'm glad they started selling it at target too but it is pricier compared to other ice cream brands~

It's super creamy and for the sweet tooth. It's pricey, but hey it's delicious and NY.

We stopped here this summer during our visit to NYC. We were looking for a tasty ice cream and this came up in our yelp search as someplace nearby where we were. We saw that there was a long line, and decided it must be good and worth the wait. We never dreamed it would take as long as it did! It was a horrible set-up for taking orders and then getting the ice cream served. I understand finding workers is challenging these days, but I think there had to be a better system in place so that so many people weren't waiting for their orders all at once and then not being delivered based on order of who ordered. Then it was really disappointing that it wasn't anything that amazing after all the waiting. The ice cream was good, just not worth the wait and chaos. Not sure I'd put this on my list of places I'd recommend unless there is NO line.

I've had Van Leeuwen's ice cream before so many times and have loved it. I do love their ice cream. But the two stars is for the lack of customer service. The girl who was helping me was completely unprofessional and was not helpful at all. She had to make our ice cream FOUR times. Each time, she'd come back over to us, give us a dirty look and say, "Uhhh, are you sure you didn't order this?" My sister and I ordered two small chocolate ice creams in a cup. I didn't think that was too difficult. Apparently it was. She came over and handed me another kind of ice cream, which I didn't order. And then said "Oh, I'll make the right one, sorry." Then she brought my sister the completely wrong ice cream and said "Are you sure you didn't order this?" And gave us a dirty look again. I really like VL's ice cream. But, I don't understand how two small chocolate ice creams in a cup is a difficult order. I wouldn't come back here. Then, when we paid, the guy at the register said "It's been a really long day." It was 6:00 PM. I don't really think this was helpful or beneficial. I wouldn't recommend this place or this location.

Omg omg omg this is some deliciously lush ice cream! I've heard great things about this place and I finally got to try it! My only gripe is that it's cashless only. I loved the marionberry cheesecake and raspberry layer cake flavors that I had. The service was good as well.

popped in here late on a saturday night and it was popping. first time having can leeuwens in the store and love the flavor options. opted for a small earl grey which was delicious- not too sweet. also tried the double chocolate fudge in a milkshake. the chocolate was very dark and rich would come again for both!

Ick Vegan Earl Grey taste like artificial super sweet oat milk! There's no hint of Earl grey just something that taste like you got it at 711. What a waste of $6+! What happened Van L, you use to make good stuff! Good Thing I went to our fave Jap restaurant in Bayside and redeemed my palate w/ matcha & totucha ice cream parfait which was $12 but completely worth it unlike here! Never again!

While this is a traditional scoop shop in most ways, almost half their menu was vegan, mostly coconut or almond-based. I sampled an oat-based flavor, apparently a temporary one that was brought back by popular demand (information which I wanted to hear; I was glad for more service than just getting my ice cream scooped), and it was really fantastic, a contender for best non-dairy ice cream I've ever had. Oat ice cream. Try it. The regular dairy mint chip I got alongside it was no less impressive, luminous in its mintiness with fine chocolate flakes throughout. They emphasized the biodegradability of their spoons and had many interesting seasonal flavors. The only drawback should be fairly obvious: the price is eyebrow-raising (and my Yelp reviews will tell I don't mind paying for premium ice cream). If you're a non-dairy person, suck it up and go here 100%, but even if you aren't, I'd definitely stop in now and then.

Amazing ice cream. My friends and I were able to sit, talk, and relax from a day of walking. Staff was extremely friendly and kind. One in particular even acknowledged customers as they left. Overall, would come back, great ambiance!

This was my first time at Van Leeuwen and I've heard such good things about it. I'm not much of a sweets person, but I definitely enjoyed the Earl grey tea ice cream. Such a unique flavor and experience. The texture of the ice cream is so velvety and divine. My only hang up is that I find everything to be too sweet, but that just may be me and my taste buds lol. Either way, in the event that I would like something sweet and I am in the area, I would have it again.

This place is delicious but there is really no reason you need to eat a whole ice cream by yourself. These ice creams are dense and (at least my server) generous portions. I had the cookie crumble with strawberry jam (vegan) and it didn't taste vegan at all. So creamy and full of goodness. My second favorite would definitely be the honeycomb- so milky, light, and sweet at the same time. Trust me and share 1 cup between two people- this way you can go to more places and eat other stuff

Loved it, great flavors in vegan and regular. The waffle cone was really good too. The service was great. Kool vibe ambience.

Just wondering why on a Saturday afternoon there's only one man working (taking orders, making drinks / getting ice cream, and doing the payments). It just kind of felt inefficient with a line of people waiting. I saw a flyer for the Harvest Moon and decided to give it a go. Vegan ice cream is definitely very different in texture. It's not creamy at all and breaks off into chunks. I thought it was decent tasting, but probably not my go to for next time. Overall I still really love Van Leeuwen. They have so many different flavors and I love how they always have experimental flavors.

The place is pretty. The girl in front desk was really not nice I didn't even want to order she pushing and every 2 seconds say what what. Not a very good customer service. Their was other girl that give us the milk shakes young black she was very nice and smiling. Too bad she not always in the front. The milkshake was horrible its spouse to be vanilla milkshake but taste like water. (and the not nice girl made it so here u go.. ) the ice cream chocolate and matcha something was good. But even the way it's look in the cup just don't worth the money it's look like garbage. Waste of money.

Yes, I was guilty of having ice cream for breakfast. I love mint chip and they may have made the best mint chip I have ever had! I also felt spontaneous and got sprinkles, and I loved loved loved them. They were not waxy like most sprinkles. I also liked the mint since the mint tasted very natural and was mild. It did not taste like artificial toothpaste and it was not grossly green. The one downfall about this place is that it is spendy, but hey. It's New York and it's vegan ice cream. What do you expect? Due to the price, I opted out of getting a truck load of toppings, which I usually get. I also loved how organized their menu was. Was super easy to figure out was was vegan and what was not. They also had some Gluten-free options, and those were easily marked on the menu.

One of the best ice cream shops NYC has to offer? Not exactly. My wife and I visited Van Leeuwen after a Friday evening out. We had just finished a huge meal nearby, but we still had space for some good ol' ice cream. We swung by around 7:30pm and the store was pretty empty. It was about 40 degrees outside after all. The location was nice, modern, but still cozy. The second we walked in we were greeted by a friendly employee. The menu of flavors and options was smack dab right above the left of the entrance. After some deliberation, we asked the employee what was the most popular flavor and she told us the Honeycomb, so we had to get a single scoop of that on a sugar cone. Next, we went with the supposed 2nd most popular flavor, the Black Sesame Ash Chocolate Cake, on a waffle cone. Although, the employee wavered a bit when we asked them what was after Honeycomb. Also, for those not in the know, the waffle cone was $1 more than the sugar cone. After receiving our single scoops, we sat down and wasted no time devouring our ice cream. First off, the employee gave us extremely generous single scoops, so we definitely wanted to shout out to her for that. Those single scoops easily were the equilavent of 2 large scoops elsewhere and we did not mind one bit! Next, the flavors. The Honeycomb was flavorful, but a bit on the sweet side, so buyer beware. If you love your ice cream very sweet, than Honeycomb is the flavor to get. As for the Black Sesame Ash Chocolate Cake, unfortunately, it didn't live up to what I thought it would be. The black sesame portion was good, but the pieces of chocolate cake were interesting. It was basically stuffed into the ice cream and, in every bite, I had a piece of cake, but I wasn't a huge fan of it because the chocolate cake didn't add to the enjoyment of the ice cream. It, sort of, got in the way. Van Leeuwan had a decent selection of flavors to choose from, the location was nice and the employees were friendly, but the ice cream flavors didn't hit the spot. Maybe other flavors are better, but that's for us to figure out the next time.

Simple delicious and well presented. Great friendly staff. Vegan options also available.

Finally visited this location! It's conveniently located near venues like Rough Trade and Music Hall, so I'll definitely be stopping by before shows from now on. I had the caramel caramel crunch sundae and it was perfect. Service was friendly and they've got vegan options, too! Edit 5/2018: mint chocolate chip is delicious.