Ailun H.
Yelp
Overall, 3.5/5 for location and cost, but bumping it to a 4/5 because Van Leeuwen ice cream is so smooth & creamy with unique flavors. I came here on a Monday night with a couple friends after dinner in Shaw. We thought this was inside of Union Market, but it's not. It's two blocks away, lol.
The interior has a lot of yellow and lots of colors on top of yellow. And some cute little posters about heavy cream is like kale and not counting calories, I think. I haven't had Van Leeuwen Ice Cream since last year March (which was actually in NYC). Seeing a Van Leeuwen open in DC made me super happy because I remembered how good it was, so I knew I had to stop by again.
ONE SCOOP - 6.90
The one scoop is also ridiculously small. Like someone else had said, they also brought the NYC pricing to DC, yuck! Fortunately, the staff was nice and let me sample a few different flavors before I made my final choice. The "Malted Milkshake & Fries" was a unique and funny flavor I've never seen elsewhere, so I knew I had to choose that one. It's essentially vanilla ice cream with some bits of fries, LOL. So not too sweet, with crumbs of savory potatoes/fries per bite. Definitely a very unique flavor and while I enjoyed it, I probably won't get it in the future. If I wanted something like this, I'll just go to McDonald's nearby and get a vanilla cone + order of fries for the same experience (1/2 the price and 3x the quantity).
My friends enjoyed their waffle cones. I got to try the "Birch Bark" which has a strong and deep raspberry puree flavor, but a bit too sweet for my taste. The "Honeycomb" was nice with a nice crunch (would definitely recommend to the honey lovers out there!).