Sparky’s Homemade Ice Cream

A small store but a big name in Columbia. The ice cream is the perfect cross between normal scoop ice cream and custard. Their flavors are amazing and they have some that change depending on season and demand. Decently priced, cool hole-​in-​the-​wall atmosphere and a great staff makes this place a must visit on top of their great product.

A funky shop with an amazing selection of icecreams in ecletic flavors that you can sample before making your final choice. A favorite is the chocolate cake batter! I have also enjoyed recently a salt & pepper cream and a lemon ginger concoction that was heaven sent!

Try the red wine flavor with Ghirardelli chocolate chunks. You do have to be 21 to order this one, as the alcohol isn’t cooked off completely. They use a local MO wine to make it (Les Bourgeois Riverboat Red), and damn it’s good.

Great concept … poor execution. This place is like the Every Flavor Beans from Harry Potter. Hit or miss … buyer beware. Tried this place because I’d heard great things about it and because who doesn’t like ice cream? The flavor combinations range from «Yah, okay, that might work» to «What the h*** are they thinking?» I finally settled on the glazed donut ice cream thinking it would resemble cheesecake yogurt offerings from the yogurt joint down the street. Instead, I was greeted with plain jane vanilla stuffed with stale, chewy chunks of donut. My compatriots ordered different stuff and they enjoyed it. I guess I just got unlucky.

Girlfriend’s getaway stop, even though there was snow on the ground. The ice cream was good — my lavender honey was smooth and crisp, I enjoyed the light flavor. The major problem was the downright rude service — we were the only people in the shop and weren’t greeted, weren’t thanked, weren’t made to feel that we should have entered the store. In fact, the employee seemed to be annoyed we were there at all. We were barked at because we were in the wrong spot for payment. The decent ice cream doesn’t make up for rude service. It will be a long while before we return.

Being from Chicago (no where near Missouri) and not attending mizzou, I can without bias say this place is very, very good. Great flavors to choose from and cool girls who work there. I got rice crispie treat and my friend got lavender honey, and both were quite delicious.

I was really impressed with this ice cream.
I find a lot of the same flavors of ice cream in shops everywhere. Here, however, I was wowed. Lemon poppyseed? YES! It had little lemon crispies inside that were just delicious. Chocolate cake batter was excellent, and the butter pecan was LOADED with pecans (yay!!). I would avoid the lavender chocolate, or try just a little. It gets overwhelming after a few bites. And, since I absolutely hate coffee, I will tell you to avoid Oreo Speedwagon. I hated it. I absolutely hated it, but, like I said, I hate coffee.
The only advice I have is to eat outside. There are far too many portraits of clowns and creepy crocheted dolls for my taste, but whatever. I didn’t stop in to find a decorator.
I’m definitely coming back for that lemon poppyseed!

I love Sparky’s! They always have new flavors lined up everytime I visit. They’re creative and delicious. Perfect for any season. They beat Coldstone’s everytime. It’s close to campus so it’s easy to satisfy any sweet tooth. If only they sold Tiger Stripe ice cream…

If you’re from columbia or go to mizzou sparky’s is a classic choice for some ice cream. My favorite choice is always the coffee ice cream! It has a nice distinct coffee flavor and for me not too sweet which is a good thing. Me and my girlfriend also enjoy the brownie Sunday although I usually ask for more ice cream to brownie ratio because we got it before and it had way more brownies than ice cream which is great if that’s your thing but I like more ice cream as a personal preference. All in all a solid choice for ice cream and the staff is always very friendly and they have good prices.

Great place for ice cream. I had the cherry berry lemonade and it was delicious. My whole family enjoyed it.

An absolute must stop if you’re perusing downtown Columbia. Just a few blocks from MU’s campus, Sparky’s offers eclectic flavors as well as the classics. Everyone will find something they like at Sparky’s as well as some awesome Columbia tradition and a whole lot of personality.

Want a treat that will knock your socks off? Try a wine infused ice cream! This place makes a variety of unique ice cream flavors (green tea, salted watermelon, honey lavender) along with plenty of «traditional» flavors. But hands down you gotta try the Les Bourgeois Riverboat Red wine ice cream with Ghirardelli chocolate pieces! Rich, creamy goodness! Got to be 21+ for this scoop of heaven on a cone. Since the alcohol isn’t cooked out, you still have an alcohol content but don’t worry… you are not gonna notice it.
Small set up inside with just a few places to sit (couple outdoor chairs, too). Walls are lined with some pretty funky and eclectic paintings. Perfect pairing with the unique ice cream that you will find here.

Good, but not great. The flavors are interesting, but after eating a small portion it doesn’t taste as good as when you first started. The eating area is super cramped and the creepy paintings on the wall make for an interesting time. Ask for the specials whenever you arrive and you might save a couple of bucks. The prices are reasonable and the service is really good. But the whole reason that you are there is for the ice cream and I can take it or leave it.

I’ve heard great things from my wife, a Mizzou grad, about Sparky’s over the years, but it was good to finally get here. The selection wasn’t huge, and to be honest wasn’t all that great… but eventually I found something I liked. Prices are fair for this quality of ice cream, and the staff was super friendly.
I got the lavender honey, and it was really a great flavor — refreshing, slightly sweet, and fragrant. I also sampled one of the alcoholic varieties (I forget which), and didn’t like it at all.
The art on the wall is hilarious, and I really wanted to buy one (let’s just say it involves Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and a Banana Stand).
All in all, a solid place, but perhaps overhyped by my wife.

I had the apple cobbler ice cream and Claire got a mixture of pineapple upside down cake and raspberry. Both were the $ 4 one and half scoop size.
Was really amazed at how good the ice creams were. Truly handmade flavor and texture, without the over churned, too much milk fat, mouthfeel you get in some super premium products. Mine had crisp, distinct pieces of what seemed like real apple pie in it. Claire honestly tasted like someone mixed fresh pineapple upside down cake into a batch of ice cream and put it on top of raspberries.
Only downside is that they have very limited seating and generally a line of people waiting to order.

Delicious ice cream! Really nice unique flavors. Lavender flavor tastes like soap to me. The flavors I got were Mango and Nutella!
It could use some better seating

When you love what you do, you end up with a good product, and customers will flock. This is the secret to Sparky’s success. Always a line when I’m here, but the homemade quality and unique flavors you won’t find elsewhere make it worth the wait. Bravo.

Good range of unique flavors. Very nice green tea flavor and blueberry flavor actually have blueberries!
Service was a little cold.

ah, gee. i want to come here so many times. not just for the deliciously home made ice cream, but to just look around.
this place made me SMILE. a truly
magical place doing magical things.
the gal behind the counter was cheerful, helpful, and patient as we tried to collect ourselves and decide on something. this was just that cool.
i decided to try something new and got a small scoop of green tea, and another scoop of something i enjoy getting at other places– the sweet cream. the green tea ice cream was the best green tea ice cream I’ve ever had. i can never eat a whole serving of it, though, so it was nice to cut it with the sweet cream.
my husband got the cookies and cream as per a tip we saw on here. like their take on it. the ice cream actually tasted like Oreo flavored ice cream which was different, but yummy.
my six-​year-​old didn’t want ice cream (i know, right?), but he was so entranced by the photos on the wall.
would love to find ourselves back here with the time take it all in.
definitely a unique and unusual space to stop and enjoy a yummy treat for a bit.

This place is out of this world. If your into crazy art, yummy eats, and wonderfully creative and nice staff this is for you!
The place is filled with old fun art you might find at a thrift store, or a High School art show! They even have a Daniel Johnston piece.
They have a ton of different kinds of Ice Cream and Gelato! And they will let you sample anything you want!
The staff is above and beyond awesome and were super kind and very welcoming! My band has played 2 shows here and they were so supportive of the band and even kept the Ice Cream shop open late to have the show! What a crew! Make this a stop if you are in Columbia!