Mike’s Ice Cream

Ya’ll, I have a major addiction to ice cream. Eat it constantly. Did a quick search for the best spot around downtown in Nashville and Mike’s popped up.
It’s UNREAL — tons of great flavors. Tennessee Fudge was one of my favorites… Coffee Fudge… Blackberry Cornbread… WOW. Everything is reasonably priced and the folks working here are friendly.
Check out the screen with all of the photos of musicians/​celebrities who have stopped in here.

I can not pass a home made ice cream store everywhere, so I ‘d to try Mike’s before a night of honky tonkin’. The space is adorable and looks like an old fashioned ice cream parlor. It’s a tin ceiling like the old buildings used to have and along the wall, there is a cunning word picture of a soda shop guy pouring seltzer into a mug (with real running water). I got two flavors – pumpkin pie and red velvet cake. Both were extremely great.

This place is epic — to the point that we visited twice in a matter of hours!
Mike’s ice cream is an ice cream shop as well as coffee shop. The coffee is amazing and better than anything that Starbucks could even dream of doing. On the first trip I did a caramel macchiato — and since I was unsure if it would be any good I went with a small. They got my drink out right away — faster than I was expecting. The staff is incredibly friendly and personable. You can actually carry a conversation with them. My other half got a frozen cappuccino.
My drink was so perfectly blended — the best I have ever had. If I can taste the coffee then I am not a fan. From start to finish it tasted amazing. I was quite sad that I only got a small. I was able to try the frozen cappuccino as well. It was great. Better than a Frappuccino — and what I ended up getting when we revisited a few hours later.
The vibe of the place is amazing. Its in an older building along the strip of bars in downtown Nashville. Even when we came back and they were busier than earlier that morning we still were in and out in no time.
All in all an amazing place — and I am sad that I live 4+ hours away because no joke I would go there every single day if I lived in Nashville.

Great ice cream. Not on the menu but they make a damn good afrogato. Try it with the Tennessee fudge!

One of my go to places when I have family in town, whenever we go to Nashville I have to stop by and get some !
The cake batter is always my go too! Very delicious

Homemade ice cream! Blackberry Cornbread ice cream is soooo good! The line was long but it was worth the wait.

Not only is the ice cream del kilos but hey have unique yummy flavors.
I got the dipped waffle cone with three scoops:
red velvet: tastes just like red velvet cake
Caramel cone; swirls of caramel and chunks of waffle cone
Mocha caramel pecan: coffee ice cream with swirls of caramel and crispy pecans
Can you tell I like caramel?!
And yes I shared…

Loved the Nutter Butter ice cream: vanilla with peanut butter and pieces of Nutter Butter cookies. I paired it with the Birthday Cake which tastes just like Blue Bunny’s Birthday Cake. A little on the pricey side, but so is everything on Broadway. I wouldn’t say Mike’s is anything all that special to Nashville, but good ice cream and a great place to get a cone on a hot day to walk up and down Broadway with.

Premium quality ice cream at reasonable prices. Under $ 4 including tax for a single scoop. The banana pudding flavor was awesome! Also liked the blackberry cornbread. My wife was a fan of pistachio. This place had a line at all times I’ve been but worth it and moves quick. Don’t offer samples… Prob because volume of customers… but happy to give then if you ask. We each tried two things before each selection.

Absolutely wonderful ice cream! The place is very small but has authentic homemade ice cream. The options include drinks, cones, and sundaes. Last night the line to get in was down the street, they are so popular.
It is cute for families and the restrooms for customers are spacious. They only have one male and one female restroom but that is sufficient for the small ice cream parlor. The only issue I see is the restaurant is that the restroom is large but does not have baby changing table. Odd since it is a family ice cream spot and they should accommodate families better.

As a true ice cream fan, I had to try Mike’s Ice Cream shop before leaving Nashville. Located in a great location in the heart of Broadway street, you’ll see so many people walking around with their ice cream cones or cups up and down the street.
On a nice day in the afternoon, the line was outside the door. So, if you can go on a week night after dinner time it’s way less crowded and you can walk right in and get your ice cream. Ask for samples! Super generous and they will give you a whole spoon full of a sample. There are so many different flavors to choose from. I chose the mocha almond chip and I was pleased. The ice cream was creamy, and really tasted like home made hard ice cream. Be careful when getting a scoop on a cone as mine almost completely fell off! The perfect snack for a warm Nashville day. Plus you can walk off your ice cream right away walking back and forth on Broadway street!

I can never say no to ice cream — and when I saw pictures on Unilocal of the red velvet ice cream? Nothing could stop me from leaving Nashville without a scoop of it.
There was a line nearly out the door around 7pm, but we figured it would be worth the wait, especially after having to take an über all the way back to downtown Nashville.
There are probably 3 – 5 tables inside, with 5 – 10 chairs available to sit at. However, the line moved quickly and we reached the glass display in due time. There is a brief video loop of all the celebrities they’ve had make an appearance in the shop, which is pretty interesting and passes the time. I had already made up my mind on a single scoop of red velvet ice cream, which came out to be $ 3.60. It turned out to be more than enough ice cream for me since I was still full from dinner.
Not the best red velvet cake ice cream I’ve had but definitely delicious. I want to come back and try the other flavors next time I’m in town!

One of my favorite downtown locations! Homemade ice cream, and great coffee. I work downtown often, and usually have to get out & treat myself to an Espresso Milkshake, highly recommend cookies’n’cream with espresso milkshake.
There is normally a long line, but the guys who were here are efficient and friendly. If it’s cold, come grab a coffee instead. They offer all the great styles and flavors of coffee as any other coffee house you’ll find.

If there’s one important thing my mom taught me it’s that there’s always room for ice cream! One of the most iconic things about Mike’s is definitely the location, in beautiful downtown Nashville. With country music blaring and tourists walking around, it kind of almost feels like home! Once I walked into Mike’s the place was packed, and the weather, chilly as ever! Seeing as I was only spending a few days here, I had to go big, triple scoop for $ 5.50!
Here’s the flavors I got:
Red Velvet Cake (⁴⁄₅):
Chunks of red velvet cake, and the color of the ice cream was a dark red! Something out of a Dr. Seuss book almost! What I loved most about it was the fact that the pieces of cake inside the ice cream were delicate and not dry. Actually pretty moist in combination with the ice cream!
Tennessee Fudge (4.5÷5):
Come on now, we’re in Nashville, I can’t NOT get Tennessee Fudge! Almost like cookies and cream, but the pieces of cookie were bigger and tastier! It was rather delicate on the pallet, and definitely fulfilled my needs as a person with a sweet tooth!
Caramel Cone (4.2÷5)
Little chunks of caramel lodged into the ice cream along with a good amount of caramels drizzle, this one was definitely flattering!
Overall, sitting at Mike’s and staring out of the window, it kind of reminded me of a scene in movie. Country music playing and tourists walking by and looking at the various amazing places that make Nashville — well, Nashville. Music City, it clearly holds the title for a reason, and everything here screams life and music.

Definitely the best spot in Nashville for ice cream! The fact that it’s usually packed reflects that =) The line generally moves quickly, though.
They have a wide range on flavors to choose from (I’d guess maybe 30), and I’ve liked every one I’ve tried. They have everything from the neon kids flavors to more refined flavors like balsamic pear. My go to is Nutter Butter — peanut butter ice cream with chunks of cookies. I’ve also had pistachio and toasted coconut and enjoyed them.
They definitely give you very generous servings! And as a result I find their prices to be very reasonable — especially for being in the heart of broadway.
My wish: they had another location that I could go to without heading downtown, paying for parking, and fighting tourists!

Mike’s dishes up excellent ice cream across a broad spectrum of flavors at reasonable prices, and that’s frankly all you need to know. Get yourself in the door!
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
Unlike some of the new-​age ice cream spots that have sprung up across the country (Salt & Straw
and Smitten
come to mind), Mike’s is your traditional ice cream parlor right in line with some of the gems in New York and Chicago. The flavors are on the board, the cones lined up in their stands, and the servers fast and friendly. What more could you want? Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
Very much unlike the new age spots, the prices at Mike’s couldn’t be more affordable, and my single scoop in a cone, which was sizable as you can see in the picture, was priced at only $ 3.50. That’s value. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
Before going into my actual Caramel Cone selection, I’ll point out that Mike’s wins when it comes to flavor variety. Simply too often I’ve rolled into modern ice cream or gelato spots only to find that I either have basic chocolate and vanilla to choose from or some kale and blueberry goat cheese nonsense. Mike’s leaves the gentrification at the door, offering up a huge selection of classics, contemporary flavors, and combinations of the two that are sure to satisfy anyone.
My caramel cone in particular was very, very good, with the right ratio of caramel to cone and ice cream. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
As far as I’m concerned, Mike’s is the best ice cream in Nashville, and a classic like this would easily secure my patronage daily. Star Granted.

I wish I would’ve planned better with this place. I was walking around looking for places to visit in Nashville when… ICE CREAM! That’s a must, right? I check Unilocal,4.5 stars, let’s go.
There are 2 very distinct reasons on why this place isn’t receiving a 4 or 5-​star rating. The size of the shop and how sweet the ice cream is.
This ice cream shop is tiny which is surprising. This shop is right in downtown. Lots of foot traffic. Tourists galore. Luckily on a Friday evening it wasn’t too packed when we arrived. We didn’t have to wait in line at all. It is Autumn though. On a hot day I can’t imagine how packed this place gets. It’s almost like they expect you to order your treat and leave. They do have a couple of tables, but it’s not an inviting location. In particular… during my visit there was this creepy guy sitting close by that kept staring at me while I ate my cone. Stop it dude! Just stop.
I ended up ordering the Superhero flavor. It’s 3 different flavors (red, whitish yellow, and blue). I believe it’s cherry, maybe banana/​vanilla, and blueberry ice cream. I normally wouldn’t order some bizarre flavor like that, but this time it sounded perfect! My ice cream was good, but it was too sweet. I only ordered 1 scoop in a cone. I was so full that I wasn’t able to eat the cone. It seems too sweet might be a recurring theme for this ice cream shop. The great thing about this ice cream is that it’s extra thick.
The other oddity is that I was hoping for an ice cream/​coffee shop perfect combination store as the name (Mike’s Ice Cream & Coffee Bar) suggests. Coffee definitely takes a back seat to the ice cream here. They have plenty of hot coffee drinks, but you know that feeling when you walk into a coffee shop. That yummy mmmhmm feeling with your brain yearning for coffee… you don’t get that here. You feel more like a kid in a candy shop but ordering ice cream instead.
Next time I’m in Nashville I’ll stop in here to try another flavor. Truth be told… I might be spoiled by local Louisville favorite, Comfy Cow!

I have tried ice cream at many places in Chicago, and none has ever tasted as good as Mike’s Ice Cream. I got 2 scoops of cookies and cream and I was full after 75% of it. It was super delicious times 100. The best I ever had. I suggest you buy the 3 scoops and share with a friend because it’s plenty!
The place gets super claustrophobic on weekends. There is very minimal seating, and when you sit in the middle, you are surrounded by other tables and the people waiting in line. I’d suggest you get the cone/​cup and walk around and eat it. There are two tables against the wall past the counter that are less claustrophobic.
I’m going to stop here every time I visit Nashville.

Best waffle cone I’ve ever had!
There was a line out the door on a hot day. Service was fast and worth the wait. I ordered the coffee fudge ice cream on a waffle cone. Caffeine and chocolate! Yes! Very rich flavor and delicious fudge throughout. The waffle cone was so buttery and crispy– would be great on its own! I would definitely go back when in Nashville.

Friendly and reasonably priced… this is some really good ice cream!
Honestly, it reminded me of Dave & Andy’s back home in Pittsburgh with the light and crispy waffle cones and extremely rich ice cream. We all enjoyed our chosen flavor and there were many to pick from. The servers were über friendly and although there was a line, it moved along quickly.
We were lucky enough to get a table by the window which was perfect to people watch inside and outside onto the strip which is very lively.
The fact that this reminded me of home in Nashville was a win for me. I can’t wait to come back to visit. Best believe I’ll be stopping here again!