Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

TLDR:
— Wonderfully balanced ice cream. Texture is on-​point.
— Flavors can be traditional and/​or fun.

Took my fiancé here after dinner for his Birthday since he’s allergic to dairy so decided to try this place out for the first time. We got the Vegan Sundae,
Wow the Vegan Matcha green tea ice cream was awesome! You could taste the matcha and coconut and its non-​dairy totally a shocker! Also had the Vegan chocolate ice cream so divine, you can taste the chocolate richness.
They’re Vegan Ice Cream texture is creamy and rich and pretty much last like ice cream, just no dairy.
Then they have vegan whipped cream that has a coconut taste to it, so yummy! Also Vegan chocolate syrup yummm!
Ice cream shop’s employee also pleasant!
Will return here many times more!

It’s a dainty little shop on the corner. The interior was very clean and simplistic. The showcase was neat and the menus on the wall was clear. They even have a self serve station for water when customers are thirsty.
I came here for their special flavors of ice cream. I tried earl grey and honey comb. The earl grey was insanely fragrant. It was sweeter than the honey comb but still very tasty. You can really taste that tea flavor and it was very smooth. The honey comb was bomb. I personally favor the honey comb. The flavors really came through. There were little honey combs within the ice cream and it was rich. Rather than the ice creams being very milky, they came with a blast of flavor in every bite. Enjoyed it very much.

Des glaces extraordinaires, un service agréable et surtout un très grand choix de glaces vegan (sans lactose donc) faîtes à base de lait de coco. Elles sont magiques !!!

Buttery, creamy, smooth ice cream.
We got the Espresso, Honey, & Sicilian Pistachio scoops in a cup.
Espresso — I can’t say no to coffee-​flavored ice cream.
Honey — I didn’t expect to like this flavor so much. It reminds me of this Werther’s candies.
Sicilian Pistachio — nice nutty flavor. I still don’t know what makes it Sicilian.
I also appreciate their eco-​friendly paper cup & biodegradable spoon. However, Mr. Joy broke his spoon digging into the ice cream, so I grabbed one of the coffee spoons for him.
This café is very clean. There was no line. The staff was efficient.
The ice cream is rather pricy. 3 scoops for $ 7.50.
They also have a ton of vegan options, which are just made from coconut milk, as the cashier explained that difference to me.

When Rosemary’s told me the wait for a table for five was 1.5 hours, I decided to walk around for a bit rather than spend the entire time at the bar. I stumbled across Van Leewan’s just a block away and had the cookies and cream ice cream and was blown away. I’d heard great things about there ice cream, but this was the best cookie and cream I’ve ever had. It was expensive ($ 5 for a small cup), but absolutely worth it.

$ 5.50 for two scoops or $ 7.50 for three scoops. Extra 50 cents for each vegan flavor. No tax, always a plus!
Scoops are on the smaller side, but that’s okay because the texture is as soft as a cloud and melts in your mouth like cotton candy. I really recommend the earl grey tea one! It’s just the right level of sweetness that an ice cream scoop should have. We also opted for salted caramel, but it was a little too salty for our tastes. Good thing thing we had earl grey to cleanse our palates. DEFINITELY ask for samples before you order!!!
Also, the shop is not too big, so seating is limited to three tables. If the weather’s nice, try to enjoy your ice cream outside! ^_^

One of my favorite coffee places in NYC. Great quality coffee and plus amazing gelato. Recommended to try vanilla and pistachio flavors.

Great quality of ice cream! I had the earl grey years ago and it still leaves a lasting impression. Great taste to it, really tasting like earl grey. My boyfriend and I came here recently after dinner and got two scoops each at $ 5.50. I got the Burnt Butter Cinnamon Toast and Honeycomb. Both were true to their name. The Burnt Butter Cinnamon Toast had actual pieces of yummy sweet bread in it. A great cinnamon taste came through and this perfectly coupled with the honeycomb. I really liked the honeycomb. It had a bit of a salt taste to it as well which just further enhanced the honey taste, which by the way, the ice cream had great big swirls of honey in it. YUMMM.
My boyfriend got the mint chocolate and espresso. The mint chocolate had the perfect balance of mint and chocolate, not one overpowering the other. The espresso I’d say was the most unique espresso ice cream I’ve ever had. It was actually bitter but in a good way. Typically, any type of coffee ice cream is overly sweet but this definitely tasted like an espresso, leaving the bitter black coffee taste at the end, but again, not in a nasty way. It was refreshing almost because it was just so unique.
Overall, definitely worth a try. Great texture, not overly creamy and not overly hard. Great authentic, unique flavors!

Always been a huge fan of their Earl Grey ice cream ever since they had their truck. :{D Watching them expand into many locations has been so interesting!
Visited this location tonight before dinner (never too early for ice cream). We tried every single seasonal flavor; brown butter cinnamon toast is GREEEAT. Pumpkin was decent; the vegan maple donut was a little too chunky for my taste; the apple pie ice cream base tasted bland.
I got a small scoop (up to two flavors) of earl grey and brown butter cinnamon toast and really enjoyed them. It is pricey for $ 5.50 for two mini scoops, but I think the quality’s there.
The staff is really nice as well — make sure to tip, especially if you ask for a bunch of samples. There isn’t much seating (probably enough for 6 – 8), but it wasn’t crowded at all when we came.

Hey, I just ate you. And this is crazy, but here’s my presence; I will come back again.
Location: Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream is hidden inside the 10^th street. It is right around the corner in the neighborhood. The cross street is a bookstore, and if you walk 1 mins, you will also see the totto taco. Anyway, it is a pretty nice area to have a little chat with your friends, your lovers, or whoever you are encountering with. Inside the ice cream, they have modern, simple but lovely and clearly decorations. Three small tables and a long bench, you have a chance to sit inside the store while it’s pretty cold. Or, go out, join the little bench outside, and enjoy the sunshine for the sake of Vitamin D.
Ice cream: I really want to try all the flavors but I am desperately prone to grey earl tea. Of course, my instinct never went wrong. Earl Grey Tea flavor is moisture, not too bitter but still densed with tea flavor inside the ice cream. It is an innovation, that few ice cream stores can surpass. So far, one of the best among NYC ice cream shops.
Price: 2 flavors for 5 dollar? Is it expensive, maybe. But the service is welcoming, and staff is pretty nice and let me try few things. I appreciate it. So of course, 5 dollar is worth of the whole experience, especially when you are in a mood of ice cream craving.
Overall: of course it’s 5 star. The flavor is unbeatable, service is welcoming, what else would you ask since everything seems so perfect after eating their ice creams.

In a nutshell, I think this is the perfect spot for the vegans, also everybody loves some ice cream. However, vegan food doesn’t have to be un-​tasty.
I got the salted caramel classic scoop, and the peanut butter chocolate chip vegan scoop. After two spoons and I didn’t finish it, it was mediocre. A bit overrated, and not the most fun reason to ship out the wallet.
Two Unilocal

A much smaller location than East village location, but ice cream is good! I always come by to get the earl grey tea and salted caramel ice cream. I always leave happy and heavy (oops). I need to try other flavors the next time I stop by Van Leeuwen, regardless of location!

Great place for vegan ice cream lovers. The ice cream tastes fine. I got the salted caramel, sicilian pistachio, and earl grey.
My favorite was the early grey. If you like tea and subtle flavors, this is a great choice.

Great small place around NYU. I like the ice cream and the atmosphere, not much seating there. The only thing is that it’s a little expensive for ice cream– $ 8.5 for a milkshake?

I came here to try vegan ice cream for the first time. All the vegan ice cream is soy free and make from coconut, cashew milk, and i think cocoa butter (can read the ingredients online). The flavors sounded really indulgent instead of a fruit base vegan ice cream like i was expecting so i had to try.
The man who worked there was very nice. He told me that the most popular vegan flavor was salted caramel and gave me a sample to try with an actual spoon :) I didnt really like this flavor, the coconut flavor overpowered the caramel flavor which i could barely taste and i didn’t taste any salt. So I don’t understand why it’s so great.
I ordered the mint chip & dark chocolate. They were both amazing and almost perfectly replicated the real deal. At first bite, I was really surprised. After a few more bites, I could taste the coconut flavor but it wasn’t anything strong. I felt the portion was generous for the price.
I don’t think vegan is any extra money so you can mix & match with dairy ice cream as well.
People also seem to be reviewing the cone. I felt it was a standard cone– pretty crunchy and sturdy to hold up the ice cream. All in all, it was a nice cone.
This location is very small but very inviting with the minimalist furniture and kitchen. All ice cream is made in Greenpoint. The lighting is perfect for taking photos. There is some seating inside for friends and a bench outside or you can just walk around with your ice cream in the beautiful West Village.

Love that there’s a location in west village now! It’s not as big but the natural light spilling through the glass is definitely beautiful.
I tried the ginger and earl grey tea on a waffle cone. The ice cream was great but unfortunately I didn’t get to eat the waffle cone since my boyfriend ate all of it… He said it was delicious though

Their ice cream flavors are the best and it is such good quality. The honeycomb ice cream is the best I have ever had. Early grey/​honeycomb and espresso/​honeycomb are some of my favorite combos. I love that you can get a pint of any flavor to take home.
I’m curious about that croissant ice cream sandwich too…

What’s the best thing on a sweltering, hot, humid NYC summer day? Van Leeuwen ice cream.
I was showing my vegan friend around town and was pleasantly surprised to find this place! My boyfriend is familiar with the chain but it was my first time trying it. I had the Gianduja (it tasted like a Ferrero Roche chocolate) and the Earl Grey. I loved both, but the chocolate one was a bit too sweet for me.
My friend ordered the vegan pistachio and vegan salted caramel. Honestly, after tasting hers I felt like I was missing out. It was so, so, so, good. I’ve never had a salted caramel that was so rich and creamy — and it was vegan to boot! The pistachio was so flavorful. All four flavors honestly punched me in the face with their deliciousness.
For a small, it’s definitely worth the price. The servings are generous, the environment is clean and quiet, and they have a corner where I could refill my water bottle. I’ll definitely be back this summer, I can’t wait to get a whole scoop of that salted caramel all to myself!

I tried 3 flavors today (samples): vegan banana, vegan dark chocolate, and vegan coffee. All of them were really good but my favorite was the coffee and dark chocolate. I was pleasantly surprised when they gave me the samples in actual spoons (Only in NYC?)
I got a scoop (small ice cream for $ 5.05) of the dark chocolate and it was huge. I tried to convince myself that I would only eat half of it but nope. I ended up eating all of it because it was too good. Plus… I paid $ 6 for it.
I was charged $ 0.46 extra for getting a vegan flavor.
Beautiful shop, plenty of seats, and great for people watching. No minimum on credit/​debit cards.

The latest location of the rapidly expanding Van Leeuwen has the same great stuff as the other locations, plus several new interesting special flavors.
One of the new regular offerings, Cookies & Cream, was actually quite disappointing. It was closer to a shaved chocolate chip flavor, with smallish flecks and pieces of chocolate rather than good solid pieces of cookie.
One of the new special offerings, Milk Chocolate with Salted Almond, was incredible on the other hand. Really smooth with crunchy pieces of almonds, it’s a great choice as a more interesting introduction to the deliciously creamy flavors here.
I also tried the Gianduja, which has a really strong chocolatey flavor, and is also excellent. One other misfire for me was another one of the new flavors, Curried Nut with Caramel Swirl. I’m all for the crazy Sriracha and spicy chili-​based flavors every now and then, but this one was unpleasantly hot ($ 7.50 for a cone with 3 flavors).
They also have a number of sundaes at this location, as well as the excellent and surprisingly vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies from Ovenly. This is a good competitor for when the line’s too long at Big Gay Ice Cream a block or so away. I will be definitely be back to try more of the new flavors. Hopefully they will also start carrying Doughnut Plant doughnuts like the East Village location.