Best Ice Cream Places in Montreal

Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine

If you missed National Ice Cream day (third Sunday in July), don’t despair. Every day can be your dream cream holiday if you try these ice cream places in the city.

Kem CoBa

Kem Coba ice cream. Mile End. Photo Rachel Levine

Kem Coba ice cream. Mile End. Photo Rachel Levine

KemCoBa makes it to the top of most lists because it’s amazing. The lines to get in are worth the wait. Unusual flavours that reflect the international flair of Montreal make the daily choices always a surprise. Caribbean soursop, durian, masala chai, pandam, la dur, halavah, salted butter, rosewater. Yes, there is chocolate (72% — to die for), vanilla, and the other usual suspects. A small cup with two flavors is $3 and a small cone is $3.50.

60 Fairmount W

Kem Coba ice cream. Mile End. Photo Rachel Levine

Kem CoBa ice cream. Mile End. Photo Rachel Levine

 

La Diperie

 

La Diperie has quickly risen to top of the list when it comes to soft serve. A generous pyramid of vanilla is dunked into your choice of magic-shell-like, hard shell coverings (including chocolate mint, chocolate ginger, dark chocolate sea salt, white chocolate, and about 20 others), and then rolled in the coatings of your choice. The combination is mouth joy. They offer a few of their own concoctions that are super. The $1 for a mini, with $1 for the dip and $.50 for a coating provides a most satisfying summer walkaway.

68 Pins E; 5582 Monkland; 1481 ST Catherine E; and more. 

 

Crèmerie Pandan

Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine

Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine

Thai rolled ice cream seemed like more of a novelty when this was a pop-up shop on St. Jacques. Now with its own storefront, the lines are much shorter. The choices, however, remain inventive and unusual, with the server pouring out the base onto a cold plate and then rolling small cylinders of ice cream that are topped to create take-away cups that feel special. Base flavors vary, and include things like mango, orange blossom, ovaltine.

3504 Rue Notre Dame W.

Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine

Pandan Thai Ice Cream. St. Henri. Photo Rachel Levine

Ca Lem

CaLem Ice Cream. Black Ash and Banana Durian. Photo Rachel Levine. NDG.

CaLem Ice Cream. Black Ash and Banana Durian. Photo Rachel Levine. NDG.

Hoof it to NDG for this ice cream sensation. Ca Lem rotates its flavors weekly and its not-so-secret hit is charcoal black sesame. Everyone loves photographing it alongside purple taro. It’s pretty good with most other flavours, though personally, the Vietnamese tea is something to write home about. The soft serve (which I have yet to try) also looks intensely good.

6926 Sherbrooke West

CaLem Ice Cream. Black Ash and Banana Durian. Photo Rachel Levine. NDG.

Ca Lem Ice Cream. Black Ash and Banana Durian. Photo Rachel Levine. NDG.

Ripples

Ripples ice cream truck. Photo Rachel Levine

Ripples ice cream truck. Photo Rachel Levine

With so many unusual ice creams available in Montreal, its easy to forget the old standby of Ripples on St. Laurent. It’s 6X chocolate is perfect for cocoa cravings, but the highlights are kulfi and halavah. The lines are long when it gets hot, but it is well worth the wait.

3880 St. Laurent

Le Blueboy

 

For those who prefer the serve-it-yourself yogurt and ice cream soft serves, Le Blueboy has some flavor combinations that are worth mentioning. I’m fond of their mojito. Since churros seem to be a secondary specialty, the place also offers the churro sundae, which has a churro cone. The old-fashioned diner vibe also makes this a cool place to hang out.

150 Mt. Royal E.

Wild Willy’s

Wild Willy's. West Island. Photo Melissa Martella.

Wild Willy’s. West Island. Photo Melissa Martella.

A journey to the West Island is required for Wild Willy’s. Tiger tail (orange and liquorice), elephantastic (chocolate and peanut butter), beer stout, and even ice cream for dogs. Lines are long.

20 Cartier, Pointe-Claire

Meu Meu

I think my first favourite of the ice cream parlors in Montreal was Meu Meu, with its all-natural ice cream. Don’t be fooled by the kind of sameness of all the colors. The flavors are bursting in each scoop and feature subtle combinations like lavender and honey or pumpkin spice.

4458 St Denis

Les Givrés

Bagel ice cream? Bacon and maple ice cream? Indian corn? Yup, this is where you can try some of the most unique flavors in the city. Again, lines are long. People know this place is special.

2730 Rue Masson

 

About Rachel Levine

Rachel Levine is the big cheese around here. Contact: Website | More Posts