Is there anything more delicious than sweet, cold, ice cream on a hot, summer day? While the temperatures in Niagara may stay more temperate and bearable than they do in other parts of North America, the height of summer is still an ideal time to fix your sights and taste buds on an ice cream parlor so you and everyone with you can settle in and relax with a delicious ice cream cone.
Get your ice cream fix this summer when you vacation in Niagara at one of these three excellent ice cream shops.
1. Cool Licks Ice Cream Parlour
Located in Welland, Cool Licks Ice Cream Parlour makes homemade ice cream and sauces for an ice cream experience that never disappoints. Both scooped ice cream and soft serve are available, and locals routinely rave about their sundaes. Unique flavors are common, such as Key Lime Pie, Grape, Strawberry Rhubarb, and Lemon Meringue. In addition, they specialize in ice cream cakes and offer gluten-free cones.
2. Avondale Dairy Bar
Many people would claim that a trip to Niagara is incomplete without a stop at Avondale Dairy Bar, and after you taste their ice cream, you might well agree. The Dairy Bar has been open and serving ice cream to locals and visitors for almost 60 years, and the place hasn’t changed that much in that time either. It maintains an old, 1950s feel that’s instantly nostalgic and charming. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., if your ice cream hankering comes late, they can likely still assist you with satisfying it.
All their ice cream is made fresh each day on-site in small, hand-crafted batches. They boast numerous flavors, as well as a daily sundae bar menu, 10 different types of banana splits, as many as 30 different milk shake flavors, and real ice cream sodas. Try their Graham Cracker Crunch and Cake Batter ice creams, and if the weather is fair, be sure to sit outside and enjoy the bucolic scenery — the Avondale Dairy Bar backs up to a working dairy farm.
3. Italian Ice Cream
A family business that has been in operation since 1978, Italian Ice Cream has a lot more to offer than just ice cream, including sandwiches, fat-free fruit ices, espresso, cakes, and so much more, but it’s their authentic gelato that makes visiting their store so special and a must. They offer 24 flavors of gelato at any given time, but over the years, they have made around 100 different flavors, and everything they make is of superior quality. They have water-based gelato — should anyone in your party be lactose intolerant — as well as milk-based gelato. They also make a host of gelato-centered desserts such as gelato cakes, ice cream crepes, tartufo, and cassata, a Neapolitan ice cream that contains fruit and nuts. For an authentic Italian dessert in the heart of Niagara, Italian Ice Cream is better than superb.