Best Ice Cream Shops in Austin
Austin, Texas — updated August 22, 2026
Five Austin ice cream and gelato counters, ranked by how convincing their ratings are, from a 4.9 with nearly a thousand reviews in the southwest to a South Congress institution with more than 1,600.
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Austin's ice cream scene splits roughly into two camps: Italian-style gelato makers clustered on the south and northwest sides, and scoop shops that have been part of the city's routine for decades. The list below is ordered by how settled each reputation looks, weighing rating against the number of people who left one. A 4.9 backed by hundreds of reviews carries more weight here than a perfect score from a few dozen.
1. Manolis Ice Cream, Pops, Sorbet & More
The strongest combination of score and evidence on this list: 4.9 across 973 reviews, which is a hard number to hold at that level. The shop sits at 8907 Circle Dr in far southwest Austin, out past the main run of Oak Hill traffic, so it functions as a destination rather than a walk-by. The name covers the range, with pops and sorbet alongside the standard scoops, which makes it a workable stop for a group that does not all want dairy. More at manolisusa.com.
2. Dolce Neve Gelato
Gelato specifically, not ice cream, and the volume behind the rating is what earns the placement: 4.7 from 1,114 reviews. The South First Street address, 1713 S 1st St, puts it in one of the busier evening stretches south of the river, so expect company after dinner on weekends. A 4.7 at that review count is a proven number rather than a promising one, meaning the shop has stayed consistent through years of walk-in traffic rather than riding a good opening month.
3. Gelatoro - Italian Ice Cream
A 4.9 rating from 422 reviews, which is enough of a sample to take seriously without being on the scale of Dolce Neve or Manolis. It is the best-rated gelato option in northwest Austin, at 10300 Anderson Mill Rd Unit B, well away from the south-side clusters that dominate most Austin dessert lists. Worth knowing if you are in the Anderson Mill area and do not want to drive across town for gelato. The site is gelatoro.com.
4. Amy's Ice Creams
The most-reviewed shop here by a wide margin, with 1,621 reviews behind a 4.5. That is a lower score than the gelato shops above it, but it is also the number that has absorbed the most scrutiny, and 4.5 across that many visits is a steady result. The South Congress location at 1301 S Congress Ave sits in the middle of one of Austin's heaviest pedestrian stretches, which means lines on weekend evenings and a crowd that skews toward visitors. Go on a weekday afternoon if you would rather not wait.
5. Merry Monarch Creamery
The highest rating on the list, 4.9, but from only 91 reviews, so treat it as promising rather than settled. That is a fraction of the sample behind Manolis at the same score. The Burnet Road address, 5000 Burnet Rd, puts it in reach of the Brentwood and Allandale neighborhoods, an area with fewer dedicated ice cream counters than South Austin. Reasonable to try if you are already on that stretch of Burnet, with the caveat that the record is still short.
What we left off
Three places in the earlier version of this guide were not ice cream shops: a craft brewery on Promontory Point Drive, a coffee shop on Holly Street, and a nutrition storefront on South Lamar. All may be worth a visit on their own terms, but none of them answer the question this guide asks.