Sometimes, we all need a little sweet treat. And what better way to beat the summer heat than indulging yourself in having some yummy and refreshing ice cream. Ranging from soft serve to shaved ice, here are the best ice cream spots in Western Queens to hit up this summer.

Ample Hills Creamery. Photo by Alice Moreno

Ample Hills is the spot for the most unique yet flavorful ice cream on the market. With 13 new flavors coming up this summer – including Mike’s Hot Honey flavor, Ube Ooey Gooey, Golden Hour;and Pistachio Squared, these flavors will make you go “Mmm.” Ample Hills also sells pints of ice cream, so if you’re a fan of any of the flavors, you can take them home to enjoy some more.

Ample Hills is located at 34-02 30th Ave. in Astoria. Other locations include two in Brooklyn and one in the Upper West Side.

Marvel Frozen Dairy. Photo by Alice Moreno

For over 71 years, Marvel Frozen Dairy has been the top spot for your traditional, soft-serve ice cream. It is family-owned and operated. If you’re craving vanilla, chocolate and even special flavors like pistachio, dulce de leche and coffee, you’ve come to the right place. Can’t consume dairy? You’re in luck, because they also serve non-fat frozen yogurt and vegan options for all to enjoy.

Marvel Frozen Dairy is located at 37-01 30th Ave. in Astoria. Other locations include Long Beach and Lido Beach on Long Island.

Since 1928, Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices has had one secret ingredient – to make guests happy. They sell a plethora of sweets, ranging from ice cream, sherbets, sundaes and their iconic water ices. With fun flavors such as Blue Hawaii, Berry Burst and even bubblegum, they have everything for everyone.

Ralph’s Famous Italia Ices is located at 30-02 30th St. in Astoria. They also have various locations throughout New York and New Jersey.

Adults – want some alcohol, but not exactly craving a drink? You’ve come to the right place. At Tipsy Scoop, they “blend the magic of an artisanal, hand-crafted ice cream with the mastery of a perfectly mixed cocktail,” according to their website. They have a variety of unique flavors, including Cookies and Cream Espresso Martini, Passion Fruit Mezcalita Sorbet and Pallini Limoncello Spritz Sorbet. If you’re interested in learning more about mixology and ice cream booze, they also host classes in their Manhattan and Brooklyn locations.

Tipsy Scoop is located at 38-15 23rd Ave. in Astoria. They also have locations in Midtown Manhattan and Williamsburg.

Uncle Louie G has over 70 flavors – and counting! A staple for quality Italian Ices and Cream Ice, according to their website, they constantly have new and unique flavors, offering any flavor your heart desires. Even their cones are out of this world, with their newest Mojoz Gummi Cones. Not into ice cream? They also serve iced coffee, ice cream cakes, sundaes and fun milkshakes to try.

Uncle Louie G is located at 29-22 Ditmars Blvd. in Astoria. They also have various locations throughout all five boroughs, Long Island and New Jersey.

Taku Parlor. Photo by Alice Moreno

Taku Parlor lies within Takumen, an Izakaya-style (in other words, similar to an Irish or Spanish pub) restaurant in LIC. It is conceived by “a group of Japanese friends who forged their bonds in New York,” according to their website. For a low price, guests can satisfy their taste buds with some iconic matcha soft serve ice cream, an ice cream float with melon soda or a purin a la mode sundae. They also have a variety of other desserts that can fulfill a sweet tooth, including purin (japanese custard pudding) and cream anmitsu (a traditional Japanese dessert with cubes of agar jelly combined with red bean paste and black sugar syrup). These mouth-watering desserts will have you saying, “yum!”

Taku Parlor is located at 5-50 50th Ave. in Long Island City.

Emack and Bolio’s. Photo by Alice Moreno

Emack and Bolio’s has served rock-and-rolling ice cream since 1975. The ice cream parlor started off in Boston as a place musicians could attend to mellow out after their performances, as a way to satisfy their craving. The founder, Bob Rook, has closely worked with bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Boston, The Cars, U2, James Brown and Al Green.

They have a variety of mouth-watering, special ice cream flavors – over 75 total! This includes Bananas Foster, Beantown Buzz and Cake Batter. Emack and Bolio’s also contains vegan, sorbet and frozen yogurt options if ice cream isn’t your thing. According to their website, “Emack’s and Bolio’s does not use milk from cows injected with the genetically induced hormone rbST.” Best part of all, they make new products every week, leaving guests to look
forward to more.

Emack and Bolio’s is located at 5-36 50th Ave. in Long Island City. They have various locations throughout New York City, Long Island and in other states.

Soft Swerve is for those with whimsy in their lives. The premium, handcrafted ice cream is made with the finest ingredients – the most important being love. Their ice cream flavors range from classics such as vanilla and chocolate (who can go wrong with the classics?) to unique flavors such as Thai tea, Ube Sticky Butter Cake and Vietnamese Coffee. They even have soft serve, ranging from Black Sesame to Ube to matcha. They also sell a wide variety of yummy milkshakes and floats, perfect for any sweets-loving person. They also sell pints of ice cream if you’re a fan; however, flavors vary by location.

Soft Swerve is located at 28-17 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City. They have various locations throughout Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The Screen Door just screams “nostalgia,” carrying a wide variety of flavors that’ll have you reminiscing of the olden days. According to their website, “The Screen Door aims to bring the classic treats that your parents bought you to our neighbors in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Sunnyside, Queens.” They sell a plethora of ice cream-related items, such as the Orange Freeze (soft serve vanilla ice cream blended with orange soda), the Classic Banana Split and Blueberry Cookie Crumble (Vanilla soft serve blended with cookie dough pieces and graham cracker). They even serve desserts for our furry friends, serving “pup cups,” filled with vanilla soft serve and a Milk-Bone dog treat.

The Screen Door is located at 48-19 Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside They also have another location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Elio’s Ice Cream. Photo by Alice Moreno

Elio’s Ice Cream has the yummiest homemade ice cream. Filled with fun flavors such as Chocolate Mora, Colombian Coffee, Cookie Monster and Fruity Pebbles, they have a wide variety of flavors for everyone to enjoy. They’re creative with their ice creams, mixing it with donuts (making it into a donut-ice cream sandwich) or brownies (making it into a brownie ice cream sandwich). Their most iconic ice cream-related piece is the sweet nachos, where you can create your own nacho plate made from crushed waffle cones and your choice of ice cream flavors.

Elio’s Ice Cream is located at 39-28 Queens Blvd. in Sunnyside and 33-17 36th Ave. in Astoria.