Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop

    4.4 (123 reviews)
    Closed 3:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop Photos

    Business Info

    You might also consider

    More like Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop

    Recommended Reviews - Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Black raspberry kid cone
    Anna L.

    Good spot after dinner! It was pretty busy when I went, and it's an outdoor place. There's seating outside, but it was packed all around. They are a cash only place! The kid cone was the perfect size for me as I just wanted something small.

    Black raspberry, orange, and vanilla soft serve

    I don't usually get generic ice cream flavors, but the vanilla soft serve was amazing! My order came out quickly too. Please note that they only accept cash.

    Cassie C.

    Sweet Melissa's has been scooping up deliciousness since '09 and somehow I'm just now discovering it! As soon as I saw non-traditional flavors like Brown Sugar & Sour Cream and Irish Cream I knew I'd come to the perfect spot. If ice cream isn't your sweet treat of choice, they've got freshly baked cookies too! Profits benefit local college students!

    2 scoops vegan toasted coconut and vegan gluten-free blonde cookies & cream ice cream
    J B.

    Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Ithaca, NY We tried their Vegan ice cream based on the recommendation of someone we trusted. We got 2 scoops vegan toasted coconut and vegan gluten-free blonde cookies & cream ice cream. At this time they are "cash only." Both of their Vegan ice creams are coconut milk based and didn't have much flavor. The toasted coconut had more than the blonde cookies and cream. They also had a somewhat rubbery texture, more like melted mozzarella cheese than what one would anticipate from ice cream. It's outdoor seating only. There's no street visible signage to indicate this business, yet despite that there is a constant line of customers, most likely for their dairy based ice creams and other threats. For us as Vegans, I would not go back except to sometime in the future to give them a second chance. It just wasn't that good.

    Vanilla soft serve (small cone; sprinkles on the side), blueberry w/ Oreos hard ice cream (one scoop)
    Katie-Ann F.

    Cute corner shop with amazing soft serve and hard ice cream! I absolutely love this place and went 3 times in the past 6 days. They have so many flavors and limited seasonal ones too! The staff are super friendly and service is very fast as well. My favorite is the classic Vanilla Soft Serve. It the smoothest soft serve I've ever had in my life and extremely creamy and not overly sweet. I've also tried their hard flavors (a lot of these ones are seasonal): Peppermint chocolate chip, Blueberry with Oreos, and Hannah's House (cherry chocolate chip). The peppermint had pronounced mint flavor but not as creamy. On the other hand, the Blueberry w/ oreos was verrrry smooth with a strong blueberry flavor. I kinda wish there was more balance between the blueberry and Oreos, but overall still amazing. The cherry chocolate chip was also very smooth and creamy. The cherry flavor was not overpowering/super artificial but would like many more chocolate chips to balance out the sweetness and to give a textural component. All in all, hands down the best ice cream in Ithaca and definitely recommend stopping by before the season closes (end of Sept.)!!

    Marissa B.

    A must visit for us anytime we are in Ithaca. Cash only and always has a line but this is a testament to how wonderful their product is. The best soft serve around. The flavors are on point. The texture is light. They load on the toppings. My fiancé got the homemade lemon ricotta (not pictured in review) and said it was the best ice cream he has ever had.

    Lina L.

    Sweet Melissa's is an ice cream staple in Ithaca! Arguably the best ice cream in the whole area. Their berry twist is a MUST TRY. Highly highly recommend :)

    Berry twist and orange ice cream twist
    Allison C.

    Sweet Melissa's will always be a summer staple in Ithaca! Their signature berry twist is a unique fruity soft serve twisted with sorbet. The orange creamsicle twist is also excellent and so nostalgic. They also offer limited specials every week. I wish this place was open all year round!

    small cone with vanilla at the bottom and two berry twist on top
    Dawn K.

    i love how you can customize your cone to have various flavors! the staff are very accomodating to these customizations!

    Aislinn H.

    Ice cream was good but...I was given a mostly melted chocolate cone. Dripping everywhere and soaked through the cone. When I said something they gave me a hard time saying it's hot out(it's only 78 degrees) huffed and offered me a new cone after I repeatedly denied a dish to place it in instead of the cone I ordered and said that it was clear the machine hadn't been purged. I was then given twist on a cone at which point I just ate it. won't be back. Also absolutely overrun with bees in the seating area

    Ice cream cone!
    Jiayi L.

    We went on vacation to upstate New York and were recommended this ice cream shop! Seems like a cute local spot with good flavors! I got a swirl with the cherry coating and it was yummy!! Would def go again!

    two cups of ice cream and sprinkles

    See all

    26 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    19 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of J B.
    2
    133
    1577

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Best soft serve I've ever had! The flavor combos are amazing and the service is quick! They only take cash so come prepared.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Cash only but saw it was delicious so we got some cash and came here. It was good! Definitely worth it. Perfect for our last night in town.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Eric D.
    126
    1063
    1788

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0
    Photo of I P.
    3
    204
    305

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lily M.
    6
    37
    55

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jeff E.
    23
    133
    24

    3 years ago

    Quickly moving line produced two scoops of great ice cream. The portions where generous and flavors were really diverse.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Andy B.
    371
    482
    4535

    7 years ago

    Helpful 11
    Thanks 0
    Love this 11
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Great ice cream, possibly Ithaca's best. Worth the line on any given night. It does not disappoint.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kay Y.
    0
    18
    21

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Smooth and relishing ice cream! Must visit when in Ithaca. Close to Ithaca commons, easy parking. Cash only!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt 662 times last month within 10 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    15 Below Ice Cream

    15 Below Ice Cream

    3.3
    (28 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $

    I was excited to try rolled ice cream for the first time but even for not having it before, this…read morerolled ice cream was subpar. Sure the fruit was good and thrown on top, but the icecream barely tasted like green tea and melted pretty fast and they place a full stale Oreo on top like an afterthought. Pretty pricey for what you get. Service was okay at best, you just say what you want, pay then leave. I'm not sure I'll be returning here since there are ton others nearby but I wanted to give this a try since I walked past it everyday.

    I haven't written a review in a long time. After what I experienced at this restaurant a few hours…read moreago, I dug through my old passwords and revived this Yelp account because of how shocking my experience was. Food: The ice cream isn't that great. It's overly sweet and the flavors are fairly monotone. Service: Despite paying for my ice cream, I felt like the server taking my order was doing me a favor. The server glared at me when I walked in. After I got my ice cream, I asked for an extra spoon as I wanted to share it with a friend. The server refused to give me another spoon, despite having already paid $6.25 for a somewhat small cup of ice cream. I offered to pay for the extra spoon and was met with another glare and a strong "NO". Have you ever been to a ice cream shop that refused to give you an extra plastic spoon?

    Photos
    Well, hello there!
    Well, hello there!
    #7 matcha made heaven
    #7 matcha made heaven
    #5: YUM! It's actually a lot of ice cream and they added real fruit on top which is a plus. I think it's worth the price.

    See all

    #5: YUM! It's actually a lot of ice cream and they added real fruit on top which is a plus. I think it's worth the price.

    Sweet Melissa's Ice Cream Shop - icecream - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...