I really like this place. They have various unique ice cream flavours, and they have vegan options. I am not vegan, but I always end up ordering the vegan flavour, because it's always so good. I guess that says a lot when an steak lover chooses a vegan option. The only down side is that the employees are not knowledgeable a out their product. When I asked about a Paleo flavour they did not know what it was, and when I hinted about the diet, they agreed. However, they still were not sure what it is or if it has sugar. On the upside, I ordered the pumpkin flavour that was absolutely delicious and my scooped looked like a little cookie monster. read more

Van Leeuwen - My scoop looks like some sort of cookie monster. Pumpkin spice yum! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Great quality and selection of ice cream and toppings. Service was excellent. Highly recommended!

It was just your average ice cream, it was nice and chill and A good place to rest after a long walk. I got the mint chip ice cream and the chocolate chips were a little too big and I didn't like the kind of chocolate they used, other than that it was really good. read more

Amazing ice cream shop! They have such great flavors like Peanut Butter Marshmellow and Mint Rhubarb crumble among many others. But where they shine are the vast number of vegan flavors made with cashew milk and coconut cream. I had the Toasted Coconut Chocolate Brownie vegan ice cream and it was AMAZING! You would never know it was vegan if you tried it. Some of the other flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough have a bit of a less creamy, icy mouthfeel but luckily you can sample them to find your perfect scoop. I also love that they have Affogato on the menu, where they pour a shot of espresso over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. One of my faves. Can't wait to come back to try it and many of the other flavors! read more

Van Leeuwen - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Really good ice cream!! We tried the cookies & cream sundae (normally has coffee ice cream but they were out of it). It was a great size and really good. The prices are a bit high (we paid $10 for ours). We liked it so much we came back the next day with our daughter to have her try it (she has the biggest sweet tooth lol). My only knock is that its kinda dirty in there (floors, walls, & tables) need to be cleaned (or else it would of received 5 stars). read more

I went to the shop in Brooklyn and it's the coziest shop I've ever been in. The ice cream is amazing and the vegan options are delicious ! I had the choc chip cookie dough (vegan) and that was it, I am hooked!!! This has to be one of my favorite places to grab a quick cone and enjoy the sights of Brooklyn. read more

Van Leeuwen - This changed the whole ice cream game for me. I am in love with the Chop Chip Cookie Dough ice cream . - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I had the vegan ice cream cookie sandwich with cookies and cream caramel swirl ice cream! Haven't had a dessert this good since I became a vegan, especially one that includes ice cream! The cookies were super soft and the taste was perfect! The ice cream had a good taste and you could definitely taste the coconut milk but the cookie offset that nicely. A great dessert just if you're craving something sweet or after a dinner date! read more

Van Leeuwen - House-made Vegan Choc Chip Cookie ice cream sandwich with Cookies and Cream Caramel Swirl ice cream - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Planet earth is the best vegan ice cream I have ever had. They even wished me a happy Saturday! read more

Van Leeuwen - Vegan Planet Earth Ice Cream Special 14 oz. Pint - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I liked their honeycomb, very honey, super comb-y. Unfortunate that they're so expensive. I'm sure their coffee is just as good, but for a creamery, I can't justify coming back. For what it's worth, I really did like the texture of the ice cream; it's well made. read more

This place was awesome! Had plenty of vegan options (though I didn't try them purely because I'm a creature of habit and will always go for coffee flavored ice cream). Staff was super friendly and didn't wait very long to place my order and have it handed to me. I also enjoyed one of their fresh pressed juices, which is always a plus for me in any place that I go. They also have sundae options. From what they looked when other groups bought them, they definitely look and sound delicious. I see now that there are multiple locations throughout New York so this is definitely a place you should stop by if you want some good quality ice cream. read more

There's no way around it, Van Leeuwen ice cream is top notch. Amazingly creamy, with fabulous flavors like Ginger and Earl Grey. I don't know whether to be happy or pissed off that they opened a store near me. It's either going to test my self control, or put me in the gym for many more hours. The store itself is bright and welcoming, a perfect spot to indulge in dessert after a dinner at Manhattan Inn (right next door). It definitely looks like the store version of one of their pretty little trucks. I know that they are just opening, but I'm still going to offer a suggestion- please work on your coffee! While I haven't tasted the espresso, it is good to be able to boast a quality cup of the regular stuff. This tasted like Starbucks at its worst - burnt, acidic, and just plain unpleasant. read more

Just when you're not looking for it, it shows up!

Lactose intolerant and vegans beware! I'm lactose intolerant and I ordered 'The Vegan' sundae last night. The salted caramel ice cream in the sundae was soooo good. Like so good I couldn't believe it was vegan ice cream. And low and behold it wasn't and now I'm paying the price. I would give them a pass but the same thing happened to me two years ago at one of their trucks. And I've gotten it probably two times since then. So that's a 50% track record of fucking up. On the plus side the ice cream is very delicious. On the minus side you have a 50% chance of shitting your pants. read more

TOO expensive. but the mint chocolate chip ice cream beings me straight back to childhood. read more

INDULGENT PREFACE: Here's the thing: I like ice cream. I never think I'm an ice cream freak, and then, I freak out about ice cream. So... I'm willing to admit that I'm in some weird Twilight Zone of Pickiness about ice cream. That's one. Two is, I don't have a problem paying for a $3 or $5 cone or whatever people complain about. For some reason though, I get a little caught up in the price when I go to Van Leeuwen. It could be the hipsters. Sorry, culture matters, but... CULTURE matters... ACTUALLY RELEVANT BODY: The pistachio ice cream is GREAT. Although the following will sound obvious: the pistachio ice cream just tastes like someone took a pistachio, tapped it with a magic ice cream wand, and made it a creamy scoop of cold pistachio cream. So, pistachio: good. Amazing. Excellent. Worth it. The rest: normal. It's hard to have chocolate at Van Leeuwen when Baskin Robbins is across the street, and is cheaper, and is filled with properly stereotypical Eastern Europeans. (Comforting.) ADDITIONALLY, I detest the Bedford Avenue stop truck workers. They (read, he, the man in suspenders) always repeats what you say in a tone suggestive of, "I work in an ice cream truck. I wear a shirt with Mickey Mouse on it. I'm better than you. Ironically, and therefore obviously." ...well, that, and one time he swung his little gas canister to fill up the truck and splattered me with gas while I waited for the bus. ...Plus, the giddiness you get when you see an ice cream truck on a hot day, which is (legitimately) doubled when it offers adult-flavor ice cream and sophisticated typography isn't half as exciting when you know you can get the same thing a few blocks away in an at-least-partially-air-conditioned storefront, therefore halving the effort it takes to run home before the ice cream melts down your face and all you taste is sour milk + miscellaneous flavor du jour. Unless it's pistachio. IN SHORT: Get pistachio. From the storefront on Manhattan. Do not stray. read more

New location, same awesome ice cream flavors. The mint chocolate chip is definitely my go-to flavor. I used to hate mint-chip as kid, but that was the artificial green stuff. This one is mellow and refreshing, not too minty at all, and laced with thin chunks of delicious dark chocolate. The vegan banana nut is really good too, almost tastes like a banana cream pie. Earl grey is certainly a unique flavor being that not many ice cream shops make black tea flavors (it's always green tea). If you're into black tea, go for it. Pistachio is awesome. Tastes like a high quality gelato. I recently sampled the vegan sticky toffee and it wasn't too impressive. read more

This ice cream is absolutely superb!! I ordered one scoop of a special flavor of the day, Hazelnut Chocolate Rice Krispy ice cream on a cone and a pint of vegan ice cream with two flavors: Green Matcha Tea and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The vegan ice cream is made with cashew milk and was awesome. I couldn't believe how delicious it was and how much I enjoyed it. I brought it over to my friend's apartment who is vegan as a treat and it was a treat for me as well. I may just start ordering it for myself now as a matter of fact! The Green Matcha Tea was so flavorful and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough was one of the best I ever had. The ice cream was so creamy you would never have known that it wasn't "real" ice cream. Although the prices are not cheap, the ice cream here at Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream is worth every penny. There are only a few tables but the environment is sleek, clean, and modern. You can't see the ice cream because it is behind the counter but the list of ice cream is on a chalkboard to the right of the cash register and espresso machines. I have a feeling that there isn't any flavor that wouldn't be superb. read more

Van Leeuwen - Hazelnut Chocolate Rice Krispy Ice Cream - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This place had a long line, but it moved quick, which was much appreciated on a super hot Sunday afternoon. My husband and I shared a double scoop cone of honeycomb and passion fruit layer cake, both of which were delicious! We actually liked this place way more than Morgenstern's (which seems too hyped up.) read more

Van Leeuwen - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

They only offer a few flavors as compared to a lot of places, but all the flavors I did try are pretty amazing. Pistachio is my favourite, followed by Earl Grey. Plus, they appear to be open pretty late, or at least they were still open when we stumbled out of The Manhattan Inn next door, and that was a very good thing. read more

The service is slow, the ice cream is rich, and you will be broke if you make a habit out of snacking here. It's very good, but $5 for one baby scoop? My favorite is the pistachio, it's got a more subtle flavor than most other places and a super dense, creamy consistency. The place is tiny and the servers are too busy brooding to be quick or friendly, but everyone knows "artisan" is Dutch for "pretentious" read more

One Word "Amazing" I love Van Leeuwen from the moment I met their truck in Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, 5 years ago. Today this little Ice cream truck that could has grown to 3 locations in Brooklyn 2 in NYC and 3 in LA to keep the herds coming for more sinfully delicious ice cream with a great selection for all. The non-vegan and Vegan Ice creams scream love from the 1st lick. My 2 favorites are pistachio and Cookies & Creams. read more

Van Leeuwen - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Every time I'm in Williamsburg I make it a point to stop here. They always have interesting flavors as a special. So far I've tried the fluffernutter, vegan boysenberry (delicious even for a big meat eater! Haha) and last night I had the pleasure of getting the red currant cornbread flavor in a homemade waffle cone! YUMMERS!! Two thumbs up, or I mean 5 stars all the way. P.S. you can try however many flavors you want and the staff is always super friendly! read more

Great coffee selections and even better ice cream. We got 2 scoops of the Earl Grey ice cream and tried a few other flavors. The tea flavor is spot on with lots of bergamot. I wanted to know how they got the tea flavor so strong, but the person working there had no clue how they made their ice cream (bummer!). They also have nice sweets from other local shops. read more

Van Leeuwen - Earl grey ice cream - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Vegan chocolate ice cream, vegan chocolate sauce, vegan chocolate chips. Omg that sundae

So happy that Van Leeuwen opened a store only 2 subway stops from my apartment! I fell in love with this ice cream when I had it from the truck on St. Mark's a few months ago, and have been wanting more ever since. Yes, the prices are a bit ridic, but this is goooood stuff. I'm a fan of the coffee ice cream.. not overwhelmingly coffee-flavored, but not too sweet either. I had the hot fudge for the first time at the store the other night, and I'm sad to say that it wasn't that amazing. In fact, it kinda detracts from the deliciousness of the ice cream. Nonetheless, get thee to Van Leeuwen asap. You might even get to meet the man himself, a very friendly fellow indeed. read more

Always come here for a nice latte. Staff always very pleasant and nice. Recommended for people who just need a break to enjoy a simple pleasure. read more

This is my favorite ice cream in all of New York City! I've been here so many times I cannot even count. Their flavors are very simple but done with the best ingredients. You haven't had mint chocolate chip until you've had theirs! The sundaes are sublime. I always love trying whatever special flavors they have of the day. The red current, which always seems to sell out fast, is amazing. read more

Van Leeuwen - Curry pecan sundae - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Absolutely delicious. As someone who enjoys ice cream year round this is a great spot. I have a lot of dietary issues and seriously love ice cream so this is a Perfect solution for me. I also love that they don't except physical money. read more

Nom nom nom nom, drool ice cream earl grey...nom...dreaming palm sugar... This is why I only eat (and I make!) homemade ice cream. Creamy nom nom goodness. read more

This location is soo random and hard to find but once you find it you will seek for it every time you're nearby. The girl that works here is super helpful. She helped Paul H. and I decide what flavor to try after indulging in our favorite Earl Grey. She suggested that we try strawberry. Being a little stubborn, I wanted to try other flavors. After trying a few flavors, we settles on strawberry. She's pro. She knew I needed something fruity to balance out the creamy Earl Grey ice cream. The artwork is sweet and whimsical. I highly suggest coming here and giving their ice cream a try. It's rich and dense in texture but wonderfully light at the same time. Don't take my word for it. Come and give your tastebuds a ride. read more

Decor: 3.5/5 -Only 3 tables and a long table along the window -Cozy yet no restrooms like the East Village location Service: 4/5 -The lady was so friendly and suggested (as well as let us sample) the different types of ice cream flavors. Food: 4.5/5 -Earl Grey ice cream is just heavenly. I had high expectations for Earl Grey and it was met with every bite. -Strawberry ice cream is great you're craving for something sweet and fruity. -My eyes couldn't stop eyeing the cookies. Any who's tried the cookies, do you recommend it? read more

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We had four scoops: mint chip, caramel sea salt, strawberry and banana whatever. We loved the three kinds but sea salt was so salty you could barely eat it. The woman serving us was funny and friendly. read more

Honeycomb ice cream? Hell yes! Where has this been all my life. This was my second experience at this shop and even though it's smaller than their other location we were able to find an open booth to sit in. The ice cream is so smooth and rich but not overly sweet. The bits of honeycomb cookie are light and crispy and generously sized in each scoop. Perfect treat for a summer day! Their bottled coconut water was fresh, although a little steep ($5.50 for a bottle!). They do have free cold water and cups near the register though, so if you're not fancy about your water then the NYC tap will do just fine (apparently it's the best water on earth according to my husband). The staff is great and will let you try samples if your not sure which flavor you want. Because this is a smaller location they had not yet gotten the shipment of some of the less popular flavors so there was one I didn't get to try (forgot the exact name but it was a vegan one). It's all good though, they had plenty of my fav honeycomb. read more

It's a fun little place! Love the variety of flavors, and given the line out the door on a sunny day, I'm not the only one that thinks this ice cream shop is the perfect spot on a summer day. Maybe I'm spoiled, but while I love this spot, it's not my favorite ice cream shop in New York? They have cool flavors but nothing particularly wild, and I love the vibe, but it's a pretty expensive cup of ice cream for a chain. Will I be back? Yes. Will I always pick this spot when I have a choice? Not always. read more

Vegan Icecream never tasted better. Small mint chip scoop from this little shop was the perfect end to our saturday night. Yes we just had dinner but we ( more like i) really wanted something sweet ,yet nothing i'd feel TOO guilty about eating after a full meal. In comes the sign for Vegan ice-cream. I was sold. I've seen the Van Leeuwen Truck on Bedford many times but this is the first time ive actually tried the icecream. In my opinion it was totally worth the expensive price ($5.50) for a small scoop. Eeeeshhhh i know. Sometimes you gotta splurge on good quailty ice cream. Having so many vegan options is so nice, especially for those of us trying to avoid dairy. Even though i got the feeling from the guy that works there that we werent quite hipster enough for the likes of this establishment, i will be back to try many more flavors! Can't wait to try the Earl grey! YUM read more

I was a doubter. I am converted. While there are multiple locations that are roughly equivalent (and the aforementioned UES carrier) the original Manhattan Ave branch was my first experience with Van Leeuwen so I'm rating it here. After having Van Leeuwen at a few different locations across NYC, I couldn't really figure out the reason for the accolades and the fandom. I recently figured it out: It's the vegan, stupid. In this case, it's not that Van Leeuwen offers a vegan alternative that made for a place only vegans could love; having tried it though (for that reason) at The Sweet Shop NYC I realized that their vegan ice cream is somewhat surprisingly their best product. It is expensive. A vegan small (which is really a tiny double) bears the double pricetag of $5.75. Hipster tax included on top of sales tax? Start with the pistachio and then branch out from there. Van Leeuwen is admittedly still not my favorite frozen treat in the city but it's reliable and effortlessly accommodating for those challenged by lactose or afflicted with veganism. If you've written them off without trying the good stuff, give it one more chance. read more

I love samples and this place will let you try them all! The girl behind the counter said that it's their policy. If you're on a budget and there with a friend, ask for two scoops in two separate bowls because it's cheaper that way. Everyone was super nice and while we were there a customer's scoop fell and they replaced it immediately with a smile! read more

Van Leeuwen - Grateful for true banana flavor! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

It's that Earl Grey Tea ice cream - such a nice shade of lavender grey, that makes me believe in solidified animal excretions as... still ok... Top with hot fudge, and whipped cream. Pricey, small, excruciatingly artisanal! Yay! I'm a fan. read more

The first time I tried Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, I was hoping to really dislike it. You see, a while back my friend and I were thinking about opening up an ice cream truck and then along came Van Leuween. So for no good reason, he became our arch nemesis and we only had bad thoughts. But when push came to shove and we tried his ice cream, I had to admit the flavors were intense, the textures were right on, and the ice cream was delicious. I did discover that a farm upstate makes his ice cream so he loses points for culinary skills, but if he's turning out a good product, who really cares where it comes from, right? I mean, he's not competing on Top Chef (I guess it would have to be the new Just Desserts version even if he were). The second time I tried the ice cream from the truck was rather random. I discovered the truck in Soho all dressed up in Coach advertisements (isn't that just like Soho?) and offering free ice cream. I tried their Chocolate Cherry and it was the iciest cream I'd ever had. I may as well have been eating a snow cone. Not sure what went wrong there, but since it was free (and I enjoyed my first experience), I forgave it and decided to give the product a second chance. Even if I did throw away that freebie. So I was eager to taste the ice cream once again and this time there was no mystery as to where he would be since this store stays put on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. It seems to me that's a strange area to open the shop, but considering how crowded it was, what do I know? The tiny box of a shop offers the same flavors as on the truck (even the frilly yellow menu is the same), which are limited to just a few well-made options. And all the ingredients are listed as being natural and pure and simple. The coffee comes from the foothills of the Andes mountains, the pistachios comes from Mt. Etna, and the vanilla is a rare breed from Papa New Guinea. It's all very hoity-toity and a little too serious for my tastes. But speaking of taste, how was the ice cream? I started with a sample of their newest flavor - Palm Sugar, which was similar to caramel but much sweeter (this is sugar ice cream after all). The Peppermint and Chip had that strong fresh mint flavor which I always appreciate. The Chocolate was very rich and I could tell the quality of the chocolate was very high (he uses Michel Cluizel - don't believe me, just check the board). But the texture was a little too dense and reminiscent of solid fudge rather than silky ice cream. The texture of the strawberry was a little off too. I found it a bit grainy and instead of discovering big chunks of strawberries, I found ice chunks. The two flavors I settled on for my cone were Earl Grey and Cinnamon. They just felt right coming from this company - fine ingredients and intense flavors. The Earl Grey was not as intense as I had hoped. It had a slight floral taste with a subtle hint of lemon. Both good flavor components of this type of tea, but I was missing the full-on tea taste. The cinnamon was more intense but seemed a little powdery. The spice definitely came through however and both these flavors had the creamy, silky texture I expect. But for all the intensity, as I continued licking, the flavors sort of faded away. And it soon became difficult to distinguish whether it was made with exotic fresh picked tea leaves or from Lipton's. That's a hyperbole, of course. Overall, the ice cream is pretty good and judging from the excited families present that night, it's a well-received product. But there's some inconsistency and I find certain flavors to work some times better than others. And while iciness should never be acceptable in ice cream, there are other flavors that have the perfect most pleasing creamy textures. -eatthisny read more

THAT LATTE THOUGH....the coffee here was fantastic, and the ice cream flavors (which we tried a bunch of) were very well made. I kind of wish they were around my office more often as I would probably hit them up during my lunch hour more often (but then again maybe it's better that they're not so easily accessible). If you like coffee or ice cream you definitely owe it to yourself to scope this place out. DO keep in mind though that this location is like a walk-in closet sized. read more