Gone are the days when discerning dessert lovers turned their noses up at soft serve ice cream. We couldn’t be happier, because we know the cool treat takes down the temperature like nothing else. Less dense than regular ice cream because of how it’s frozen, soft serve is silky and smooth. Whether you’re craving flavors straight from childhood or something new, these Boston-area soft serve purveyors won’t let you down.
Just like they do for their hard ice cream, Honeycomb Creamery makes soft serve from scratch using high-butterfat Jersey cow milk sourced from a local farm. Two rotating flavors such as Coffee, Caramel, Strawberry, or Ginger are always available—naturally, you can combine them into a twist. Try it on top of a homemade Liege Waffle or in a vanilla-scented waffle bowl.
Soft serve in New England seems like a classic American treat, but Far Out reminds us that silky swirls of ice cream are universal. Specialists in New Zealand-style real fruit ice cream, Far Out’s flavors blend the likes of banana, berries, mango, pineapple, and other options with a dairy or non-dairy ice cream base. The colorful, creamy cups and waffle cones are full of flavor as-is, but the Brookline shop also offers toppings such as chocolate sauce, toasted coconut flakes, and honeycomb for extra pizzazz.
All locations of Blackbird Doughnuts locations serve Ice Cream Doughnut Sandwiches, which pack a puck of chocolate or vanilla soft serve between a doughnut of your choice (Chocolate Old Fashioned is great for this). If you’re craving the uncut stuff, visit the original South End location or the Harvard Square outpost, which both offer a seasonal selection of Chocolate, Vanilla, or a soft serve Twist with or without any doughnuts.
The sandwich shop next door to Somerville’s Vinal Bakery deals in delicious nostalgia, from classic candy bars to the Vinal Spuckie (that’s old Boston for an Italian cold cut sandwich). So of course Vinal General is serving up soft serve. It starts with a rich, creamy ice cream base from local dairy Hood and flavor inspiration: Roating, seasonal options have included Black Raspberry, Butterscotch, Hot Chocolate, Key Lime Pie, and more. Vinal offers rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, as well as soft serve floats using an old-school soda like Moxie.
One of the best offerings at the Boston outpost of this Maine-born oyster bar doesn’t come from the sea, but rather from an ice cream machine. Eventide Fenway always serves one signature sundae: Brown Butter Soft Serve with bourbon caramel and maple candied pecans. Check the menu and you might also find a rotating seasonal flavor, like Ginger Ale or Pumpkin Spice.
A drive to Weston is worth it to experience Dairy Joy, a frozen-in-time roadside snack stand selling burgers, fried seafood, and soft serve ice cream. The menu has flavors from your childhood recollections, plus Javaberry, a house-favorite Coffee and Raspberry twist. Perhaps surprisingly, Dairy Joy also features a strong selection of dairy-free soft serve flavors, such as Strawberry Lemonade and Salted Caramel.
Central Square restaurant Pagu is the unique realization of chef-owner Tracy Chang’s influences and experiences, from Spanish tapas to ramen to French-trained baking—so you can imagine this version of soft serve isn’t your typical twist. The seasonal dessert menu-mainstay Matcha is bright green and earthy with just enough sweetness, with or without a swirl of Maple, served in a cup and flecked with crunchy cacao nibs.
The house-made soft serve at Back Bay restaurant Buttermilk & Bourbon always surprises and delights. (It’s also available at the Watertown outpost.) From Coffee to Marshmallow-Oreo and even Cherry Cheesecake, rotating flavors of Soft Serve of the Day pack the punch we’ve come to expect from celebrity chef-owner Jason Santos. We love this ice cream in a fresh-baked salted pretzel cone—but Soft Serve Mimosas are a fun menu favorite for a reason, too.
Updated by Jacqueline Cain
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