Whether you prefer rocky road, Thai-style rolled ice cream, fruity gelato, a thick ice-cream sandwich or a gooey soft-serve cone, nothing says “summer in Ottawa” quite like ice cream, gelato or sorbet—am I right?
Everyone has their favourites, and debates about the relative temperature, taste and texture of your preferred purveyor of dairy (or non-dairy) delights can rage far into the night. But who has time to argue when there’s ice cream to eat and summer is short?
Here are some of my own fave places for ice cream in Ottawa, Chelsea, Morrisburg and elsewhere, as well as a number of spots that have been suggested by readers that I haven’t quite gotten to yet. Hey, my waistline can only take so many treats!
Did I miss your favourite dairy bar or ice cream stand in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais or even points beyond? Send me an email or leave me a comment to let me know. I’m going to keep expanding and updating this list.
Cover photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash.
Ice cream shops in Ottawa
Moo Shu Ice Cream and Kitchen
Moo Shu Ice Cream and Kitchen (477 Bank Street) is the brainchild of Liz Mok, who spent her childhood in Hong Kong and Vancouver before settling down in Ottawa. Her flavours of vegan and non-vegan ice cream are often inspired by Asian cuisines and rotate regularly; depending on the day, the shop might be scooping up lime leaf and fresh mint, sea salt and sea buckthorn, or vegan dalgona and coffee. Ice cream sandwiches, bars and pies are also available.
As well as ice cream, you can buy savoury items such as dumplings (vegan and non-vegan), chili-miso okasu (a spicy condiment) and more.
Finally, here are two other great things about Moo Shu: It’s a certified Living Wage employer, which means employees earn, well, a living wage—which is more than many food businesses provide, sadly. That means the prices are a little higher than you might see elsewhere. To compensate, the shop offers basic commercial cones (cheaper than waffle cones) and runs a “suspended scoop” program; if your budget allows, you can pay for an extra cone when you buy yours, so that a future customer on a tighter budget can have a cone for free.
The Beachconers
The Beachconers (273 Britannia Road) is a super stop if you’re cycling the recreational trail along the Ottawa River, hanging out in nearby Britannia Park or doing some birding at adjacent Mud Lake. Intriguing flavours on any given day might include peach cardamom, bakery Xplosion, rhubarb crumble or root beer ice cream, and vegan ice creams are available.
Carp Custom Creamery
Heading to Carp to learn about the Cold War at the Diefenbunker? You can enjoy “cold” of a different sort at the Carp Custom Creamery (3763 Carp Road), where the loaded butter-tart ice cream is TO DIE FOR. Seriously, it’s creamy, packed with chewy bits and just the right level of sweet for my tastes. (As at pretty much any small-batch ice cream shop, flavours rotate regularly, so it’s not always available.) You can get cones, pints and ice cream cakes, and vegan ice creams and sorbets are sold, too.
A few more Ottawa ice cream shops to check out
- Rolld Up Dessert Lounge is a relative newcomer to the Ottawa ice cream scene, having opened its first permanent location at Lansdowne Park (900 Exhibition Way) in 2022. It specializes in rolled ice cream, a frozen dessert that originated in Thailand. So what is rolled ice cream? Also called stir-fried ice cream, it’s made with the usual ice cream ingredients, stirred on a chiller pan until it partially solidifies, then rolled into little tubes like jelly rolls, which are served standing up in a cup, topped with anything from two-bite brownies to Ferrero Rocher chocolates.
- The Merry Dairy (102 Fairmont Avenue) does so much cool stuff that it’s hard to keep track. They deliver their pints of products to addresses throughout Ottawa, from spring through fall. They have an ice cream truck that shows up at all kinds of events. They have gluten-free and vegan ice creams. And they also have a little shop in Hintonburg where you can buy cones, ice cream cakes, ice cream sandwiches and merch.
- Reader Meltem Gunesli recommended Mantovani 1946 in the ByWard Market (87 Murray Street), where you can enjoy gelato and Neapolitan-style coffee.
- Reader Rosemary Walsh gives thumbs up to both the gelato and the half-metre pizzas (there’s also a metre-long version!) at Farinella (806 March Road and 492 Rochester Street). Gelato flavours available on any given day change regularly, but there’s a wide range of vegan and non-vegan options. Flavours range from the traditional (strawberry, cookies-and-cream) to the inventive (ricotta hot honey, mojito, peach ginger beer).
- Kanata’s Brett’s Ice Cream (1001 Beaverbrook Road) is a fave with reader Alicia Vance. As well as the usual cones in all sorts of favours, Brett’s serves dipped cones, sundaes, shakes and slushies. They’ll blend candy into your ice cream, too, if you’re so inclined. There’s also an extensive menu of coffees and teas, meaning you can order an affogato (espresso poured over ice cream).
- Ten Toes Coffee Shop (837 Somerset Street West) isn’t an ice cream shop, but every Thursday morning, it is the exclusive distributor of Sadie Bean’s Ice Creams. These small-batch ice creams come in different wild flavours every week, and when they’re gone, they’re gone—so come early if you’re keen. (You can learn more about the company in this great Apt613 article.)
- Reader June Creelman is a fan of Haven’s Creamery in the Glebe (755 Bank Street), a small batch shop with two locations—this one and another in London, Ontario. The ice creams are handmade in small batches with no preservatives, in flavours such as baklava, London Fog and, intriguingly, “cereal milk” (the ice cream base is steeped in corn flakes so it tastes like, well, the milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl!). Sorbets and vegan treats are available, too.
- Holmespun Ice Cream (247 Westbrook Road, Stittsville) has choices for both traditionalists and adventurers. Along with stalwarts like chocolate and vanilla pints, ice cream cakes, and ice cream sandwiches, you might—on any given day—find ice cream cannoli, ice cream tacos, a 24-day ice cream Advent calendar, and seasonal flavours such as strawberry-rhubarb or pumpkin pie.
- Reader David Moore couldn’t believe I’d overlooked For God Shakes (204 Dalhousie Street) in my initial post—and now that I know about it, I can’t, either! This ByWard Market milkshake bar makes its shakes with everything from mango chunks to peanut butter, in a dizzying array of combinations. You can also get pancakes, brownies, cake slices and other sweet treats. Lactose-free, gluten-free and vegan choices are available.
Great ice cream in Eastern Ontario
Mount Molson Dairy Bar, Petawawa
Reader Terri Tomchyshyn gave a shoutout to the Mount Molson Dairy Bar (536 Laurentian Drive, Petawawa), which the mother-daughter team of Tanya and Zoe Nolan opened in 2021. You’ll find many flavours of Kawartha Dairy ice cream and a great view of a former ski hill.
“I highly recommend the ice cream flight—3 cups of ice cream—so you don’t have to choose one flavour,” wrote Terri. “Absolutely worth the stop if you are on the road in that area.”
Docksyde Ice Cream and Snack Bar, Morrisburg
The Docksyde (7 Canada Way, Morrisburg) isn’t fancy—it’s basically a small, seasonal snack bar in Morrisburg Waterfront Park where you order your ice cream, poutine and other snacks from keen young staffers at a window. What it does have is that real estate holy grail: location, location, location. Get your cone and hustle to a table or bench overlooking the St. Lawrence River to eat it before it melts. Summer heaven. P.S.: If you’re in the area, check out my tips on other things to see and do in Morrisburg and Iroquois.
Other Eastern Ontario ice cream shops to try
- Reader Dave McWaters recommended the Almonte Ice Cream Shop (27 Mill Street, Almonte), which serves up hard ice cream, dipped cones, floats, sorbets and lots more. If you’re heading that way, check out my big guide to Almonte.
- I really enjoy Slickers, which has two locations in Prince Edward County (232 Main Street, Picton, and 271 Main Street, Bloomfield). I love their apple-pie ice cream—can you tell I’m a fan of crumbled baked goods in my cones? Several readers have praised Slickers, too.
- Reader Fern Snyder wrote to point me to Scoops Ice Cream (111 Waba Road, Pakenham). “My husband thinks of excuses to go to Pakenham so he can get a real old-fashioned banana split at Scoops.”
- Cowan’s Dairy Cornwall (1195 Second Street West, Cornwall) gets a shoutout from reader Micheline Laviolette Brunet. Goodies there include cones, ice cream cakes, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, dipped cones, fudge and pizza.
- Micheline is also a fan of the Ole Sugar Barn Ice Cream Shop (3515 Angel Road, Apple Hill), where you can get your Kawartha Dairy fix.
- Reader Blanka Vallillee recommends the Pump House Creamery (2 King Street East, Gananoque): “Charming little shop on King St. E. right by the park.” It churns up fresh ice creams, gelatos and sorbets in flavours such as red currant, lemon curd and brown butter Speculaas, and also sells tarts, cupcakes and other baked goodies.
- Reader Jenny Mackay tipped her hat to White Mountain Homemade Ice Cream (176 Ontario Street, Kingston) and next-door Mio Gelato (178 Ontario Street, Kingston). “No trip home is complete without a stop.”
- In Vankleek Hill, you can get your Kawartha Dairy ice-cream fix (in a traditional or gluten-free cone) at the Broken Kettle Bakery and Barkery (54 Main Street East, Vankleek Hill). You can also pick up baked goods, coffee, cold drinks, smoothies, wraps and sandwiches. Here are some more tips on day tripping to Vankleek Hill.
- Reader Lisa Reid’s pick was Cowan’s Dairy Bar in Brockville (241 Park Street, Brockville). “Pick up your treat, drive down to Blockhouse Island and enjoy the river views!”
- Vanilla Beans Cafe & Creamery (34 Main Street, Westport) is another one of those ice cream spots with a primo location. Buy cones, scones and other treats, then walk across the street and down a short hill to a pretty gazebo overlooking Westport Harbour on Upper Rideau Lake.
- Reader Alicia Vance gives a hat tip to The Scoop (33 Main Street, Cobden), which serves up gelato and Kawartha Dairy ice cream.
- Several readers raved about Nonna’s Gelato in Café sur la Rive (253 Water Street, Plantagenet), where owner Nathalie Bercier-Gauthier whips up fresh gelato treats—often incorporating locally grown fruit—with a machine imported from Italy. (You can eat it on a pretty deck overlooking the Nation River.)
Where to go for ice cream in the Outaouais
La Cigale, Chelsea
The summer lineup may be long at La Cigale (14, chemin Scott, Chelsea), an ice cream shop opposite the entrance to the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre in Chelsea. Bring a book, bring a friend, play Plants vs. Zombies on your phone—do whatever you have to do to amuse yourself while you stand in line, because the wait will be worth it.
The fabulous ice cream sandwiches, wedged between two chewy bakery cookies, are my faves, but they’re HUGE. You might want to split one between two people. Or, you might not.
The shop caters to those with allergies and other dietary restrictions with a range of products, including a nut-free ice cream sandwich, vegan ice creams, gluten-free ice creams and cones, and egg-free ice creams and sorbets. You can also order ice cream cakes, ice cream tarts and fruit pies. And if you’re planning on some outdoor fun nearby, check out my beginner’s guide to Gatineau Park.
P.S.: La Cigale has a second location in Farrellton (1451 Route 105).
Other Outaouais ice cream shops
- Frissons & Bonbons (455, boulevard Riel, Hull) serves gelatos and other treats, often incorporating Belgian chocolate.
- Wakefield MaBoule (761, chemin Riverside, Wakefield) on the village’s boardwalk offers gelato, ice cream, dipped cones and hot fudge sundaes, among other treats.
As I said at the top, I know this is only the tip of the ice cream iceberg! Send me your tips and ideas and I’ll do my best to add them. And if you like snacking on the road, don’t miss my list of five Eastern Ontario coffee shops you must visit.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.