Top Five Ice Cream Experiences
Cool off on a hot summer day with the perfect ice cream treat.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream—especially in Florida where the summer lasts a looooong time. Fear not! In St. Augustine ice cream is both a sport and a delicacy. You could probably spend your entire vacation sampling different kinds and flavors of ice cream. If you do, I don't judge. In fact, I'll probably run into you along the way as ice cream is my must-have during three of Florida's seasons. Without further ado, I present the top five ice cream experiences in St. Augustine as of the summer of 2024.
Must-Taste Ice Cream Treats
1. Cafe del Hidalgo
When you're with a group of friends or family members who all like different things, Cafe del Hidalgo is the place to go. Located on historic St. George Street, it's the perfect group pit stop as your crew can choose between an assortment of Italian gelato, ice cream, and sorbet flavors. Plus it's open daily at 10:00 a.m. and it doesn't close until at least 10:00 p.m., so fussy folks can have a plethora of cold treats after breakfast, after lunch, as a late afternoon snack, or after dinner. If your group doesn't find smiles (and cooler temperatures here) then there's no tooth fairy or holiday elves. Seriously, it's that much of a happy place. (And if you're like me and you can't make up your mind, no worries as you can try a bit of everything—especially since gelato and sorbet have fewer calories than ice cream!)
At the corner of Hypolita and St. George Streets in Historic Downtown, (904) 823-1196
2. Cookiebird Ice Cream Bar
Until 2024, if you had a hankering for soft serve gourmet ice cream, there was no place in town to take care of that itch. Now, I'm afraid to tell you about Cookiebird as part of me wants to keep it to myself! Not only does the Uptown shop carry premium soft serve, they also have flavored waffle cones—and toppings! I love to stop in and chat with the owners, who live a couple of blocks from the shop, and to admire the cones that come in orange creamsicle, birthday cake, French vanilla, dark chocolate, matcha, and lavender flavors. My favorite treat is a lavender cone filled with chocolate soft serve with chocolate sprinkles (or jimmies as we call them in Philadelphia). Dreams do come true!
138 San Marco Ave. in Uptown, (904) 815-3399
3. Cousteau's Waffle and Milkshake Bar
When I was exploring St. Augustine in the spring of 2015 as a possible place to live, I happened upon Cousteau's Waffe and Milkshake Bar in historic downtown. I had never seen an ice cream shop concentrate on these two delicacies and thought I had entered an alternate reality. Once I saw, and tasted both, I knew I would soon have a St. Augustine zip code as there's no other place like it in the world—except the second location that's now available to enjoy near St. Augustine Beach! Because I can never decide whether to get waffles or a milkshake, I usually take my boyfriend along, so there's someone with me to help me eat both. Be sure to check out the merchandise when you visit as they carry some really fun souvenirs too! Oh and my favorite milkshake is the Be Still Cody—chocolate with a shot of espresso, mocha sauce and espresso whipped cream. (It makes the perfect breakfast!)
Downtown: By the corner of Hypolita and Charlotte Street, (904) 342-5627
Beach: 3920 A1A South, Ste. 1, (904) 749-7344
4. Mayday Ice Cream
The folks at Hyppo could have stopped at gourmet ice pops—nooooo...they had to move on to ice cream to temp us with sinful snacks in an even bigger, bolder way. And I applaud them for that! Hyppo folks, thank you so much for bringing us Mayday Ice Cream where every flavor is handcrafted as are the homemade, rainbow sprinkles as well as the waffle cones and cookies. If you're a regular, you can get a punch card which gives you a free scoop after buying your tenth one. If they had a wall of fame for "number of free scoops won," my mug shot would definitely be on it! The fancy flavors change with the seasons, but the classic ones are available all year long with my favorites being coffee and donuts, parent trap, and queen salted caramel. Rarely does a pit stop to Mayday go without a photograph as the ice cream, and the venues, are all so cute—the merch is too which makes for some great souvenirs. Even better ... the Mayday folks can mail the ice cream to your house—no, I am not kidding as I would never kid about something as serious as ice cream!
Downtown: 100 St. George Street, (main entrace on Hypolita Street), (904) 217-0517
Midtown: 1765 Tree Blvd, (904) 342-7816
Beach: 461 A1A Beach Blvd, (904) 342-2593
5. Peace Pie
You might not believe me when I tell you that these ice cream sandwiches are so fat it's like doing yoga for your mouth. That's O.K. Some things you just have to experience to believe. And tasting these fat ice cream sandwiches stuffed with surprise pie filling is quite the experience—make sure you have your phone handy to get a shot of the "before" and "after" as it won't be pretty, but it will be delicious. Besides all the fun flavors, there are also seasonal ones too—you can ship both home in a customized box of assorted flavors. Ship one to the pet sitter as a "thank you" and send one to yourself, so you have a taste of this historic downtown from the comfort of your couch!
8 Aviles Street, (904) 295-8232
Honorable Mentions
Cone Heads Ice Cream, 570 A1A Beach Blvd. - 32 rotating flavors a block from St. Augustine Beach.
Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream, 160 King Street - A Florida-grown franchise inside Foxtail Coffee Co. so you can have an iced coffee with your ice cream.
The St. Augustine Scoop, 78 San Marco Ave. - Specialty milkshakes in an Uptown shop named after a gathering of pelicans (a scoop)!
Tedi's Olde Tyme Ice Cream, 65 St. George St. - Eat here and you're part of history as this is the oldest ice cream shop in town!
Farther Afield
Island Ice Cream Cafe - 6975 A1A S in Crescent Beach - 36 flavors across the street from the beach.
Dolly Llama - 830 A1A N in Ponte Vedra - Traditional and unique flavors with sauces and toppings on their signature waffles.
Flo's Premium Ice Cream - 880 A1A N in Ponte Vedra - Funky flavors in cups and pints to go as well as custom ice cream pies.
For a complete list of ice cream shops in St. Augustine, visit this page — enjoy!
Amy Angelilli
When not writing, you can find Amy teaching and performing improv as well as facilitating team building sessions. She's also a certified laughter yoga leader, a travel hacker, and cat lady.
