Best Ice Cream Restaurants in Murray Hill & Kips Bay (10016)
4 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: January 2026
Our Top Pick
Surreal Creamery
Maximalist mason-jar sundaes and boba floats built for photos and sugar highs.
Notable Picks
8.2
Surreal Creamery in Kips Bay specializes in over-the-top soft serve and bubble tea mashups, served in mason jars that are as heavy as they look on Instagram. Locals treat it as the spot for maximalist ice cream creations when a simple cone won’t cut it.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cookie Monster mason jar sundae, Brown Sugar Boba ice cream float, Vietnamese Coffee soft serve swirl
What makes it special: Maximalist mason-jar sundaes and boba floats built for photos and sugar highs.
Worthy Picks
#2
Sundaes Best
7.9
Vibes:
Family Friendly Favorites
Sweet Treats Escapes
Birthday & Celebration Central
Instagram Worthy Wonders
Sundaes Best is a Korean-owned gelato shop off Fifth Avenue serving Asian-inspired flavors like ube, black sesame, and lychee in a bright, candy-colored space. Since opening in 2023, it’s become a Koreatown dessert stop after KBBQ or a night out nearby.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ube gelato in a waffle cone, Black Sesame Honey Butter sundae, Lychee sorbet with popping boba
What makes it special: Asian-inspired gelato flavors in a bright Koreatown dessert shop.
7.7
Soft Swerve’s Kips Bay outpost brings the brand’s ube and matcha soft serve to a narrow Third Avenue storefront with just enough space to grab a cone and go. It’s a go-to for Asian-inspired soft serve when you want something more interesting than vanilla-chocolate swirl.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ube Purple Yam soft serve cone, Matcha and Vanilla swirl sundae, Black Sesame soft serve in a chocolate cone
What makes it special: Ube-forward soft serve shop that helped popularize Asian dessert flavors in NYC.
The Murray Hill 16 Handles serves rotating soft-serve, frozen yogurt, and non-dairy flavors with a sprawling toppings bar, making it a customizable dessert stop for neighborhood families and roommates. It’s more about build-your-own fun than chef-driven flavors, but it reliably scratches the ice cream itch late into the evening.
Must-Try Dishes:
Tahitian Vanilla Bean frozen yogurt with toppings, Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel froyo, Cookies & Cream milkshake
What makes it special: Self-serve soft-serve and frozen yogurt with a huge toppings lineup.