As the summer heat waves roll in, there's no better way to cool down than indulging in a refreshing scoop of ice cream or a delectable sweet treat. Richmond is a paradise for dessert lovers, boasting a diverse array of establishments that cater to every sweet tooth's desires. From classic ice cream parlors to innovative bakeries, this vibrant city offers a range of options to satisfy your cravings while escaping the scorching temperatures.
Established in 1984, Gelati Celesti has been a Richmond institution, operating ten neighborhood stores across the city and Hampton Roads. Their mission is to bring moments of joy through their heavenly handmade ice cream and exceptional service. With a single spoonful, you'll experience rich, decadent, creamy deliciousness. Each batch is meticulously crafted by hand using the finest ingredients from around the world, churned in small batches with special Italian equipment to ensure unparalleled flavor and texture. From their 24 House Favorites to over 100 rotating flavors, Gelati Celesti offers a diverse array of options, including ice cream sandwiches, pies, and cakes.
Various locations | gelatiicecream.com
At Scoop, gourmet ice cream is served with a warm smile, and making really good ice cream is a joyous thing. Even their simplest flavors undergo meticulous preparation, with days of roasting, steeping, baking, or simmering to bring out the best in their fine ingredients. The genius behind their unique flavors is recipe developer Jody Spraker, who expertly balances sweet and savory, texture and taste, creating combinations that may seem unusual but are always delicious. It takes a dedicated team of kitchen staff, dippers, and managers to make this all happen, ensuring that each visit is a highlight of your day.
403 Strawberry St | scooprva.com
DeLuca Gelato is a family-owned and operated gelateria, specializing in gelato, sorbetto, and specialty Italian desserts. They take pride in using only quality ingredients to replicate the authentic tastes of Italy. DeLuca Gelato owns the entire process from start to finish, pasteurizing their own gelato mix with fresh milk and cream, and incorporating real fruit, nuts, and chocolate. This approach ensures a fresh product at their exacting standards, with a fat content of only 6.8% – half of most American ice creams. For their sorbetto, they start with real fruit and add their own special sugar syrup and water, making it dairy-free and natural, with most options being fat-free.
1362 Gaskins Rd | delucagelato.com
Study Hall is a walk-up window offering two dairy-based soft serve flavors, two vegan soft serve flavors, and a variety of toppings. Their dairy flavors use local, minimally processed dairy, while most vegan flavors are made with a base of oat milk, vegan sugar, and soy protein, with occasional fruit juice-based options. All their soft serve is gluten-free and nut-free, and they rotate flavors every few weeks or as they run out of limited batches, offering a maximum of four flavors at a time. During peak season (May - October), they change flavors roughly every two weeks with around 10 rotating toppings.
4930 Forest Hill Ave, Suite D | studyhallrva.com
Spotty Dog Ice Cream Co. is obsessed with ice cream, and they want you to be, too. They've dedicated themselves to crafting texture-driven flavors that whisper to the ice cream freak in all of us. Their belief is that ice cream should be really tasty without relying on artificial ingredients, have body and bite, be ultra-creamy yet never too rich, embrace changing seasons, and highlight local ingredients as much as possible. Spotty Dog was born in 2017, delivering free ice cream samples to their Church Hill neighbors, and by Spring 2018, they were selling scoops at pop-ups and markets throughout Richmond. After five years of slinging their stuff around town, they opened their first parlor in Church Hill/Union Hill in October 2022.
2416 Jefferson Ave | spottydogicecream.com
Coco + Hazel is a specialty milkshake and espresso bar, serving homemade ice cream and single-origin espresso from Oaxaca, Mexico, as well as locally roasted espresso. Their space is perfect for special events, birthday parties, and date nights, with coffee flights and vegan options available. They also offer made-from-scratch cakes, pastries, and cookies, and serve delicious homemade biscuits, sandwiches, pastries, and bagels for breakfast seven days a week. Head Chef & Baker Eduardo's passion stems from watching his mother cook in Oaxaca as a child. After moving to the US, he gained experience and was mentored in baking unique flavor combinations.
2733 McRae Rd | cocoandhazel.com
Bev's Homemade Ice Cream & Café has been a Richmond staple since 1998, serving New England-style ice cream, sweets and coffee. They offer classics like Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry plus creations like Espresso Oreo and weekly specials including dairy-free sorbet and vegan flavors. Bev's also offers homemade baked goods and coffee creations, serving generations of families for over two decades. They sell their ice cream in-store and wholesale. Founder Beverly began at the Culinary Institute before opening several Richmond shops. As of late 2021, she retired, with employee Erin and her brother taking over to continue Bev's beloved recipes and homemade culture.
2911 W Cary St | bevshomemadeicecream.com
Located in Northside Richmond, Ruby Scoops opened its scoop shop in 2020. It creates premium small-batch ice creams, sorbets, sherbets and desserts, handcrafted by Chef Rabia Kamara and the Scoops Squad. Ruby Scoops started in 2014 when Rabia noticed a lack of quality local desserts and decided to fill that niche. Using local ingredients, Rabia – a culinary school grad with over a decade's experience featured in publications and TV – creates the finest, richest frozen treats and baked goods. In 2021 she won Food Network's Ben & Jerry's contest.
120 W Brookland Park Blvd | rubyscoops.com
