Owner Craig Melillo’s passion for ice cream rivals his skills as a pizzaiolo. Like his pizzas, his ice cream flavors change often based on what’s available from Oregon and Washington farms, as well as his own creative whims: One week you might find a lightly savory bay leaf, the next a mellow tropical sorbet, the next a warmly spiced cinnamon cereal. Regardless of the flavor, Gracie’s ice creams are consistently luscious — not sticky or tacky, not too firm, just satin smooth.

Chef Naomi Pomeroy’s tiny market is also home to an even tinier frozen custard stand, with scoops of dense, rich chocolate hazelnut or malted sweet cream custard swirled with in-season strawberry jam. Customers can pop in for a scoop or bring home pints, with flavors ranging from passionfruit to cinnamon-caramel blondie.

Needing no introduction, Salt & Straw made its name on eccentric flavors like baked bean and salted caramel turkey. Although the parlor features a rotating selection of themed flavors, classics like sea salt with caramel ribbons and freckled Woodblock Chocolate will please even the tamest eater. Although Salt & Straws can be found across the city, any visitor should be prepared to stand in line.

Known primarily for its pizzas, Lovely’s Fifty Fifty slings scoops from its nondescript ice cream counter at the front of its cozy Mississippi neighborhood locale. Still, these ice creams are no joke: Flavors like salted caramel and strawberry buttermilk come in handmade waffle cones, often made with produce from Pacific Northwestern farmers. For instance, the peach leaf uses Groundworks Organics leaves steeped in cream; the result is a supremely luxurious almond-flavored dessert. While capping off your pizza dinner with ice cream — dine-in or ordered to-go via the restaurant’s pizza phone — certainly has the makings of a good night, you can also walk up for a cone, plain and simple, seven nights a week. 

Kate’s Ice Cream developed its cult following thanks to flavors like marionbery cobbler and salted peanut butter brittle, all of which happens to be vegan and gluten-free. In a new scoop shop on Mississippi, Katelyn Williams sells her ice cream in the former Ruby Jewel space, commemorating their move to the neighborhood with the lilac-hued Mississippi Mayhem, a cotton candy flavor packed with rotating baked goods. Kate’s 16 flavors are available scooped atop house-made, gluten-free waffle cones or in grab-and-go pints.

While a New Zealand-imported blending machine called the Little Jem takes center stage at Nico Vergara’s shop, the resulting soft-serve textured ice cream is Oregon through-and-through: Willamette Valley Pie Co. berries are swirled into Umpqua vanilla ice cream or Coconut Bliss to order. Tropical Thursdays switch up the shop’s menu to fruit flavors like mango, pineapple, and banana. For a final flourish, opt for a dusting of rainbow sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes, or graham cracker dust or a drizzle of chamoy.

Portland’s rising ice cream star, Eb & Bean always serves froyo in vanilla and chocolate, along with a handful of seasonal specials, including a couple non-dairy options. The magic here is in the creative, artisanal toppings, like Tom Bumble Crumble, a flaky, caramelized peanut butter, and cold brew bourbon sauce. Eb & Bean locations offer plenty of seating with colorful cartoon murals that kids will love.

Cool Moon Ice Cream is an underrated and almost forgotten spot, offering flavors that range from classic caramel and mint chip to elegant summer rose or earl grey. But beyond the kid-friendly options like peanut butter and marionberry jam, Cool Moon may be one of the best spots for sorbet in town, velvety with not an ice crystal in sight: the lime-coconut is not too sweet, paired beautifully with a scoop of the Oregon strawberry sorbet. This shop seldom has a long line, with large windows that look out onto Jamison Square‘s fountain — the ideal spot to sit with a cone.

Owner Sandro Paolini hails from Pisa and frequently imports hard-to-find ingredients from Italy to make the creamy, unforgettable gelatos at Pinolo Gelato. Although flavors are limited and portions are smaller most ice cream shops, each scoop packs an incredily flavorful punch; knockout nut flavors like hazelnut and pistachio particularly shine. It‘s best to take advantage of the shop‘s outdoor tables to people watch the crowds on Southeast Division.

Compared to other ice cream shops, the artsy, minimalist Fifty Licks stands out with thoughtful details, from a small dollop of jam at the bottom of freshly made waffle cones to inventive cocktails made with house sorbet. Even with these extras, Fifty Licks always serves consistently smooth ice cream with artful flavors like Thai rice and Hood strawberry, made with berries from Canby’s South Barlow Farms. Don‘t miss the creamy vegan coconut lemon saffron and the oh-so-rich Chocolate AF.

Those craving nostalgic flavors like cookies n’ cream and chocolate chip cookie dough head directly for Cloud City when the time comes. This Woodstock spot balances memorable classics with kid-friendly touches, like ice cream studded with frosted animal cracker cookies and red velvet mascarpone cake. Although Cloud City is located within a nondescript strip mall parking lot, plenty of families still take advantage of its outdoor seating, making the shop a lively neighborhood staple.

Maiko doesn’t offer a wide selection of ice creams, but what it does offer — earthy, borderline savory matcha soft serve — is worth an order. Offered straight or swirled with vanilla, the soft-serve also appears in parfaits, topped with shiratama mochi and layered with matcha chiffon, or as a float on top of a bed of iced matcha. Normies can stick to plain vanilla, but why would you?

Ome Calli, which means “two house” in the indigenous Mexican language Nahuatl, is a nod to the owners’ two homes: Oregon and Mexico. The Beaverton shop’s frozen desserts, then, blend the best of both, using Oregon fruit to recreate flavors sold at the founder’s Mexico City heladería. The shop’s mildly sweet corn ice cream, salty-creamy cotija, and delicate mamey are all standouts, but Ome Calli’s sherbets — velvety scoops of guava, chamoy, soursop, and tamarind-chile — are an absolute must-order.