yes yes I know summer is over… but soft serve is for all types of weather my friends!!
anyone who knows me knows i’m an ice cream fiend – but we must never forget about traditional ice cream’s dear sister, the humble soft serve. the D.C. soft serve scene has grown substantially in the last few years, adding some much needed variety to the desserts availability around town.
I also love that many of these soft serve spots are inside some of our favorite restaurants (oh, how we love Little Sesame’s hummus <3) and some provide a variety of cool treats from classic ice cream to soft serve.
be sure to check out this list below, and send me any I missed! happy ice cream lickin’!
Little Sesame
dark chocolate turkish coffee!! vanilla tahini!!! a swirl of both!! these flavors are so good, plus you get a choice of toppings, including cacao nibs, halva, and more. i’m so sorry the last good picture of this cone is from 2 years ago and slightly blurry, but alas, sometimes you gotta enjoy the food before the pic! check out more of their menu here.
Rasa
this indian fast casual was already one of my favs, and then they went and added ice cream too? hell yeah!! on the left we have a swirl of the mango lassi and the masala chai – two amaaazing flavors! on the right we have the cherry blossom, which was a seasonal thing for the spring. the texture is fantastic and i love their creativity! find the soft serve and more here!
Southwest Soda Pop Shop
took me way too long to come here, but dang this is some great ice cream!!!! the family-owned and Black-owned spot on the Wharf is a breath of fresh (and affordable!) air amidst the fancy restaurants. they have traditional scoops and soft serve – I tried the vanilla with a swirl of the vegan mango + sprinkles, it was so amazing! I can’t wait to go back literally anytime i’m in the area! find out more here.
Yellow
oh my god?! i think this might be my favorite? i mean LABNEH soft serve, how could this get any better? Yellow is a cafe in Navy Yard with an amazing array of pastries and breakfasty foods, with their upscale dinner spot Albi next door. but you know what’s slept on? yellow’s SOFT SERVE! their flavors do rotate, but the base usually stays as a labneh (a mediterranean strained yogurt) base. on the left we have a turmeric soft serve with candied coconut, and the right is a pomegranate molasses and seasame topping. their current menu boasts a peach + labneh, a halva + labneh, a honeydew sorbet aaaand a labneh ice cream sandwich ohmygod!!!! go check it out asap!!!!
PLNT Burger
PLNT burger is one of my favorite and most frequented D.C. spots (iykyk) and also features rotating oat milk soft serve and milkshakes of the month! v sorry i dont have great pictures – every time i pick up PLNT burger I come home and…immediately inhale it sitting on the couch and never get a good pic. but you can see here a whole ~meal vibe~
they always have a chocolate and a vanilla (and swirl of course). i think the chocolate flavor wasn’t strong enough for me, so the consistency is decent but the flavor is just alright. I have tried a few of their seasonal milkshakes, including the famous shamrock shake and the peach shake. the flavors shine through a little better there. I looooove PLNT burger and this is a good option available in many places – but its beat out by some of my other favs!
mercy me
taqueria las gemelas
ummmm mole and a chip on top!!!!!! score!!! love this chocolate and dulce de leche swirl – great texture! super into the fun toppings and the tacos here are fantastic too.
some more!
below is a list of soft serve spots the internet tells me are good – but that I, an ice cream expert, have not tried and therefore cannot recommend in full faith to you all. go forth and explore, my friends!
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daikaya — i believe its a matcha or an avocado situation! something green! fun!
thomas sweet — not a huge fan of their ice cream so im a little soft serve skeptical!
milkbar — i tried the cereal milk soft serve a few years ago…and it is not it! but maybe they’ve changed! convince me!
rita’s italian ice — i believe a new location is coming soon to 14th?
roy boys — ice cream taco but the ice cream is maybe soft serve? v interesting!
goodies frozen custard — this is frozen custard not soft serve, but similar!
surfside tacos — famous for their seafood + tacos, but apparently soft serve is a thing here too!
aditi eats 
Great post and so many new spots to try! That Little Sesame cone sounds AMAZING. As an ice cream junkie (and if you have a car), you might be interested in the Maryland Ice Cream Trail. All are farm/agriculture-based ice cream shops (on farms, using milk and produce from local cows, etc.). I highly recommend Broom’s Bloom and South Mountain Creamery. At some places, you can enjoy your ice cream and see the dairy cows (and beautiful, bucolic scenery) of in the distance…and it only gets prettier as the leaves start to change. You might even find a fresh apple coder donut! Happy eating 😊 https://news.maryland.gov/mda/press-release/2021/05/26/lt-governor-rutherford-kicks-off-2021-marylands-best-ice-cream-trail-2/
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