The Columbus Soft Serve Tour

From roadside stands to coffee shops and Japanese bakeries, we took a soft serve road trip of Columbus, and here's what we found

By Jack McLaughlin / Photos by Sarah Pfeifer / Story Design by Tori Smith

Custard is great, so is ice cream, and sometimes we all have an itch only gelato or frozen yogurt can scratch. But we all know soft serve is the official dessert of Midwestern summers. And because of this, I decided to grab a pair of friends to take a tour with me of central Ohio’s standout soft serve spots. Of course, we couldn’t hit everything Columbus soft serve has to offer, so this list is by no means exclusive, but you also can’t go wrong with any of the shops on it, and each offers its own unique spin on the summer staple.

Belle's Bread

1168 KENNY CENTRE MALL

Vanilla and Matcha Swirl Soft Serve, from Belle's Bread

If you know, you know. Belle’s Bread–tucked between several other Japanese eateries on the city’s northwest side–has a national reputation for its French and Japanese-inspired baked goods, but soft serve is also a lowkey standout at the spot.

When we stopped by, the shop was hopping with others waiting to grab a buttercream pastry or cone, and it’s not hard to see why. Belle’s offers a surprisingly wide variety of dessert and drink options that use their soft serve, but we went for the item that’s become a Belle’s classic: the Matcha and Vanilla Swirl soft serve, which was as delicious (with plenty of herbal bite from the matcha) as it was good-looking

Community Grounds

1134 PARSONS AVE.

Vegans across Columbus can start celebrating in the streets, because Community Grounds vegan, oat-based soft serve was one of the highlights of our trip. Community Grounds is actually a coffee shop, not a dessertspecific spot, but its soft serve can stand up to the best of them.

The texture on this soft serve is nearly identical to the real, dairybased thing, with its flavor coming in just a touch sweeter, and not in a bad way. In fact, the sweetness of their vanilla soft serve provided the perfect contrast to the splash of espresso in Community Grounds’ Affogato (now one of my favorite Columbus desserts). Their chocolate soft serve was bolder in flavor and darker than many paler, dairy-based counterparts. Chocolate and vanilla are available on weekdays during the summer, but weekend flavors rotate, so make sure to call ahead.

Oat-based soft server from Community Grounds

Double Happy

1280 BROWN RD.

If you blink, you’ll miss it. And you’ll be pretty upset you did. Nestled into a 652 square foot building that you might drive past if you’re not looking for it, Double Happy is a west side gem, operating as a classic (walk-up only) soft serve stand that makes its mark with soft serve cones, but also a variety of indulgent and creative milkshakes (we tried the Banana Puddin’).

Don’t let the modest exterior fool you, though, Double Happy is more than just your average roadside stand. Aside from its distinctly rich and fuller-feeling soft serve, the west side spot creates their version of the frozen treat entirely in-house, relying on A2 milk, which features proteins that some believe are more tolerable to those with dairy-related digestion issues.

Milkshake from Double Happy

Little Ladies Soft Serve

673 WORTHINGTON RD. (WESTERVILLE)

The concept that started as one of the city’s favorite dessert food trucks is now one of its favorite brick and mortar shops, and it’s not too difficult to see why.

While you can opt for a standard cone at Little Ladies, the whimsical and artfully-decorated eatery is known first and foremost for its sundaes, which feature some of the wildest toppings you’ve ever tried (everything from candied pretzels to crushed potato chips and even puppy chow), in their house Sundaes and Special Sundaes.

The Essie, for example, features soft serve topped with lemon cornflake crunch, raspberry sauce, whipped cream and red sparkle dust.

Mona's Eats + Treats

4362 BROADWAY (GROVE CITY)

While Mona’s is a bit off the beaten path for Downtown residents, we’re here to confirm that it is indeed worth the drive.

Offering the best of both worlds, Mona’s has a classic soft serve stand feel and aesthetic, while still boasting a small indoor dining area and a sizable outdoor patio situated along Broadway.

As its name suggests, Mona’s serves more than just dessert. Visitors can grab hot dogs and sandwiches and true ice cream (either by the scoop or served in milkshakes or floats) And of course, there’s the soft serve. Visitors can opt for soft serve in indulgent sundaes, or simply by the cone or cup. Pro tip: The cherry-dipped vanilla cone is something you need.

LOOKING FOR MORE?

Of course we couldn’t fit every worthy soft serve server in Columbus, so here’s a list of spots that we didn’t visit, but you absolutely should:

Dairy Hut (Pataskala) & Dairy Twist (Delaware)

Both of these spots were just a touch too far for our trip, but if you’re down for a bit of a drive, they won’t steer you wrong.

Hilltop Dairy Twist

At the time we made our trip, Dairy Twist had not yet opened for the season, but this and Double Happy make the west side a bit of a hotspot for cold treats.

Dairy Queen

While we typically make an attempt to go local first, there’s no getting around the fact that Dairy Queen soft serve is a thing of culinary beauty. You can admit it.