If you’re looking for the best ice cream in Queenstown (and sorbet and gelato), you won’t need to look far.
There are only a few places that sell ice cream in Queenstown that are a must-try.
That’s good though because you can try them all and not feel guilty 😉
The places are:
1. Patagonia Chocolates
2. Cookie Time Cookie Bar
3. Mrs Ferg
Want to treat your sweet tooth even more? My buddy Brittany is the sweet treat Queen, and has 10 awesome desserts in Queenstown for you to find.
FINDING GELATO & ICE CREAM IN QUEENSTOWN
1. PATAGONIA CHOCOLATES
Patagonia started as a small chocolate shop in Arrowtown back in 2005.
They’ve now got a handful of shops in Otago, with the Queenstown waterfront location a prime location.
Quick tip: They also have a Queenstown Airport location if you run out of time but really need to try their ice cream before you leave.
While they serve breakfast, coffee, smoothies and other things, their ice cream and sorbet is what they’re really known for now.
There’s a constant stream of people flowing into the Patagonia store throughout the day, but the customer service is amazing. You won’t need to wait long before getting on with your other things to do in Queenstown.
You’ll have up to 20 flavours of ice cream to choose from, some award-winning, including some four sorbets if you’re looking for a vegan option.
The paradox of choice is real with that many options. Ask the staff to sample a few before you make a decision. I love the boysenberry sorbet but have heard from a few people that Dulce de Leche is amazing.
Once you’ve got your ice cream, head upstairs and try to get the window seat looking out over the bay.
p.s. In Queenstown, Ferg and Devil Burger (who have Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in store) are often debated, but there’s also a debate about who has the best ice cream, Patagonia or Black Peak.
There’s no Black Peak in Queenstown at the time of writing, but if you head to Wanaka and/or Cardrona, give it a go and compare for yourself.
Address: 2 Rees Street, Cnr of the Mall, Queenstown
Opening Hours:1 Mon-Thu 9am-9pm, Fri-Sun 9am-10pm
Online: Website | Facebook | Instagram
2. COOKIE TIME COOKIE BAR
Cookie Time cookies are a classic New Zealand treat and are found in dairy’s and supermarkets all over New Zealand. And in Queenstown, they take the branding further and have fun at the Cookie Time Cookie Bar®.
While cookies are the central theme to what the Cooke Bar has to offer, they’ve got ice creams available. Unfortunately, none of them are vegan (they have a vegan cookie and vegan shake) so I didn’t get to try them.
The ice cream sandwiches look great though with six flavours of ice cream to choose from, then the scoop of ice cream is sandwiched between two cookies. The best!
The Cookie Time Cookie Bar isn’t a big place and the line goes out the door sometimes, but the staff get through the lines at a good clip so don’t let that put you off. once you’re inside, everything is cookie crazy (there’s Cookie Time merch you can buy), with fun music pumping.
The family business is all about creating experiences, and they’ve nailed it here at the Cookie bar.
Address: 18 Camp Street, Queenstown
Opening Hours:2 Mon–Fri 8am–10pm, Sat–Sun 10am–10pm
Online: Website | Facebook | Instagram
3. MRS FERG
Mrs Ferg doesn’t have ice cream, but they do have 50+ gelato and sorbet flavours for you to try.
Located next to the famous Fergburger (totally worth it), Mrs Ferg has Italian Effe Gelato machines which combined fresh ingredients.
The staff here are fun, and with the Ferg bakery, burger joint, and bar all next to each other you’re going to have some fun here.
Once again they’ve got some other options beyond gelato, they have coffee from 6am, but the gelato is what they’re known for.
p.s. The Mrs Ferg website has all of the options, and prices, on their website which is cool.
Address: 40 Shotover St. Queenstown 9300
Opening Hours:3 7 days – 6am-midnight
Online: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Queenstown is an amazing place with so many things to do, eating gelato and ice cream in Queenstown is something you’ve got to put on the list. Queenstown is a vegan haven too.
Once you’ve visited, let us know what your favourite Queenstown ice cream and/or gelato place was in the comments below or email jub@churnewzealand.com .
RECOMMENDED READING
Vegan Burgers in Queenstown
Will you go for a ice cream before or after the burger?
21 Queenstown Walks
If you’ve been to all three of these ice cream spots, you probably should try and go for a hill.
Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.