Chill Out City has plenty of frozen dessert oases to discover By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

No matter the weather, ice cream is always a welcome addition to the day.

It’s a rite of passage as, at the slightest hint of a thaw, Winnipeggers descend in droves, heeding the siren call of institutions such as Sargent Sundae (2053 Portage Ave.) and Bridge Drive-In (766 Jubilee Ave. and 1680 Main St.) that slide open their shutters any time from late March to early April, ready to welcome dedicated connoisseurs seeking their first taste of the season.

We’re blessed with an abundance of ice cream joints in this city, ranging from brick-and-mortar storefronts to mobile carts and pop-up stalls, all serving generous scoops of childhood faves alongside rather more innovative flavours.

With so many dairy bars and frozen dessert parlours dotted around, there’s no need to choose just one spot to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Whatever your fave, whether it’s a triple scoop of Tiger Tiger, Bubblegum and Funfetti in a waffle cone or a simple vanilla soft-serve with a chocolate dip, there’s sure to be something to suit your tastebuds, including plenty of dairy-free and vegan alternatives.

There’s nothing more swoon-inducing than Chaeban’s (390 Osborne St.) Abir Al Sham. This rose and orange-blossom water concoction is made from a traditional Syrian recipe that includes toasted pistachios and cashews, ricotta cheese and orchid root powder. If rose and orange water don’t float your boat then there’s also a very good LaLa Lemon, creamy and tart all at once, or get the refreshing Kiki Lime or strawberry-forward Julie Berrycake from the seasonal menu. They also carry five dairy-free flavours. Open: Sunday to Thursday, noon-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon-11 p.m.

At family-owned Licks Ice-Cream Patio (20 Britannica Rd.), there’s a wide array of flavours on offer, including a luscious strawberry banana soft serve. Made with real fruit, the flavour is also on offer as a frozen yogurt, and for the lactose-intolerant, a vegan option. If that particular combo doesn’t tickle your fancy, then perhaps the creamy raspberry mango vegan soft-serve (there’s an ice-cream version as well) might be more to your liking. Open: Monday to Friday, 2-10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1-10 p.m.

Sub Zero’s (290 Jamison Ave.) claim of having Manitoba’s largest ice-cream menu is no mere boast. The women-owned business does a brisk trade serving classic soft serves, sundaes, flurries, milkshakes, banana splits and ice cream sandwiches, as well as more than 80 unique parfaits. Plant-based ice-cream is made from Canadian oats, while Canadian dairy serves as the base for everything else.

Can’t make your mind up? Get the flight: choose three regular parfaits to create your own tasting journey. There are vegan versions of almost everything on the menu, making it one of the best dessert places for people who are lactose-intolerant. Open: Monday to Friday, 2-10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1-10 p.m.

Do a good deed while eating ice-cream at Fete Ice-Cream and Coffee (300 Assiniboine Ave.), which has been making ripples downtown since 2019 with its inventive small-batch experimental combos and ice cream cakes. Standout offerings include Ava’s Butter Cookie, a lovely Biscoff ice inspired by the shop ambassador’s love of the Belgian speculoos cookies. Proceeds from sales go to supporting children and youth who access services at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children. Open: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-9 p.m.

A 10-minute stroll down the road is The Neon Cone (The Forks Market), which has been serving hard scoops, soft serves and pints for more than 30 years. The family-owned joint tucked into a corner of the market can be easily missed if not for the long lineups. Serving some of the best handmade ice-creams in the city, its firm favourites include the zingy raspberry lemon curd cheesecake, super fruity Neon Kid and decadent dark chocolate. Check out the fridge on the side where you can pick up pints for later. Open: Sunday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Lovers of all things Korean will be pleased to hear that Snow and Moon Dessert Café (1727 Kenaston Blvd.) is serving immaculate bowls of bingsu (shaved ice). The shop’s frozen shaves are crystallized milk flakes, rather than the traditional water-based ice, resulting in an extremely fluffy, creamy textured dessert. For a refreshing hit, go for the mango snow, loaded with chunks of fresh mango and mango syrup or, for something a little bit different, their take on the classic Filipino dessert halo-halo, which comes with 14 toppings, including ube ice-cream, sliced bananas, sweetcorn kernels, red beans and three types of jelly. Open: Monday-Saturday, 2-10 p.m.; Sunday, 1-8 p.m.

If you’re in the mood for South Asian desserts in the form of ice-cream, Shake N Rolls (245 Lucas Ave.) is your best bet. Here the dessert is made right before your eyes as cream is poured onto a cold stone, spread and mixed with flavours before being scraped into a roll and stacked into cups. Try Khoya Gulab with gulab jamun (fried dough dumplings made from reduced milk solids) pistachios and cashews or Floral Fusion, redolent of gulkand, a rose petal preserve. Open: Daily 2 p.m.-midnight

Métis-owned family business Farmstead on the Red has just launched its range of Red River Ice-Cream this summer. Alongside classic chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavours, it also has a haskap honeyberry ice-cream, using fruit sourced from Haskap Prairie Orchards in West St. Paul, which has swiftly become one of the most popular offerings, says Katherine Bruinooge, who runs the farm with her husband, Allan. You’ll find the duo slinging scoops and packing pints at Le Marché St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, (3514 Pembina Hwy.) most weekends (except this weekend, when they’re in Gimli for the Icelandic Festival and on Aug. 14-16, when they’ll be in Stonewall for Quarry Days).

Think we’ve missed a super spot? Recommend your faves to av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com

AV Kitching
Reporter

AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV.

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