
Highest-rated ice cream shops in Portland, Maine by diners
Highest-rated ice cream shops in Portland, Maine by diners
Ice cream is a treat that can be enjoyed all year round, although the volume produced during the hotter months signals otherwise. The majority of ice cream and other frozen desserts in the U.S. are made between March and August, with July being the busiest month of all, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Many Americans have memories of their pastel green mint chocolate chip scoop dripping down their waffle cone at the height of summer or cooling down with their sprinkle-covered chocolate and vanilla soft-serve twist. Ice cream tends to scream nostalgia, but the range of available flavors has evolved since the days when the dessert was mainly limited to vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
Of course, that doesn't mean those aren't still top-tier choices. According to a May 2024 survey of 2,200 American adults by the International Dairy Foods Association and Morning Consult, the top 10 ice cream flavors today are still the three classics (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, in that order) followed by butter pecan, cookie dough, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip, rocky road, and peanut butter or peanut butter cup.
Nowadays, many ice cream shops offer fresh combinations and ingredients you may never have imagined could be made into ice cream, concoctions like black sesame cookies and cream or honey lavender. Some ice cream shops boast flavors with even more unheard-of ingredients and combinations, like the savory tarragon olive oil or pineapple with pink peppercorns.
Ice cream creators have also expanded into rethinking frozen yogurt, soft serve, and vegan options. Dairy-free folks no longer have to order the only sorbet on the menu. There are nondairy milk ice creams made from plant-based milks like oat or almond and other plant-based products like avocado or sunflower butter.
And then there are the toppings, one of the best parts about getting a scoop at your local shop. Pour on the condensed milk or dulce de leche. Sprinkle bits of honeycomb or your favorite childhood cereal.
Ice cream shops everywhere have made it their job to serve up the smoothest, creamiest, and most crave-able options. To find out who's doing the best job of it, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated ice cream shops in the Portland area using data from Yelp. Data is as of June 24, 2025.
Businesses were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only businesses with at least 10 reviews were considered. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than five locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.
Read on to determine where you'll get your next cup or cone from!
#18. Dairy Queen Store
- Rating: 3.3/5 (25 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 317 Main St. South Portland, Maine
- Categories: Fast food, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Burgers
- Read more on Yelp
#17. Beals Old Fashioned Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Rating: 3.5/5 (30 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 18 Veranda St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#16. Beal's Ice Cream
- Rating: 3.8/5 (157 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 12 Moulton St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#15. Len Libby Candies
- Rating: 3.8/5 (83 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 419 US Rte One Scarborough, Maine
- Categories: Candy Stores, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Chocolatiers & Shops
- Read more on Yelp
#14. Kettle Cove Creamery and Shack
- Rating: 3.9/5 (56 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2 Bowery Beach Road Cape Elizabeth, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Sandwiches, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#13. Beal's Old Fashioned Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Rating: 4.0/5 (43 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: Rte 25 237 Gorham, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#12. CIA Cafe
- Rating: 4.0/5 (83 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 72 Ocean St. South Portland, Maine
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#11. Lib's Dairy Treats
- Rating: 4.1/5 (37 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 32 Auburn St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#10. Coastal Creamery
- Rating: 4.2/5 (37 reviews)
- Address: 136 Commercial St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts, Bakeries
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Le'Cha Cafe
- Rating: 4.3/5 (25 reviews)
- Address: 502 Stevens Ave. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Bubble Tea, Cafes, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Mount Desert Island Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.3/5 (314 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 51 Exchange St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Smiling Hill Farm
- Rating: 4.5/5 (66 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 781 County Road Westbrook, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Farms, Cheese Shops
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Red's Dairy Freeze
- Rating: 4.5/5 (108 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 167 Cottage Road South Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Gorgeous Gelato - Portland
- Rating: 4.6/5 (682 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 434 Fore St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Coffee & Tea, Gelato
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Sticky Sweet
- Rating: 4.6/5 (77 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 119 Cumberland Ave. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Willard Scoops
- Rating: 4.6/5 (82 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 429 Preble St. South Portland, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#2. The Gelato Fiasco
- Rating: 4.7/5 (439 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 425 Fore St. Portland, Maine
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#1. The Dairy Corner
- Rating: 4.7/5 (118 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 612 US Rt 1 Scarborough, Maine
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp