Phoenix, AZIce Cream

Novel Ice Cream started on Instagram before opening a shop in a historic Grand Avenue building in Phoenix. Eight flavors stay on the menu year-round, including a bright blue Cookie Monster and a Bourbon Toffee Caramel Crunch, with more rotating in weekly. It is known for tucking scoops into a glazed donut or between two waffles, and its fruit sorbets serve dairy-free eaters too.

Sweet Republic has built a following on unusual, well-balanced flavors like sweet corn, strawberry buttermilk, and black pepper cherry. Its Scottsdale flagship and other Valley shops draw people looking for a more savory, seasonal direction than the typical scoop shop, and it has picked up national recognition over the years.

Open since 1958, Sugar Bowl is one of Old Town Scottsdale's oldest family-run businesses and one of the few old-school parlors left in town. The pink-and-white room sticks to the classics: sundaes, shakes, and banana splits served in a setting that still feels like a mid-century soda fountain.

Tucked into a small North Phoenix strip mall, Alebrije Neveria serves Mexican-style ice cream and packs an impressive amount of snacks and desserts into a tight space. It does cereal-infused scoops blended with a customer's cereal of choice on the spot, plus a creme brulee treat finished with a blow-torched, crackly sugar crust.

LIX in the Melrose District is one of the more fun scoop shops in town and focuses on lactose-free ice cream without giving up flavor range, with options like mango sticky rice and Turkish coffee alongside familiar scoops. It is a go-to for dairy-sensitive locals who still want a real shop experience.