One couple, a shared obsession, and a mission to find the world's best scoop.
In 2020, Meg and Joe sat down to create their goals for the year. Joe's were lofty, profound, and ambitious. Meg's? Simply to eat more ice cream. In order to achieve that goal, she needed to frame it in a way that also helped Joe do something he loves — collecting data.
This began a beautiful tradition of heading to a new ice cream shop, sharing a dish or two, and Meg eating the majority of it while Joe scribbled notes on a napkin or a random note on his phone. The lovely thing about having a goal to eat more ice cream is that you can do it anytime, anywhere. So our collection of notes went global.
Eventually we realized it was just cruel to have all of this information on ice cream across the world and not share it. The Scoop is our honest attempt to help you find your next favorite shop — or at least help you eat more ice cream.
From Ireland to Estonia, Argentina to Bermuda.
And we're just getting started.
Flavor, ambiance, and value — always all three.
One tracks the data. One eats the ice cream.
Every shop gets evaluated on three dimensions. We rate each on a scale of 1 to 5, and the overall score is the average of all available ratings.
We visit every shop as regular customers — no advance notice, no special treatment. We want the exact experience you'll have when you walk in.
Some older reviews are missing data points as we refined our method over the years. We note clearly when ratings are incomplete.
Ice cream is one of life's great equalizers. Whether you're eating a €6.50 scoop in Dingle, Ireland or a $3.50 sundae at a Pennsylvania dairy farm, a perfect scoop can make any moment better.
We want to help people find those moments — to skip the mediocre and head straight for the transcendent. Life is too short for bad ice cream.
The Scoop is growing — here's what we're building next.
An annual honor for shops that go truly above and beyond. Watch this space.
Guides, features, and deep dives, with every shop we mention linked straight to its review.