Ask any Dublin resident where to get ice cream and you’ll get a genuinely divided answer — and that’s part of what makes this city’s dessert scene worth writing about. Dublin packs an unusual concentration of ice cream talent into a few walkable blocks of Historic Dublin and Bridge Park, from a 75-year-old Ohio institution to a nationally recognized craft creamery that’s grown out of Columbus into a household name. This isn’t a “grab whatever’s closest” kind of city when it comes to ice cream — people here have genuine loyalties, and the debates get surprisingly heated.
I’m Jacob Bates, a Realtor with Di Lusso Real Estate, and I bring up Dublin’s food and dessert scene with almost every client relocating here, because it says something real about the neighborhood they’re about to call home. A city with this much personality packed into its ice cream shops tends to have that same personality baked into its restaurants, its parks, and its community events — and that’s exactly what you find in Dublin. Here’s the full breakdown of where to go, what to order, and why each spot has earned its following.
Johnson’s Real Ice Cream — The Ohio Classic
Johnson’s Real Ice Cream (55 W. Bridge St.) is where a lot of longtime Dublin residents will tell you to start. The recipes trace back to 1950, when the original shop opened in Bexley, Ohio, and the brand has grown carefully since — six locations around Columbus and, as of 2019, its first out-of-state shop in Chicago. That kind of patient, decades-long growth is rare in the ice cream business, and it shows in the confidence of the menu: simple, classic scoops, sundaes, cones, malts, and shakes, executed the way they’ve always been executed.
What sets the Dublin location apart is a menu item you won’t find anywhere else in the Johnson’s chain: the Irish Sundae, a nod to the city’s Irish heritage and a genuinely clever bit of local branding. Buckeye Fever — a tribute to Ohio’s favorite candy — is another fan favorite worth trying if you haven’t. Johnson’s also supplies ice cream to more than 300 restaurants across the region for their dessert menus, so if you’ve had a great scoop of vanilla at a Columbus-area restaurant, there’s a real chance it came from this Dublin-connected brand.
Locals frequently describe Johnson’s as the least “pretentious” option on this list — classic, dependable, and priced fairly, without the lines or hype that come with some of the newer names in town.
Kilwins — Chocolate, Fudge, and a Flavor Named for Dublin’s Golf Legacy
Kilwins (4549 Bridge Park Ave.) is technically a chocolate and candy shop first, but its ice cream program deserves its own conversation. The Dublin location has been making original recipe ice cream since 1985, and the candy-making expertise clearly bleeds into the ice cream case — flavors like peanut butter pie and turtle cheesecake taste like they were built by people who make chocolate for a living, because they were.
The real draw for Dublin specifically is Muirfield Mud, a flavor unique to this location and a direct homage to Muirfield Village Golf Club, home of the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of hyperlocal touch that tells you a business actually belongs to its city rather than just operating in it. Kilwins in Bridge Park is also a stop on Dublin’s Irish Fairy Door Trail, so if you’re visiting with kids, you can turn an ice cream run into a small scavenger hunt.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams — Columbus’s Craft Ice Cream Export
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (1 W. Bridge St.) has grown from a single Columbus shop into one of the most recognized names in American craft ice cream, and the Dublin location gives you the full experience without a trip downtown. Jeni’s built its reputation on unusual, thoughtfully composed flavors — Riesling poached pear sorbet is a good example of a flavor that shouldn’t work as well as it does — alongside genuinely excellent versions of the classics, including a milkiest chocolate and a salty caramel that regularly show up on “best of” lists across Central Ohio.
Jeni’s has won Best Hometown Product five times in CityScene Magazine’s annual “Best of the ‘Bus” readers’ poll, though Graeter’s notably beat it out for Best Ice Cream in the magazine’s 2023 awards — a rivalry that captures the good-natured competitiveness of Dublin’s dessert scene as well as anything. Expect a line during peak summer hours; it’s popular enough that the wait is part of the local ritual.
Graeter’s Ice Cream — The Cincinnati Import Ohioans Argue Over
Graeter’s (6255 Metro Pl. S.) has expanded to more than 50 storefronts, but somehow still manages to feel like a small-town parlor at every one of them, Dublin included. Graeter’s is famous for its French pot process, which produces an unusually dense, rich texture, and for flavors like black raspberry chocolate chip — reportedly Oprah Winfrey’s personal favorite — and butter pecan pie. Local specialties worth trying include the buckeye chocolate chip, a direct tribute to Ohio’s favorite candy, and salted caramel chocolate chip.
The Graeter’s-versus-Jeni’s debate is a genuine local pastime in Dublin, and if you ask around, you’ll find passionate defenders on both sides. My honest advice as someone who’s tried both more times than I probably should admit: don’t pick a side until you’ve tried both more than once.
Dell’s Ice Cream and Coffee — The Powell Spot Dubliners Claim as Their Own
Dell’s Ice Cream and Coffee sits just over the line in neighboring Powell, but Dublin residents consistently list it among their favorites regardless — it was actually left off one local Facebook poll for Dublin’s favorite ice cream for being technically outside city limits, and Dubliners still voted for it anyway. Dell’s is known for its massive ice cream cookie sandwiches, classic and seasonal ice cream and sorbet flavors, and a signature Dellogatto — a scoop of vanilla ice cream paired with a shot of hot espresso. It also serves coffee, tea, bagels, and breakfast sandwiches, making it a legitimate morning stop and not just an after-dinner destination.
Honorable Mentions Worth Knowing About
A few more names come up regularly in Dublin ice cream conversations and deserve a mention:
Diamonds Ice Cream and Mardi Gras Homemade Ice Cream both have loyal local followings and consistently show up in Dublin’s top-rated ice cream searches alongside the bigger names above.
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is the go-to if you want something lighter or need a self-serve option for a group with different tastes — a practical pick for birthday parties and family outings where not everyone wants a full scoop of premium ice cream.
Cold Stone Creamery rounds out the list for anyone craving the mix-in customization experience alongside the more locally rooted options above.
Best Ice Cream in Dublin, By What You’re Actually In the Mood For
If you’re trying to decide where to go tonight, here’s the shorthand I’d give a client:
- Want a piece of Dublin’s identity in a cone? Kilwins’ Muirfield Mud or Johnson’s Irish Sundae — both are flavors you genuinely can’t get anywhere else.
- Want the most talked-about craft ice cream in Central Ohio? Jeni’s, and expect to wait in line for it.
- Want dense, rich, old-school quality? Graeter’s, made using the French pot process that’s kept Cincinnati loyal to this brand for generations.
- Want a classic, no-fuss scoop at a fair price? Johnson’s — consistently the answer locals give when asked what they actually eat on a regular Tuesday.
- Want to turn it into a full outing? Start at Dell’s for coffee and breakfast, and end the day with ice cream in Bridge Park.
Timing Your Visit Around Dublin’s Ice Cream Season
Dublin leans into its ice cream culture seasonally, too. National Ice Cream Day in July regularly turns into a mini local event, with shops rolling out limited specials and locals debating their picks all over again on social media. If you’re visiting during the Dublin Irish Festival in late July or early August, most of these shops sit an easy walk or short drive from Coffman Park, making a post-festival scoop an easy addition to the day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best ice cream shop in Dublin, Ohio? There’s genuine local disagreement, but Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Graeter’s, and Johnson’s Real Ice Cream are the three names that come up most often, each for different reasons — craft flavors, dense old-school texture, and classic reliability, respectively.
Does Dublin, Ohio have any ice cream flavors you can’t find anywhere else? Yes. Kilwins’ Bridge Park location makes an exclusive flavor called Muirfield Mud, named for Muirfield Village Golf Club, and Johnson’s Dublin location is the only one in the chain that offers an Irish Sundae.
Is Dell’s Ice Cream technically in Dublin? Dell’s Ice Cream and Coffee is located just outside Dublin’s city limits in Powell, but it’s close enough — and popular enough with Dublin residents — that locals generally consider it part of the local scene.
Where is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams located in Dublin? Jeni’s Dublin location is at 1 W. Bridge St. in Historic Dublin.
What is Johnson’s Real Ice Cream known for in Dublin? Johnson’s traces its recipes back to 1950 and is known for classic flavors, its exclusive Irish Sundae at the Dublin location, and Buckeye Fever, a nod to Ohio’s favorite candy.
What a City’s Food Scene Tells You About Its Neighborhoods
The strength and personality of Dublin’s ice cream shops isn’t a coincidence — it’s a reflection of a city that invests in its small businesses and its walkable downtown, the same qualities that make its neighborhoods genuinely desirable to live in. When I’m walking clients through Dublin, food and dessert spots like these come up constantly, because they’re part of what daily life actually looks like here, not just what a visitor sees on a weekend trip. If you’re weighing a move to Dublin and want the fuller picture — schools, neighborhoods, and what it’s really like to live here day to day — I’m always glad to talk it through. I’m Jacob Bates, Realtor with Di Lusso Real Estate.
This article is part of an ongoing series covering every neighborhood in Greater Columbus. Explore more local guides to find the right fit for your next move.
