Best ice cream in Ottawa and near you, ranked by the numbers
The Merry Dairy tops Ottawa's ice cream board at 4.78, a 4.8 rating carried by 1,969 reviews, by far the deepest count in the top three.
Chris's Ice Cream has the highest rating in the top three at 4.9, yet ranks #3. Its 164 reviews exactly match the review weight, so its score lands halfway between its own rating and the Ottawa-area average of 4.50. A few hundred more reviews at that level would close the gap.
Ottawa-area average. Data: . Refresh due: . Method.
0 of 27
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#1 vs Google’s pick on this page
#1Google’s pick
fromOttawa Score 4.78fromOttawaThe Merry Dairy
Top of 27Hintonburg · West End
102 Fairmont Ave · Google 4.8 (1,969 reviews)
- Why: Stored rank #1; score 4.78/5.
4.8 stars from 1,969 reviews; 92% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: high (92.3%). R = 4.8; v = 1969; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
fromOttawa Score 4.73fromOttawaCassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet
Gatineau
68 Principale St · Google 4.8 (551)
- Why: Stored rank #2; score 4.73/5.
4.8 stars from 551 reviews; 77% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (77.1%). R = 4.8; v = 551; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
fromOttawa Score 4.70fromOttawaChris's Ice Cream
Orléans
3003 St Joseph Blvd · Google 4.9 (164)
- Why: Stored rank #3; score 4.70/5.
4.9 stars from 164 reviews; 50% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (50.0%). R = 4.9; v = 164; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Ranks 4 to 27
Showing 24 of 24 places below the first three on this page.
Each marker sits on the address saved with the place, top 3 included. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
None of the places that match have a saved location.
Ranks 4 to 10: Just off the podium
- fromOttawa Score 4.69
Rank 4: Moo Shu Ice Cream
4.7 stars from 2,249 reviews; 93% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: high (93.2%). R = 4.7; v = 2249; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.68
Rank 5: The Beachconers Microcreamery
4.7 stars from 1,209 reviews; 88% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: high (88.1%). R = 4.7; v = 1209; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.67
Rank 6: Malak and Sons - Ottawa
4.8 stars from 224 reviews; 58% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (57.7%). R = 4.8; v = 224; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.61
Rank 7: Purple Cow
4.9 stars from 61 reviews; 27% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (27.1%). R = 4.9; v = 61; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.59
Rank 8: Saffron Rolled Ice Cream & Desserts
4.7 stars from 126 reviews; 43% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (43.4%). R = 4.7; v = 126; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.59
Rank 9: Piccolo Grande Artisan Gelateria
4.6 stars from 1,167 reviews; 88% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: high (87.7%). R = 4.6; v = 1167; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.59
Rank 10: Ice Flame
4.6 stars from 1,155 reviews; 88% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: high (87.6%). R = 4.6; v = 1155; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
By part of town
These 27 ice cream records are grouped by saved address. Gatineau side holds the most, with 8. Each area’s best is a tap away.
8Gatineau sideacross the river
- Gatineau 8#2 · Cassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet
8West End
- Hintonburg 2#1 · The Merry Dairy
- Bayshore 1#5 · The Beachconers Microcreamery
- Westboro 1#8 · Saffron Rolled Ice Cream & Desserts
- Carlington 1#10 · Ice Flame
- and 3 more areas
5Downtown
- Glebe 3#13 · Farinella Snack Bar
- ByWard Market 2#6 · Malak and Sons - Ottawa
3East End
- Orléans 2#3 · Chris's Ice Cream
- New Edinburgh 1#23 · Scoops Ice Cream Parlour
2South Endbelow the Queensway
- Riverside South 2#16 · Honey Gables Ice Cream @ Gees Bees
1Elsewhere
- Greely 1#7 · Purple Cow
11 to 15Worth the detour
- fromOttawa Score 4.58
Rank 11: Brett's Ice Cream
4.6 stars from 548 reviews; 77% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (77.0%). R = 4.6; v = 548; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.58
Rank 12: Gourmet glacé
4.7 stars from 95 reviews; 37% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (36.7%). R = 4.7; v = 95; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.56
Rank 13: Farinella Snack Bar
4.7 stars from 66 reviews; 29% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (28.7%). R = 4.7; v = 66; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.55
Rank 14: Frisson & Bonbons
4.6 stars from 183 reviews; 53% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (52.7%). R = 4.6; v = 183; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.55
Rank 15: Juliano's
4.6 stars from 147 reviews; 47% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (47.3%). R = 4.6; v = 147; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded
16 to 27Good backups to know
- fromOttawa Score 4.55
Rank 16: Honey Gables Ice Cream @ Gees Bees
5.0 stars from 16 reviews; 9% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (8.9%). R = 5; v = 16; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.53
Rank 17: Le Scoop Gelato et Sorbet
4.8 stars from 15 reviews; 8% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (8.4%). R = 4.8; v = 15; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.52
Rank 18: Zo-Délices
4.6 stars from 36 reviews; 18% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (18.0%). R = 4.6; v = 36; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.51
Rank 19: La Crêmerie du Parc
4.6 stars from 20 reviews; 11% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (10.9%). R = 4.6; v = 20; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.50
Rank 20: Lois 'N' Frima's Ice Cream
4.5 stars from 277 reviews; 63% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (62.8%). R = 4.5; v = 277; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.50
Rank 21: Cremerie Flamingo
4.5 stars from 301 reviews; 65% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (64.7%). R = 4.5; v = 301; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.50
Rank 22: Purple Cow Chocolate And Ice Cream
4.5 stars from 496 reviews; 75% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (75.2%). R = 4.5; v = 496; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.48
Rank 23: Scoops Ice Cream Parlour
4.2 stars from 13 reviews; 7% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (7.3%). R = 4.2; v = 13; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.44
Rank 24: Rebelle - Crème glacée
3.7 stars from 15 reviews; 8% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (8.4%). R = 3.7; v = 15; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.40
Rank 25: The Beach Shack Ottawa
3.3 stars from 16 reviews; 9% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: low (8.9%). R = 3.3; v = 16; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded - fromOttawa Score 4.38
Rank 26: Haven's Creamery
4.3 stars from 262 reviews; 62% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (61.5%). R = 4.3; v = 262; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
- fromOttawa Score 4.36
Rank 27: Orleans - C127
4.3 stars from 397 reviews; 71% of the score is its own rating.
Score breakdown
Confidence: medium (70.8%). R = 4.3; v = 397; C = 4.5034; m = 164. Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C.
Website not recorded
No place below the first three on this page matches. Try another name or street.
Why does 4.8 rank above 5.0?
Score = (v / (v + m)) × R + (m / (v + m)) × C. Ottawa-area average: C = 4.503448275862069; m = 164. R is the recorded Google rating; v is the recorded review count. Confidence is v / (v + m), the rating’s weight in the score.
How we score. Google stars, weighted by review count, pulled toward that average. Data from .
- The Merry Dairy 4.8 stars · 1,969 reviews
- Cassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet 4.8 stars · 551 reviews
- Chris's Ice Cream 4.9 stars · 164 reviews
Filled square: score. Open circle: Google rating. The axis starts at 4.4; all values are out of 5.
Places screened for this list
1,795 unique places screened; 1,768 excluded in the saved list file. 27 ranked places.
- Chains with 10+ locations in Canada
- 629
- Alcohol or excluded type
- 194
- Gambling
- 1
- Under 10 reviews
- 76
- Closed
- 1
- Out of area or category
- 1742
- Other source checks
- 4
Reason counts can overlap. Other source checks include identity, rating, branch and pending chain checks. Counts describe the saved screening, not complete local coverage.
Data checked . How we screen and score.
Local talk
Reddit data is partial for this list. Saved matches are review-only research and do not affect the rank.
- Moo Shu Ice Cream: Reddit discussion · Posted:
- Chris's Ice Cream: Reddit discussion · Posted:
- The Merry Dairy: Reddit discussion · Posted:
Reddit pull date: .
TikTok
- 7 TikTok results in the saved Google organic pull for “ice cream ottawa tiktok”. Pull date: .
- 7 Instagram results in the saved Google organic pull for “ice cream ottawa instagram”. Pull date: .
These are search results, not platform post totals, views or endorsements.
Questions
Why does Chris's Ice Cream rank below places with a lower rating?
Its 4.9 rests on 164 reviews, which gives it 0.50 confidence. Half its score comes from the Ottawa-area average of 4.50, so it scores 4.70, behind The Merry Dairy at 4.78 and Cassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet at 4.73.
How close are The Merry Dairy and Cassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet?
Both carry a 4.8 rating. The Merry Dairy has 1,969 reviews to Cassis's 551, which lifts its confidence from 0.77 to 0.92 and its score 0.05 points higher. Close on rating, far apart on volume.
Where are Dairy Queen and Baskin-Robbins?
Both are chains with 10 or more locations in Canada, so they are left off. This list is for local shops, and 27 places made the ranking.