Omgggggg sooooo goood!!! Without even trying a bite, I picked the sweet roti and ghee ice cream and OMG was it the best choice ever!!! Also tried rose, mango cream, and something pista. They were good too!!!! Def going back! Certainly expensive - paid $9 for one scoop of roti and ghee. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Very yummy, rich, ginger-y oat milk chai, comfortable seating, pleasant ambiance. So many intriguing ice cream flavors to choose from! Many vegan options, including scooped ice cream, bars, and ice cream cakes. read more

I had no intentions on stopping for ice cream on a cold December day! But I had to stop in because of the incredible flavors on the menu! I eat lactose and gluten free. So I typically order vegan ice creams. Love how the allergens are clearly listed on the labels, even the toppings are clearly labeled! I got to sample the Royal Cinnamon with Black Salt Caramel and the Spiced Peanut Crunch. The Royal Cinnamon with Black Salt Caramel was a base of vanilla flavored, coconut vegan ice cream - very rich, creamy and delightful, mild in flavor, with hints of salt! Would order again! The sample of the Spiced Peanut Crunch was very peanut forward! I was hesitant on ordering a full scoop of the ice cream since I personally don't love warm spices. But maybe I'll order sometime. There is a frozen case of other vegan popsicles and desserts! Overall clean establishment. Possible to order one scoop for $6 or a split scoop for $7.50 (Dec 2025). Fun and unique flavors. Parking can be tricky in the heart of Rittenhouse. Tldr Food 4.5/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4/5 read more

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When I tell you this is easily my most favorite ice cream spot. I personally am uninterested in most ice cream flavors because they're generic; but an Indian-inspired spot?? Incredibly decadent and amazing. If you grew up eating culturally rich food, you'll love this. And if you haven't, then you will wish you had this type of sweetness even sooner. I've had multiple flavors here, drank many chais, and even have happily eaten chai-flavored baked goods a few times. This place always delivers. The staff are super sweet and the interior is so cute to be in. read more

The flavors are so unique here, definitely not to sweet. The ice cream has a nice creamy consistency, even the vegan ones which is so hard to get right. The cardamom pistachio has been my favorite so far, but they let you try 4 samples per person so you can try different flavors. I can't wait to go back and try more flavors! read more

Malai - Cardamom Pistachio Crumble - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If you're adventurous to try unusual flavors, you can give it a try. Among others, the flavors are coffee cardamom, baklava, red chili chocolate, toasted nutmeg, date tamarind, cardamom pistachio crumble. There are a couple of regular flavors: milk and cookies and sea salt vanilla. For those who don't consume dairy, they have non-dairy flavors and sorbet. You can buy Dubai Chocolate ice cream pie: crisp katafi crust with chocolate ganache layer on top of it, pistachio card among ice cream and topped with crackling chocolate shell. Not a big fan of ice cream, no problem. They have soft serve, pop sickles, and ice cream sandwiches I bought a pint of rose with cinnamon roasted almonds. The rose flavor is very subtle, I didn't notice the cinnamon. It's refreshing and light with read more

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Wow really love this concept. Malai takes inspiration from Indian flavors, spices, and desserts to make very creative ice creams. The ice cream itself is high quality - mine was really creamy and lovely. And the flavors really take it to the next level (butter roti + ghee - yum!) The workers were patient with our many questions and let us try a few flavors. They also accommodated my friend with celiac, who needed them to scoop out of a fresh tub so she wouldn't get any gluten. The inside is fun and vibrant with a coraly hot pink color all over. Take your ice cream to the square on a nice day and enjoy! read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This ice cream spot in Rittenhouse is a total delight! So many wild and interesting flavors to try, but the masala flavor is my fave! spicy, sweet, and totally addictive. The staff is super friendly and even let us sample all the flavors before choosing. The shop itself is super cute, and sitting outside with a scoop (or two!) just makes the experience even better. Can't wait to come back and try more flavors! read more

Malai - Masala - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It is great to have an Indian ice cream store right here in Philly. I was familiar with Malai from their original Brooklyn location. I am happy to see them expanding to new areas. There was a long line of people waiting to get in. It was a warm summer day so everyone was craving some ice cream. When we entered we were happy to smell the great ice cream flavors and great air conditioning. They have several mixed flavors such as Tulsi and Cardamom. You have your regular flavors with an Indian mix. You can always grab a kulfi on a stick and enjoy it as a treat. Some of the highlights I saw were the gulab jamun ice cream cake and the ice cream cake with coffee cardamom and orange fennel ice cream. It was interesting to see the American/Indian mixtures in the ice cream flavors. I only tried a couple flavors but will be back for more. Usually I only go to Van Leeuwen down the street for ice cream but this provides a new option. Everyone should go to Malai and check out the new flavors when they get a chance. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I really wanted to like this place because I love the vision it has being born in Sri Lanka. The quality of the ice cream is top notch, no argument there. What lacked is the flavor. It's such a shame too because the flavor combinations are so creative and have so much potential but your tastebuds are searching hard for even a smidge of what it's supposed to taste like. I ended up getting the mango & cream and the rose after sampling quite a few flavors. I hate to say this but I wouldn't come back, and honestly there's much better ice cream spots in Philly. If they were to hone in on the flavors more, it would've been a home run for me. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It is absolutely magical inside. The interior design has such thought and the peach colored walls are so warm and inviting. I will definitely be coming back to try each creative flavor. I want to pick up the gulab jamun ice cream cake for a special occasion in the near future. We got a mango soft serve and then a cardamom soft serve. Wish we knew that we could get a swirl of them both. Both flavors were good but I think I'd personally prefer one of the dairy options in a waffle. Got the iced chai, it isn't that milky. The masala used for it is really intense, it's all the spices you could imagine in a chai exploding in your mouth. it might not be how you make chai at home but still a good drink overall. When we went to pay, the staff member did not even look up to acknowledge us, she just asked the scooper what we got. read more

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Peanut crunch tasted exactly like those peanut caramels with black/white pepper. Sweet with a hint of spiciness. It was smooth and creamy despite being vegan. I was not a fan of the hibiscus flavor that they had today because the savory spice and floral hibiscus flavor didn't match well in my opinion. That being said, the flavors were very true to their names! A 4.75 for me if I could do fractions read more

Malai - Peanut crunch - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Service was quick and easy and the soft serve was delicious! It was pretty quiet inside and there was some cute seating. Can't wait to come back next time I'm in Philly! read more

The famous Indian ice cream shop that had roots in Brooklyn and came to Washington DC finally opened up in Rittenhouse square. It is located less than a block from the square and there was a big line to get in. The outside was a townhouse shaped building in an interesting orange color. There was some seating inside. The place sells pints of ice cream as well. We ended up trying a ton of flavors. They also have a mango lasso soft serve I am dying to try next time I visit. The flavors did have an Indian vibe to them. Reminded me of when my mom used to buy ice cream at the Indian store. I did like how it tasted more Americanized than the indian grocery store ice cream. The only flavor I wasn't a big fan of was the curry leaf creamsicle. That must be an aquired taste. Ended up getting the rose with cinnamon roasted almonds and mango with cream. I really liked how the rose tasted just like the rose milk my mom made when I was younger. I also liked the use of roasted almonds. The mango with cream was ok. I felt like it was pretty basic. It tasted like mango pump juice mixed in with vanilla ice cream. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We were here on a hot weekend looking for some great ice creams. We had heard a lot and were very excited to try it out. We were not disappointed. We ordered rose ice-cream and Tulsa chocolate chip ice cream. The rose was nice and easy to eat. Tulsa chocolate chip was regular chocolate chip, missing the wow factor of Tulsi flavor. Overall we thought the ice cream were nice but nothing that we would rave about. The service was polite and ambiance was casual. The place is small with limited seating. read more

Malai - Malaise ice cream inventory - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Congrats on the opening day! With inconsistent ice cream textures and scoop sizes I would probably give the experience a 3.5/5 Hope the staff can figure out best way to manage the line and freezer temp while giving more attention to scoop sizes! ICE CREAM: Apricot Mace was fairly melted when it was scooped off to us already (photo right side bright orange scoop). It looked to be a full "fresh" freezer tub too. It was also the smallest scoop compared to the other two we got from the same staff. Flavor is fruity and a bit too sweet (3/5 ) Cherry Black Cardamom was partially melted but a medium size (photo front light pink scoop). Flavor was a creamy ice cream with a light smokiness and a semi tart sweet cherry jam (4/5) Passionfruit Cilantro was the best flavor, a real scoop, and good texture. The flavor of passionfruit is very bright and fruity and the end of a bite is a light earthy cilantro -- I appreciate the creative flavor and great execution of a vegan option (5/5) SERVICE: I don't even count waiting an hour in line for the opening day as staff seemed to move along. The blond female staff member with a bright smile who helped us seemed to give inconsistent scoop sizes compared to other staff that customers who walked away with scoops as tall as the cup. Receiving three scoops of varying sizes itself that appeared smaller than some other customers, AND having two fairly melted textures was more disappointing. ENVIRONMENT: The shop itself is really cute with bright lights, colorful wall mural, and decent amount of table seating as an ice cream shop. It gives cafe vibes to easily hang out and enjoy. Worth visiting when the opening days rush subsides to normal business levels. read more

Malai - Single scoops - cherry cardamom, passionfruit cilantro, apricot mace - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A new ice cream spot offering some fun, unique flavors! I went in the afternoon on a weekend and there was no line - it seems like it might have just been that opening rush the weekend before. The rose ice cream was fantastic! Really enjoyed that one. The cinnamon honeybun, the Philly flavor, wasn't as good - there was too much cinnamon for my liking and the one piece of cinnamon roll that was in it was dry and hard. I had a tough time choosing flavors as there were several others I wanted to try, like the lychee, mango & cream, strawberry, etc. I got the split scoop with two flavors and could not finish it. There are a couple of tables and chairs within. They do ice cream sandwiches, cakes, and pints to take home (each pint is about $12.50). read more

Malai - Rose and cinnamon honeybun - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I wanted to try this place like many others because Indian inspired ice creams are not widely available. Apparently this place has been on Gold Belly but understandably, I didn't want to pay for the extra shipping. The place will do well in bigger cities. Eventually, LA will have a place, probably Chicago, maybe Austin, and maybe Baltimore. This place opened two Saturdays ago I believe, and there was a line at least one block long when I arrived. I had the passion fruit cilantro, cinnamon honeybun, and strawberry pie. All the flavors were fine but it wasn't that extra flavor punch I was hoping for. I am not sure if cilantro mixes with passion fruit the best but it wasn't bad by any means. The cinnamon honeybun, I wasn't tasting much cheesecake, cinnamon, or honey. The strawberry pie had a few nice frozen strawberries but I didn't taste the jam, anise, or crust enough. I also had the Jalisa Iced tea and the Indian spiced flavoring was too faint for me to feel it was different than a regular tea. The hibiscus frosted loaf- I enjoyed the frosting and the spiciness of the loaf but I would've wanted more of the frosting on the loaf. Is that too Americanized for me to say? lol. Staff is friendly here. read more

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Malai is such a cool little ice cream spot that takes Indian-inspired flavors and absolutely nails them. I got the saffron soft serve and the masala chai ice cream -- both were amazing. The saffron soft serve was creamy and floral in the best way, not too sweet, just really elegant. The masala chai ice cream had that warm, spiced flavor you'd expect, like a scoop of cozy in the summer heat. Also tried the tulsi tea and it was super refreshing -- herbal, clean, and just the right thing for a hot day. The sitting area is small but cute, and it's right next to Rittenhouse Park, so you can easily grab your treat and chill nearby. Service was super fast too -- they had four people behind the counter, so we didn't have to wait at all. Can't wait to come back and try more flavors. read more

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Malai has some delightful flavors, a bright space (with a few tables), and a terrific staff. The person who helped us let me know that the Strawberry Pie has an anise note, which surprises some orderers--as someone who doesn't like black licorice, I appreciated the heads up! I ended up ordering half scoops of the Cinnamon Honeybun and the Tulsi Chocolate Chip, which were great. Looking forward to trying other flavors on my next visit! read more

Malai - Jun 2025 - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Really cute Indian-owned ice cream spot that opened up! I love that they have such a unique array of flavors. I tried the chai flavor as well as the tulsi chocolate chip. I thought the ice cream was super creamy, but for the chai especially, the chai flavor itself was a little too muted and the ice cream was a touch too sweet. However, I get that it's a fine line between subtle spicy flavors and ruining the sweetness of ice cream. Would love to come back and try new flavors! read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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New ice cream spot opened a Philly location just south of Rittenhouse square. Quite busy on their opening weekend with a line down the block to try the unique flavors. Inside has a few tables and chairs, and the line moves fairly quick. Had the black cherry cardamom and mango cream flavors. Black cherry cardamom had a nice standout flavor. Mango and cream was quite subtle. Both melted quite quickly, more so then other places. They also sell a few other things like cakes, ice cream sandwiches, and pints in a freezer. I'd go back and try different flavors as there were a few other interesting ones. I think Malai will be another decent ice cream option as it competes against the others right around Rittenhouse with its unique flavors. Thanks read more

Malai - Flavor menu opening week - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For a place where I had to stand in line for an hour+, Malai can count me as a captivated audience of their creamery product as I loved the scoops that I ordered. At first, I was set on getting a scoop of the Lemon Cardamom ice cream. But then, after trying their Passionfruit Cilantro out of curiosity, I had to change my mind. The refreshing citrusy flavor was satisfyingly good along with a scoop of Lychee to balance out its tartness. On a warm summer night, the combination was awesomely good. As a cherry on top, since it's their grand opening day, my friends and I scored $3 a scoop. It remains to be seen how this place stacks up to the other ice cream places, but I wouldn't mind a revisit for a taste of a different flavor. read more

Some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Malai hits the spot with its own unique twist on classic Indian flavors. Very excited to have Malai in Philly! I got the pistachio and saffron soft serve swirl and it was incredibly creamy. The flavors of both were coming through and blending nicely. For opening day the staff kept it smooth. They also have pints, pops and ice cream sandwiches available! Editing to add Indian aunty approved! I came back 3 days after opening when my mom came into town and we got rose cinnamon and tulsi chocolate chip. My mom loved the rose cinnamon and she doesn't even like cinnamon things. The tulsi chocolate chip had the crunchy texture from the chocolate chips that I love and a mild earthiness from the tulsi. It was so good. Line was still long but it moved quickly. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great service and able to try whatever flavors we wanted. Inside was clean. Thought the pricing was very fair too. Great option right on the park. read more

Malai - Mango and chai soft serve - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I like to call myself an ice cream connoisseur so I had to stop into Malai after many folks recommended it to me. I heard there were dairy free flavors and the best steeped chai, so why not? I was not able to try the chai ice cream since it was not dairy free, but a girl can dream! I has the spicy peanut which was surprisingly not spicy and very flavorful. I also had a chai latte with oat milk. It's a wonderful spot to hang at with beautiful decor and friendly staff. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place was so good! I'm surprised by how unique and yummy the ice cream was. What a cool twist! The inside is also cute and the staff were very sweet. Definitely enjoyed my time here. It did get really crowded fast which is why we opted to sit outside. read more

Malai - Sweet corn saffron ice cream with sprinkles - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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My daughter has been here enough times to convince me to try it. It is a cute store with various Indian style flavours. We chose Rose Cinnamon with Roasted Almonds, and Coffee Cardamom. Both flavours were very delicious (definitely want to try other flavours). The service was just okay. The employees were kind of dead in their eyes and just going through the motions of their job. I am not taking away any points off because they weren't rude or anything, but just a little excitement and a customer service will help. read more

Malai - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I'm so happy to see a Malai has opened up in Philly! I have been going to the Brooklyn one for years but my bf lives in Philly and now we can enjoy it in both our cities :) The flavors rotate pretty regularly but my favorite is this spicy chocolate one they make. It's sooo good! read more

The hype is real and the vibes are elite! This was a great option for a warm weather sweet treat. My wife and I were looking forward to checking this place out and we happen to be in the area! We took the short walk over from dinner to Malai. We love how close it is to the park - can definitely see us grabbing a cone and strolling through Rittenhouse. Inside it's a well lit, clean space. There's small tables to enjoy the ice cream indoors. The flavors are so creative and they limit to 4 tastings to keep the line moving so choose wisely and plan to come back! They also have sandos and even pints to go! Malai just take my money already! read more

Had a great experience in Malai! Stopped in while it was pouring rain so only two other people were in there - probably why the workers let us sample more than the listed limit, they were very kind and chatted with us! It was perfect for someone indecisive like me. I ended up getting the lemon cardamom and masala chai but everything else was unique as well (tulsi chocolate chip, passionfruit cilantro). Ice cream itself is nice and creamy, slightly sweet but worth it for the flavors. I'm still dreaming of the saffron soft serve I sampled! And awaiting the next time I'm in a city blessed with a Malai location. read more

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new south asian ice cream shop in rittenhouse square with fun flavors! i checked out malai on opening day, and while the ice cream flavors are fantastic, the overall experience was a little chaotic. many of the ice cream flavors were melted, and i would like to echo another yelper's comment that scoop sizes were inconsistent. i'll chalk it up to first day nerves/the staff being overwhelmed with how busy it was... i had a half scoop of the masala chai and a half scoop of the lychee. the lychee was practically liquid, but i did really enjoy the masala chai ice cream. one of my friends tried the cherry black cardamom and rose with cinnamon roasted almonds which were both delightful (albeit a little melted). my other friend ordered two scoops, one of the lychee and one of the masala chai but unfortunately staff messed up her order and gave two scoops of the lychee instead. she felt bad and said that it was okay, but we were a little disappointed that they didn't at least offer to correct it. once again, chalking it up to opening day chaos. the shop was pretty spacious for an ice cream spot and had limited seating. it was definitely packed to the brim with opening excitement, and i'll have to swing back around when the hype dies down. i love the unique flavors offered here, and i also appreciate that they rotate their flavors every two months. what an exciting new ice cream shop! read more

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Was crowded when walked in. The lines were disorderly but moved fast. They limited samples to 4 but ppl tried many more. The layout is similar to other ice cream shops but filled with many light pastel colors. Unfortunately, the flavors were okay, not fantastic compared to other Philadelphia ice cream options. We chose the mango & cream and rose & pistachios split scoop. The mango was creamy with hint of dairy farm-like flavor. Had to dig in to scoop out the mango concentrate. The rose ice cream was light with a hint of rose. These flavors were okay but not some place I would return to. read more

Malai - Mango and cream and rose and pistachio split scoop - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Half my group thought it was decent but not that flavorful or as the flavor-name advertised. But this is my review and I personally had no complaints & am easy to please. I ordered the "rose with cinnamon roasted almonds". Delightful and would order again. Upon first sampling it wasn't the biggest fan, but eating a scoop it grew on me and enjoyed how salty it was. I already know I'd like vanilla, pistachio, etc. so i sampled the more unique flavors -- very strange! fun & happy for a new spot to diversity all the repetitive ice cream options. good new spot for the ice cream perverts read more

Looove that they have different flavors for soft serve vs the usual vanilla and chocolate. I opted for the pistachio and it was super creamy and not floral-tasting like some pistachio icecream can get. Their mango lassi is good but not the best (leaves an aftertaste in your mouth probably from the quality of mango that i dont care for) - though i cant fault an icecream place for that. Excited to try their other unique flavors soon! read more

Unique flavors, friendly staff, and you can try up to 4 samples. The pistachio soft serve was the perfect custard consistency and the flavor was GREAT. Can't wait to go back! read more

Malai - Mango and pistachio soft serve - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is my second time visiting this place and I got soft serve (saffron + pistachios) this time and Malai didn't not disappoint me!! I love that you could still see some saffron flower paddles in the ice cream The line wasn't that long this time when we got there around 6pm on Thursday. But there were no seats for us to sit down so we walk to RH square to eat our ice cream. We really hope that they could add more seats or outdoor seating Really love the colorful atmosphere! read more

Malai - Soft serve: saffron + pistachio - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

4/5, I thought the pistachio and saffron ice cream swirl was pretty good! I've never had anything like it. The flavors complement each other quite well. Good service, they limit you to 4 samples based on the sign. They have 12 flavors in the case at one time and they rotate the flavors pretty randomly. The chai will be present a lot tho. I like the vibes and music. Staff were super professional and friendly! Would recommend. A good alternative spot for ice cream and vegan options too! My friend got the tulsi chocolate chip and thought she liked the flavors combo, but thought it could be creamier! I would recommend trying Malai in Philly at least once read more

Yum!! Some of the most interesting and tasty flavor options I have seen. I got the two vegan options (can do split scoop). They also have soft serve (not vegan, at list this time). Right of the square so you can get ice cream and go sit in the park. There is also a decent amount of seating inside which is a good change from many of the smaller spaces for other nearby ice cream jawns. Staff are friendly. read more

Malai - Passion fruit Cilantro, Lychee - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My favorite Indian flavored ice cream. Not usually a fan of chocolate ice cream but you must try it here read more

Malai - Pumpkin farms masala crumble and red chili chocolate - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania