Popped into the Van Leeuwen over at Darien Commons (right off Heights Road across from the Noroton Heights station, right next to Cookie City and across from Gregorys Coffee). Parking in the public lot is easy enough to find, though it definitely gets a little tight navigating in and out during rush hours. The shop itself is super bright and clean, and the outdoor courtyard seating is great when the weather is nice. The staff working was incredibly friendly and patient. I ordered three scoops of their vegan ice cream on a vegan sugar cone. The team member was so careful stacking each scoop to make sure the whole tower wouldn't topple over--I managed to snap a quick photo of the masterpiece (see photo!), but sure enough, I didn't get very far before gravity won and the whole thing came tumbling down. Without missing a beat, the staff member immediately made me a fresh one and kindly packed it into a cup this time around. Super helpful and genuinely great customer service. The ice cream was delicious, as always. Definitely hitting this spot again--though probably only after a heavy workout to balance it out! read more

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I don't know why these reviews are so low?! I got the pistachio ice cream and was phenomenal!! So so good!!! Creamy and rich! read more

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream - Ois - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

The new Van Leeuwen location in Darien is so nice! I tried the new summer special of passion berry fruit pop, which was so refreshing, and my fiancé went with a classic, chocolate chip cookie dough. The waffle cones were very good, and next time I want to come back and try the ice cream cake summer special! The staff was friendly, and they were well-stocked with pints to take home in the freezer. I do wish there were some seating options available outside, but they're still very new and it's early in the season, so maybe it will be coming soon! read more

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream - Passion Fruit Berry Pop and Chocolate Chip Cookie dough - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

Cute little colorful and fun shop. I went on opening day to a very long line of people wanting to buy a scoop for $1. For those of you who don't know, a scoop at regular price is almost $7. But yes, normally a bit pricy for a small scoop (their pints are typically more expensive in the grocery store too), which is mostly why I choppied off a star. They've also got a limited edition donut ice cream sandwich that they partnered with a local bakery that's selling for a steep $11. I suppose it fits in with the clientele in the area that it's in. Parking is plentiful since it's in the shiny new plaza lot. However, GPS had really a hard time getting me there. I had to loop around and drive through the lot, looking for a line of people to find it. Have your GPS look for Darien Commons or the Citi Bank. It's nice to be able to get access to the full selection rather than limited options at the grocery store. The shops have specialty flavors that aren't offered elsewhere apparently. Not sure if they offer samples, but if they do, it'd be nice to go here to try first and not commit to an entire pint since they have very unique flavors. Service was good with the staff asking for any allergies to make you aware of and were working their best to keep the line moving efficiently. We also got a glimpse of one of the Van Leeuwens himself diving in, hands-on in the new store today. I had the vegan churros & fudge. Normally, I don't gravitate towards vegan options but since it was so cheap, why not try the oat milk? It was flavorful with nice chunks of churro but I will probably stick to regular cow milk ice creaminess, just a personal preference. My regular go to is the earl grey tea that's very earl and creamy goodness. read more

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Van Leeuwen is our go to for ice cream! Love that they opened up a location so close to me! We will now be able to try other flavours instead of just our go-to pints. I decided to give their ice cream sandwich a try and boy was I not disappointed! The cookies were delicious and paired with their vanilla ice cream - definitely a winner. Although next time I will need to be more adventurous with the ice cream flavour in that sandwich! read more

Jahnaia was great! Gave us samples and tips of which topping went well with which flavors. Gave us her feedback on each one and why she thought that. She was honest and open and so friendly. The ice cream was fire of course. read more

Sticker shock. Ok, I was in the area and it was a hot day. I popped in, it's a nice store front, clean and bright with interesting flavors. I sampled the banana vegan and was surprised the taste test spoon was metal not plastic. It's a good thing! I order a small sour cherry and immediately scooped right into it. The ice cream had a nice texture the sour cherry tasted like sour cherry and it wasn't overly sweetened. That's another plus! The small is a very small cup and the price was the sticker shock of $8.00. I didn't ask for a price and because I started to eat the ice cream before the person rang me out. I couldn't say forgettabouit! Overall good ice cream but price point . Maybe it's the rent in the area. read more

Ordered the Sicilian Pistachio ice cream, which was absolutely delicious!!!! Salty and sweet and I swear I was eating real pistachios!!!!

Going out for ice cream is as traditional an outing as movies and popcorn. Van Leeuwen is more than just a venue with delicious and innovative flavors like Earl Gray and cookie dough, it's a destination. What made our outing even more enjoyable was the friendly staff, who were like sommeliers of ice cream. They were helpful and engaging. Sure, the cost of a scoop may be as pricey as a pint, but it's about the activity, connection, and watching your delicacy being scooped up and connecting with others. read more

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream - Enjoyable stuff, yummy ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

The prices are absurd. I ordered a vanilla milkshake (only one size and it was pretty average) and one scoop of brownie ice cream (which was a very small serving like kiddie sized), the total cost was $19.65. How in the world does this make sense? On top of that I hand cash to the employee only for them to say, after handing us the ice cream, that they don't accept cash. What would've happened if I didn't have my card on me? They don't promote or say that this is a cashless business anywhere in the store, not that I saw. The environment of this place seemed fine, very Darien commons-like. So it was on par with the "modern plaza" theme. Even though it was nice inside, the rest of my experience was overthrown with these prices and lack of variety in payment. I could've gone somewhere else for better prices and much better servings. read more

I was excited to try this place so I took the 40 minute drive down to Darien. Customer service was excellent. The ice cream was just average. Yes very unique flavors but still average taste. The chocolate was the best of the 5 we tried. If I went back I would only get chocolate. The pistachio was good but there No pistachios in it which was disappointing. Honey comb was sweet. Brown sugar blondie didn't have any flavor at all, tasted more like a vanilla. The PB honey comb was also bland and barely a hint of PB. Not sure I will return since I live close to many farm fresh places. Oh and it's $11.50 for 3 scoops in a cup. I guess average prices for Darien. read more

The enjoyed the ice cream but stew Leonards makes better ice cream for less than 1/3 the price. Again better ice cream than most grocery stores nothing special though!! read more

The delivery person did not even knock on the door, left it setting on the porch. When they found it the ice cream was half melted.

So happy that I finally got a Van Leeuwen close by! I love their flavors and that their ice cream uses quality ingredients. We stopped by a few weeks after opening and the space was really bright and looked good. The staff was helpful and filled our orders quickly. The tables were a little sticky inside, but other than that it's a great space. read more

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream - a louis vuitton ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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Stopped into Van Leeuwen for a little treat because I've heard so much about it and it's right next to my job. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a smiling face ready to let me sample whatever flavors my heart desired. It was hard to choose because I love coffee ice cream so the Big face Coffee affogato seemed like the obvious choice but there were so many additional great options. I landed on the coffee affogato milkshake (AMAZING) but I'll be back for the pumpkin cheesecake soon enough! Great experience and totally worth the price! My niece is the pickiest when it comes to ice cream and even she left not a drop left ! read more

Used UberEats. I ordered VEGAN. They gave the Uber driver the regular ice cream instead.

I'm a regular customer through UberEats. Orders have been incomplete. Pints that come from the freezer are barely 3/4 full and are freezer burned. And they take an unreasonable amount of time to fulfill. read more

Excellent ice cream but the service was incredibly cold and unwelcoming. We went in with our two kids one evening on an extremely quiet night and weren't greeted or interacted with the entire time. It was a bit jarring actually. If you don't care about ambiance and just want really good ice cream then I'd recommend otherwise I'd go to Gopher. read more

Unfortunately this place won't last long in Darien. The employees are far too cold and unfriendly for our small town. Go to Gophers downtown for true small town warmth and friendliness. My party of five felt apologetic for coming in last night. The employees clearly didn't want to be there. A milkshake did not have the whipped cream as pictured, and there was a large puddle of melted chocolate ice dream on the floor preventing us from sitting at a table. We'll take a pass on this place moving forward. read more

I'm not going to lie being from NYC my opinion may be a little bias lol. I was thrilled to find out Van Leeuwen was coming to Conn. When I go home to Brooklyn it's one of my main stops. This one is just as good and they also offer a vegan flavor "Vegan Earth" that the Brooklyn location doesn't have which has become my new favorite. Great ice cream, great serving sizes. Stop in and give them a try; you won't regret it! read more

Stopped by for ice cream after eating dinner at Seamore's next door. The store itself is a bright, nice space, two stars for that. Three teens working there on a Saturday night, were not overly friendly. We were really disappointed in the ice cream for the price. To us it was nothing special and on par or less with grocery store ice cream. At close to $7 for a scoop that would be the smallest child size anywhere else (like toddler size) it felt like extortion to have two tiny cups for $14. Both Gofer's and Frosty's are so much more flavorful than this "artisan" ice cream. To put it in perspective, the day before I bought a pint of peppermint stick ice cream at Aldi for $1.99. It was delicious, minty with texture/crunch of peppermint sticks throughout. Our whole family loved it. I ordered the peppermint stick here and it was so blah. Bland, not enough mint flavor, no texture. My husband got vanilla and felt it was meh. Thought Trader Joe's vanilla was better. We won't be back. read more