Moorenko’s Ice Cream

Have loved their icecream since discovering it at Yes Organic Market. Had to stop in to the store when I was in the neighborhood. Got Irish Stout, Honey Lavendar and my favorite, Cinnamon Cappucino. All are perfection. When they realized they were out of the cappuccino, they opened a pint just for me. Five stars for flavor and customer service. Worth the sweat at the gym.

It was the first sunny day in a long time (remember those weeks in May 2016 when DC turned into Seattle?) and on my way home from work I decided to stop by for ice cream. I had just recently moved to the area and was excited to try a local ice cream shop. The place was empty and had a neglected vibe to it. I sampled a couple of flavors before picking one and honestly they all tasted the same… just bland vanilla! The guy who was helping me finally suggested the honey lavender, which was a tiny bit more flavorful than the other two. So I decided to go with a small cup of that, tipped generously and headed home to relax with my ice cream cup. I put the spoon in to start eating it and what do I find… a dark coarse HAIR!!!
Will definitely not be coming back!

Is this even ice cream? Beyond the flavors being so so bland and stale and in one instance straight up bad, the texture is AWFUL. It’s like biting into bubble yum. This stuff is obviously full of stabilizers like guar gum or locust bean gum. By the fourth bite I resented that I was wasting calories on this and tossed it.
I am adamant about supporting local businesses but just don’t eat this. Spend your money on a pint of Haagen Dasz and you’ll be *much* happier. (hell, for the same price you could go to a Whole Foods and get a pint of fancy pants McConnell’s ice cream!)

I’ve been here a few times and my biggest issue is the service. Yesterday, for example, I waited (not exaggerating, unfortunately) 20 minutes for a bowl of ice cream. There were four people in front of me. There was one guy working, and while he was nice and smiled a lot he scooped ice cream as if he had never scooped ice cream before. Between scoops OF THE SAME FLAVOR he would slowly and carefully re-​dip his scoop into water. Is the ice cream really so hard that you can’t get two scoops without re-​wetting the scoop? He also didn’t seem to know where any of the flavors were, which necessitated opening each freezer multiple times to find what he was looking for.
It was completely infuriating to stand in line for at least 5 minutes for every customer and watch this exercise in ineptitude unfold.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-​April more than one person should be working in an ice cream store, and if you’re only going to have one person make sure they know what they’re doing.
The actual ice cream? It was fine. But not worth waiting so long for.

Have an ice cream craving? Moorenkos is your place to be! It hits the spot and always satisfies my dessert stomach like no other.
The ambiance: A great little place in Silver Spring. Parking may be difficult as there are only parking meters up front on Georgia but there is always the public garages available nearby. Plenty to seating inside and the alleyway is super adorable with seating as well. During the summer months, it gets crowded.
The eats: Unique flavors with a punch (aka not subtle)! Absolutely delicious!!! The flavors I’ve had worth mentioning are the salted caramel with pecans (my favorite), cinnamon cappuccino, pumpkin, pear sorbet, razz chocolate chip, and strawberries and cream. There’s literally a million flavors to try. I’m always super undecided coming in and happens to be that person to tries 10 flavors before making a decision (haters gonna hate) — but the staff are always accommodating and friendly.
Overall: I personally love supporting small businesses and this place does a great job from friendly customer service, great vibes, and delicious ice cream/​sorbets. The only downside is the price. Yes you pay for what you get and they offer solid ice cream. Thanks Moorenkos for being open today in 35 degree weather. Recommend!

Per a direct message from management on my last review I decided to give Moorenko’s another try this weekend. I was told after my last review that they weigh every cone they serve now. Well that wasn’t the case and I nearly laughed when they handed me my mini cone this weekend… the serving sizes are super small. I almost laughed when I saw it and my $ 0.35 worth of sprinkles was a real joke… less than a sprinkles worth. Also, not that appealing to make your scooper take a break from their dinner to serve you, which is what happened last weekend. Uck.

Their ice cream tasted just okay, nothing spectacular. Walking in was weird. Imagine walking up to the counter to order and some guy is behind the counter, he looks up from his book and has to remove his headphones. Apparently this behavior is allowed but I thought it was unprofessional. He was extremely personable and nice.
But omg, walking in, it smelled so bad — a cross between garbage that needed to be taken out and body odor. I really think it’s just an old building but geez, who wants to eat and smell that at the same time. The ice cream flavors were in box containers and the boxed containers were in these unappealing deep freezers. So you really could not see what the ice cream looked like or what was happening in those freezers. For example, you wouldn’t be able to see if someone stuck their finger in your ice cream as they scooped it out. I like seeing my ice cream behind the glass so I can ensure there’s nothing kooky going on. I would not recommend this place.

Decent ice cream, but I’m not an fan of the 20+ flavors… none of them exactly «right» and my mind wanders towards turnover (although they ran out of a couple by 8pm on a weekend). Far from a big food city, it’s great ice cream… however I can’t put it on my «top list» … not even close… also a bit pricey
Pro tip: when bringing friends, go through the café/​bar next door and enter the ice cream shop through the alley… makes you look much more badass

The ice cream is as good as ever, the store has been refreshed and feels so much more inviting than before, and best of all, the staff is now really friendly, which is a huge change from before. I always loved Moorenko”s ice cream, but now coming to the scoop shop just got even sweeter.

Waited six months to revisit this place from winter hibernation. My typical two-​sccop fix was talked into picking up three scoops of flavorful ginger, cinnamon capacchino and honey lavender from a pint to-​go box. Instead of paying for the price of a pint (one dollar-​ish more than three-​scoop cone, I thought it was a good deal), the kid charged me full price for the pint box and three-​scoops large size ($ 13.61including tips). I was shocked but OK with it since the «supply» will hold my craving while in DC.
A couple of days later, I proudly opened the frig to reward myself after a long day to find the box only HALF FILLED. HALF?! My drool quickly evaporated. A seasoned deal seeker just got duped. Time to spend $ 5 elsewhere to find that instant happiness back.

Coconut and honey lavender. Both divine. The last one tastes both like honey and how lavender smells. Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.

SUNDAY evening, well after 6pm I found myself wanting some ice cream and I wanted quality ice cream. I got just that from Moorenko. Very very nice young prople working there! The servers, there were three of them, were super friendly.
Now let’s get to the Ice Creammm. I have not had good olé Butter Brickle in forever! More than 15 years! I was glad to find it there.
Very pleased with my visit!

Awesome ice cream, but overpriced. Wow. $ 6.65 for a waffle cone? A pint is less than that…
Otherwise I’d give it 5 stars. I don’t know what Ben and Jerry’s or cold stone charge in silver spring so maybe this is the going rate. As a suburbanite, I never pay that at home.
Good variety of flavors.

I want to love Moorenko’s, but honestly I wasn’t crazy about it. The service was sweet and the outdoor seating was plentiful, but the ice cream wasn’t out-​of-​this-​word like I hoped. They have some inventive flavors, but I found the texture to me a little off. I agree with Ruth C. Their ice cream could be a little richer, throw some more cream and/​or egg yolks into the mix.

SO GOOD.
I just got back from my second trip to Moorenko’s. The first time I had the black raspberry chocolate chip (one of their best sellers) and this time I did a two-​fer of marshmallow and cookie overload. All incredible.
The ice cream is rich, creamy, and in fun, unique flavors. I never would have thought of marshmallow ice cream before, or that it’d be be good, but it was, right down to the bits of marshmallow in the middle. It’s somewhat pricey, $ 4 for a small, but definitely worth it for a once in a while treat.
Both times we’ve been there was at off times, so there wasn’t much of a crowd and we were severed pleasantly and right away. One server even remembered us from the one other time we were there, about a month ago, which was really nice.
They’re situated in an awesome little alleyway filled with tables and benches, so it’s a nice place just to hang out on a beautiful day.

I am a huge fan of Moorenko’s ice cream and love the fact that they have an actual store in Silver Spring (so I feel that I’m guaranteed fresh batches of ice cream), but the service here is hit or miss. I’ve come here a few times — a couple of times the place was closed even when their hours said they would be open (so it might be best to call ahead to this place to make sure they’re open if you’re coming from a distance), and other times the service wasn’t very responsive. I’ll admit that those experiences were from awhile back, and that my more recent experience with the servers has been good. They’re always very nice about letting you try the different flavors, and there’s usually a very large selection.
The main reason why I love their ice cream is that I don’t get a negative reaction to it. (I’m someone who’s allergic to milk due to the hormones in milk, so I generally react poorly to milk products, including ice cream. This ice cream is one of the few that doesn’t cause me any trouble.) Their fruity ice cream flavors also pack a lot of flavor, including real fruit chunks. My favorite is their blueberry ice cream, with a close second being their chocolate.

When I saw all the great reviews I got really excited to try this place out. I get that this is a family owned, local shop, which is great. I just don’t think there’s anything special about the ice cream. The flavors are interesting and I love the outdoor seating, but I expected more from the great reviews. I think if you are in the area and want ice cream then great or if you’re a sucker for different types of flavors than you’d find at a Baskin Robbins, this place is for you. I’ll stick to Dolci Gelati in Takoma for my everyday ice cream needs.

I love ice cream. This is my happy place. It will be your happy place, too.
Moorenko’s ice cream is truly premium: it is decadent, creamy, luxurious. The flavors are subtle and sublime. If you’re used to more commercial ice cream, this may be a shock, but truly, it will win your palate over.
I used to live in Silver Spring so it was my secret, but I’m happy to journey here from DC. My personal favorite is the salted caramel. But on a hot day, the honey-​lavender and the ginger can both be very refreshing. You may have a hard time deciding between the different flavors but they are generous with samples.
VEGAN NOTE: Their sorbets are excellent. Every time my mom, who is lactose intolerant, is in town she pleads with me to bring her here for the chocolate sorbet.
The staff is always oh so nice and the owner, Susan, is often around and really cares about her customers being happy and becoming loyal supporters.
If you can’t make it out to Silver Spring, look for it in certain grocery stores like Yes, Whole Foods, Giant, and Safeway. This is just too good to not try.

Cotton Candy Ice Cream with Gummy Bears? Sign me up !
It’s delicious
Rum Raisin? Sign me up more!
That’s the one I ended up with.
other flavors included Pumpkin
They were actually out of a lot of flavors when we went. They had them in pints, but not for scoop serve.
The guy who at served us was super kind. He didn’t seem like he minded at all that we sampled a bunch of flavors. He was a little apologetic about not having so many flavors. He really cared about the customer experience.
Overall, a great experience. The ice cream was delicious. And the store was big and had plenty of seating. I will surely be back.

Three and a half stars. Friendly, if slightly absent service. Lots of seating inside and out. Went later in the day when a third of their daily rotation had already run out, though there was a decent array of flavors left in their pre-​packed pints. A few basic fruit options for that last minute pang of guilt, sampler trio format for the indecisive when tiny tastes can’t break a tie. Bittersweet chocolate was reasonably balanced. Cotton candy w/​gummy bears was as sweet as expected, with solidly chilled gummies peppered throughout. Rum raisin and butter pecan were decently executed staples, and both pumpkin and blueberry tasted as seasonally fresh as I’d hoped. I like their creative flavors, but still wish their ice cream was a little richer.