The Chilling NYC Ice Cream Shop That Scoops Up A Surprise Every Time

Customers get a mystery with every scoop at a New York City ice cream shop where customers are served a surprise flavor. Surprise Scoop opened its doors at the beginning of 2025 in Manhattan's East Village, billing itself as "The World's First Flavor Roulette Ice Cream Shop." The gimmick has been social media catnip, drawing viral attention online for the shop.

Nothing indicates what Surprise Scoop is from outside except its name in small lettering in the corner of a plain purple awning and a sandwich board sign on the street. The small, purple-floored interior is completely empty, with no workers in sight. Two ordering touchscreens are on one wall, mirrors are on the other, and a small pickup window is in the back with a sliding door decorated with question marks. The white walls and ceiling are graced with a few colorful squiggles, and a couple of phrases are written on the mirrors, including the strangely foreboding, "They will learn to like it." Some patrons have described the stark vibe as dystopian.

A surprise flavor is the only thing available to order on the touchscreen, but you can indicate if you have allergies and request no whipped cream, berries, or cherry on top. You also confirm that you won't know the flavor and that they don't do exchanges or refunds. After you pay a pricey $10 for two scoops of handmade ice cream, another screen indicates when it will be ready. Finally, the pickup window's door slides open and a hand passes through your ice cream in a Chinese takeout-style box.

Not only do you not know what flavor you get at Surprise Scoop, you never find out unless you guess correctly on Instagram. Founder Jackie Luu told amNewYork you'll be told if your guess is right, but if you're wrong, you won't be told the flavor. However, the shop has disclosed some of the flavors it's retired, including Flaming Hot Cheetos, Ovaltine (chocolate malt), everything bagel with cream cheese, and dill pickle. Luu said there are a dozen flavors in the rotation at a time and they don't repeat until after 10 to 12 orders.

The shop served basic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry at first, but Luu explained to the New York Post, "People were mad they were paying so much for chocolate. A lot of people wanted something more adventurous." Surprise Scoop obliged, which means you probably won't be getting any of the most popular ice cream flavors in the United States, but maybe the brand will reach back to ice cream flavors that were once popular, but you hardly ever see now.

Once you get past trying to figure out the flavor, how good is the ice cream? Some reviews have said the quality is decidedly average, like something you'd find in a supermarket. But most comments have understandably been more focused on the fun of the surprise concept. The unknown ice cream idea isn't entirely new. People in the Midwest enjoy Superman ice cream (the region's most mysterious flavor) without knowing exactly what it is.