Lu•Lu Ice Cream in Vergennes: Creative Vermont Scoops

Garden Basil. Dorian Gray. Backyard Mint Chip. Bees Knees. Slumdog Millionaire.

You don’t have to read very far down the flavor board at Lu•Lu Ice Cream Local favorite: Lu Lu in downtown Vergennes before realizing this isn’t your average Vermont scoop shop.

Lu•Lu has become one of my favorite places for ice cream in Vermont because there’s always something on the menu that makes me stop and think about what it might taste like. The ice cream is small batch and made from scratch, the ingredients lean heavily local and seasonal, and flavors can incorporate everything from fresh basil and backyard mint to local spirits, berries and ingredients you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in your cone.

You can absolutely order something familiar, but I don’t think that’s the most fun way to experience Lu•Lu. This is where I want the basil ice cream, curried peanut butter or whatever seasonal flavor sounds just unusual enough that I have to know if it works.

And somehow, it usually does.

From Bristol to Downtown Vergennes

Lu•Lu’s Vermont story actually began in Bristol, where founder Laura Mack opened the original small-batch ice cream shop before moving the business to 185 Main Street in Vergennes in 2018. The move gave Lu•Lu room for both its scoop shop and production operation, and today the bright downtown space is open year-round.

It’s a fitting home for a business that feels so rooted in this part of Vermont. Vergennes is small enough that you can park downtown and wander, grabbing lunch, popping into the shops along Main Street and finishing with a cone from Lu•Lu before continuing your Addison County adventures.

But what has always made Lu•Lu particularly interesting to me is what happens behind the counter. Instead of buying a premade ice cream base and adding flavors to it, the team makes its ice cream from scratch and pasteurizes it in-house. Lu•Lu works directly with local farmers and producers to source seasonal ingredients, with many traveling only a few miles before ending up in a batch of ice cream.

That farm-to-spoon approach is a big part of why flavors like basil and mint make so much sense here. They don’t feel like novelty flavors created just to get your attention. They taste like Vermont ingredients turned into ice cream.

Try the Garden Basil Ice Cream

If you see Garden Basil on the menu, this is the flavor I’d tell you to try at least once.

Basil ice cream sounds unusual until you taste it. Instead of being aggressively savory, the herb gives the ice cream a fresh, aromatic flavor that’s especially good on a hot summer day. It’s also one of the flavors most closely associated with Lu•Lu and has earned national attention over the years. Vermont Tourism highlights Lu•Lu’s basil among the inventive flavors that have helped make the Vergennes shop a destination for ice cream lovers.

This was one half of my order on a recent visit, paired with Backyard Mint Chip, and the two together were such a refreshing summer combination. The basil is unexpected without feeling strange, while the mint gives you something recognizable without tasting like the bright green mint ice cream you might remember from childhood.

If you’re hesitant about ordering an herb-flavored ice cream, ask for a taste first. I think you might be surprised.

Slumdog Millionaire Is the Cult Classic

Then there’s Slumdog Millionaire.

This is curried peanut butter ice cream, and it’s one of those combinations that makes considerably more sense once it’s in your mouth than it does when you’re reading it on a flavor board.

The flavor has been part of Lu•Lu almost from the beginning. Mack has called it a “cult classic,” and there’s a fun family connection behind it: it’s the one flavor created by her chef father.

Peanut butter gives you the rich, familiar base, while the curry adds warmth and spice that changes the entire experience. It’s not necessarily the scoop I’d hand to someone looking for plain chocolate ice cream, but that’s precisely why I think it’s worth trying.

Lu•Lu is at its best when you let it convince you that an ingredient you’ve never associated with dessert absolutely belongs in your ice cream.

Look for Boozy and Dessert-Inspired Flavors

The creativity doesn’t stop with herbs and curry.

Depending on what’s in rotation, you might encounter flavors like Better Than Revenge, made with vanilla ice cream and Vermont’s WhistlePig whiskey, or The Walking Dead, which combines vanilla ice cream with raspberry ripple, chocolate chunks and homemade marshmallows.

Dorian Gray, Bees Knees and other creatively named flavors rotate through as ingredients and seasons change, which means I wouldn’t arrive expecting to find the exact same flavor lineup you saw on someone’s Instagram post from three months ago.

Lu•Lu’s approach is built around seasonality, and the shop is constantly experimenting with ingredients and combinations. Rather than finding one favorite and ordering it forever, I tend to look at the board and decide what sounds most interesting that day.

Don’t Overlook Backyard Mint Chip

Mint chip is familiar enough that it could easily get lost beside curried peanut butter and basil. Don’t overlook it.

Backyard Mint Chip shows why ingredients matter. Fresh mint gives ice cream a completely unique character from the artificial mint flavor you might associate with traditional mint chocolate chip, creating something lighter and more herbaceous.

I paired it with the basil on my last visit, and I’d order the combination again without hesitation. Both flavors are refreshing enough for a hot Vermont summer day, but they’re different enough that you aren’t essentially eating two versions of the same scoop.

This is also why I usually order two flavors at Lu•Lu. There are too many interesting combinations to commit to just one.

There Are Vegan and Dairy-Free Options, Too

Lu•Lu also makes options for people who aren’t eating traditional dairy ice cream, including its 3 Amigos sorbet.

The flavor combines raspberry, blackberry and blueberry into one berry-heavy scoop and is vegan and dairy-free. Lu•Lu identifies 3 Amigos as one of its fan favorites, so this isn’t an afterthought added to the freezer simply so there’s something available for dairy-free customers.

Availability changes, so I’d ask what’s currently being scooped if you have dietary restrictions rather than assuming a particular flavor will be available when you visit.

Lu•Lu has also experimented beyond traditional cow’s-milk ice cream. The company developed a local goat milk gelato in partnership with Vermont goat dairies and Cornell University, creating a certified lactose-free gelato line while providing another market for milk from local farms.

It’s another example of how much experimentation is happening behind what looks, from Main Street, like a small Vermont ice cream shop.

Yes, You Can Get a Vermont Creemee at Lu•Lu

If you’re firmly on Team Creemee, Lu•Lu has you covered there too.

Maple is the Vermont classic, but Lu•Lu also rotates specialty creemee flavors, which is usually where my attention goes. Over the years, I’ve seen flavors like raspberry, blueberry, coffee and limoncello alongside maple, giving you plenty of opportunities to create a twist you probably aren’t going to find at the average roadside creemee stand.

That makes Lu•Lu a particularly good stop if you’re traveling with a group that can’t agree on what kind of frozen dessert they want. You can get the small-batch hard ice cream, try something dairy-free or see what’s currently on the creemee machine.

And if there’s an interesting specialty creemee flavor available, get the twist.

Take a Pint Home

The danger of finding a flavor you really like at Lu•Lu is realizing it may not be waiting for you the next time you visit.

Fortunately, you can take pints home.

Lu•Lu has grown well beyond its Main Street scoop counter, with its ice cream available through retail partners around Vermont and the Northeast. The company also offers frozen shipping for some products, using insulated packaging and dry ice to keep everything frozen in transit.

There’s even an ice cream CSA.

Lu•Lu’s Cool Club works much like a traditional farm CSA, except instead of vegetables, members receive monthly pints of seasonal and exclusive flavors, sometimes before those flavors reach the regular scoop counter. The current program offers two- or four-pint monthly options with local pickup in Vergennes and a three-month minimum commitment.

An ice cream CSA feels very Vermont to me.

Make Lu•Lu Part of a Day in Vergennes

I wouldn’t drive into Vergennes, eat an ice cream cone and immediately leave.

Vermont’s smallest city is compact enough to explore on foot, and Lu•Lu sits right on Main Street, making it an easy addition to an afternoon downtown. Browse the independent shops, grab lunch or dinner, walk around the city and then head to Lu•Lu when you’re ready for dessert.

You can also use Vergennes as a stop on a larger Addison County road trip. Head toward Button Bay and Lake Champlain, explore nearby farms and farmstands, continue toward Middlebury or make your way north toward Charlotte and the Champlain Valley.

But give yourself enough time at Lu•Lu to actually look at the flavor board.

This isn’t the place where I’d automatically walk in and order whatever I always get. Ask what’s new, find out what’s seasonal and sample the flavor that makes you slightly skeptical. You can get vanilla another day.

What to Know Before Visiting Lu•Lu Ice Cream

Lu•Lu is located at 185 Main Street in downtown Vergennes, Vermont. Unlike many Vermont ice cream stands that close once summer ends, this is a year-round scoop shop and production facility.

As of October 2026, the shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Monday reserved for deliveries and production. Hours can change seasonally, so check before making a special trip.

More importantly, don’t get too attached to a specific flavor before you arrive. Lu•Lu’s lineup changes, and some of the best flavors are tied to whatever ingredients are available at that point in the season.