The Franklin Fountain

I visited The Franklin Fountain to celebrate the completion of a work program with some colleagues.While I have heard of The Franklin Fountain before, I had actually never been before. The Franklin Fountain is located in Old City and is styled after a 1915 ice cream parlor.This ice cream parlor is on the smaller side and there is no seating inside. While you wait, the line forms in a fairly tight aisle. There is also no air conditioning.There are a wide variety of options offered here. The Franklin Fountain sells soft serve ice cream, water ice, vegan ice cream, pretzels and cookies.I got the chocolate chip ice cream. It was very good and consisted of vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks. I liked how they included chocolate chunks rather than small chips - a nice texture. The ice cream is served in a Chinese takeout container, which was cool.While there is no seating inside, there is seating outside including under a tree. We ate our ice cream there. It was a nice conclusion to the program.Altogether, I enjoyed my time and ice cream at The Franklin Fountain. I hope to return!

Date of visit: 7/31/2024 Dessert after dinner. I'd say pretty unique. Instead of a cup, they serve the ice cream inside Chinese take out box. I got small Peach Melba (no whipped) with vegan blueberry ice cream (they use coconut cream instead of regular milk) and my son got small Honey Comb. People were lining up thru the door when we left.

First time I had it I loved it as an out of towner. This time I arrived at 11:33 PM. A good 27 mins before closing time. Ahead of my party of 1 was a party of 3 standing outside the door; no one else behind me. The employee told the customers shut the door in our face a minute after I arrived and told the customers to lock it and to turn the sign around. No explanation. Will never go back after that disrespect. Obnoxious and disappointing.

So if you're looking for ice cream in the Philadelphia, this place is probably one of, if not the best. Their ice cream and ingredients are clean and very high in quality. I ordered the "Have a heart" sundae. Substituted regular vanilla ice dairy cream with their vegan coconut based ice cream. it was excellent. I will say my only complaint about this place is the prices. Even with the economy and inflation being what it is, $19 for a fairly small handheld sundae seems a bit excessive. I would still come back, but it wouldn't be often. A Waffle cone by itself it is $5.

I read this place was cash only, but they had a card reader and let us pay with card. It's an old place with a lot of flavors, but at $7.50 for one flavor and $11 for two flavors, it's way overpriced. You can get ice cream that's just as good or better for much cheaper at other places in Philly. I wouldn't come back.

On our Lyft ride to dinner our driver recommended the Franklin fountain for dessert. Unfortunately, we were full after dinner but could not let this go by without a visit. We hit this ice cream soda fountain before we headed to Airport and it did not disappoint. If I could give more than FIVE stars I would but what is not to love with ice cream. This ice cream parlor is steeped in history and is exactly what you would have expected for a turn of the century soda fountain. Looking forward to trying one of their sodas next time we go back. Ice cream portions are huge and are served in Chinese Food Takeout boxes. Prices are steep but dessert did not disappoint

Small dainty ice cream shop in Philly!I stopped by on a whim after brunch, and I got two scoops of ice cream (medium can have up to two flavors for $11): chocolate fudge brownie and caramelizad banana. It was such a good combo bc altogether it tasted like a banana split. The banana flavor was strong and I liked the chewy chunks in the chocolate flavor. The space is however very small like a narrow corridor and has no seats. It's more of a come and go. The decor is very retro and on theme though. I hope to try some more flavors like honeycomb. Staff was nice and let me sample flavors.

Save your money and get a treat somewhere else. Food:My friend and I shared a small hot fudge sundae ($13). What we got was a small scoop of freezer burned ice cream, topped with a mountain of broken whipped cream. The fudge was the only good part of the sundae. Service:Friendly and quick service. It was not busy at all. Maybe should've been a clue but it was a chilly and rainy day so I didn't think much of it at the time.Ambiance:It's a cute shop. They put the ice cream in a cute takeout container. I think branding is about the only thing done well in this place. It's small so no seating inside.

Always stop here whenever you're in Philly! Good mix of classic and new flavors. This time had the Caramelized Banana. It was a hot evening and the line was long. The poor guys working were working hard and keep up the pleasantness. Same charming old-timey decor.

I scream, You scream, we all scream for Franklin Fountain ice cream!!!!! How super cute is this place?! Felt like I time traveled back to a 1920s ice cream parlor lol. I love everything about the vintage decor this place offers and the quality ice cream which I'll get to later. Staff: shoutout to Alonzo (hope this is correct) who prepared our scoops and was truly dedicated to not only offering us good service but making sure that we enjoyed our order. The person taking our order was pretty dope as well and informed me that my selected ice cream was the Pope's favorite. Looks like I made a divine pick! Price: starts at $7.75 per scoop and works its way up to $14. The packaging is a bit confusing however and not the best for an anti-drip encounter if you failed to chug your ice cream down. Ice cream: I ordered the divine pick-sea salt caramel. My party ordered the cookies and cream and butter pecan. Everyone LOVED their ice cream choices but my ice cream was described as the elite pick because hey, it was elite in creaminess and flavor. I love that this place holds true to providing what they originally sought to do and that was offering quality homemade ice cream. Overall, I think that this treat was the perfect way to end the day and I have to say that my only regret was not having more of it after I returned home to DC lol