Milkshakes are about as American as apple pie, and the perfect sweet and creamy accompaniment to diner classics like burgers and fries. Whether you're a fan of towering, dessert-like freakshakes, heavy with toppings, or prefer a simple vanilla shake, we've found the best milkshakes across the US, each one bucket-list worthy.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover where to find the most mouth-watering milkshake, state by state.
Humungous freakshakes are the order of the day at K&J's Elegant Pastries, a bright dessert shop whose pastel pink decor is as delightfully sugary as its sweet treats. The gigantic shakes are works of art, piled high with biscuits, chocolate, fruit, and even entire chunks of cake. A favorite is Cotton Candy, a rainbow milkshake doused in whipped cream and finished with cotton candy, a swirling lollipop, and a bright cupcake.
Laid-back Snow City Cafe wins rave reviews for its menu of Big Thick Shakes, which are simple yet perfectly executed. It comes in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mocha, and espresso flavors, all topped with a swirl of cream. There are also monthly special shakes such as pralines and cream with vanilla ice cream, praline and vanilla syrups, cream, and candied praline.
If ever there was a shake made for Instagram, this is it. The Show Stopper Shake is the work of ZuZu, the trendy restaurant attached to Hotel Valley Ho. The shake on offer changes monthly, but you can expect amazing options such as the pretty-as-a-picture Lemon Drop. It consists of lemon sorbet and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, lemony sugar sticks, and Sour Skittles, plus a mini lemon meringue pie, and a madeleine.
The Purple Cow Restaurant is a kitsch diner-style joint with multiple locations around the Little Rock area. Everything is purple here, from the restaurant's name to its booths and bar seats and, of course, its signature milkshake. This bright and beautiful concoction is made from vanilla ice cream, and it's a perennial favorite.
Milkshakes aren't just for kids, and this creation is most certainly a grown-up drink. The delicious Dublin Honey is made with Guinness stout and caramelized honey ice cream, cut through with decadent Valrhona chocolate syrup, and finished with a glug of Graham's Tawny Port. It's served at San Francisco's The Ice Cream Bar, a 1930s-inspired soda fountain that whisks sweet-toothed diners back into the past.
Another spot known for its boozy shakes, Denver's Milkbox Ice Creamery takes over a charming corner of Union Station, the Mile High City's 'living room.' You can't go wrong with the Strawberry Sunrise, packed with tequila and strawberry sorbet; Coffee & Cream, with Bailey’s Irish Cream and coffee; or the Rum-Drenched Churro, a combination of spiced rum and tasty cinnamon churro.
As its name suggests, this joint in Connecticut focuses on a fast food triple threat: burgers, fries, and shakes, and it does all of them brilliantly well. When it comes to milkshakes, the flavor choices are classic – think strawberry, salted caramel, and a huge customer favorite, chocolate. The latter is a thick, indulgent, topping-free treat that'll kick those sweet cravings to the curb.
Customers love the milkshakes at Dairy Palace in New Castle, a family-operated spot that has been doling out ice cream and shakes since 1956. Regulars rave about the classic vanilla-chocolate combo milkshake, which is so thick and creamy it's served with a spoon as well as a straw.
Bocas House, on the outskirts of Miami, serves Latin American–inspired dishes from ceviche to steak, but it's the head-turning milkshakes that really steal the show. Its photo-worthy creations are heavy on the toppings – think cookies, rainbow sprinkles, salted caramel, and more. The fan favorite is the Tres Leches Milkshake: vanilla ice cream topped with Marquesa cake, plus a wafer cone filled with yet more ice cream.
You'll have to go off menu to get the best milkshake in the Hostess City of the South. Leopold's Ice Cream is a Savannah institution, known for its smartly uniformed waitstaff and its inviting neon sign, and no shake on the menu will disappoint. However, die-hard chocolate-lovers should ask for their shake Savannah Dan-style. It's a sweet explosion made with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup.
There's an impressive list of milkshakes on offer at Kono's on Oahu's North Shore, with everything from coconut cream to Key lime. The stand-out shake is Kono's signature Mud Pie, made with top-notch vanilla ice cream, coffee, Oreos, and a drizzle of caramel. This laid-back joint also wins rave reviews for its menu of burritos.
All-American classic diner The Hangout might be renowned in Cottonwood for serving excellent burgers, but you need to save space for their mouth-watering selection of milkshakes, too. This place serves creamy classic flavors vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, as well as more unique creations including toffee and cookie dough. Customers praise the friendly service, too.
Jo Jo's Shake Bar serves up an impressive array of freakshakes and one of the most popular is the Girl Scout, pictured. A mint chocolate shake topped with toasted marshmallow, chocolate pretzel, chocolate s'more, and double chocolate cookie, it's a dessert lover's dream. You can make any shake here boozy, while the bar also serves cocktails and diner food in a fun, 1980s-style atmosphere.
The Extreme Shakes at Just Cream Ice Cream Boutique – a cute and colorful ice cream parlor in Fort Wayne – are as eye-catching as they are delicious. There are also regular specials, such as this Super Bowl towering creation featuring chocolate milkshake topped with a football cupcake, cookies, and M&M's.
From the tongue-in-cheek names for its menu items to the zombie-themed artwork, everything this fast food joint does is loud, proud, and fun. That includes the milkshakes, which are creative, colorful, and crowned with all manner of curious toppings. A customer favorite is the Zombie Unicorn, which combines vanilla ice cream, marshmallow cream, and a Fruity Pebbles topping.
Milkfloat's scratch-made milkshakes change with the seasons, but its mouth-watering caramel-based options are a firm customer favorite. From caramel butter pecan shakes to this good-looking Salted Caramel Pretzel Shake, the syrupy offerings are well worth the sugar rush. Customers also rate the service and friendly atmosphere.
If you're looking for a great milkshake, a chicken shop might not be the first place that springs to mind. But at Royals Hot Chicken, you'll find the best shakes in Kentucky. There's vanilla, chocolate, a mix of the two, and a tasty Please & Thank You Chocolate Chip Cookie Shake on the regular menu, but keep an eye out for the specials, too.
Oreo Cheesecake, Cookie Monster, and Mint Chip Brownie all feature on the monster menu at the Legendairy Milkshake Bar in New Orleans, which wins rave reviews for its decadent drinks and fun atmosphere. All shakes come piled high with toppings such as cupcakes, cookies, pretzels, donuts, and marshmallows.
Po' boys – the classic NOLA sandwich – are the mainstay of this trendy Portland spot, but its milkshakes come highly praised too. There are oodles of tempting flavors, from vanilla custard and salted caramel to Mexican hot chocolate, but loyal fans rave about the Key lime pie. The creamy milkshake is the Floridian classic distilled, and it's a refreshing, citrussy accompaniment to the joint's killer sandwiches.
Baltimore's Broadway Diner has celebrity fans including Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives fame, and its classic diner fodder is well worth the hype. The milkshakes here are simple but oh-so-good. Thick and rich, with a generous dollop of cream on the top, they're made to order with three generous scoops of ice cream. Plump for the chocolate and you can't go wrong.
Fans of Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar especially love the perfectly thick and creamy vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry milkshakes topped with cream and sprinkles. There's also a mango and yogurt number, or, if you're after something a little more grown-up, the Drunk Monkey milkshake with peanut butter-infused whiskey and ice cream is a winner.
There's a huge array of flavors available at Blank Slate Creamery, which has two outposts in Ann Arbor and one in Brighton, but it's the white chocolate raspberry chip milkshake that customers love the most. Featuring melted Guittard white chocolate, a fresh raspberry swirl, and chocolate chips, it disappeared from the menu for a while but was bought back by popular demand.
Trendy Milkjam, an ice cream parlor in the Twin Cities, has a whole roster of creative milkshakes. The best one of all is the signature Salted Caramel Crunch. It's made with the joint's house-made ice cream – a blend of caramelized goats' milk, cows' milk, and sweetened condensed milk – and finished with salted caramel sauce, caramelized Rice Krispies, and a swirl of caramel whip. Other flavors include strawberry jam, peanut butter, and cookies and cream.
Milkshakes don't come much more decadent than this. The teetering Peanut Butter Brownie Bliss is the brainchild of The Yard Milkshake Bar, a mini chain known for its eye-popping sweet creations. Blended brownie batter ice cream is poured into a peanut butter-dipped mason jar and crowned with cream, fudge, chocolate, and a peanut butter drizzle – plus an entire brownie.
Ted Drewes' famous Concrete shakes are so thick that staff still flip them upside down, just to prove how deliciously dense they are. There are plenty of mouth-watering combos, but the summer camp-inspired s'mores flavor is a sure bet. It's a blend of chocolate, marshmallow, and Graham crackers, generously finished with toppings.
Norm's Soda Fountain has been a Flathead Valley tradition since 1938, so it's perfectly practiced at mixing up delectable shakes. The motto here is 'Eat Dessert First,' and that's very tempting indeed when you see the list of shakes and malts on offer. Plump for a huckleberry shake: this sweet lilac creation is whizzed up with Montana's signature fruit.
The handcrafted shakes at Angus Burgers & Shakes are the best in the area, all served in bell jars and topped with whipped cream. There are several inventive flavors to choose from, including customer favorite The King with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, banana, and chocolate syrup. The brownie shake topped with brownie pieces and syrup comes highly recommended, too.
All the CrazyShakes at Black Tap were made for the camera. This quirky spot at Sin City's Venetian Resort is an offshoot of the popular New York City SoHo shop – and there's no better place for such elaborate creations than Vegas. All the options are glorious and gravity-defying, but The Cakeshake is the best of all. It's made with cake batter ice cream and topped with an entire hunk of funfetti cake, plus sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry.
This modern joint in Portsmouth has a winning selection of 'adult milkshakes' to complement its popular burgers and brunches. Many come with high praise, but the crowd favorite is the chocolatey The Oreo Lift. It's a delightful blend of espresso vodka and crushed Oreos. We also recommend The Thin Mint, with mint liqueur, rum, brownie, and chocolate.
The crazy offerings at Coney Waffle have a reputation that reaches far beyond New Jersey, where there are five outposts of the funky dessert shop. The Side Show Shakes are enormous and gloriously over-the-top, finished with everything from mini ice cream cones to cotton candy and entire bars of chocolate. They're a popular choice for sharing (though we won't judge if you want one all to yourself).
Despite the name, it's not all about cookies at this fun spot in New Mexico's biggest city. The milkshakes more than match up to the freshly baked cookies the joint is famous for. Opt for the classic chocolate blended with thick chocolate ice cream and finished with toppings like whipped cream, crushed Oreos, Nutella, cherries, and chocolate chips.
'Burgers, Shakes and Good Times, The Harlem way' – that's what's promised at this diner-style spot right in the middle of Harlem, New York City. Its signature shake, The Harlem Shake, is what keeps punters pouring back. The organic red velvet flavor is made with ice cream from Blue Marble, a Brooklyn-founded parlor and vendor.
The deluxe shakes on offer at The Hop win rave reviews from customers who love the sheer variety of concoctions available. The shake can be any flavor from the selection of classic and seasonal ice creams on offer, plus one sauce, topping, whip, and cherry. Pictured is a blend of purple sweet potato ice cream, butterscotch, and chocolate chips. If you fancy something with a kick, try the Jitterbug, a mix of cold brew, whip, and cherry.
There's no place like a diner to sip a first-rate milkshake, and Kroll's in Fargo gets them just right. A variety of thick, hand-scooped ice cream flavors and toppings are available, but the Brownie-Oreo is a blissful combo that gets the thumbs up from customers.
This nostalgic ice cream parlor gives all the retro feels while delivering the most amazing sweet treats you’ve ever tasted, including its signature shakes. The site has been serving Cincinnatians mouth-watering shakes in both traditional flavors and seasonal specials for years, with locals raving about the decadent chocolate and strawberry concoctions.
Can't decide between a sundae and a shake? S&B's Over The Tops – deliciously thick and elaborate shakes – fall somewhere in between. Customers can't get enough of the Space Cake, a bold and bright chocolate-peanut butter creation that's finished with cosmic brownies, chocolate frosting, and M&M's.
There are shakes, and then there are 'Quakes,' described as 'next-level milkshakes' and offered at this cheerful Portland shop. Each one sees tasty soft serve decadently finished with creative toppings and sauces. House favorite Crater Lake (named after the natural wonder in southwest Oregon) is made with vanilla soft serve and decorated with cookies and cream crumble, Andes Chocolate Mints, and chocolate flakes. It's capped off with a fortune cookie hiding a trivia question inside.
Located in historic Reading Terminal Market, Bassetts was established back in 1861 and is said to be the oldest ice cream company in the country. The spot – now with sixth-generation owners – whizzes up the best milkshakes around (all made with Bassetts' own ice cream, of course). Stick with a classic chocolate shake, finished with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Don't let the name put you off. There's nothing 'awful awful' about the shakes at Rhode Island's Newport Creamery. The sweet treats – made with ice milk, ice cream, and syrup – have been something of a New England tradition ever since they were dreamt up back in the 1940s. There are creative flavors aplenty (think bubblegum and cotton candy), but we say stick with classic strawberry for a delicious taste of the past.
An Oreo milkshake is always a good idea and this one from Charleston Creamery – a friendly, modern parlor just west of Charleston – is done particularly well. 'Twice the Oreo goodness' is promised, and it's pictured here with a drizzle of caramel for good measure. Other flavors include banana pudding, espresso, and mint choc chip.
Phillips Avenue Diner is a Sioux Falls staple and, along with the kitsch, old-school decor and the stellar diner grub, the milkshakes pull in the punters. The retro setting calls for a retro dessert, so opt for classic strawberry. It's served in standard fashion: with whipped cream and a cherry on top. We love the butterscotch shake, too.
The Grilled Cheeserie has garnered attention from big-name TV shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – and while tasty cheese toasties are its namesake, the restaurant does a tip-top milkshake too. There's an inviting list to choose from (including specials and vegan options), but The Peanut Butter Cup comes out on top. It features chocolate ice cream, peanut butter, and salted caramel, all finished off with chocolate sprinkles and a peanut butter cup crumble.
With locations in Spring and Magnolia, this popular shake bar delivers the goods and was awarded the title of 'Best Milkshake in Texas' by USA Today. Delicious and filling fan favorites range from the Cookie Monster, with cookies, cream, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and an Oreo on top, to Birthday Cake, featuring cake-flavored ice cream, chocolate icing, chocolate cake chunks, and sprinkles.
If you like your shakes extra thick, this small southwestern chain is the place for you. It's got a history dating back to the 1960s and has served shakes from the very beginning, so its super-thick creations are expertly blended. The signature is the Reese's Shake, a delectable blend of vanilla ice with chopped Reese's.
Where better to savor a creamy shake than the home of Ben & Jerry's itself? You can get the brand's famous ice cream blended into a shake at the flagship Waterbury scoop shop. Choose from familiar flavors like Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie – but Half Baked, a blend of the two, is the best of them all.
Holy Cow, a gourmet burger spot in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood, serves up all the classics, from Chocolate! Chocolate! to Very Vanilla – but its seasonal 'Shake of the Moment' is always something special. A recurring favorite is the Samoas Girl Scout Cookie flavor, which sees vanilla ice cream mixed up with Samoas cookies and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.
A name like Hot Cakes is guaranteed to draw in the crowds – and, happily, the molten desserts and milkshakes here sell just like hot cakes. The boozy milkshakes are a customer favorite and, of those, the Drunken Sailor is the tastiest of all. Created when a fisherman came in and requested a blend of caramel, peanut butter, and Jameson whiskey, it's been on the menu ever since.
The Poky Dot is a whimsical diner with a jukebox and brightly colored booths. It's the food, particularly the over-the-top sweet treats, that people keep coming back for. The specialty milkshakes are huge behemoths of shakes, piled high with everything from donuts and whipped cream to s'mores, chocolate bars, and more.
This Milwaukee area mainstay promises 'burger and custard heaven,' and it delivers on milkshake bliss, too. The joint has been dishing out sweet treats since the 1950s and although the seasonal shakes are imaginative, regulars swear by the staples. Try a classic chocolate in regular or thick and we think you'll agree.
This small chain, with a location in Jackson, proudly announces that 'milkshakes aren't just for kids.' Its 'adult shakes' are menu hits, and the Mudslide – a vanilla shake spiked with Baileys Irish Cream and Kahlúa – is as boozy as it is beautiful.
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Last updated by Dominique Ayling.