MIXUE Ice Cream & Tea

Update Review: 2026 Visit, New York, New York

I'll always remember the first time I went to Mixue.  It was in Sydney (in 2023, see my original review blow), and the idea of a $1 soft serve cone, even all those years ago, was wild to me.  AND it was decent?  Woah.  So when Mixue finally reached NYC this past December, I took notice.

"Mixue Menu has officially arrived in New York, bringing its renowned soft-serve ice cream, milk tea, and refreshing fruit drinks to one of the world’s busiest cities. Known for its great taste and affordable prices, Mixue New York is quickly becoming a popular destination for dessert lovers, students, and anyone seeking a quick sweet treat. Also, you can explore Mixue USA Menu."

The first NYC location opened on Christmas Eve, 2025, and was soon joined by 3 more.  They all seem crazy busy all the time, which sorta makes sense. Yes, there are a slew of bubble tea and soft serve spots in the city, but not with this price point.

Snow King... for Halloween.

Like all Mixue locations, there was a huge Snow King statue, and given the upcoming holiday, he was surrounded by a Halloween explosion.

There was also ... the jingle. ZOMG the jingle.  I was there less than 10 minutes, but it drove me low key insane.  And, it wouldn't leave my head the rest of the day.  A short jingle, sing-songy in all the catchy ways, on repeat. Gah.

Menu.

The most notable thing about the menu at Mixue really is the prices.  $1.19 for a soft serve cone.  A big one. In THIS economy.  Wild.  The ice cream lineup is rounded out by the pricier sundaes which come with toppings like chocolate, strawberry, cookie bits, etc.  The rest of the menu is the tea drinks: fruit teas and milk teas, fairly standard with mods like sweetness and a few toppings, although a considerably smaller topping lineup than most bubble tea shops. They certainly keep costs down by streamlining things.

Soft Serve.

There was one staff member solely responsible for soft serve.  He'd call out your number, and upon confirmation that you were there (a wave, an aggressive attempt to get near the counter,etc), would make your ice cream and hand it over.  He had a steady queue - when I ordered, I was behind 13 others he made first, which is remarkable given that most people were getting tea drinks (that station was REALLY backed up).  His station had the toppings exclusive to the soft serve (chocolate sauce, cookie bits) but he needed to dunk over to the tea station if you opted for toppings that are also used for tea.

Super Mango Sundae. $3.49.

"Sweet mango jam over soft serve."

This was my first time trying a sundae, far more pricey than the $1.xx cone, but still very reasonable at $3.49 for a decent size sundae (definitely bigger than fast food joint sundaes).  I had a hard time picking a flavor, but somewhat randomly picked the mango (er, "Super Mango") version.

It really was good.  The ice cream was creamy and not icy.  The soft serve machine was well calibrated, the ice cream was the right consistency, not too runny not too thick.  It melted really nicely.  The flavor was fairly classic vanilla-ish, although a bit more milk forward.  The serving was pretty large, no hollow center, really a full cup of soft serve.

The mango topping was enjoyable, very sweet, fruity, but clearly not fresh actual mango.  It worked though, and for this price, I didn't expect a fancy artisanal mango compote.

I enjoyed this, and it certainly out ranks any fast food or other soft serve in this price range.  4/5.

Original Review: 2023 & 2024 Visits, Sydney, Australia

I had never heard of Mixue before I visited Sydney recently, but once I saw it when I was walking by, I was pretty instantly drawn in, by their cheery "Snow King", and ridiculously affordable prices.  It turns out to be a large Chinese franchise, with 22,500 stores worldwide.  It started in 1997, but the first location in Sydney didn't open until February 2023, not long before I visited.

Storefront.

Visiting the store is, um, a cultural experience.  It does draw you in though, with the very welcoming mascot, the Snow King, showing up in many places.

$2 ice Cream.

The very low prices are definitely one of MIXUE's main attractions, and are displayed prominently, like the one here for the $2 cone (which, was $1.50 just a few months prior).  Note that these are Australian dollars, so that is actually just $1.25 USD with today's exchange rate.

Tea.

Milk and fruit teas make up the rest of the menu, and are mostly reasonably priced as well.

Snow King Magic Shop.

Off on the side is the branded "Snow King Magic Shop" where you can purchase toys and tumblers.

Signature Cone. $2.
(November 2023)

I had seen people walking down the street with these cones, so I knew it would be comically large, but, I still wasn't prepared to have this handed over.  The cone itself is, well, worthy of the Snow King perhaps.

My cone didn't actually look particularly made with care.  Nor did it look as well filled or as big as others, and they only make one size, so, it wasn't like I had a different size.  They lose a few points for that, as part of my cone was pretty hollow.  And, as I said, I was pretty apprehensive this could really be very good.

I took my first bite of the ice cream.  Well, huh.  It was creamy.  It wasn't icy.  The flavor was sweet, but not cloying.  Nothing artificial about it.  Milk flavored, I guess, but I detected hints of coconut even.   Certainly better than any fast food ice cream, and it rivaled many ice cream shops.  Not blow your mind special, but very good.  3.5/5, on the verge of 4/5.

And then the cone.  Ice cream cones are often sorta a throwaway component, a means to getting ice cream in a satisfying to lick form factor, and little else.  But this cone, this cone was part of the experience too.  It was a unique style, like thin sweet wafer cookies rolled into a cone shape, 2-3 layers.  It was sweet, it was crunchy, it was really quite good.  It got to maybe be a bit much, just given how big it was, but I truly enjoyed it.  I think it would be good just as a standalone cookie to eat alongside a coffee.  A memorable, and tasty, and unique, cone.  4/5.

So overall, made with care?  No.  Perfectly swirled and filled?  No.  But actually very enjoyable, and ridiculous quality for the price.  4/5, and I'd gladly get another.

Signature Cone. $2.
(February 2024).

Two months later, I was back in Sydney, and the moment it was a warm day, I was right back at Mixue.  This time I knew exactly what to expect, and I'll say that Mixue seems highly consistent, at least based on my experiences.

My order was ready relatively quickly, the soft serve was a bit haphazard and did have a bit of a hole in the middle, but, the cone was crispy, unique, and not stale, and the soft serve was fairly creamy, again lightly sweet milk flavor.  I added my own sprinkles, and was still just amazed that I got such a decent and unique ice cream cone for literally $1.20 USD.  3.5/5.

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