Try these fun places all around Pittsburgh and treat yourself to the simplest of simples or the fanciest of milkshakes. Just remember to be very mindful when drinking a shake with one of those brightly-colored jumbo wide straws. If you get a little overzealous and take it in too fast — brain freeze!

Milkshake Destinations Around Pittsburgh

Brr-kee’s

Oakmont’s favorite ice cream shop has been around since the 1990s, and with an abundance of picnic tables, it’s a sweet spot to sit and sip a shake mixed with one of their more than 20 favors, such as espresso or fudge ripple. It’s a perfect moment of small town in the city.

Gepetto Cafe

It’s easy to walk past this small Lawrenceville cafe, sandwiched between Row House Cinema and Merchant Oyster on Butler Street. But if you do, you’ll be missing out on one of the best milkshakes Pittsburgh has to offer. The daytime spot for coffee spins ice cream into delicious, playful flavors: Nutella, banana creme pie, s’mores milkshake, tiramisu, chocolate coffee bean, and strawberry. A second Gepetto Cafe is located in Bloomfield.

Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream

The best part about Handel’s? They turn all 15-plus flavors into tasty, thick milkshakes. Try the graham cracker-studded Graham Central Station.

The Milkshake Factory

It should come as no surprise that a shop named for the sweet treat makes a great milkshake. The Factory —with its 100-plus-year legacy of making ice cream —features milkshakes in every flavor, from whacky iterations like mint cookies and cream and birthday cake to the classics, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Now at three Pittsburgh-area locations.

Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream

You call the shots at Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream. The shop’s make-your-own milkshakes cover everything from dietary restrictions (Dairy-free? No problem.) to mix-ins, like chocolate chips, cookie dough pieces, and more. Our favorite? Their coffee break ice cream mixed with cookie dough and waffle pieces, then topped—of course—with whipped cream. Locations are found throughout the city.

Story by Star Laliberte and Maggie Weaver and Lauri Gravina
Photography by Arvid Skywalker

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