Sweet Cow — Restaurant in Louisville

Five stars for the charming location in downtown Louisville. Three stars for the ice cream.

Sweet Cow offers 24 flavors, with a rotating menu. There are many one-of-a-kind options along with vegan flavors. Besides scoops there are sundaes and ice cream sandwiches. We love grabbing some ice cream and walking around the downtown area or heading over to the park nearby (Louisville Community Park). If you opt to stay, there is a nice, fenced-in outdoor eating space with tables adjacent to Lucky Pie. There is ample parking also.

The ice cream itself, while good, is only worth it for the experience of being out and about and going downtown. It's $4/single scoop. For our family of five we can easily spend $30. I prefer buying a gallon of ice cream from the grocery store as far as taste and value go. Sweet Cow tends to be light with their mix-ins, (i.e. cookies and cream often ends up more like plain chocolate), and the consistency has varied on our different trips from sweet and creamy to a little icy.

I do appreciate that they make everything, including the waffle cones and fudge, from scratch. You can really taste the difference there. I just wish they would have more consistency with their ice cream and add in more mix-ins to their flavors.

The staff is always friendly and accommodating. Even with a line out the door, the service is fast without feeling rushed. They have a bathroom in the back that has always been clean. Mobile truck ice cream is on par for quality, but about $1 more per item.

Takeaway. Go for the experience of walking around downtown Louisville or up to the nearby park on a nice summer evening. If you're just going for the ice cream, save yourself some money and buy a gallon...

First of all, I just want to say that I love this place and I think they really take pride in their unique flavors and making great (but slightly over priced) ice cream.

I give it only four stars though because of my first sub par experience I had today. I came in around 2:30, where it wasn't super busy but it was steady.

My boyfriend and I saw that they had a new shake called "the Jake" and I don't know if we are missing a movie reference here or something, but we assumed it was just a bigger milkshake since it was so much more expensive. We decided, while thinking it was going to be big, to get that and share it. We told that to the person that it was for us to share, and then when she eventually gave it to us, I was SO DISSAPOINTED.

It was the size of a "not-so-big" shake with some whip cream, chocolate sauce, and some marshmallow pieces. Like what the heck? How were we supposed to know that? This may seem like a bit of an overreaction, but I am serious about my ice cream and I just wanted a BIG plain ole cookies n cream shake. I think making a milkshake with a few added things and not even explaining what it is on the board is just a dumb idea.

I also may just point out that the employees were not as observant and helpful as they usually are. The girl who gave us the milkshake did not give us an extra straw, and it took me 2 minutes to just get another employee to give me one because every one of them were in their own world - there was one not even working and just talking to her friends the entire time.

In the end, the milkshake was fine, but the added features just made it too sugary and left me dissapointed. I know that most of the employees there are observant and kind,...

Long time fan of this local Colorado chain. What's always set this place apart is the "custom" ice cream feeling it imparts. Home made waffle cones, custom ice cream flavors, milk shakes blended up on the spot. Not sure about a flavor then ask for a sampler spoon. The flavors are not wild per see but just about everything is good. Some of them only make rare appearances so call ahead if your desperate for something in particular. Decent patio space out front with some tables and chairs if you want to hang out on a warm summer night and munch down. There is a natural garden in the patio area and lots of trees for shade. The pizza joint next store can get noisy so it's not a total utopia and there is a bit of traffic noise in this part of town too.

On a side note I do really wonder where they source their dairy products from and how much from "scratch" work they actually do? It's not truly artisan ice cream like say Pint's Peak or Smith + Canon. My guess would be somebody is supplying them with a ice cream dairy base. Happy to find...