Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain — Restaurant in New York

Brooklyn Farmacy is a really cool place that is right up my alley. An old pharmacy converted into a ice cream shop/diner, they have the decor, atmosphere, and outfits to match. Combined with some local goods that they have for sale, it's really cool if you like old school NY stuff. I'd come previously for one of my favorite beverages: the egg cream. Light, fluffy with the right balance of seltzer, milk and light on the chocolate syrup, its as great a version of this classic NY drink you'll find anywhere. The ice cream desserts were great too as you could expect, with a decent mix of classics and more unique offerings (banana split vs. cardamom and pistachio ice cream vs. cookie monster). Just ordering at the counter the service seemed pretty good, especially when you chat up soda jerks behind it (they're quite nice!). Overall, a pretty ideal place for a guy like me.

On the other hand, the one time I came here to eat a meal it was a mess. We were showing a friend of a friend from out of town an old school NY place, and since they wanted diner food and we'd never eaten a meal here, it seemed like a good idea. We sat at a table this time and had a waitress who I'd seen around quite a bit, so I thought we were in good hands. Wrong on that one. She was very slow, didn't check on how we were doing, and made several mistakes. I decided on the meatloaf sandwich, which also comes with Cabot cheddar, fried onions, and ketchup. I grabbed a bag of chips from directly behind me as well. I asked for rye bread on my sandwich instead of multigrain as I absolutely despise multigrain bread and cannot eat it; however, they flat-out forgot the request. I then got to watch everyone else eat while they remade my sandwich and I ate my bag of chips. It was pretty good when I finally got it, but not as great as I hoped it would be. They also forgot an ingredient in my girl's dish, and later on screwed up both my girl and her friend's desserts as well. We did get a round of egg creams as an apology which was nice (and affordable since they cost ~25 cents each), but then they "forgot" to remove the items they said they would from the bill. They rectified this too and we got another apology, but we didn't need an apology. We needed a competent waitress as all of the mistakes were incredibly avoidable--especially since the place only had 3 tables total.

I really do appreciate them trying to rectify the mistake--thus only 1 star deduction--but I'm not exactly rushing back to eat here again. In fact, while I used to go out of my way to come here, I haven't been back since. I will likely give Farmacy another shot just because they make great egg creams, and I may even get hooked again, but I can't say I'll be getting anything more than an egg cream in the future. Keep it simple, I suppose. That and sit at...

I don’t know if it was YouTube or an article but I do remember hearing about the egg cream here and I always wanted to try. I was in the area waiting for my lucali reservation so we tried this out. So so good. We didn’t even get the egg cream lol but I will be back to try at some point! I loved the vibes and aesthetic, I wanted to have a photo shoot there lol. I do see they have rental options so maybe who knows. Anyways on to the ice cream. I forgot to take a picture of the banana splice but it was so very good. I think it was the first time I had an actual banana split but it’s because most of the time they have strawberry ice cream which I hate. I love that there’s was coffee, vanilla, and chocolate, soooo much better! As another reviewer noted it is NOT too sweet. I need to know where they get their bananas it was the PERFECT ripeness. Firm and just barely ripe which is perfect because it did not overpower the ice cream or whip cream at all. The fudge wasn’t artificial tasting and the caramel wasn’t too much either. It was really a perfect Sunday. The apple pie sundae was also amazing. It had a real well made pie crust that was sweet, salty, buttery and crunchy, the apples were so warm and was great with the vanilla. VERY good quality vanilla too and I’m not even a vanilla girl. It is a bit pricey so I do wish the apple pie had one more scoop of ice cream but other than that it was good. Will be back as soon as I’m in the...

Brooklyn Farmacy wasn’t just a place we stopped for milkshakes — it became the soul of our trip. We were visiting from Manchester, UK, and I actually started planning this adventure all the way back in October 2024. Brooklyn Farmacy was one of the first places we pinned down — and both of us were genuinely excited to visit. Expectations were high… but it didn’t disappoint.

From the moment we first walked in, we were greeted with warm smiles and the kind of genuine hospitality that you just can’t fake. The jazz playing in the background, the old-school soda fountain feel, the relaxed charm — it instantly felt like a place we’d known forever.

We ended up going back multiple times, and each visit felt like coming home. The Rocket milkshake was my personal favourite — perfectly rich without being overpowering — while my son swears by the Cookies & Cream. In fact, Brooklyn Farmacy ended up being his absolute highlight of our entire New York adventure, and honestly, I’d have to agree.

Places like this are rare. They don’t just serve great food — they make memories. And we’ll both miss it more than we expected. Huge thanks to the lovely staff for making it special — we felt seen, welcomed, and looked after every...