Mortensen Dairy Ice Cream

The ice cream counter in Newington carries about 50 flavors a day, which is the reason Mortensen Dairy Ice Cream takes a few minutes to order well.

About 50 flavors, plus the season moving through the case

The program is built on premium home-made ice cream, with the family name attached to the business since the Mortensens started it in 1915. That long run matters here because the menu reads like a working local shop rather than a novelty freezer: Pure Madagascar Vanilla, Milk Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Brazilian Coffee, Natural Pistachio, Peanut Butter Lover, Moose Tracks, Wicked Chocolate, Jungle Coconut, Oreo Cookie, Vermont Maple Walnut, Boston Blackout, Connecticut Black Bear, Rainbow Cake Batter, and plenty more. The stronger move is often to look for the seasonal flavors first. Georgia Peach, Fresh Blueberry, Native Strawberry, Old Fashion Apple, Native Pumpkin, Rum Raisin, Egg Nog, and Peppermint Stick tell you where the calendar is. The house also keeps soft serve in vanilla, chocolate, and twist, plus sherbets, yogurts, sugar-free choices, and dairy-free scoops such as Mango Tango Sorbet, Raspberry Sorbet, Lemon Sorbet, Coconut Milk, Berry vegan oat milk, and Ultimate Oreo vegan.

A family counter, not a plated-dessert room

This is a counter-service ice cream shop, shaped by repeat visits, family orders, and the practical rhythm of choosing from a long board. The older Mortensen’s Restaurant life has narrowed into an ice cream-focused format, and that suits the place: the decision happens at the case, not at a table with a long menu. It is a good stop when the group cannot agree, because the spread runs from plain dairy classics to candy-bar flavors, fruit sorbets, coffee ice cream, nut flavors, and vegan options. The room’s appeal is not ceremony. It is the regular work of handing over cones, cups, soft serve, and party orders to people who already know what they came for, plus a few who still need another pass down the flavor list. If the seasonals are on, start there before falling back on the year-round names.

Order the ice cream nachos first

The named order is ice cream nachos. Ask for vanilla or chocolate soft serve, then choose peanut butter marshmallow or fudge, with candy toppings and waffle cone chips on the side for scooping. It is the right first order because it uses the shop’s soft-serve line without making you choose only one cone, and it turns a familiar sundae into something easier to share. For a second round, go simpler: Brazilian Coffee if you want the dairy base to carry a roasted edge, Natural Pistachio for a nut flavor, or Mango Tango Sorbet when dairy is off the table. In late summer, Native Strawberry or Fresh Blueberry is the better read of the counter than another candy flavor. In colder months, Native Pumpkin, Egg Nog, or Peppermint Stick gives the case its seasonal signal.