Ice cream and desserts in Charleston: the Market and King Street

Last checked Oct. 16, 2026. Refreshed every three months.

Charleston’s dessert shops sit downtown on the peninsula. Four of the six places on this list are within a block or two of the City Market and the waterfront, on Market Street, East Bay Street and Vendue Range; the other two are on upper King Street and Beaufain Street.

How we made this list. The places come from OpenStreetMap records inside Charleston, the same data behind our local directory, checked against each place’s own website on Oct. 16, 2026. We added Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Kilwins and Off Track Ice Cream because their own sites give Charleston addresses. We left out East Bay Meeting House and Waflin Coffee & Dessert, whose sites would not load; Ephesus Mediterranean Delights, Sweetwater Cafe and The Peach Cobbler Factory on Woolfe Street, which have no website of their own for us to check; and sit-down restaurants that simply serve dessert. Bakeries and doughnut shops are on our bakeries list. The list is alphabetical. It is not a ranking or a recommendation, and nobody paid to be on it. Run one of these places? Write to us to correct your entry.

The list

The places

Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar on East Bay Street, steps from the City Market, serves gelato, desserts and cocktails. It takes pickup, delivery and special-occasion orders through its site, and has a second location in Summerville.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on upper King Street is the ice cream chain’s Charleston scoop shop. It offers local delivery and late hours every night.

Kaminsky’s Dessert Cafe on North Market Street sells rotating layer cakes and pies by the slice, with a happy hour menu. It also has a Columbia location and ships nationwide.

Kilwins on South Market Street sells Mackinac Island fudge, chocolate and super-premium ice cream in the historic district.

Off Track Ice Cream, just off King Street on Beaufain Street, makes traditional and vegan ice cream from scratch in classic and inventive flavors. It sells ice cream cakes and sandwich kits and delivers through several apps.

Tinto y Crema on Vendue Range is a coffee and gelato shop that makes its gelato in house every day.

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I get ice cream in Charleston?

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is at 501-A King St., Off Track Ice Cream is at 6 Beaufain St. and Kilwins is at 59 S. Market St. Carmella’s on East Bay Street and Tinto y Crema on Vendue Range serve gelato.

Which Charleston dessert places are open late?

Jeni’s on King Street is open to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Carmella’s is open to midnight daily, and Kaminsky’s on North Market Street is open to midnight Thursday to Saturday.

Where can I get cake by the slice in Charleston?

Kaminsky’s Dessert Cafe at 78 N. Market St. sells rotating layer cakes and pies by the slice, and Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar near the City Market serves desserts and gelato.

Is there vegan ice cream in Charleston?

Yes. Off Track Ice Cream on Beaufain Street makes traditional and vegan ice cream from scratch, its site says.