Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw opened its first New York shop on Amsterdam Avenue on 20 September 2024, its forty-second store anywhere. One of the five flavors it opened with was Pastrami on Rye.3 Carnegie Deli supplied the pastrami; a butterscotch base carries it, under a mustard custard swirl and toasted rye crumble.4

Why go

Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek started this as a Portland pushcart in 2011. Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group put money in six years later.3 Tyler Malek still writes the flavors himself.2

Every store gets a few scoops built for its city, and New York's come out of New York bakeries.2 Malek buys babka from Breads Bakery and blends it into what he calls a babka butter, then adds a little bit of extra chocolate, a little bit of extra hazelnut fudge to kind of give it that decadence and gooeyness that fresh-baked babka is so famous for.3 The cinnamon raisin bagels in another of them come from PopUp Bagels, candied into the base.4

Time Out put the shop sixth on its July 2026 ice cream list at four stars out of five.2 The room runs a thousand square feet with a walk-up counter, and the samples are unlimited.4

Order this / avoid

Order: the Chocolate Babka with Hazelnut Fudge. Time Out still had it on the board in July 2026.2
Order: Honey Lavender if you want the house at its plainest. Time Out names it and the Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons as the two that will not challenge you.2
Avoid: assuming a flavor name means what it says.1

What locals & experts say

Bryan Kim, The Infatuation (29 September 2024): If you're looking for a scoop of strawberry ice cream, you can technically get one at Salt & Straw on the Upper West Side. Just don't be surprised when it comes with balsamic and black pepper mixed in... It's a lot, and it works beautifully.1
Rachel Pelz and Morgan Carter, Time Out New York (27 July 2026): Co-founder and head ice cream innovator Tyler Malek's creativity seems to know no bounds, as some of his 600 flavors include bone marrow and coconut toffee candied mealworms.2

Good to know

Where: 360 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side.5
Other door: 540 Hudson Street in the West Village, opened after this one.2
Hours: it scoops daily and stays open late.5

Verdict

could-visit — Go in without a flavor in mind. Take two in one cup: half of what they make is an idea, and you want something plain sitting beside it.

Salt & Straw.