Softville makes dessert a little stranger on Orchard Street

The dessert is made from scratch each day, according to opening coverage from Concrete Playground. The dairy base uses milk from Ronnybrook Farm in the Hudson Valley, while dairy free options are also part of the offering. Eater reports a rotating menu of sauces and toppings alongside loaded sundaes.

The pleasure here is in the combination. Softville can be a quick stop for a simple swirl, but the shop also treats dessert as a small design outing. Sculptures and other work by Studio Jeremyville give the room a visual identity that belongs to the concept rather than arriving as decoration after the menu was finished.

That makes the address useful even for someone who does not normally plan an afternoon around ice cream. Start with the art, decide how elaborate dessert should become and let Orchard Street provide the walk before or after. The point is not to turn soft serve into a solemn cultural appointment. It is to notice when a casual stop has been considered from more than one angle.

The photograph above shows the historic frontage at 97 Orchard St. in August 2025. It is a Lower East Side neighborhood reference, not a photograph of Softville. The new shop is farther north at 137 Orchard St.

Softville’s own website lists the Orchard Street address but still carries earlier launch language. Its open status is confirmed by Eater’s Oct. 7 opening report, Concrete Playground’s Oct. 1 report and an Oct. 8 listing from The Infatuation.

Current hours and prices were not independently confirmed for this guide. Check Softville’s official channel before making a dedicated trip, especially if a particular sundae or dairy free option is the reason for going.

New York has no shortage of polished dessert counters. Softville earns attention by making the room and the cone part of the same idea. On Orchard Street, that is enough to turn a small treat into a nicely edited detour.