GelatoSpots

Research edition

Pints in coloured Malai livery stand in rows on the wire shelves of an open freezer, labelled Sweet Milk, Masala Chai, Turkish Coffee, Sea Salt Vanilla, Orange Fennel, Star Anise, Carrot Halwa, Lemon Cardamom, Toasted Nutmeg and Ginger RootFrom Malai

New York · ice cream

Malai

A shop that treats South Asian flavour as its first language rather than as a seasonal gesture, on an eggless base churned with little air, founded and still led by Pooja Bavishi from the Smith Street flagship it started in.

What we know

  • The base is eggless and churned with deliberately little air — a stated method, not a general claim of craft
  • South Asian spice is the first language of the flavour list rather than a seasonal special: chai, cardamom, saffron, rose
  • Named flavours are built on specific dishes and drinks — Thandai, Kaju Katli — rather than on a generic idea of Indian flavour
  • Founded and still led by the same person, from one Brooklyn shop in 2015 to counters in Manhattan, Philadelphia and Washington
Status
open
Address
268 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11231
Maker
Pooja Bavishi
Opened
2015
Website
www.malai.co/
Last checked
2026-08-21

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