City Coffee and Ice Cream

City Coffee and Ice Cream anchors a small storefront on Perdido Key Drive, where its tagline sums up the appeal in five words: locally roasted coffee, ice cream and boba. The shop is locally owned and sits in suite A105 at 13700 Perdido Key Drive, the same address that houses a handful of other small shops and eateries along this stretch of the Key. For visitors staying nearby, that makes it an easy stop to build into a beach day without having to drive far off the main road.

The coffee program is built around a locally roasted signature blend, and the shop leans into that as its main draw, describing itself as home to “The Freshest Cup in Town.” The hot menu covers fresh ground drip coffee, americano, cappuccino, latte, vanilla latte, caramel latte, caramel macchiato, mocha, white chocolate mocha, cafe au lait, chai latte, and matcha latte, plus a house specialty called the Slammer, drip coffee pulled with two shots of espresso for anyone who needs a stronger jolt before hitting the sand. Iced versions of most of those drinks are available too, along with cold brew for hot Gulf Coast afternoons.

Coffee is only half the business. City Coffee and Ice Cream also scoops a full lineup of ice cream in cups and waffle cones, with flavors that range from homemade vanilla and chocolate to strawberry cheesecake, moose tracks, mint chocolate chip, espresso chocolate chunk, cookies and cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, butter pecan, turtle tracks, cotton candy, birthday cake, and smokey mountain fudge, along with a flavor called Pirate Treasure. The shop also blends frozen espresso drinks, including a City Mocha Blast, a City Caramel Blast, and an affogato that pairs vanilla ice cream with a shot of hot espresso, a nice option for anyone who wants dessert and a caffeine fix in the same cup.

Boba tea rounds out the menu, and the shop treats it as its own specialty rather than an afterthought. Customers can build a drink from milk tea, Thai, taro, coconut, pineapple, watermelon, tiger, and several fruit flavors, and add popping boba in strawberry, mango, peach, cherry, kiwi, or blueberry. The shop also lists a handful of specialty combinations, including Pink Tiger, Pina Colada, Mango Tango, and Tropical Twist, for anyone who would rather order a drink already dialed in than build their own. Snow cones, fresh donuts, and pastries round out the counter for visitors who want something to go with their coffee or a treat for kids who skip the espresso.

City Coffee and Ice Cream keeps long hours to match the pace of a beach vacation, open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., which makes it workable as a sunrise coffee stop or a post dinner ice cream run. Call 850-542-7468 to confirm hours before a visit, since small independent shops on the Key sometimes adjust seasonally and the shop’s own website currently lists a slightly earlier 9 p.m. closing.

The location works well with how most visitors experience Perdido Key. The barrier island runs between Pensacola and Orange Beach, Alabama, and much of it, including Johnson Beach and other stretches managed as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, stays protected and undeveloped. Perdido Key Drive is the main road connecting the beach access points, rental condos, and small commercial pockets like the one that holds City Coffee and Ice Cream, so a coffee or ice cream break here fits naturally between a morning at the sand and an afternoon exploring the Key’s state parks and nature trails.