The go–to spot for a cheese or buffalo chicken slice, Allegro’s Pizza and Grill is synonymous with a lot of things. Your first non–dining hall meal during NSO? Duh. Your favorite late night snack? Of course. A cornerstone of the Penn experience? Obviously. However, this neighborhood pizza joint was probably the last thing to come to mind whenever an intense milkshake craving hit. Until now.
That’s right. Allegro’s serves milkshakes. Six different flavors, to be exact. And while admittedly, they’re not quite as nostalgically delicious as the ones from your local diner, complete with the iconic cherry, Allegro’s shakes will still bring truckloads of boys to yard. Blended with ice cream sourced from local favorite, Philly Flavors, each shake is made to order. Sweet, rich, and thicker than an Instagram baddie, these milkshakes check all the boxes. The only catch? Allegro’s shuts off their milkshake machine at midnight, meaning you’ll need to make to your late night pizza stop just a little bit earlier if you want in on the action.
I taste–tested each Allegro’s shake to see if this Penn crowd–pleaser really can do it all. The answer? It most definitely can.
Vanilla:
The good ole’ standby of milkshake flavors, the vanilla shake is the standard to which all shakes are measured. Allegro’s vanilla shake is everything this classic should be. Creamy and thick, yet smooth enough to slurp, this shake had the perfect consistency. Its distinct vanilla flavor stood out, too, elevating it above the typical blandly sweet vanilla milkshake. The bottom line? If anyone tells you vanilla is boring, hand them this shake. It’ll make them think twice.
Chocolate:
Mixed with a heavy dose of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, Allegro’s chocolate milkshake may just be the best I’ve ever had. Real chocolate–lovers will know what I mean when I say it tasted like chocolate, not–chocolate flavored. Authentically rich and blended to same consistency, this shake will transport you right back to childhood, when it was socially acceptable to order chocolate milk in a restaurant.
Strawberry:
The often forgotten member of the original shake trilogy, strawberry shakes are truly underrated. Allegro’s is no exception. Think of this shake as the dessert equivalent of La Croix—it’s strawberry essenced. It had a naturally potent berry flavor, but it wasn’t too overwhelming to the point of tasting artificial. Encountering such natural flavors from a pizza shop was surprising and earned Allegro’s yet another gold star in my book.
Black and White:
When Hannah Montana wrote “The Best of Both Worlds,” this was the pairing she had in mind. This shake combined the creamy sweetness of their vanilla shake with the deep decadence of their chocolate one. Swirled in a vanilla–to–chocolate ratio that would impress any math major, the black and white shake is perfect for when you’re indecisive and hangry.
Cookies 'n Cream:
Everyone knows the key to the perfect cookies 'n cream milkshake isn’t in the cream. It’s in the cookies. Allegro’s doesn’t skimp on those, adding bite–sized Oreo chunks to the velvety mixture. This shake also mastered the cookies–to–cream ratio, ensuring that one didn’t overpower the other.
Mint Chip:
Now that Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande split, you really can’t find a more iconic duo than mint and chocolate. This Allegro’s shake has a textbook delicious minty base that’s both refreshing and sweet, as well as a heavy dose of blended chocolate chips. Mirrored after their cookies 'n cream variety, this shake has the perfect balance of flavors.
The bottom line? Allegro’s milkshakes are just as good as their pizza. Their thick texture and classic flavors can satisfy even the most picky sweet tooth, so long as it’s before midnight.
Allegro's Pizza and Grill
Location: 3942 Spruce Street
Hours: Sun—Thurs: 11 a.m.—12 a.m.;
Fri— Sat: 11 a.m. — 3 a.m.
Price: $5.40
