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    Pelican's SnoBalls

    4.6 (36 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM

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    Cherry and punch kiddie cone
    Sweta S.

    Tasty! My complex invited them to visit, and I had a kiddie size snow cone for $3. It sounds like the price is a bit more than it use to be, but it is to be expected with COVID. They wore gloves, and everything was done pretty neatly. I had half cherry and half punch flavored. I wish they had an ice cream option to add to the snow cone; I heard that they typically do at their shop. Refreshing, tasty, and cute. A perfect treat for a leisurely day outside!

    Ruth B.

    Super cute place! You won't miss it because of the colorful exterior. First time going here but probably won't be the last- we may give this another shot. My partner LOVES snow cones so he was totally all for it and this place was "okay" for him. He wasn't too impressed with the service. I like the stuffed option (they put vanilla ice cream scoop inside all the ice)! I got the red velvet cake and cheesecake SnoBalls and it was honestly awesome to have during these hot days we've been having. I do recommend the stuffed option if you like ice cream too! Service wasn't up to par. I didn't see anyone wearing gloves (or I don't even know if they were suppose to tbh). But I would think that since they're scooping ice...that they should. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great- that's all. Other than that, the menu has a lot of options I would like to try out next time!

    Flavors for days
    Chat C.

    What's good after a 2 mile walk in 90 degree heat on the ATT while working up a sweat? Probably a beer, tub full of ice, Antarctica, the North Pole, or ice cream. But nah. PELICAN SNOBALLZ What's good: -Tropical sunset with flavors mango, guava, and pineapple -Island punch with Piña colada, Georgia peach, and tropical punch (like fruit punch similar to the Hawaiian Punch brand) Grabbed 2 sizes: regular and large. I'd have to say that no matter what size, it'll inevitably melt into slush, but faster in 90 degree heat Bottom line: great after a walk on the trail to cool off and chill

    All 100 flavors!
    Xuan-Lise C.

    Got a gone fishing kiddie size and a regular stuffed wild strawberry and coconut. Kiddie sized for me was just right since they're so sweet. But I can see a regular would be nice and refreshing during this crazy summer heat. We got some pelican bucks so we'll definitely be back! They have a card that you can use to track all the flavors you've tried, only 95 more to go!

    Brittany B.

    I've been going to Pelicans for at least six years. Pelicans is a cute fun place to go on a date night or for a fun family outing. There are colorful painted picnic tables to sit down and enjoy your treat. They even have corn hole for those who want to play. Their flavor list long with a vast range of flavors. My personal favorite is strawberry shortcake. It's super sweet so if you like sweet then give strawberry shortcake a try. I saw that a previous review showed a menu with the price of a kiddie to be a $1.50. However, the price has increased and a kiddie size is now $2. The kiddie size is honestly more than enough, all their other sizes are so big that they turn into slush before you can finish them. So my recommendation is to start with the small size. Durham has two locations. What I like about this location is that there a drive through. The drive through is on both sides which helps control the traffic level. A dislike about this location is that the parking lot is small and the line can easily spill into the street. Other than those two small observations, I do not have anymore complaints. Pelicans is the perfect place for a cheap sweet treat!

    Emily Y.

    I find it hard to imagine this is a chain. Granted, we came around closing time in the evening (when the temperature was dropping), but service was exceptionally slow. There were a number of people both waiting at the walk up window and the drive through, so we had time to read through the extensive and hilarious menu. Honestly, so many of the descriptions were super fun to read. Decided on a kiddie sized stuffed snowball, which consists of flavored shaved ice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle. The shaved ice was very fluffy, and there was definitely enough syrup to cover everything. Unfortunately, I went for the over sweet flavors (nectar, cherry), and it was a sucrose bomb. Portion size wise, even the kiddie size was too much. Perhaps Pelican's is better at a different time of day, but it wasn't what I was looking for as a dessert.

    This place is made for family fun in the sun. The clean rainbow picnic tables and corn hole on the well kept lawn add to the fun
    D B.

    Rainbows, fluffy shaved ice snowballs, and family fun- find it at Pelican's snowballs.

    Durham Pelican Snowballs is the best!!!

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    8 years ago

    Simply delicious! The prices are super affordable and the selection is awesome. This is my summer go-to!

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    8 years ago

    Amazing coconut, mango, wild strawberry, cotton candy, and birthday cake shave ice. 5 stars, but my teeth are also yellow now.

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    8 years ago

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    6 years ago

    So many flavors and super affordable. Great place to go on a hot summer day. The kids options have cute gummies as well.

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    12 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Delicious!!! We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and ate so much shaved ice- pelicans brought back sweet memories!!!

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    10 years ago

    Great Sno-balls! Just like in New Orleans with the perfect consistency of snowy ice and the Chocolate Cream is amazing!

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    10 years ago

    Great selection, great prices, yummy snow cones! We love this place. They pack the ice really high so a small is actually quite large.

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    I'd walked by The Parlour many times but recently noticed their vegan flavors advertised on the…read moresidewalk board so I had to go in. Because, get this, there are several non sorbet options! (I love sorbet, but sometimes you want rich ice cream). Besides chocolate mint and Vietnamese coffee, there's an enticing lime sorbet and a rotating seasonal flavor, which in late July was a blackberry crumble that is delicious with little bits of crumble ribboned throughout (I love to chew my ice cream). A single scoop is actually quite generous and only $5. Service is speedy and friendly. The seating is plentiful and it was such a hot day, I opted to stay inside rather than walk around and pretend I was eating gelato in a small Medieval town in Tuscany.

    I stopped in on the first night of a conference downtown and thought "I'd love to try this place…read moreout!" At lunch, I passed the A-frame they had outside and saw fellow conference attendees walk in. "Alright," I said. "I'll check them out later." I came in with one of my new connections and we happily chose our desserts. I chose their seasonal Girl Scout Mint flavor and my new connection chose a milkshake. Parlour staff let us sample the flavors they had in stock to help us make informed decisions. I appreciated it. Seating is in an adjacent room. The place carries a kid-friendly vibe and I saw one child happily enjoying her ice cream. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in DT Durham.

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    The Parlour - Salted Butter Caramel. Single scoop. 3.3 ounces. In a cup. $4.50.

    Salted Butter Caramel. Single scoop. 3.3 ounces. In a cup. $4.50.

    The Parlour - Inside. Seating area in back of house. Water container/dispenser.

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    The Parlour - Caramel Oreo. Single scoop. 3.3 ounces. In a cup. $4.50.

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    Caramel Oreo. Single scoop. 3.3 ounces. In a cup. $4.50.

    Pistachio - Saffron ice cream sandwich

    Pistachio

    4.6(41 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    "Eastern-inspired ice cream and other sweets, next door to La Vaquita in Durham"…read more Stopped by this lovely shop at 7pm on a Saturday evening. The name a little hard to catch, but it's a small greenish building immediately beside La Vaquita on Chapel Hill Road (with the giant cow on the roof). The outdoor area is quite nice, with a fenced outdoor area having swings and other seating/ space for families. We were greeted quite warmly when we arrived. They had maybe ~15 flavors of ice cream or similar (will return to that in a second) as well as other sweets like baklava. But this is not your ordinary ice cream shop-- the flavors were unusual. Cucumber, date, and others caught my eye, but I didn't try those. Unlike one Yelp reviewer's comment, when we went, there was both a regular pistachio as well as a vegan pistachio option. I got something different-- I tried the falooda... a Persian inspired ice-cream-like dish with rose syrup and small cooked noodles. The texture is slightly like an italian ice, but the flavor was great. However, there's more-- on a table off to the side, there were separate lemon and cherry flavors that we were invited to try adding to the falooda. Let me tell you-- either addition turned a good dish into a heavenly dish! Sooooo good. Try it, but only if you're open to "this isn't just ice cream". There were also some wafer cookies to the side we were invited to have with our respective dishes. Seating inside was stools at benches facing a thin window bar-- outside is nicer if you have a big group and/ or if weather is nice, but it was fine. I did stop by the restroom briefly, and it was clean, too. Overall, definitely plan to come back to this eastern-inspired ice cream shop, and I encourage others to give it a try too!

    We've done a tour of Durham ice cream spots and this one is our favorite. Amazing ice cream with…read moreunique flavors. Date is my personal favorite. They also have smores kits and fire pits. Service is always great. They have a fenced in outdoor area with play stuff for kiddos. 5/5 - highly recommend!

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    Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams - Double Dough & Toasted S'mores

    Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

    4.3(93 reviews)
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    I stopped by for a birthday treat and had such a great experience. The staff was incredibly sweet,…read morepatient, and happy to answer questions while I debated flavors. If you're as indecisive as I am, they'll gladly let you sample a few before committing. The shop itself is bright, clean, and welcoming, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The colorful decor and festive atmosphere make it a fun place to sit and enjoy your ice cream rather than just grabbing it to go. The hardest part was choosing from all the unique flavors. Everything I sampled was delicious, and the scoop I ended up with was rich, creamy, and packed with flavor. You can tell they put a lot of thought into creating combinations that are both creative and genuinely tasty. Whether you're a local or just visiting Durham, Jeni's is absolutely worth a stop for a sweet treat. Great ice cream, great atmosphere, and even better customer service. Bonus points for making a birthday afternoon feel a little more special.

    I came to Jeni's with some colleagues and ordered the darkest chocolate and the vegan peppermint…read morepatty scoops. They accidentally gave me the milk chocolate ice cream (pictured here) and later swapped it out for darkest when I asked. The ice cream is mediocre in my opinion and leans on the sweeter side. The ambiance and seating in here is plentiful. I came here with 10+ colleagues and we ended up sitting at the high top bar, not pictured. My main qualm with Jeni's is the temperature inside the store; it was freezing inside even though I was fully dressed in business casual with a sweater.

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    Pelican's SnoBalls - shavedice - Updated September 2026

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