Just stopped by the Parlour for the first time, and I'm ashamed it's taken me so long to discover this amazing place. Right in the center of downtown Durham, the Parlour has a facade that only teases the old school charm to be found inside. The hand written in chalk flavors and hand packed pints in the fridge let you know this place truest keeps its products fresh and menu rotating. We indulged in the Large Drunken Sailor Sundae, and it was amazing! It was more then enough for my husband and I to share. The sundae had delicious chocolate covered pretzels, hot fudge and potato chips on top, but the real star was the salted caramel ice cream. So smooth, and the perfect balance of salty and sweet. We will definitely be returning soon! read more

So far, the best ice cream shop in the Research Triangle. I don't know why it was so hard to find a decent ice cream shop in this town, but it was. From the four ice creams I sampled, I knew they made some damn good ice cream. The flavors were bold, the cream was rich, and there was a good combo of conservative and wild flavors. I especially thought the sweet potato, chocolate molasses, and salted caramel were excellent. The moment I saw the drunken sailor, I had to order it. The sundae comes with chocolate covered pretzels and potato chips! Although it wasn't the greatest sundae in the world, it was highly satisfying. The sweet and salty combo all blended well, although I will say the dark chocolate sauce was a little strong. There were bites where it masked the ice cream. read more

So delicious! There was a line when I arrived which is usually a sign of something good ahead. I had the dairy free Chai Masala (soft serve special) in a sugar cone and would easily call it the best ice cream I've had in years. Complex flavor, not too sweet, and very refreshing. There is plenty of seating even when there are a lot of patrons. To top it off, the prices are great for the quality of their treats. read more

Local spot with great ice cream (including vegan) and coffee. Do yourself a favor and go.

We came here a year ago.. maybe two years ago.. I remember that ice creams were extra sweet.. Overly sweet and creamy.. I did not enjoy much.. never went back.. We tried again just just to see.. they expanded.. good seating tables.. ice creams are much better.. good flavor.. sweet enough.. creamy enough.. we will go back there again.. read more

The Parlour - Blueberry - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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There are times when I need my ice cream to remind me of my childhood... or I just, you know, need to drown my sorrows by eating. During those moments, I opt for places where I get the most bang from my buck with huge portions of classic flavors like vanilla and chocolate covered in hot fudge and salted peanuts. But during my better moments, when I'm more rational, I prefer places like The Parlour where I can get really unique flavors done well. Having frequented The Parlour well over a dozen times, I've tried quite a few of their flavors. My favorites tend be ones with fruit, like their blueberry concoctions, or with tea, like the Earl Grey. The Salted Caramel and Vietnamese Coffee are also consistently good. The only downsides are the portions are pretty small for the price and parking is a royal pain. read more

Two words: Salted Caramel (in a waffle cone). All of the ingredients are fresh and local. They also have other yummy treats including brownies, cookies, and coffees. Do yourself a favor and check it out! read more

Vegan options everywhere! Vegan soft serve, vegan regular ice cream, vegan baked goods! I love this place! Not to mention it's in a great location and very cute branding. read more

Holy ice-cream-balls batman!!!!!! I am a sugar addict - but my go-to sugar is not typically ice cream. Why? Because at some point all ice cream stems from the basic vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream of the tub of Neapolitan from the 70s... wha~wha. Ice cream has always been ok - but not noteworthy. ENTER THE PARLOR of Durham! OH MY! They offer the depthness of custards with the decadent flavors of the 2000s combined with farm-to-table mindset --- including lavender, rosemary, fresh blueberries and more. They offer vegan ice cream and gluten free cones! I drive roughly 20 minutes each way to treat myself to their wildly delicious concoctions - Kuddos AND snaps Parlor your ice cream is NOTEWORTHY! My only warning is to plan for the parking challenges -- read more

Great selection of vegan ice creams! Love that they rotate flavors. Line can be long especially on hot summer days but cool treats inside are worthy of the wait. read more

This place is amazing. I got Moroccon Rose and Honey Chai and both were super flavorful. When I've tried more muted flavors like rose and chai in ice creams before, I find that they can border on bland and I can barely taste the flavors. The Parlour was totally the opposite and packed a bunch of flavor in that, according to other reviews, may have been too floral, but I found to be perfect. Definitely visit this place if you're in Durham. read more

The Parlour - Amazing flavors. Moroccon Rose and Honey Chai. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I'm not usually a big fan of salted caramel ice cream because most taste pretty artificial, but the Parlour's salted butter caramel ice cream tastes like my moms homemade caramels in ice cream form. They have other fun and unique flavors, plus vegan ice creams and gluten free ice cream cones. read more

Still great, but the novelty has warn off a bit. New flavors needed. Parlour has become somewhat of a Durham staple being a very popular ice cream destination downtown. It started as a cart at the farmer's market and food truck meet-ups and eventually landed a retail space in the heart of downtown. Parlour on most days has a line out the door and it takes a while to get even a simple cone. Here's the thing, the local ice cream scene in the area is ruthless and there's lots of competition. Parlour's got Durham somewhat on lockdown, but there's so many good ice cream places now in the area it feels like they have lost some steam in keeping up with the others. They have some new flavors but they heavily reliant upon their mainstays. Their vietnamese coffee and salted caramel are basically keeping the lights on. Any of the new flavors they've added haven't been very appealing or don't typically stick round long. I'd love to see Parlour step up their competition in terms of new ice cream flavors. Any how, I got a chocolate malt milkshake upon my last visit and it was very good. read more

I love the Parlour and I stop in pretty much every time I'm in Durham. They always have 2 vegan flavors plus a vegan sorbet. I've never gotten the sorbet - why would I when there's ice cream - but every vegan flavor I've had has been fantastic. They also do floats and milkshakes, although I'm not sure of their vegan status. They also have baked goods, vegan and non. The service is friendly and they usually have plenty of people behind the counter, so even when the line is long it moves quickly. I will definitely keep coming back when in Durham. I wish they'd open a second location in Raleigh! read more

The Parlour - Vegan coffee and vegan chocolate thin mint - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The ice cream is great, but the environment is even better. You need to check this place out for sure!

I don't understand the hype nor the line in front. My only assumption is the law of "supply and demand" where there is no competition around it. The selection was small, and the flavors were not that innovative. If this was in a real city, this would have been just average. First, I had the bourbon malted apple and salted butter caramel. There were ice crystals in my ice cream, what I would expect to find in grocery store offerings. The flavors were saturated and over exaggerated, rather than nature. Actually the salted caramel was both too sweet and too salty. On top of that, you only get a golf ball size scoop of each, super stingy and just bad value. My partner got keylime which was muted in flavor. Her birthday cake contained chunks of soggy sponge cake which gave unpleasant texture. Overall, we were very disappointed especially given the reviews on Yelp. I don't understand the hype of this place at all. I really think it is because of lack of alternatives in the area. I know taste is subjective, but this is nowhere close to the other ice cream places I have visited in the past. read more

Pre/post COVID The Parlour has it down! Their ice cream and service are always top rated. During COVID, they're still very customer AND employee centric. They've updated their website to allow for quick online ordering and easy pickup. Their guidance is clear and easy to follow. read more

Great local ice cream shop with sizable scoops in cones of different flavors and types (sugar cone, waffle cone) or cups. They have a rotating cast of excellent vegan flavors - my top two are the toasted coconut and the salted caramel. The Parlour also created a special dish for the "Bull City Vegan Challenge," in which chefs compete and the public votes on the best.. The dish, a sundae with brownie and whipped coconut topping, is decadent and enough for two (or three!). read more

The Parlour - Chocolate girl scout mint sundae w/brownie & coconut whip - entry in the Bull City Vegan Challenge - photo by Dragana L - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

What is this crazy, magical place? Okay, so it is ice cream, so its already a great place in my book, but the flavors are so creative AND so tasty! Expensive for one scoop, but with flavors like Morrocan Rose (which yes, tasted like a spicy perfume and a rose soap but yet in a great way?!?) Almond Stracciatella, Honey Chai and Vietnamese Coffee (ok we all shared a bit but every flavor was so good!), its hard not to love it! read more

Durham people be like, "I know a spot, and bring you to The Parlour." Great ice cream though.

Love this ice cream shop! It's a must if you're downtown. They have a variety of rotating flavors but I always end up with my favorite, salted butter caramel. read more

Great service with, in my opinion, decent tasting Ice Cream. Limited selection of flavors. Not in a rush to get back and try it again.

Overall Experience: One of my most visited spots in Durham. I ***would definitely go back***, and frequent The Parlour often. I work down the street from The Parlour, so it was a short walk and I didn't deal with any of the hassle of parking. Price: The pricing is pretty standard for ice cream in this area ($3.25 for 1 scoop/junior, $3.70 for 2 scoops/beginner). The menu definitely incentivizes you to purchase in pairs of scoops, so I definitely recommend that. Each scoop is packed tightly though, so 1 scoop will fill most casual ice cream eaters up. The Parlour also has a *frequent visitor card* that I'll post in the pics below. Highly recommend using one. ------------------- FOOD COOKIES AND CREAM. This is one of my favorites and I consistently almost always get it from the Parlour. It's especially creamy and just great in all the right ways. Definitely one of the best Cookies & Cream interpretations I've tasted. This flavor is on the menu daily. BLUEBERRY-BLOOD ORANGE SORBET. I had never tried this before, as it was one of the flavors of the day and doesn't show up often. It was tangy and sweet, but not too much so of either. It definitely had a stronger blood orange taste than blueberry, but the blueberry wasn't lost entirely either. I often taste the new flavors I've never seen, then ultimately get C&C anyways, so the fact that I actually bought this flavor is a testament to the fact that it was pretty good. ------------------- Ambiance: I really like the ambiance of The Parlour. It's bright and clean and the seats are comfortable. It's a friendly place to eat your ice cream and although the lines are often really long, there's almost always seating by the time you get your ice cream. Service: Like most ice cream places, you pick and pay for your ice cream at the counter, then take it back yourself and clean up and throw your trash away yourself too. The service people, in all the times I've been there, have been nothing but kind and courteous. read more

The Parlour - BLUEBERRY-BLOOD ORANGE SORBET - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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We tried this spot back when the wife and I were initially scouting Durham for somewhere to live, my take was that the flavors, while mildly experimental, just weren't that good. I wrote it off and we hadn't been back since. fast forward to last night and I order just plain ole chocolate. It wasn't bad! while there's no shortage of challenge in the area, none are as close to us as the parlour. I would still be opposed to eating something like 'rosemary olive oil' ice cream, but for the simple flavors in the heat of the moment downtown, they'll do. read more

The food was okay, it wasn't the best. Maybe I needed to sit in to get a better experience

I tried the SALTED BUTTER CARAMEL and BASIL....Both were delicious especially the former. It's spacious with plenty of seating. Went in a Sunday evening though. Flavors are great, just wished the quantity was larger. The beginner is two flavors(scoops) in your choice of cone or bowl. read more

The flavors are unique and delicious here. They have ice cream, shakes, malts, & sundaes. They don't have concrete or mixed ice cream which is a bummer. It gets packed & have a weight but it's totally worth it. There's plenty of inside seating and if not you can go outside and sit by the benches. My husband & I ordered the cookie ice cream sandwich! He had vietnamese coffee while I had the watermelon. They were both soooo good!!!!! I would totally come back just for the watermelon! read more

The vanilla ice cream is creamy, subtle and the perfect treat on a nice sunny day. If you like home made ice cream this is it. In the vanilla you could taste the milk a little bit.. it was delicious! The staff was super friendly and let us try all the flavors we wanted! Highly recommend! read more

Such a great dessert spot! I got the small sundae and for my ice cream flavor I picked the Vietnamese Coffee and it was amazing! Prices are super reasonable and the size is good! read more

The Parlour - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

If you want to find the crankiest, most delicious ice cream in Durham, look no further!

I think the secret to The Parlour is that they have a really delicious ice cream base. I also love that their flavors are simple yet fresh. I tried some interesting ones recently like rosewater, mint and ricotta basil. They were all wonderful. The mint was my favorite. The flavor was so fresh. In a way, I'm glad they are not so close to me because I'd be here every day. read more

Such a big fan of their soft serve this time of year. During COVID, this has felt like a safe spot to enjoy the simple things.

If you're coming in the summer/fall, the line's always out the door. I came in January, and there was still an (albeit smaller) line. The ice cream is good, the ambience is mildly quirky. I enjoy the eclectic flavors, and appreciate the selection of vegan options for both ice cream and sorbet. read more

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I can say that the ice cream here is good but not the best. Some are not even worth it, like that matcha flavor! Yukkkk

The ice cream that they sell is pretty good. However I would like to say that it's not good enough to be charged 5-9 dollars for one scoop. They don't have that many options and I can say that the ice cream I buy at food lion tastes better than that. The service is really unorganized and just answers with "mhm" "huh?" And "Eh?" when you ask if you can try a certain flavor. Like what type of responses are those? I work in a restaurant and even if I'm bringing water I try to answer with a word like "yes" , "of course" or "sure" and I try to give as many information as the customer requests. Their responses make you want to get behind the counter and start giving them lessons in "customer service 101" . I know they are serving ice cream but at least try to make it seem appealing to the customers, don't just give me a "The special for today is the pomegranate vegan sorbet" with an expression that tells me you are dying. I'm not saying you have to be all rainbows and unicorns but at least try to make it inviting for the customers. Specially when it's noticeable that you're annoyed by the requests people make. read more

Cute little ice cream spot in Downtown Durham. From what I heard, there always seems to be a line--and there was when I went. Upside is that the line moves pretty quickly, since it ice cream! They have a good amount of seating available and atmosphere is cute and family friendly! The ice cream flavors are amazing! I tried the Moroccan Rose (contains pistachios) and it was yummy. Tasted like a cross between Turkish delights and Cinnabons! YUM! read more

Great ice cream flavour selections! Flavours rotate but vietnemese coffee and cookies and cream are two of my favourites. It is definitely a favourite dessert spot in town because there is usually a line out the door especially late night weekends over the summer. read more

I love their Vietnamese coffee ice cream with hot fudge on top. It is so drool worthy.

During the warmer months, the line is often out the door, but is well worth the wait. They have a combination of unique and traditional flavors that are sure to please the whole family! The ice cream is a little pricy, but cheaper than what you would find in a big city, and supporting local business is always worth the cost! Ice cream (generally): 5/5 Coffee drinks (lattes/mochas): 4/5 read more

Amazing local over cream with new, creative flavors regularly. I always bring visitors here!