What an amazing place to get something sweet! The Parlour has such delicious ice cream flavors. I ordered the Vietnamese coffee and omg it was so good. We sat inside since it wasn't too busy when we went. The shop is in such a great spot. You can walk around the plaza and be outside and explore with your ice cream. I can't wait to go back and try some new flavors. read more

Our family took an afternoon trip to the NC Life and Museum on a hot sunny day. My kids and I were craving ice cream so we did a Yelp search and found The Parlour which we saw had amazing reviews and also served Vegan for my son with a food allergy. It's a cute store along a side street in downtown Durham. Parking can be a challenge as you do have to find street parking. My husband and I shared the brownie sundae which is plenty for 2 people. We chose vanilla ice cream and it came with brownie bites, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and a light dusting of something. It definitely fulfilled our craving and was delicious. We would come back again if in the area! read more

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

The parlour is a great non descipt ice cream parlour on a side street in downtown Durham Amazing that there is very little parking but i always seem to be lucky and get one The ice cream is why you come and does not disappoint I had The Vietnamese coffee and it was really good They offer samples so don't be shy read more

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

I am SO THRILLED I discovered The Parlour right as summer was beginning! Now I know where to go when I want to cool off. I can't remember having more well-executed flavors than I did here. I would normally not order salted caramel - it always ends up tasting kind of artificial-butterscotch to me - but the bite I stole was absolute perfection. And while the chai shake was pumpkin-pie-spice-y, it tasted like an ACTUAL pumpkin pie, not a Starbucks-style fake one. My order, the jasmine yuzu, was as though someone simply added some flowers and citrus juice to a light cream and then whipped it up and froze it. It was barely even sweet. Like jasmine tea with yuzu juice and milk, but cold and refreshing. Also, I can't believe inflation has gotten to the point where I am saying $3.75 for a single scoop is a good deal, but sadly, it has, and it is. read more

Owned by Ray Parlour, and a great place to play Parlour games. Sometimes the ice cream makes you feel fat, but that's Parlour for the course. I absolutely love the service here. The girls were angels, in almost every sense of the word. Some of the friendliest people around. And it's an excellent ice cream parlor in Durham with delicious flavors that are really creamy and perfect - and wonderful Service as well - some of the best service I had in all of North Carolina. Ice cream is just about a 5, whereas the service is a 10 out of 5. read more

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High quality dairy! Stopped by here after dinner with friends for a little dessert. I tried a cookies and cream milkshake. It was that perfect thick consistency that you're really looking for. Hard to suck out of the straw type of shake. You can taste that it's made in house! There is nice seating inside too. It's a perfect place to bring friends--much more space than your typical ice cream joint! read more

This is a great place to stop by if you happen to find yourself in Downtown Durham! Not only is it a perfect location! (lots of seating, park right across the street, cool shops nearby etc.) but the ice cream is extremely good! They have such a vast menu and variety of treats to pick from from your simple scoop and cones to cookies and affogatos. The staff there are extremely friendly and sociable and you can tell they love their job. (who wouldn't?) I've heard this place can boast quite the bustle but when we arrived (maybe around 7 or so) it was quiet and had plenty of seating. Overall I think this is some solid ice cream and worth a visit! read more

One of the best ice cream spots I've tried! Ice cream is so smooth and bursting with the unique flavor options - I ordered a scoop of the peppermint stick (lots of minty bits) and a scoop of the salted caramel (very sweet and strong caramel flabor, exactly my taste). I enjoyed the ice cream so much I came here twice in two days! Note that they have some fun holiday-themed flavors (i.e. eggnog) right now read more

The Parlour - eggnog + peppermint mocha (top), peppermint stick + salted caramel (bottom) - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Pretty unique flavors! I don't think I am the biggest fan of the Vietnamese iced coffee. I would say that their ice cream is pretty creamy, and if I am ever in the mood for ice cream, the Parlour is a great place to go. Their service is really good, and they're also taking good COVID-19 precautions. read more

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

Amazing customer service and really good milkshakes and unique sodas. Some flavors stay year-round and others rotate throughout the year, a great dessert spot if you're in downtown Durham! read more

The Parlour - Lavender Oreo Milkshake(Right),Lavender Caramel(Left),Ginger Ale(Middle). - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Walked into The Parlour on a busy Saturday after a late dinner. The service was friendly. The only knock I have about service is I asked what nuts are in one of the ice creams and the worker said "all sorts of nuts." Not the most helpful. They have a fun variety of flavors and had 3 vegan ice creams including chocolate and lemon sorbet. I chose the chocolate with oreo toppings on a waffle cone. It appears that all the cones are vegan (love!). My only complaint is that there was a sliver of almond and a chunk of ice in my ice cream. Not a huge deal, but still not desirable. Although it was busy, people are constantly rotating in and out and we were able to find a place to sit and enjoy our dessert. Oh yeah, the stool heigh to table ratio is a little awkward. The stools are too talk for the table. read more

The Parlour - Vegan Chocolate with Oreos - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

We stopped by here after church on Sunday. We have been wanting to try their ice cream. So glad we did. The ice cream was delicious and creamy! We'll definitely be back. The staff was very helpful and friendly! read more

The Parlour is great but these days, it's been a bit off. When I say "off", I'm referring to the customer service and serving size. The customer service used to be awesome but it's been really low energy recently; like no hospitality. As for the serving size, it's so off. If I'm paying $4+ for ice cream, I'm expecting a nice scoop of ice cream. Sometimes, its a nice scoop and other times, it's like a baby bite size scoop. Maybe do a training on how much ice cream should be served? In my opinion, there are some workers who don't like to give out a lot of Ice cream, more like a tiny sampler. read more

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The Parlor "Roses and red Violets are blue, They got soy Dairy who" What's up witchu you bootiful review stalkers my name Jucci Kim and I'm here to steal yo... attention settle down fellas ain't nobody tryna steal your shawtie, I'm happily boo'd up I just wanna tell y'all bout this ice cream in Durham called The Parlor and let me tell you, this be hittin hittin that hazelnut vegan ice cream and that Vietnamese coffee ice cream got my DNA all riled up! Shouts to my viets, y'all elite don't forget it but fo dayum sure this it chief I found my bae for life they got a small selection but it's artisanal and creatively delishish Wait a hot minute, you tellin me you be lactose intolerant? You allergic to milk sugars (for the ppl that ain't science edumacated like me anything with -ose endings be a form of carbohydrate, sugar basically) don't even trip bro, they got that soy and coconut based ish so live yo best life homie with yo vegan This place be nice, really quaint and minimalist vibes here, perfect for the IG Kings and Queens so don't tell Karen that boooool she gonna try to call los federales PSA: for two scoops it be $3... your welcome King read more

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Came here to update my review. Ice cream is excellent! Love the constant changing flavors! However, the workers there are rude. No smiling.. they always look so annoyed... they're pretty short in their responses. Service is pretty terrible. Sad:/ bc it's one of my fav places. read more

After finally getting around to trying The Parlour, I now understand why lines are out the door. My two scoops of ice cream were creamy & delicious- I highly recommend the Lavender and Honey flavor! It's very similar to the one at Salt & Straw (which will be familiar to people from the West Coast). It was a little on the expensive side, but I don't mind paying a bit extra to support this local business. read more

An adorable gem in the heart of Durham! I liked the large spacious seating area with the cute spunky decor. The line was almost at the door on a cold windy evening so I can't imagine how it must be during the summer! I liked how they had unique flavors and some classics as well. I split a brownie sundae with my friend and only wish the brownie was warmed. The server told us they would put hot fudge on it but by the time we ate it we couldn't tell it was hot fudge. We got it with a scoop of vanilla and a caramel flavor (I can't quite remember the name to it) but they tasted great with the brownie. read more

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

I've never had a bad experience here. The ice cream is always incredible. The lines have been super long but moves relatively quickly. I don't mind it cause the ice cream is so good! read more

*3.5 stars* First time here the other day- I was immediately turned off when I saw a long line outside the place on a Wednesday night lol, not sure if that's typical but I figured it could be a good sign. I waited a little less then 15 minutes and decided on a "Beginner" size cup with two flavors- Vietnamese Coffee and Vanilla. The Coffee was sooo flavorful and had a very strong taste of coffee, I definitely recommend this to a coffee ice cream lover. The Vanilla on the other hand was disappointing, it lacked flavor. If you're a vanilla ice cream fan you'll know that all vanillas are NOT created equal- if done right vanilla ice cream will have a good amount of flavor. From the description here that mentioned vanilla paste I thought this would be a good one but it was a let down. Wow, I said vanilla a lot in this review. Anyway, I recommend giving this place a try for sure if you're in the area, but based off what I tried here it was nothing special that I would go out of my way for. read more

The Parlour - Line outside... turn off but could be a good sign - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

TLDR: Delish Delish ice-cream - best downtown dessert spot, give it a shot. Why isn't it 5 stars - small list of flavors/toppings but I'd rather have a small amount of something great than a large amount of average food. ...I was going to write more for this review, but there really isn't much to write. Its ice cream...I mean just read the above two sentences... read more

The Parlour - Vanilla with brownie bits - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Great ice cream, great servers, perfect location. My only complaint would be that I wish there were more flavors

Truly the only downside to The Parlour is that it's so popular, you have to wait in line outside when it's cold... but it's totally worth it. We stopped by on Saturday evening around 8:30pm and joined the dozen-ish people who were waiting outside. People were friendly and polite and completely unlike most lines I've been in where food was at the other end. There was no pushing, no rushing, no side-eye. People made room for each other and even kindly kept the door shut to keep the heat inside, even though we were shivering in our inappropriately-weathered clothing. Once we got inside, we realized what all of the fuss was about. The flavors weren't exactly out of this world, but they were unique and creative. I got sample tastes of a few before I decided on my two scoops, landing on the Vietnamese Coffee and Cookies&Cream, which I devoured when we got home. It might be hard to find parking, but it's worth the search, even on a chilly night. read more

Yummy yummy. Highly recommend the Vietnamese coffee pint! They spaced out tables and waiting area for covid precautions. So nice to see! read more

Great local place right near downtown Durham. Cute old timesy store front which seems to be two businesses which knocked the wall down between them. There are literally two entrances with two different addresses. I happened upon this place while walking around downtown Durham after having dinner. The storefront and the crowd inside was what drew me, since it was a Tuesday night and a little chilly but there were plenty of people in here. I believe that flavors probably change with the seasons but since I'm not very adventurous where ice cream is concerned I had two scoops one vanilla and the other salty butter caramel. I wasn't disappointed and would go back and have the same thing again. This place isn't two pricey and the ice cream is home made so you can't go wrong. They also sell pints in store just in case you want to take something home to share with the rest of the family. read more

The Parlour - Salted butter caramel and vanilla. Delicious. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

This was a great family fun. We went Saturday Night a perfect night to be outside. We head to get ice cream there was legit a line outside the door. The wait was not too long. The line moved relatively quickly. We tried a host of flavors, coffee, the Carmel flavor, cookies and cream and the bourbon butter pecan. Go with what bring your taste buds joy - because it does not disappoint. Absolutely delicious! read more

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The Parlour was just a few steps from where my friend and I had dinner, and after hearing so much about it, I was eager to check it out. Samples first, of course. I sampled the rosemary olive oil and salty malty vanilla. I generally love rosemary, but apparently not as a flavor of ice cream. I enjoyed the salty malty vanilla, so I got a scoop of that along with the Vietnamese coffee flavor (which I felt was a safe option and thus did not sample). The salty malty vanilla started getting too sweet halfway through the one scoop. The Vietnamese coffee flavor was an ordinary coffee ice cream, but good thing I got it because its less sweet flavor helped offset the sweetness of the salty malty vanilla. Kind of feel like this place is overrated, but I suppose there aren't many ice cream shops in downtown Durham. They also have a couple vegan flavors available as well as baked goods such as cookies. read more

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The Parlour is a way of life. And a prime spot for people who love unique ice cream flavors. If you are a chocolate or vanilla ice cream fan, you are better off with Maple View ice cream. This place is for adventurers only (although they do carry a few basic flavors) They also have some vegan options and delicious soft-serve swirl combinations! They do affogatos, drinks, and actually have a solid set of non-ice cream desserts, too. With an ever-changing but always phenomenal menu, I watch their Instagram page closely to see their new flavor additions! Flavors I've enjoyed lately: Honey lavender Orange blossom white chocolate Magic bar (mix of choc chips, carrot cake, walnuts, some other stuff that tasted delicious) Halva Peach lassi Vietnamese coffee The space inside is a bit quirky and very hipster with funky wall art. There are two rooms with lots of seating! After dinner or in the evening, expect there to be a line out the door, but it moves fast, I promise! read more

The Parlour - Magic bar and halvah ice cream! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Busy local ice cream shop with unique flavors and vegan, gluten-free desserts, loved by locals and tourists alike. The Parlour evokes an old-fashioned soda fountain, but it's more hipster charm, dyed hair, and funky art. When bae and I went for after-dinner ice cream, the line reached to just inside the door (a blessing on a cold night), and plenty of college students as well as families occupied nearly all of the tables in the two dining areas. Since it's pretty much in the heart of downtown Durham, parking can be tricky - but the street meters are free after 7pm on weekdays and all day on weekends! The employees are efficient, each one managing one group of people at a time and balancing their sample requests and merchandise questions. There's also a water dispenser near the doorway for the thirsty in line. On our turn, we tried the Salted Butter Caramel, Baklava, Malted Banana and Caramel Truffle, then decided on a double scoop. The Baklava DOES taste like actual baklava, with a pistachio base and bits of phyllo dough, and was one of my favorites. My second favorite was their classic Salted Butter Caramel, a must for any sweet-savory combo lover. The rotating flavors are enough to keep even regulars busy guessing! Service was great and I really wish I had gotten some of their other desserts to go. And speaking of to go - dining in is actually the one area I found a major design flaw. It's quite uncomfortable if you happen to end up on one of the stools because have to hunch over to rest your elbows on the tables and will sit a good head above everyone else at your table. read more

Since it's been 3 years since my last review and I've been here quite a few times in the past month, I'll leave an update: Parlour is a great place to grab dessert with friends (or a date). It's always been pretty crowded when i've gone, which is around 9pm, even on weeknights. They have tons of seating though, so that hasn't been an issue. The ice cream itself is great. Lots of flavors - both vegan and dairy. They change weekly, though there are some regulars. Some flavors are more bold, while others are pretty subtle. For example, they had a chocolate yuzu flavor that seemed promising but I couldn't detect any yuzu. In general, their dairy ice creams are really dense and decadent. 1-2 scoops may not seem like a lot but they are filling. I'm a huge texture person when it comes to ice cream, so I usually go with flavors that have mix-ins in them. My favorite I've had so far was baklava, which had pistachios and phyllo dough chunks with a honey base. Toppings are 50c to a dollar extra. I like adding waffle cone pieces for 50c for the crunch and additional butteriness. You can get a sugar cone for free, but those don't have quite the same flavor. I've never tried the vegan sorbets, but they also have 2 vegan soft serve flavors that change frequently. The texture is like fro-yo, and also pretty tart. My one complaint is that the servers aren't very friendly. Maybe it's because I only go when there's been a long line and they feel rushed, but I always get the vibe that they're annoyed when I ask for samples. I honestly get mild anxiety now when I try a few flavors (usually the unique ones that have a tendency to be polarizing) and don't like any of them. They also don't ask if you want toppings, so I didn't know they were available until recently. To use the bathrooms you need to get a key hanging on the wall by the register. Not sure why that policy is in place; there are only 2 keys but both bathrooms have multiple stalls. read more

I like the varied selection of flavors that The Parlour offers. We came on a Saturday night, and even though it was cold outside, there were still a good number of people getting ice cream. That speaks to how popular of an ice cream spot it is. I tried two flavors: Gingerbread and Vietnamese Coffee. I enjoyed both. Neither was overly sweet, and the gingerbread even had bits of cookie in it. The coffee was also quite nice. The service was friendly, and the prices were reasonable. I will definitely be back to try other flavors. read more

The Parlour - Gingerbread + Vietnamese Coffee - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The ice cream itself has great flavor. There's no toppings or chunks, so if you like those, this isn't the place for you. However, the wait was way too long (over an hour) and the size of the scoops was way too small. Compared to other ice cream options in the area, this one misses the mark. I wouldn't go again. read more

To be honest, I'm just so confused why this place is so popular. Maybe the location and trendy pink interior? I had to try it because every time I drive by there's a line out the door. After trying samples of some of the most popular flavors (salted butter caramel, Vietnamese coffee, etc.) I resorted to the basic cookies n cream. I was so let down that the flavors didn't live up to the hype. They just didn't. I'm not even a picky ice cream gal but it just was not impressive in the slightest. Even the cookies n cream, I think we could've done better picking up a tube from Whole Foods. read more

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

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Definitely the best ice cream place in Durham/ locally in general! My favorite flavor is Vietnamese Coffee. Recently, I got it with Vanilla Malt (might be a seasonal flavor), and the two paired really well together! Most recently, I got Strawberry Lavender with chocolate. If you're feeling adventurous, I'd definitely recommend trying the more floral flavors because the Parlour somehow manages to perfect encapsulate the scent of the flower into the ice cream. They used to have a rose ice cream, which was one of their temporary seasonal flavors, and I was blown away by how it seemed like I was straight up eating a rose. The ice cream melts a little fast, but that's just a sign that it's made from more natural ingredients. The ambience itself is very cute, almost always bustling with people of all ages on summer weekends. The location is also prime - right in the heart of downtown, so you can also walk around after or sit in the plaza/ take a photo with the bull right outside! read more

The Parlour - Quickly-melting Strawberry Lavender and Chocolate in a cake cone - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Lots of space - wait staff was friendly and courtesy and helpful. Many choices of ice creams. Definitely had the homemade taste ice cream. It was a great way to cool off. Ambaince was as an ice cream parlor read more

Delicious ice cream! Their caramel oreo ice cream is great. It's also in a great location down town.

OMG so good! Went here after dinner but before going to see Aladdin at the DPAC. The line was out the door on a Saturday evening but it moved along really quickly. I got the intermediate sized ice cream which includes three scoops and I got it in a bowl. I got the cookies and cream, chocolate, and cookie dough and added Oreos for some extra flair! My fiancé got the brownie sundae and also gave me some of her brownie bites which were delicious! I will definitely be returning on the future! read more

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I was in town for a work trip and it just so happened to be in the same city my cousin is located. I wanted to catch up over desserts so he suggested that we go get ice cream at The Parlour. This ice cream shop is located downtown in the cutest area! The shop was small but it was packed! There was literally a line down the block just to get some ice cream?! When we finally got in they had quite a few flavors to choose from. I ended up ordering the salted caramel butter ice cream. O-M-G!! It was so Fantasic. The ice cream was clearly handmade and it was so creamy. I couldn't help but wish I ordered more. The next time I'm in the area I will definitely be going back to this ice cream shop. read more

The Parlour - Salted caramel butter ice cream waffle cone - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

This is one of our favorite ice-cream places in the Triangle and certainly the best one in Durham! The Parlour boasts a long list of innovative flavors, including some regulars and rotational ones so one can always expect something different each time! I got the Salted Butter Caramel which was exactly what it sounds like and one of my all-time favorite flavors it was hard not to gobble in one go, brain-freeze be damned! They also do yummy soft-serves with very unusual flavors which they post on instagram and change every few days. Expect a line out the door on most late evenings, even on weekdays but it usually moves pretty fast. Also parking can be a challenge as its downtown Durham but we found the best time is late at night around 9 or so (after dinner) to get spots very close by! Give them a try if you haven't and you'll soon be screaming for more ice-cream! read more

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

Probably not saying much that hasn't been said before. Definitely don't eat much ice cream these days, but when I do, it's got to be something that stands out. The Parlour has precisely that. Tried both the Asian Pear 5 Spice, definitely unique in flavor and texture. Both profiles were subtle, what stood out was the texture, more grainy like a pear, almost like a sorbet. The Salted Butter Caramel was rich and creamy, I could see why this is a standout flavor here. Would return if in the area to sample other flavors. No line on a Thursday afternoon mid day! read more

The Parlour - Salted butter caramel and Asian pear 5 spice, both delicious! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

We stopped here on the way back to Greensboro after dropping off a friend at the airport. This ice cream was creamy and fabulous! I would most definitely stop again if I'm in the area. Well priced, great quality, nice atmosphere. read more