19 July 24 - 30, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Best Ice Cream Shops in Dallas Every day is a good day for ice cream in Dallas. Here’s proof. BY ANISHA HOLLA AND AAREN PRODY S ummertime in Dallas is like a seasonal hangover; you might not have drank the night before but damn, it feels like it. This humidity kicks some ass. We not only deserve ice cream, we need it. Here are some of our favorite ice cream shops in Dallas to help get through this mad- ness. We even found a spot for vegans. Bazaria Sweets 700 W. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano Bazaria is a locally owned shop that carries almost any cold treat you can imagine, from frozen yogurt to milkshakes to homemade gelato, and it’s all Halal certified. A must-try here is the chocolate mousse frozen yogurt, which comes with a creamy chocolate base and fresh chocolate shavings spread throughout. It’s almost like eating a real chocolate mousse cake — except, well, it’s frozen. Bazaria’s gelato is a real showstop- per, too. Made from scratch, the flavors like almond fig and cherry cheesecake make Ba- zaria stand out among other gelato shops on the area’s dessert scene. Especially in the 100-degree Texas heat, Bazaria might just become your new go-to. Beth Marie’s 1020 W. Main St. (Denton), 1020 W. Main St. (Carrollton) and 419 W. Main St. (Grapevine) Beth Marie’s started serving old-fashioned ice cream on the south side of Denton’s His- toric Square in 1998. The ice cream here is classified as certified premium quality be- cause it contains 14% butterfat. It’s churned in a machine that was designed in 1927, which can make 10 gallons of ice cream in 18 minutes. Whatever that means, it must be impressive. There are more than 150 flavors in their wheelhouse, between 48 and 64 of which are served at any given time. The retro shop started in Denton and has since spread to Grapevine and Carrollton. Casa Del Bro 5444 FM 423, Frisco With a menu full of items like steak tacos, cheesy quesadillas and chicken tinga burri- tos, Casa Del Bro in Frisco doesn’t seem at first like the go-to neighborhood stop for ice cream. But it is. Batches are made from scratch in flavors that include cookie butter and strawberry cheesecake, both with a creamy base studded with globs of cookie butter and fresh chunks of cheesecake. The ice cream here is whipped up every morn- ing, which makes it softer than your average scoop. Top your dessert off with sprinkles or get it in a waffle cone. Just make sure to get here early. Scoops run out fast. Churn x Bake Churn x Bake is an artisan ice cream and bake shop in Plano where flavors are Asian- inspired and made in-house. They could have stopped with the interesting flavors like best-selling ube coconut crunch and peach oolong tea, but they decided to take things up a notch with customizations. They’ll plop a scoop or two of ice cream in a bubble waffle cone and even serve you addi- tional desserts like crepe cakes and viral sweets like Dubai chocolate. Can it get any better? Yes. They also serve bubble tea. Handel’s Ice Cream 4200 Legacy Drive, Plano A chain that originated in Youngstown, Ohio, Handel’s has since brought its ice cream to five different locations in the Dallas area. The ice cream shop is perhaps best known for its 120+ rotating flavors, all made fresh in- house each day. Try the best-selling Oreo cheesecake flavor, a vanilla base loaded with huge chunks of cheesecake and Oreo cook- ies. Seasonal summer favorites include the Key lime pie, pineapple upside-down cake and strawberry cheesecake chunk. Bring your kids, friends and an appetite. Handel’s doesn’t skimp on flavors or portions. Melt Ice Creams 405 N. Bishop Ave., Bishop Arts Melt Ice Creams, originally out of Fort Worth, has a shop in the Bishop Arts District and can also be found in retail outlets like Whole Foods. You can also have it shipped to your door via Goldbelly. Melt crafts premium small-batch ice cream with a high percentage of butterfat for extra creaminess. The house- made waffle cones have real butter and heavy cream. Check out the vegan and dairy-free options if that’s how you roll. The real draw here is a constantly evolving menu of “some- times” flavors, like peach cobbler cheesecake, which has a base of peach ice cream infused with swirls of housemade boozy peach cara- mel, chunks of housemade creamy cheese- cake and a graham cracker crust. Parlor’s Ice Cream 6465 E. Mockingbird Lane, No. 465 Parlor’s takes its concept of nostalgic ice cream to heart. Flavors like milk and cook- ies, made with a light vanilla ice cream and cookies loaded into the crevices, are sure to incite a sugar rush while reviving some fond childhood memories. Using flavors and in- gredients sourced locally and from scratch, owners Brandon and Kellie Stoll are making ice cream as fresh as it gets. Pure Milk & Honey 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane This hidden soft-serve spot in Dallas lives up to its name: in pure ingredients and pure fla- vor. Located in Mockingbird Station, Pure Milk & Honey has been serving cold >> p20 | CITY OF ATE | t Dish Fort Worth’s Melt Ice Cream has a shop in the heart of the Bishop Arts District. Lauren Drewes Daniels Anisha Holla Pure Milk & Honey uses only Texas dairy products.
