26 Greater Cincinnati Creamy Whips to Get Your Ice Cream Fix

Zip Dip

4050 Drew Ave., Green Township
Zip Dip literally shines like a beacon of light through the dark — the iconic neon lightning bolt adorning the roof is unmistakable. It was added to the building in 1951 and has been guiding customers through summer heat waves to ice cream salvation ever since. Everyone loves a classic. The top-seller here is a basic small cone with a twist, but scrap the whole chocolate and vanilla idea. Zip Dip serves an orange and vanilla twist that will make you forget you ever wanted anything else. If you’re looking for more, Zip Dip has a whole heap of ice cream selections, from chipwiches to sundaes. Those who prefer to drink their ice cream should skip the shakes and opt for a malt instead.

The Cone

6855 Tylersville Road, West Chester
West Chester’s The Cone is arguably the most recognizable creamy whip in all of Ohio — partially because of its large ice cream cone-shaped exterior. The Cone’s flavors and ingredients are all-natural, the majority of which are made in-house daily with fresh fruit, real chocolate and more. Even their famous bright orange zebra cone is made from real oranges. Plus all their ice creams, yogurts, Italian ices and sherbets are not only all-natural but soy-free, gluten-free and egg-free, and their whipped cream is homemade on a daily basis from scratch. They also have peanut-allergy-friendly options, as well as dairy-free and sugar-free selections.

Don’s Creamy Whip

1522 Market St., Reading
Don Vonderhaar of Vonderhaar Catering opened his creamy whip, “Don’s Creamy Whip,” in March 1976. Considered a hidden gem in Reading, it often has a long line of locals or passersby. Don’s not only offers ice cream, but slushies and delicious fast food with quality portion sizes. Their most popular menu items are their soft serve ice cream and “Whippers,” similar to Flurries or Blizzards, with your choice of candy swirled perfectly within your favorite ice cream flavor.

Putz’s Creamy Whip

2673 Putz Place, East Westwood/Northside
Putz’s Creamy Whip has been in the family since the day Constantine and Anna Putz opened their first trolley car walk-up ice cream window in 1938. The Putz as we know it — now in a square concrete structure just down the hill from Mt. Airy Forest — is a scoop of summer nostalgia served with a smile. Not much about this place has changed over the past several decades. Of the current generation, Putz descendant Mindy Borgman has been cranking out cones at the creamy whip for the last few decades — all on the same Electro-Freeze machine. Another tradition? Putz’s is cash-only. Despite the hoopla about the vintage ice cream machine and vanilla soft serve, the pineapple sherbet is a must. It is creamy like soft serve and tangy to boot. “Face cones” are also a hot commodity at Putz’s. The soft serve cones are adorned with Necco wafer ears and crunchy googly-eyed candy.

Mason Whippy Dip

127 E. Main St., Mason
Mason Whippy Dip, also known as Tucker’s Whippy Dip, is a family-owned ice cream shop that’s been crafting cones and smiles since 1999. Their best known for their creative animal cones, using ice cream, candy and an assortment of other treats to make sweet creatures that are almost too cute to eat (almost). Whippy Dip also has some incredible gourmet sundaes like the Black Forest (chocolate soft serve with hot fudge and cherry topping) or the Sandstorm (Chocolate soft serve with marshmallow topping, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, malt powder, and chopped peanuts).

Old Milford Parlor

119 Main St., Milford
Old Milford Parlor sits in Old Milford’s historic district filled with vintage shops and quirky eateries. While they specialize in the fusion of ice cream and espresso, their soft serve is also a must-try. Grab a classic zebra soft serve swirl and then select from Old Milford's wild array of toppings, from a classic Krunch Koat and rainbow sprinkles to marshmallow charms and edible gold flakes (made with real gold...).

Dreamy Whip

3020 Washington St., Burlington
This soft-serve ice cream and coffee shop wants to be your symbol of summer, and with their menu of cones, shakes, malts and floats, how could they not? Ice cream flavors are rotated weekly, and their vanilla is always available dairy-free, as are their dole whips. And not only does Dreamy Whip have its Burlington storefront, they have their own ice cream truck and trailer that can be rented out for events.

Whipty-Do!

2529 US-22, Maineville
Whipty-Do! opened its doors in May of 2009, when owners Joe and Kristen Fields turned their love of ice cream into a colorful brick-and-mortar shop. They began serving blue ice cream in 2010, and customers drive from as far as Columbus and Indianapolis to stock up on the stuff with coolers and dry ice in tow. And for folks who are dairy-free, they have rotating-flavor Dole Whips. Also, make sure to try their secret menu item, the Whipty Whirl, at least once this summer.

Cowboy Cones (Opening TBA)

508 N. Wyoming Ave., Wyoming
An HVAC salesman and the owner of Wyoming Heating and Air one day realized that Wyoming was in desperate need of some ice cream. They took it upon themselves to create Cowboy Cones, a cow-print-covered ice cream stop that serves up sundaes, shakes, floats, tons of imaginative ice cream flavors, and of course, creamy whips. The shop offers 14 rotating flavors of creamy soft serve that can be topped or swirled to create the perfect flavor. For those who don’t eat dairy, Cowboy Cones also serves a few flavors of soy-based ice cream.

Bold Face Dairy Bar (Opens mid-April)

801 Mt Hope Ave., Suite B, East Price Hill
This walk-up urban creamy whip is gearing up for its fifth season. Helmed by the Grear and Harkins families, the menu includes floats, shakes, gourmet ice pops, smoothies and flurries in addition to soft serve. Cones come in vanilla, chocolate or swirl with toppings like sea salt, sprinkles and chocolate sauce, but where things really get creative are their flavor swirls. Among additions like lavender, pistachio and chai tea is bourbon barrel stout, a unique Kentucky-style stand-out.

Pendleton Parlor

1218 Broadway St., Pendleton
At Pendleton Parlor, a bona fide second location of Old Milford, visitors can order from a diverse menu of creamy whip flavors ranging from strawberry to Nutella swirl, but soft serve won’t be the only choice to fill your cup or cone. More adventurous customers can opt for edible cookie dough by the scoop or choose to blend the batter into a shake or sundae. Mom always said never to eat raw cookie dough, but forget her advice for now. There are multiple flavors of dough on the menu that are rotated out, but the core offerings will always include chocolate chip cookie and sugar cookie with sprinkles. Those seeking out a caffeine buzz alongside their sugar rush will also be able to order from a small menu of espresso drinks or get their ice cream dashed with an espresso shot affogato-style.

Flub’s Dari-ette

981 Eaton Ave, Hamilton; 539 Wessel Drive, Fairfield (Opening TBA); 4065 Hamilton Cleves Road, Ross (Opening TBA)
Butler County’s Flub’s Dari-ette has been serving locals for nearly 50 years. Originally named The Dari-ette in 1965, owners Mike and Ann Connaughton changed it to “Flub’s Dari-ette” in the first year of their ownership. There are 44 homemade and unique Cyclone flavors to choose from. No. 1 on the menu is the Flub’s Fudge Ripple — vanilla creamy whip layered with their famous Johnston's hot fudge, topped with more of the same, a whipped topping and a cherry.

Mt. Healthy Dairy Bar

7840 Hamilton Ave., Mt. Healthy
While they famously serve two-pound monster cones for dirt cheap, their rotating sherbet flavors are to die for. They offer a farmers market variety of flavors throughout the summer: Shocking Strawberry, Bold Black Cherry, Awesome Orange and Perfect Pineapple to name a few. The Bold Black Cherry tastes uncannily like a cherry Starburst.

Walker Bros. Ice Cream

9425 Montgomery Road, Montgomery
This family-owned ice cream shop in Montgomery is named after the owners' four boys who (like most kids) love ice cream. On top of the typical soft serve flavors, they serve up imaginative sundaes with the likenesses of various characters and animals like the Cookie Monster and Montgomery’s Bear sundaes.

The Goody Shop

2009 Springdale Road, Mt. Healthy
Head over to North College Hill and spot the space-age building with a giant yellow sign to find The Goody Shop. On top of various flavors of soft serve (which can be ordered with tons of toppings), this ice cream shop sells homemade chili and pulled pork barbeque.

The Lil Goodie Shoppe

7120 Eagle Creek Road, Colerain Township
Open in 1983, The Lil Goodie Shoppe has been run by three generations of women from the Anderson family. Their turtle sundae is a dream come true, and they have an extensive list of ingredients you can add to your flurry, including classic candies like M&Ms, Reese’s Cups and Butterfingers, as well as real fruit. Among their specialty items, you’ll find an adorable clown cup – soft serve topped with rainbow sprinkles, candy eyes and ears and a cone hat on top – as well as a strawberry shortcake, banana split and a classic parfait.

General Custer’s

3325 Westbourne Drive, Western Hills
General Custer's is a mini-golf spot and creamy whip in one — like the kind of family roadside attraction you might see in Florida. They even have a little bungee jumper harness for kids. The creamy whip here has 35 different flavors, including a rotating fruit-forward Dole flavor. You’ll also find flurries, slushies, volcanoes (slushies with ice cream in the middle), sundaes and snack-bar food (think walking tacos and hot dogs) on the menu.

Back 2 the Dipper

6918 Plainfield Road, Silverton
Beloved Silverton ice cream shop Back 2 the Dipper serves up every different type of sweet frozen you could want. They’ve got slushies, shakes, malts, floats, slushies, banana splits and more. Their creamy whip selection features inventive flavors like the famous “blue” ice cream plus bubble gum, green apple and mint. The spot also has hot dogs, coneys and walking tacos available.

Norwood Delite Creamy Whip

4490 Forest Ave., Norwood
This no-frills whip has been in Norwood for 65 years, serving everything from footlongs and barbecue to burgers and, of course, ice cream. Alongside the classic soft serve, this staple also offers popsicles, sundaes, shakes and malts. If you grew up going to Kings Island as a kid, you probably partook in your fair share of blueberry soft serve at the Huckleberry Dairy in what used to be Hanna-Barbera Land. To relive the nostalgia — and if you can’t swing the $50-plus admission to get today’s version of a blueberry cone — Norwood Delite has you covered. This creamy whip staple offers the famed blueberry soft serve.

Silver Grove Dari Bar

5178 Mary Ingles Highway, Silver Grove
This little walk-up classic creamy whip in Northern Kentucky has tons of amazing options. If you're a fan of Graeter's black raspberry chocolate chip, opt for one of the Dari Bar's hot fudge sundaes topped with black raspberry. Or a black raspberry blitz — their take on a Blizzard. In addition to soft serve, the Dari Bar offers burgers, sandwiches, coneys, actual foot-long footlongs and cheese fries.