If you grew up in Cincinnati — or even in the Midwest — you know that when your favorite neighborhood creamy whip opens its doors summer is here to stay. And while, yes, creamy whip is basically soft-serve ice cream, creamy whip is also the name for where the aforementioned ice cream is served. Real creamy whip must come from a creamy whip (Orange Leaf is not a creamy whip), which generally looks like a shack with a walk-up window and line of little leaguers waiting to order up something sweet after a ballgame. Here is a list of some the top creamy whips in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Zip Dip 4050 Drew Ave., Westwood 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. What to order: 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 sugar-free yogurt to banana boat parfaits. Those who prefer to drink their ice cream should skip the shakes and opt for a malt instead. Photo: Jesse Fox Photo: Jesse Fox
Cowboy Cones 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 up 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 serve a few flavors of soy-based ice cream. Photo: facebook.com/cowboycones1
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 like, well, pineapple. “Face cones” are also a hot commodity at Putz’s. The soft-serve cones are adorned with Necco wafer ears and mysteriously crunchy candy googly eyes. Photo: Sami Stewart
Piper’s Cafe and Ice Cream Bar 520 W 6th St., Covington Piper’s Cafe in Covington serves up 70 soft serve flavors, which can be blended with one to three additional flavors, meaning the menu offers 60,000 possible blends. Their flavors range from the traditional to egg nog, pumpkin pie, papaya, licorice, jalapeno and more. For adults, they have a full bar plus booze-infused ice cream treats, offering everything from the Northern Kentucky ice balls to ice cream floats. Photo: facebook.com/piperscafemainstrasse
Loveland Dairy Whip 611 W Loveland Ave., Loveland A former Dairy Whip and hamburger stand that opened on the Fourth of July in the 1950s, Loveland Dairy Whip now specializes in creamy soft serve ice cream made with a thick and creamy Dairyman’s blend. With chocolate, vanilla and twist cones, plus chocolate, cherry and butterscotch dip top — and a cake batter dip top — or sprinkles, the whip offers a taste of nostalgia. They also have a drive-thru. Photo: facebook.com/LovelandDairyWhip
Mt. Healthy Dairy Bar 7840 Hamilton Ave., Mount 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: Wild Mountain Blackberry, Bold Black Cherry, Lucky Lime and Perfect Pineapple to name a few. The Bold Black Cherry tastes uncannily like a cherry Starburst. Photo: Sami Stewart
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 footlong footlongs and cheese fries. Photo: facebook.com/silvergrovedaribar
Old Milford Parlor 119 Main St., Milford Old Milford Parlor sits in Old Milford’s historic district filled with vintage shops and quirky eateries. Nick Ganim owns this contemporary, year-round parlor, inspired by his grandfather’s Mt. Washington Bakery, now the Mt. Washington Creamy Whip and Bakery. What to order: Get 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…). Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Whipty-Do! 2529 Montgomery Road, 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. Photo: facebook.com/whiptydo
Bold Face Dairy Bar 801 Mt, Hope Ave., E. Price Hill This walk-up urban creamy whip opened in 2018. Helmed by the Grear and Harkins family, 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. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
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, 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. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
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. Photo: facebook.com/TheConeWC
The Goody Shop 2009 Springdale Road, North College Hill 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. Photo: facebook.com/goodyshopicecream
Gold Top Dairy Bar 2810 Blue Rock Road, Mt. Airy Served out of a walk-up window with a bright yellow roof, this College Hill stop has the traditional Cincinnati creamy whip experience. Their menu features soft serve in a few traditional flavors plus blue raspberry that can be served in a cup or can and can be smothered in all types of toppings from sprinkles to cake batter. You can also take home a pint of soft serve, edible cookie dough or even order an ice cream cake. Photo: facebook.com/goldtopdairybar
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. Photo: facebook.com/WalkerBrosIceCream
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 ice cream. This creamy whip staple offers the famed blueberry soft serve and also has everything from popsicles and sundaes to pickles and more. 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 and also has everything from popsicles and sundaes to nachos and more. Photo: facebook.com/Norwooddelitecreamywhip
Sprinkles Creamy Whip 500 N Miami Ave., Cleves This small-town ice cream shop in Cleves serves up 21 flavors of soft serve plus shakes, malts, sundaes, flurries and more. Sprinkles Creamy Whip serves their delicious menu out of a cash-only walk-up window. If you stop by, try the donut ice cream sandwich, made with any flavor of ice cream between two glazed donuts. Photo: facebook.com/Sprinkles-Creamy-Whip
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 offers not only ice cream but slushies and delicious fast food. No matter what you order from their extensive menu, the portions will be sure to please. 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. Photo: facebook.com/Dons-Creamy-Whip
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. Photo: facebook.com/The-Dipper
General Custer’s Golf and Gulp 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 thing for kids. The creamy whip here has 35 different flavors, including a fruit-forward Dole flavor of the week. Get your whip in a cone or dish. And in addition to flurries, slushies, volcanoes (slushies with ice cream in the middles), sundaes, etc., to honor FC Cincinnati, every time they break out their Dole orange flavor, they do a side-by-side twist with Dole orange and Cincinnati’s favorite “blue” flavor. Photo: facebook.com/GeneralCusters
Flub’s Dariette Locations in Hamilton, Fairfield and Ross 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 Dariette” in the first year of their ownership. There are 35 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. Photo: facebook.com/Flubs-Dari-Ette
Mt. Washington Creamy Whip & Bakery 2069 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington Nestled on the edge of Mt. Washington sits one of Cincinnati’s most simplified creamy whips. Filled with historic and nostalgic Cincinnati imagery, they offer three flavors of soft serve: vanilla, chocolate and swirl. Among the three traditional flavors are ton of optional toppings. Their Oreo Malt has the perfect cookie/ice cream ratio. Most recommended is their peanut butter sundaes or shakes, or their weekly flavor offerings. Photo: facebook.com/mtwashcreamywhip
The Cone Zone 4104 Harrison Ave., Cheviot This Cheviot walk-up whip and drive-thru offers soft serve, shakes, malts, flurries and eight flavorbursts.The Cone Zone has classic blue soft serve which you can flavorburst with black raspberry, bubblegum, green apple, butterscotch, strawberry, bloo goo, tropical or orange flavors. Photo: Google Maps