The cities of Parkland and Coral Springs offer many different ice cream stores, whether they are chains or mom-and-pop shops, to residents looking for the ideal place to stop and grab a scoop. There are endless options of places with exciting flavors, crafted recipes and welcoming environments. Some stand out from the others due to factors such as cost, atmosphere and taste.
McDonalds and Cold Stone Creamery are familiar quick-stop options, with the same menu at every location. While they are both good, locals like to try new and unique places like Cherry Smash and Let’s Chill.
Coldstone
Cold Stone Creamery is a popular ice cream franchise, but it is unique for its cold stone slab and variety of mix-ins. There is some seating inside, but the outside seating in the Waterway shopping center is perfect for families and friends to enjoy. The ice cream is made in-house at every store, and customers can order a Like It, Love It or Gotta Have It size. We ordered the Like It size Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some, which includes French vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, cookie dough, fudge and caramel. After everything was mixed into the ice cream on the cold stone slab, we found the ice cream to be too soft and almost melted. However, the taste was still good, and the chunks of cookie dough were delicious. This ice cream was the most expensive of the four we tried, coming out to $7.45 for the smallest size. While Cold Stone is a classic, we agreed that it was good, and just good, rating it a 6/10.
McDonalds
While most people go to McDonald’s for the chicken or burgers, the ice cream is severely underrated. Everyone knows and loves the classic McFlurry, but the vanilla cones and sundaes are just as good. We ordered a fudge sundae, which is their vanilla soft serve with hot fudge on top. It was a small serving, but for $2.77, it was reasonable. The ice cream itself was very milky, which made it more refreshing and lighter. It had a great vanilla flavor and was very smooth. The fudge was a great addition; however, there was not enough of it. McDonald’s may not be people’s first choice for ice cream, as it is a fast food place, but it is a great, affordable and quick option. We rated it a 7/10.
Cherry Smash
Cherry Smash is a small business located on Wiles Road, and it serves a wide variety of creative ice cream flavors and creations. They have fun, themed flavors like Olaf, SpongeBob, vanilla raspberry and toasted coconut. The establishment itself is decorated from floor to ceiling with vintage Coca-Cola items and engaging decorations, like a Zoltar machine. There are tables for families and friends to enjoy their experience. Aside from scoops of ice cream, Cherry Smash serves up giant sundaes, ice cream floats and shakes. We ordered a small cup of Olaf, which was vanilla ice cream with vanilla cake chunks and blue frosting. It had a decent vanilla flavor, but the cake and frosting pieces were a delicious addition. For years, people have loved Cherry Smash for the cool decorations and friendly environment, but the ice cream is also great. Our ice cream cost $6.35, which we thought was overpriced for one small scoop, yet we still rated it an 8/10.
Let’s Chill
Let’s Chill is a locally owned ice cream shop that opened on Sample Road in 2022. Owned by a veteran couple, they serve up homemade ice cream free of artificial flavors. Some of their classics are cookie monster, caramel crunch, honey lavender and bourbon butter pecan, as well as seasonal flavors like key lime and mocha latte. Special to Let’s Chill are their ice cream floats, which come with four small scoops of the ice cream flavors of one’s choosing. The moment you walk into the shop, you are hit with the sweet scent of waffle cones and sugar. The establishment has booths and high top tables with games like tic-tac-toe for people to have fun with while enjoying their ice cream. We ordered a small cup of the honey lavender ice cream with marshmallows on top, for $7.45. Every ice cream comes with a small waffle cone chip, which was a nice addition. The unique flavor had a subtle lavender taste and a distinctive honey taste. It was not a strong flavor, but it was very smooth and refreshing. The marshmallows added an extra sweetness that was perfect. This was definitely one of our favorites, and we gave it a 10/10.
Smaller and homemade shops proved to be better than franchise ice cream places, but both were ultimately good. Mom-and-pop shops offer more unique flavors and memorable environments than the stationary flavors and quick-service environments of franchises. Still, there are even more ice cream shops in Parkland and Coral Springs that also cater to people’s unique preferences.
