Five North Carolina ice cream shops rank among nation’s best. Why fans love them
Whether you enjoy your ice cream drizzled with chocolate or topped with sprinkles, you may find your next favorite scoop in North Carolina.
That’s because the state is home to five ice cream parlors that rank among the nation’s best. Here’s where the shops landed in the top 100 on the list from the review website Yelp:
- Pincho Loco in Durham at No. 56
- Beaches N Cream in Supply at No. 63
- Ozzie’s Ice Cream in Greensboro at No. 76
- Twin City Sweets in Winston-Salem at No. 83
- Pints Ice Cream in Fuquay-Varina at No. 91
To determine the best ice cream shops, Yelp said it studied businesses across the country. The website then “ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews” customers left over time.
“Whether you’re a cone purist or an adventurous flavor explorer, there’s something on our list to satisfy every sweet tooth,” Yelp wrote in its July 1 report.
Why fans love the NC ice cream shops
Of the North Carolina ice cream shops on the national list, the business in Durham ranked the highest. Pincho Loco, which means “crazy skewer” in Spanish, serves ice pops and other desserts that draw inspiration from Latin America, The News & Observer reported in 2022.
On Yelp, two of the most popular treats are the banana pudding ice cream and the churro sundae, both praised for their flavors. The shop, located on Perry Street near Duke University, also offers ice cream cakes, milkshakes and frozen treats called mangonadas, according to its Instagram page.
Also receiving an honor from Yelp was Beaches N Cream in Supply, near the coast and a roughly 30-mile drive southwest from Wilmington. That shop and Ozzie’s Ice Cream in Greensboro earned rave reviews on Yelp for their customer service and the taste of their waffle cones.
Rounding out the list of fan-favorite ice cream shops were Twin City Sweets in Winston-Salem and Pints Ice Cream in downtown Fuquay-Varina, a Raleigh suburb. On Yelp, customers said they loved the range of flavors offered at both businesses.
None of the top-ranking North Carolina ice cream shops made it onto another national list. Instead, Andia’s Ice Cream — which has several locations in the Triangle — won a readers’ choice award from USA Today’s 10Best, McClatchy News reported in June.
In the latest rankings, the nation’s top place to eat the frozen treat is Novel Ice Cream in Phoenix. The results were released ahead of National Ice Cream Day, which falls on July 20 this year.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Five North Carolina ice cream shops rank among nation’s best. Why fans love them."
