The Show Place Ice Cream Parlour — Restaurant in Beach Haven

First off labeling this place an ice cream shop is a bad description. They do serve ice cream but it's not the primary focus. This place is more of a theater show, and the show takes 45 minutes. I think knowing that will help tremendously in deciding if you are in the right mood for this place. Because you cannot just be in the mood for Ice cream. You need to be in a silly, audience participation, life of the party mood. Otherwise you are in the wrong place. I even suggest you need to be a little under the influence before coming here.

Personally I had a bad feeling when we were handed the menus. The menu was hard to decipher because it was mostly full of jokes, but we stayed out of curiosity. The place has a large line and a loyal following. It just wasn't for me. The whole thing felt like a chain restaurant that has a cringy birthday song, but it goes on for the entire night.

The ice cream was meh, the show wasn't for me but okay, the forced audience participation however is what really bothered me. I wasn't into it, but I hoped that maybe the kids were. Maybe they could have enjoyed the show if it was just a show but they were in fear the entire time that someone was going to call on them to sing in a room of strangers. Some people might enjoy being put on the spot like that, but most do not.

This isn't the place for everyone, so know what you are getting into...

Lied about ability to accommodate food allergies. The staff was great, I don't want to take anything away from their performance. However, my spouce called the day before and was told they could accommodate the food allergies my children have. We put the Non-Refundable deposit down. Show up 24 hours later and are told they're too low on inventory to accommodate, but if we want to risk it, we can. Ultimately, no one stopped us from going and getting something for my kid and bringing it in. We weren't charged the normal fee for someone present and not eating, for that kid. All that really took away from the experience for my kid and the person who had to run out and pick up food. Felt like a bait and switch. Had they been upfront when we called, we likely still would have gone, we just would have shown up prepared with allergy safe food, and this wouldn't be a 2-star review. Horribly handled...

My family and I have come here every year since I can remember for Independence day weekend. The performances are fantastic and the waiters/waitresses are very talented singers. There are two reasons I gave it four stars instead of five: the first is the long wait time. The shows are an hour long, but you have to show up ~1/2 hr early if you want to get in. The second reason is simply a matter of opinion; the wait staff always involve the audience members based on their choice of ice cream. Some of my siblings love this, but as I dislike being 'in the spotlight,' going here terrifies me and I end up stressing over what flavors to get for hours in advance. The take-out window is nice though, you can eat your ice cream and watch the show from the large windows without having to worry about being publicly humiliated. Most people love the experience though and it's lots of...