Kapaw's Iskreme — Restaurant in Coupeville

“Kapaw’s Iskreme,” because normal spelling is for people who don’t serve life-changing dairy.

I walked into this place knowing two things:

It used to be the first-ever Seattle’s Best Coffee shop. It now serves ice cream, which they spell “Iskreme,” like it’s part of a wizarding spell or a Scandinavian punk band.

Anyway, the line was approximately fourteen miles long. Felt like half of Whidbey Island was trying to get a scoop. You get there at noon, and by the time you reach the counter it’s Wednesday. But the ice cream’s so good, you forget all your complaints until your brain freezes and reminds you you’re mortal.

Weekends? It’s a festival of waiting. You start bonding with strangers, sharing stories, someone starts whittling a canoe. I think there was a guy near me who started teaching a community college course in line. And no one left, because again, the Iskreme slaps.

And here’s a detail that warmed my math teacher soul: prices include tax. That’s right, folks, no mental subtraction gymnastics, no smartphone calculator panic. You see $5 on the menu? You pay $5. It’s like dessert and mercy, wrapped in one glorious cone.

The building still gives off big “I used to serve artisanal espresso before you were born” energy. There’s a vibe. It whispers, “Come for nostalgia, stay because leaving requires a hiking permit.”

Final verdict: Totally worth the wait. Legendary cones, rebellious spelling, tax-included pricing, and history oozing from the wood beams. They could sell melted Iskreme in a thimble and I...

I had never in my entire 40 years of life eaten an ice cream cone until this. Usually I get a bowl, but seeing everyone around town with their pretty waffle cones gave me fomo and I decided I would go for the drippy experience, and for the first time ever, I did more than just nibble the cone and decide I hated it. I actually ate the whole thing! I got the Bordeaux cherry, pistachio, and salted caramel and it was perfect. There was a sign that said attitude determines the size of your scoop, and I noticed my scoops were smaller than everyone else in my group. I wondered if I upset the guy serving me for forgetting my entire order. I have pretty bad social anxiety (why I forgot my order) and just automatically assume I am annoying and everyone hates me so maybe not. Either way, I eat like a bird so my smaller scoops were actually perfect for me. I couldn't have finished my delicious waffle cone with more! I am pretty sure I will be dreaming of that ice cream for a long time. Spent the week camping at Fort Ebey and that was the best way to fill our last full day. Edit Oopsy, just read the rest of the reviews and maybe that dude really did single me out in my group as the one obviously brown person. Jokes on you dude! You gave all 3 of my 1/4 black kids normal sized scoops. I'd still go...

Horrible customer service and mediocre ice cream.

This is the first negative review I have ever written about a business; however, after my visit to Kapaw’s I felt compelled to do so. I visited today (7/13/21) at 4:30pm and can say that the customer “service” I received from the three gals behind the counter was appalling.

None of them greeted me when I walked in, despite the fact that they were obviously not doing anything. Instead, two of the girls continued their loud conversation about how they had to cheat in their math classes while I took the initiative to greet the other girl behind the counter who could not be bothered to grumble out a response. When I checked out, the girl who rang me up had her entire body turned away from me so she could continue her super important and pressing conversation about cheating in algebra. She did, however, pause her story for two seconds to ask if I wanted to leave a tip! None of them said “goodbye” or “have a nice day” as we left, just went right back to their conversation.

The ice cream itself was largely flavorless, full of ice chunks, and freezer burned. Not worth the price and certainly nothing to write home about. If you want ice cream do yourself a favor and buy some Tillamook from Safeway, where their employees will at...