Simons Says Dip This — Restaurant in Durham

Four star spot, but I'm giving it five to counteract some of these overly critical one star reviews.

Hear me out though!

I too was initially disappointed at the only vanilla option BUT when I realized how streamlined the process is, it just makes sense. No waiting behind people being super indecisive about what ice cream flavor or combinations they want. No endlessly sampling of 31 flavors. People are probably more decisive about their toppings. Right!?!

With that, I came during Friday lunch break and it was no wait. I ordered a cone with a peanut butter core, cookie butter dip, and Graham toppings and WOW! That was awesome and to me worth the $6.5.

Racing against the melt, I devoured that cone before a single drip hit the payment like the fatboy that I am.

Reaction: Yes, I agree the custard needs some work. It was not ready for prime time. If anything I hope the company can take that criticism and tweak it and hopefully expand into other flavors. This is the only reason I would give them 3-4 stars. But the dip and toppings were on point. My only regret is that I didn't take the two seconds to Instagram my cone before I destroyed it lol.

Maybe they could do a partnership with the Howling Cow folks or bring in someone to tweak their recipe. I'd def like to see that improve.

I'll def come back to try the none dairy version though.

For flavors, could see them doing limited runs on certain flavors (I.e. a one week only pumpkin spice) or rotations. That might get people excited enough to return for that experience.

But for everyone complaining about the concept and Instagrammy appeal you have to admit the marketing got you in the door!

It's totally up to you if and when you will come back. This spot is all about the dip. It's even in the name. There are plenty of options in Durham so I feel like there is no need to for the one stars. Foreal like save the one stars for the truly bad service or a shoe in your food type...

At best it's a gimmick or a novelty. From the restaurant's interior to their product. The photographs will look nice on your media posts. The custard is lackluster, and only comes in textureless bland vanilla. The dips are numerous, but don't really help the vanilla base. The toppings too, are numerous, but they quickly add up, easily making a cone $8. Nothing special with the cones, visit a grocery store and buy ice cream comes, it's the exact same thing. Congrats, you're overpaying for that. The custard oddly melts extremely quickly, practically self destructs after a few mins. It wasn't a hard decision to throw my poorly tasting messy cone away. You're better off grabbing more napkins than you think you'll need. Then there's the interior, which is full of whimsy. It's cozy small, and thanks to aspiring ambling social media posters & photographers quite cramped. The line is often inexplicably quite long, but moves quickly. However, sometimes those clients hang around, photographing pretty ice creams, eccentric swing sets, and quirky posters. It's a bit too compact to have that occurring. The saving grace, is the staff which have to deal with this. They thankfully have patience and nicely will offer combination suggestions. Cost wise, and here's the other ugly detail 2 toppings/1 dip is $8 per cone. With other cheaper, better tasting ice cream and custard options in the area I can't conceivably return here. If you've made it this far in the reivew; Goodberry's for Custard, Pincho Loco, The Parlour for ice cream, Cook Out or Cold Stone for wacky flavors &...

This is a fun place to go and try a time or two or visit with out of town guests. The concept is cool, but the actual desserts are pretty underwhelming. On my first visit, I got a soft serve cone with a chocolate dip and toppings. The ice cream was fine, but the dip left a strange aftertaste and the dried strawberries tasted very aspartame-y. Tonight I got a cheesecake Popsicle with chocolate dip and M&Ms and was VERY disappointed. The "popsicle" was NOT actual ice cream -- it was like the staff literally froze a piece of cheesecake and put it on a stick. The texture was odd and rather unpleasant, it didn't melt like a Popsicle at all, and it was virtually flavorless. The non-dairy chocolate dip was OK, and the M&Ms were by far the best part. The staff was also very off-putting....the young woman who helped me stared at me quite intensely while I was deciding on my order and looked annoyed the entire time we were inside. I don't think workers should put on a fake song and dance for the sake of the customer, but...one could at least not make you feel like you're inconveniencing them for patronizing the business. It's also pretty confusing as to why the staff doesn't write down your order when they take it, because anyone in our group who asked for more than three additions was repeatedly asked what they had requested. Seems like a pretty simple problem to solve...Ultimately, I'd go back to try one of the giant cookies, but otherwise I'll stick to local restaurants where the treats are tastier, the staff is friendlier, and the experience is...