Ba Roos Ice Cream and Coffee — Restaurant in Fenwick Island

Summary: 5 stars for product quality, 2 stars for service. The service experience was disappointing enough to leave a lasting negative impression. Final rating: 3 stars.

We visited this locally owned ice cream shop in Bethany Beach, Delaware. The store itself is absolutely charming—colorful, inviting, and clearly designed with care. The quality of the ice cream was very good. If I were to rate product quality alone, it would be 5 stars. The flavors were rich and the texture excellent. However, the pistachio didn’t quite taste like pistachio—it had more of a general nut flavor. Still enjoyable, but not what we expected.

We were the only guests at the time. Four young girls were working behind the counter, and two of them served us. The initial communication was okay. We clearly ordered two scoops, but didn’t immediately understand the pricing system, which appears to be based on different cup sizes that are then filled completely—rather than charging per scoop, as is common elsewhere.

It was obvious that we are not native English speakers, though our English is fluent and we’ve had no issues ordering ice cream in many places across the U.S. However, when we asked for clarification, instead of a helpful explanation, we received a somewhat patronizing lecture. The word "lecture" is intentional here—the tone made it clear we were being corrected, not kindly informed.

We also ordered a caramel milkshake, which had only a faint hint of caramel. The shake still tasted good, but the flavor wasn’t as advertised.

What really soured the experience, though, was the attitude of one of the staff members. She had a visibly unfriendly expression throughout and ended up pushing the milkshake across the counter toward us in a noticeably rude manner. Her demeanor was so off-putting that we accidentally left one of our ice cream cups at the counter—we did take the other one with us. Despite this happening right in front of them, no one pointed it out or said a word.

We then sat down and observed how the staff behaved with other customers. The same sour expression remained, even toward new guests. When no one else was in the store, all four girls gathered to chat, giggle, and scroll through their phones behind the counter.

If I were to rate the service alone, it would be 2 stars. And unfortunately, that poor service ended up shaping the entire experience. For a local business—especially one that relies on charm and community—a warm, welcoming atmosphere is essential. The product may be great, but the staff's attitude made us...

Hi Matt, my family has been staying in Bethany for over 10 years and we have come to Ba Roos as long as long as you’ve been open. We’ve always had good experiences until this evening. I asked for peanut butter topping on my ice cream and unfortunately it was a slab of peanut butter on top of the ice cream. It didn’t taste great. I brought it back to the counter and asked for another ice. Unfortunately, the girl that handled my order was extremely rude. She took reluctantly took back the ice and gave me a new one and charged me for the new one. I asked for my money back because I didn’t agree with the policy of paying twice for a product that was unsatisfactory. In speaking with the employee in charge she tried to handle the situation as best she could. Unfortunately, the other staff continued to discuss the situation while the rest of my family ate the ice cream. We all felt very uncomfortable. One employee was making faces and rolling her eyes and complaining for over 15 minutes. As a high school teacher, I know how difficult it can be for teenagers to hold down jobs and meet the expected demands of these positions. Because we have been coming there for a long time I know this is not the values you until in your employees and I hope this was an...

As our last day in Bethany Beach/Sea Colony we treated ourselves to Ice Cream for an early lunch. We found Ba Roos clean and colorful. 3 young ladies were friendly as we were served ice cream cone and cold drink. There were a lot of choices from bagels, & breakfast bowls to sweet treats, coffees and cold drinks. The ice cream flavors we many. There is colorful but not terribly comfortable seating and small wooden tables. A cute line separater made of colorful rope and hand made buoys forms the line in front of the ice cream case. Outside seating makes it easy to share with four legged friends. Ba Roos is in the Sea Colony Market place shopping center. Easy access off of Rt 1. Walkable from Sea Colony west or east. A place I will enjoy returning...