Big Dipper Ice Cream & Yogurt Parlour

Good quality ice cream, toasted almond is great and not found at most places. The other flavored are solid as well. The only downside is it’s a bit pricey for ice cream but you get what you pay for I suppose. Can be busy at times, especially in the summer. People and lines come in waves. Some outdoor seating is available, otherwise inside is nice and cool and offers some small tables.

Word to the wise– they are NOT open at 11 on Sunday’s and are not nice about it when you point out that ALL their advertising and signs say 11am.
If you want to change hours– great but you have to change your signs and website. We brought family with us and were left standing outside in the heat. They did not even offer to let us sit inside and wait. No apology. A curt waitstaff exasperatedly told us she couldn’t deal with us until 12 and walked away from the door.
A shame cause we had raved about this place and were coming once a week but I do not want to run into that waitstaff person again.

Having moved out of CT over 10 years ago, Big Dipper is always a pitstop when returning home. The Toasted Almond never fails me, my all time favorite flavor. This visit, however, was slightly disappointing as the waffle cones were quite stale. Won’t hesitate to return on our next visit. Wish BD shipped outside the state.

Honestly, this was the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Highly recommend! The perfect place to take out of town relatives for a local treat. Prices weren’t bad at all. 17 dollars for 5 people is about what I’d pay at the local Froyo establishment anyway.

I’ve been in CT for many years and have yet to have that phenomenal ice cream/​italian ice experience. I had it today! It was quite busy but the 3 young ladies that waited on everyone were attentive and interactive with each and every person. Service… Amazing!
I had only the little dipper and shated a lemon ice, both were aberage but the size of cookie dough chunks in the dipper were amazing! Ill definitely be going back.

Not bad at all. Not the best but pretty good. So hard because I compare homemade ice cream to Rich’s Farm and this is not close. Solid 3.5 stars though. One disappointment was they weigh the ice cream.

Good homemade ice cream. Good waffle cones. Big selection! Ice cream is charged by the ounce which is weird. $ 8 credit card minimum but with ordering 2 ice creams that isn’t an issue.

Pricey* even without a topping**, sprinted in here past a downpour and was greeted with smiles. Went with the tasty toasted almond and hard-​to-​find-​outside-​the-​area butter nut cashew, which was also very good.
*And an odd $ 8 CC min
**Foolishly skipped the Hot Fudge Sauce

Another great experience here. I loved the double Oreo ice cream. I brought my parents here along with my wife and daughter and everyone enjoyed their cones. I love how they offer interesting flavors such as peach Melba and Nutella flavor. I will def return this summer.

A lot of people mention that this place is pricey, and while that may be true, I would argue that you have to pay for ANYTHING good these days. They have the best ice cream that I have ever tasted. I occasionally order in bulk and Harry is very accommodating and in most cases he will have my order ready next day. I would recommend Big Dipper to anyone. My favorite is their sweet cream — its simple, but it in my opinion, it is perfect ice cream. No crazy concoction — just creamy, smooth, and delicious.
I can verify that ice cream is priced by weight, but at least you know what you are getting and the price will be consistent for what you buy. You could just as easily go somewhere else and by a large cup of ice cream that is only half full while you are paying the price for a large.
They have a solid assortment of ice creams and toppings, so they have something for everybody. They have seasonal flavors, too. Many of their ice cream flavors are listed on their website.
I grew up in Prospect, but now I live 45 minutes away. Despite the distance, I still make the trip to Big Dipper if I want the best. I would suggest to anybody reading my review and considering a trip to the Big Dipper that it is worth going out of your way for if you truly want the best ice cream you can get.

The Butternut Cashew is amazing! I also love the Toasted Almond! Love to stop in on a hot summer night to enjoy these flavors!

Very excellent stop! Totally deserves the many, many praises they have received.
I stopped short of the 5 stars simply because the ice cream is very sweet. One might say, ice cream is SUPPOSED to be sweet however this crosses over to potentially too sweet.
The texture was perfect. Creamy and luscious without an ice crystal in sight. I enjoyed the Toasted Almond and the Mocha in a hot fudge sundae. It was quite decadent and enjoyable.
PASS

My favorite ice cream spot, but I think part of it might be nostalgia. My parents would bring us here as kids in the summer & after school events and would always tell us how this was the best home made ice cream in CT. There’s a nice variety of flavors — my favorites are toasted almond and coconut. Cute inside (although they recently took down all of the awards & newspaper clippings that used to be hanging that added a very community feel to it) and a couple benches outside to sit on when the weather’s nice.
I know this place used to be cash only, but if I’m not mistaken, they accept debit cards now with a $ 10 minimum.

The best! We try to come here every week from Hamden. They will make you ANY mixture of flavors you want to take home with you for a decent price. They have something new every week we go there and they never cease to amaze us. Love this place!

Just a quick word on The Big Dipper… yes their homemade ice cream is quite good. Fresh, creamy and plenty of flavors from which to choose. Black raspberry chip, cherry cheesecake are both good choices.
In fact, I will return to try their raspberry truffle and vanilla Heath flavors. That being said I cannot give this place props for their toasted almond. It’s simply not as good as Sweet Claude’s version.
I think Claude’s toasted almond is the best flavor I’ve ever tasted anywhere (see my Unilocal review) and as much as people on here rave about Dipper’s version, I just can’t agree. I just found this version to be a bit too sweet for my liking and it even had a bit of an after taste.
I went into this taste test with an open mind, and maybe I expected too much but this version just didn’t work for me.
But despite that, you should try the Big Dipper. After all, it is high quality ice cream.

Been coming here for years, always very good.

Who doesn’t love home made ice cream? I am a chocolate ice cream nut and this is one of my favorites. It’s super creamy and not overly chocolatly. It has won many awards and deservedly so.
The toasted almond is their flagship ice cream and I can see why. Unbelievable how GOOD this flavor is. Honestly, you just have to go there often and try something different every time.
The décor is dated, but that’s part of the charm. Old ice cream scoops hanging off every wall, old newspaper clippings, hand written signs; it’s great. Only thing missing is an old time soda fountain. It opens at noon most days. And as others have mentioned, you pay by weight… odd, but not a deal breaker.

Found them online and ordered an Ice-​cream Cake for my dad’s birthday. They were very accommodating and my family LOVED THE CAKE! Thanks.

love toasted almond. love it so much.
the only reason i don’t like this place is the kids who are on ultimate sugar high after winning their baseball or soccer game and it becomes completely obnoxious. the parenting i have witnessed here makes me never want to reproduce, literally. i am serious as a heart attack.
however, if you’re a local — be prepared to run into at least three people you know.
they charge based on the weight of the ice cream, so you do get what you pay for. their milkshakes are stupid expensive, i would never get one. it’s good once in a while but i never found a reason to frequent this place.

good ice cream, sold by the ounce — like dope. they dont guess how much you get and charge based on the size — the weight it and then ring you up.
My mint chocolate chip was *NOT BRIGHT GREEN* which is a good thing, and it wasn’t too minty or too chippy — a nice balance of mint and chocolate and chip — subtle flavor that suits this smooth ice cream. not full of artificial color! Toasted almond was nice, like Ryan said — a throwback to the days of Good Humor and the ice cream truck that we used to get these pops from. But from Big Dipper its fresh and more than just GOOD.
the staff was nice & quick, the parking lot was big and gravelly.
if ever it is a hot summer day and you are in prospect, you should do yourself a flavor and drop in the big dipper.