SPUN Ice Cream

I was in East Austin looking for ice cream when I found this place on Unilocal.So I drove to the strip mall and walked on in. They have a selection of flavors and mix ins. They have a few daily specials too. We tried the daily specials which were tasty. One was a Snickers tasting number and the other was chocolate ice cream in a chocolate cone. Overall, both were quite good. So what is the downsize? I think this place is a little too pricey for what you get.

Holy Moly — that’s good, creamy Ice Cream. No joke. I’ve never been too much of an ice cream nut, but when struck with curiosity as to what spun ice cream is all about — I had to give it a try. And spun it is. Literally. In Kitchen Aid mixers with what looked like liquid nitrogen. And thus my curiosity grew even more. Why liquid nitrogen?
After a little investigation on their site, it turns out that flash freezing with liquid nitrogen «brings out the purity of the organic and local ingredients» and creates «a velvety smooth, creamy texture without the need for added milkfat. Plus, some food science experts say flash freezing preserves the nutrients in foods better.» Pretty cool, huh?
And, local and pure ingredients indeed! Everything from the milk to the spices and produce is organic and locally sourced. If that’s not what made it awesome already, the shortbread crumbles adorning my strawberry ice cream deliciousness elevated the delightful treat to a whole other level of bliss.

The strawberry shortcake icecream in a waffle cone was to die for! The Shortbread bits, white chocolate shell, strawberry confetti created the perfect blend. I will definitely come back again and I can’t wait to try all of the flavors.
The liquid nitrogen was so cool to see! My son enjoyed watching the ice cream being spun and loved his vanilla in a cone. When I asked him what his favorite part of the Austin weekend getaway was he said– the ice cream!

Ice cream to another level. Nitrogen gas ice cream wow. I thought it was just a fad showy way to make ice cream.
It was super delicious. The level of milkiness is ridiculously crazy. Melts in your mouth and the taste stayed even after we left the shop.
Ice cream shop itself was small and kinda hidden, but plenty parking spaces and a few tables outside to hangout.

Such a cool place! Came here after dinner and ordered their strawberry icecream with crumble and brown sugar powder, which was delicious and very cool to watch (was like mixture of art and a science experiment)! The guys behind the counter were very helpful and answered all of our questions and explain how each item was made In-​house and locally sourced. Love love love! Must try when in Austin!
Keep up the good work!

Delicious ice cream!!! Had the Mothers Day Special, «I my mamma»! Strawberry with a chocolate shell in a vanilla waffle cone.
Very friendly and helpful staff. super cool concept.

Not that I’m much of a cynic or anything, but after reading all the reviews and looking at the pics, I walked in here thinking «At these prices, it better be the bestest, hippest, & coolest ice cream on this side of the solar system.» And Holy Cryogenics, Waltdisneyman — it was.
The trick here is not spinning Spun as the latest scoop of hipster lick, or your mama’s favorite anise & Frangelico gelato. Spun is exactly how I imagine every chef-​driven small-​plate restaurant would do ice cream, if they did ice cream. It’s all about the delicate & subtle, tastes & textures. Okay, if that wasn’t Spun’s intent here, slap me spoon and call me silly.
Don’t know how the chemistry works, didn’t even see the four rotating flavors — I was only interested in their daily special, just like any other restaurant. And I thought my «Strawberry Shortcake» interfusion with shortbread bits & white chocolate shell was amazing. How often can you consume what has to be a bunch o’ calories and not feel like you’re doing so?
You’ll either like what they’re doing here or not, and it was a pleasure chatting with Chef Christina’s sister Ashley working the front. And if Spun wasn’t a local brick & mortar doing their farm-​to-​table frozen fantasy here in Austin, they’d be executive staff at some corporate chain simply shilling creative dessert. Corporate loss. Our gain.

Spun Labs. I mean, Ice Cream is serving up the classic, frozen treat using liquid nitrogen and gimmicks. But hey, gimmicks are gimmicks for a reason, right?
Speaking of gimmicks.
Pros:
+ Taste is light and easy on the sweetness, which is good for me
+ The shortbread was SO GOOD, moist and buttery perfection
+ They offer a tiny size so you can order exactly how much you will eat — no waste!
Cons:
+ The price. It’s expensive, no lie, so when you tip a buck, it adds up. $ 6 for a tiny
+ The wait for the ice cream is long and it’s not that magical to watch
You should try it at least once, it’s a cool (ha) experience and the flavor is right on the money. You might even feel a ping of nostalgia if you’re from the North East, because the vanilla tastes just like snow ice cream!

I admit that their technique of using liquid nitrogen does make a slight difference in creating a smoother texture compared to normal ice cream. However, I do think it is very overpriced when they give you a small portion which is the reason I am giving it a ⁴⁄₅.
I got to try their lemon bar ice cream combination. I am a sucker when it comes to lemon flavored things! Lemon ice cream with shortbread crumble, lemon curd, and candied citrus — so delicious. The staff is very friendly and if you check in on Unilocal you get a free topping! This place is very cute but with limited seating of a counter top with bar stools along the window. It is fascinating to see the machines filled with liquid nitrogen at work which makes the whole Spun Ice Cream experience very elaborate and cool in a science fair-​ish kind of way.

After what I would call an overdose of fro-​yo during the past 5 years of fro-​yo craze, I somewhat have taken myself off of ice cream, frozen yogurt and similar treats. They just lost their shine.
Enter me and my guest in Austin, looking for a neat «austin-​y» dessert to close out a nice evening out downtown. Having heard about SPUN from friends, worried it might be a little gimmicky, we made the trek to (going on borderline too far) east side and parked ourselves inside. And wow. SPUN transcends gimmicks, fads and dessert crazes with interesting and novel flavors and options to tantalize your tastebuds. They make the ice cream right in front of you, giving it that similar freshness one senses when they make their own meal.
We both got the (dairy free!!!) earl gray with shortbread crumble. Those ice cream connoseuirs might compare the taste to Jenis or Lick’s salty-​sweet confections, but SPUN is less pretentious and heavy.
Cant wait to go back!

Ice cream was amazing, dark chocolate shell, waffle cone was «you better get one». Great fun to watch the ice cream being hit with nitrogen. It brings the science lover out of you.

I WAS SO SO HEARTBROKEN WHEN I FOUND OUT THEY’RE NO LONGER SELLING EARL GREY TEA. They stopped selling it yesterday, just my luck!!! Since I was already out here, I decided to go with a tiny order of the chai spice. The way they make it is pretty cool! However, I only saw the smoke coming out everywhere, and that was it. The ice cream texture is so smooth and creamy. Definitely an A+ for the texture. The chai spice was packed with flavor, and there were even tiny bits of spice in it. The flavor combination of the chai spice + the cream (from the ice cream, duh) was very interesting. Definitely would recommend coming here if you’re in the area!
Also, I didn’t particularly like the wooden spoon. It just didn’t feel right to me.

I was intrigued by the concept so I came to visit, and I was not disappointed by how great the ice cream tasted.
Using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream was something we often only experience in a Chemistry class. To see it in action at an ice cream place was new and fun, and my kids loved seeing their first «science experiment.
The texture was creamy and even, ingredients are freshly poured to make the final product, and the owner was super friendly. I learned it was a family business. Knowing it’s owned by an honest, hard working and loving family made me like this place more.

It ain’t just hype… the liquid nitrogen thing. It works and it works great… at least at Spun it does.
Great ingredients, all locally sourced, and made fresh. I can’t imagine how it could be made any fresher unless they lined up the cows and milked them right there in the store.
And what a cool setup and process. Coolant lines coming out of the wall down to the mixers, nitrogen steam going everywhere. Mad scientist ice cream!
They’re at a cool spot there on 7^th Street. No doubt they’re going to be a very busy place as the weather heats up but don’t wait for then. It’s an all weather treat!

I’m sorry but this place is over priced and takes entirely tooooo long …
The final product is ok but it took forever to get there…
I feel like when they work out the kinks it might be better… until then I’m sorry but it is what it it …
It’s alright …

Ice cream made using liquid nitrogen. Hmm.
With today’s technology and social media, it feels like new «start ups» flashing buzz words are popping up every single day. Liquid nitrogen. Wooo… sounds sciency… it must be good! *flocks over mindlessly like zombies* =/​And what? Say that again. How much are they charging for 2 scoops of ice cream O_​o OMG. Does it really taste better? Are you sure it’s not just placebo? That’s pretty much how I felt about the place when I first arrived, skeptical.
Anyways, gimmicks or the real deal? Surprisingly, I would say they are the real deal. Why? Simply put, I could actually taste the difference. Just to be safe, I got the standard Vanilla flavor with Shortbread Crumble topping (free topping with Unilocal check-​in), something easy to compare against. The ice cream tasted fluffier and wasn’t overly sweet. I’m not an ice cream person by any means but I actually wanted more of it at the end. That’s how good it was! The use of liquid nitrogen makes sense and I guess seeing your order being made from scratch right in from of you also ups the coolness factor.
However, in the end, I can only give this place 4 stars due to their price. Ice cream is still ice cream. But if you love ice cream and $ 10 is not that big of a deal, I would highly recommend this place. Actually, this is the first ice cream place I’ve ever recommended on Unilocal.But for me, I’ll probably only come back for special occasions.

Cool concept, something different (not the first one I’ve heard of) but still a place you would want to try at least.
They have a small selection of ice cream flavors and several pairings (toppings) to go with it. They make the ice cream in front of you — which is pretty awesome to see but there’s something missing. Ice cream was light which we appreciated however it didn’t wow me or blew me away. We had our ice cream concoction on a waffle cone which started leaking few minutes after. It’s a bit annoying trying to eat the ice cream while the bottom is dripping. May I suggest to coat the bottom with chocolate or maybe just tighten the cone tip.

SPUN is doing something a little different than your average ice cream shop. They focus on making small batch ice cream using liquid nitrogen. What results is a smoother, more creamy texture that’s made right in front of your eyes. According to the sister duo behind SPUN, «spinning ice cream with liquid nitrogen produces smaller, more condensed ice crystals…[and the] creamiest, smoothest frozen treats science has to offer.»
They currently offer 3 flavors of ice cream, Vanilla Bean, Dark Chocolate, and Earl Grey. You can get any amount of in-​house made combinations with toppings like Caramel Popcorn Sprinkles (they actually pop in your mouth like pop rocks!), Peanut Brittle, Brown Butter Powder, Shortbread Crumble or a Salted Chocolate Shell.
They’re open everyday from 12:30pm to 10pm, and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. And if you’re even remotely curious you should try it. It’s fun for everyone because Hey! Adults are just big kids at heart!

Excellent service, concept, and execution!
This ice cream shop really stands apart from others because of it’s unique concept– liquid nitrogen! We ordered the lemon bar with citrus confetti and the dark chocolate with chocolate shell and peanut brittle. Both had a creamy and smooth texture and flavors were really tasty. They make all the ice cream fresh and on the spot, so be patient, it can take a while. They even make their waffle cones fresh too. There is a glass window for customers to watch them prepare the ice cream with the liquid nitrogen, space is also large for standing room and some seating.
Love this place, but I wouldn’t be able to go very often due to the price point. I’m sure liquid nitrogen is expensive, so I understand why the prices are high. Definitely worth a try though!

There is some novelty in liquid nitrogen ice cream made to order. I’m hopeful they they get a bunch of new exciting flavors and figure out process to be smoother.
Making the ice cream is extremely labor intensive. The process isn’t even super interesting but you do get to stare at the person making your order.
Girlfriend definitely liked the experience more than I.
I found the base cream to be light and airy. Similar to a cross between premium ice cream and cool whip.
The flavors were good though. We got the Cracker Jack and it came with a prize! (It also cost $ 8+).
It would have been nice if some things were blended into the base ice cream.
Like «spun-​ins» and toppings.
Again, it’s novel and I’m interested in coming back in a few months to see how they’ve evolved.