Kingston certainly has no shortage of places to find frozen desserts. From Mio Gelato to Menchies to the Marble Slab Creamery, you don't have to look far from campus to cure a broken heart or drown your sorrows after a disastrous midterm.
When Parfait Fresh and Frozen Yogurt Bar opened, I was admittedly skeptical. Didn't Kingston have enough fro-yo/ice cream places? How was this going to be any different from the already thriving Menchies? It was an excuse to get some food, so I decided to find out.
Parfait is located next to Lululemon on Princess Street, just across the road from Menchies. The first thing I noticed was that the vibe is nothing like your typical frozen yogurt joint. Parfait is like the cool older cousin of frozen yogurt places. Think restored wooden furniture, ambient lighting and free wifi—the perfect study spot. Even better, they have an extensive selection of specialty coffee drinks.
In addition to their coffee menu, Parfait offers both frozen and fresh yogurt. There are four flavours: chocolate hazelnut, tart Greek, a seasonal flavour, and peach-tea mango (which is vegan).
Where Parfait really stands out from the other frozen yogurt places is in its quality and variety of toppings. While there are plenty of healthy options (medjool dates, coconut, banana chips, cranberries and an array of fresh fruit), there's also no shortage of decadent toppings (peanut butter chips, dark chocolate and mini Reese's Pieces, to name a few).
Pricing is based on weight ($0.72 per ounce), so you might have to exercise some self-control when loading up on the toppings.
#SpoonTip: Skip the fruit, the water content adds extra weight.
If you're allergic to peanuts (like I am), exercise caution around the toppings. It's a little bit like running a cross-contamination gauntlet. One thing Parfait could do to make things more allergy-friendly would be to put all of the peanut-containing toppings on one side of the counter, reducing the risk of peanuts getting mixed into the non-peanut toppings.
In the end, I went for the peach-tea mango frozen yogurt topped with banana chips, coconut, dates and chocolate-covered espresso beans. As expected, it was pretty delicious.
While Menchies will always have a place in my heart (it did get me through a few exam seasons), Parfait might just give it a run for its money. If you're looking for a sophisticated way to upgrade your frozen (or fresh) yogurt experience, you might just have to cross the road—literally—and give Parfait a try.