The soft serve and ice cream flavors are super unique and each location has a different twist. The soft serve is what I went for. I had Thai tea and coconut at one location. Amazing and definitely worth a visit! Take home tubs are also available. read more

KURIMU - Soft serve - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I remember the ice cream being so much better in the past. Unfortunately, the flavors seem to have changed. I got the Thai tea ice cream and it just tasted like cough syrup and not the slightest hint of Thai tea. I also got the matcha which tasted watered down. Very disappointing. The cashier was friendly. It's a smaller location but they do offer limited seating. read more

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Craving ice cream and decided to check out Kurimu. Was busy on a weekend afternoon but we had nothing going on. Bunch of unique flavor profiles to choose from upon entering. Screens are set up in the back for drink flavors and soft serve. Bar style seating along the glass looking outside. I went with a brown sugar/vanilla scoop and a blueberry lavender scoop (can't find the name of either). Ice cream came out surprisingly quick. Vanilla and brown sugar was nice and not too sweet. Lavender blueberry balance wasn't there. Fell short with a mostly lavender taste but wasn't soapy. Hammer the blueberries next time! I'll be back read more

KURIMU - Dubai chocolate (left) Lavender and blueberry (bottom right) Vanilla/brown sugar (top right) can't find the names anywhere - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A fun and refreshing twist on ice cream with some really unique flavors! I tried the fortune cookie and ube, and both were delicious. The staff is super friendly and always happy to let you sample flavors before deciding. Plus, the cute wall art and consistently clean space make the whole experience even better. Definitely worth a visit! read more

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Came to this place in Little Italy that has ice cream. It has a pretty small but good amount of flavors. KURIMU has a few locations, including this one close to UIC. Has kind of an Asian theme going on. The prices are okay as far as quality. A pretty limited amount of flavors. It's got a few interesting ones. These go beyond the typical chocolate and stuff. Asian themes are as expected. It's about $6 a scoop. Certainly that's kind of a lot. This is high quality though. Last time had a non dairy flavor. The regular flavors include mango and purple yam among the more unusual. Good Asian style ice cream. It's located on Taylor at Racine. The only bad thing is it's limited for vegans. read more

KURIMU - Boba Black Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Me and my husband went to Kurimu Creamery on a whim and ended up having one of the best dessert experiences in a while. Right when we walked in, the staff was SO friendly, like, genuinely warm and kind. It really stood out, especially after visiting a few other spots nearby where the vibe wasn't great. The people at Kurimu made us feel welcome from the second we stepped in. We were staring at the screen trying to figure out what flavors were what, and before we could even ask, they offered us samples. That little gesture made everything so easy and fun. We ended up going for soft serve cones (pancake flavor) and... okay, this might be the best soft serve we've ever had in Chicago. No exaggeration. It was insanely creamy, flavorful, and just hit all the right notes. We haven't tried their scoops yet, but now we definitely want to go back for those too. They usually have a black cone, which looks cool, but they didn't have it that day. We tried the pink one instead and it was amazing!!! Crunchy, pretty, and honestly perfect with the ice cream. The whole shop has such a cute, fresh vibe. It's cozy and clean (which is something super important), and just a great place to hang out for a sweet treat. We left so happy read more

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Great place for fun ice cream flavors and the rotating soft serve is fire too! The portion sizes are really good for the price imo. read more

KURIMU - Sakura soft serve - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I can't believe I didn't write a review the first time I visited this ice cream shop. Now that I've made a second trip, I realize it's definitely worth recommending. Located in Little Italy, the shop has easy street parking and a cozy indoor bar-top seating area that fits about a dozen people. The prices are reasonable. Around $6 for one scoop and $8.50 for two, before tax and tip. I originally planned to get my cone to go, but staying to enjoy the cool treat indoors on a warm summer day was perfect, especially with the easy listening music playing in the background. There are at least a dozen flavors, and all of them are unique, often with a twist on something familiar. During my visit, I tried a scoop of hibiscus strawberry and purple yam Oreo on a small waffle cone. I was one of the people who asked to sample a flavor before buying, just to make sure I didn't get a full scoop of something I wasn't crazy about. Being somewhat adventurous, I find it hard to decide which flavor to get because there are so many unique options to choose from. If you're with a group, it's a great spot to sample different flavors collectively without breaking the bank. One thing to keep in mind if you have allergies is that the shop doesn't guarantee allergy-free options. Many flavors have cookies like Oreos or fortune cookies, so it's pretty clear those aren't safe if you're avoiding gluten. However, the labeling isn't very detailed, so if you have serious allergies or sensitivities, it might be best to avoid the shop altogether. I didn't see any clearly gluten-free or dairy free options, so if that's a priority, you might want to look elsewhere. I definitely plan to return and would suggest it's worth a short drive, especially if you're a fan of unique flavors or ice cream in general. There are also a few soft serve options and pints to go. read more

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This location is really stinky and the service leaves much to be desired. When we arrived there was no welcoming atmosphere at all and there was no direction from the staff as to how to order the food. The food still tasted alright but about 75% of the scooped ice cream was unavailable. read more

We reserve Kurimu for special treats and only come a few times a year. It is a burning the pricer side if we take the whole family. My daughter and I came during a week night when it wasn't relatively busy. We each got double scoops with the specialty cones. I had the salted egg yolk and purple yam. My daughter had the blueberry cheesecake and the dulce de leche. We both loved our flavors and only really struggled with not eating it fast enough for it to drop. What was really great about this visit was the addition of the kiosk. Ordering was quick and easier to decide what to get based off of visuals. We will definitely be back for a treat in the future! read more

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Stopped here for some ice cream on a Friday night. It was nice and quiet, staff were friendly and let us try out flavors. They have a lot of unique flavors. I got the Thai tea and the passionfruit cheesecake. It was really tasty. We also got the blueberry lavender and that was really sweet, but good! It's a cute little spot, I do enjoy a good vanilla, so I may not be back often, but will definitely return at some point! read more

KURIMU - Seating - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The soft serve ice cream and pints of ice cream to go is excellent here. However, it cost almost 7 bucks for a scoop of ice cream. Prices are very high here. Overall good service and ambiance. read more

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A friend recommended Kurimu and I ordered Dorayaki Ice Cream - Doriyaki folded in a cup filled with hand crafted ice cream: the flavors I had were Coconut Pandan & Coco Delight (Coconut, Strawberry & Chocolate Chips), so Yummy! We also took a pint of the PB&J, Ube Latte & Lychee Pearl. If you like PB&J sandwiches, you then must try or order the PB&J, its the perfect balance of Peanut Butter & Jelly. The Lychee Pearl was gone as soon as we got home. Still have the Ube Latte to try, but Im sure it'll be as good as the other flavors we've already had. Until next time, Enjoy! read more

KURIMU - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I rave about the sesame ice cream here because the nuttiness really shines through. I got the black sesame this time ad it wasn't as good as the roasted white (which I think is a seasonal flavor) but still pretty good. We also got the Mango pomelo which had a more faint taste but the ice cream itself was smooth. This time around I wasn't wowed by the Sweet corn flavor either. Also more faint this time so maybe the recipe changed? The soft serve machine was also not working the day that we visited but my friend who lives in Chicago says it's always broken so not sure what's up with that but just a heads up for any folks wanting only soft serve. read more

Came here for a moment right before I boarded the Blue Line to get to my flight. Got the Royal Purple Lavender and Black Sesame, both of which are my favorite flavors literally anywhere I go. THE SCOOPS ARE VERY GENEROUS! I also upgraded to a Strawbery Shortcake waffle cone with tapioca pearls inside... Wait... BOBA? Inside my cone?? GAME CHANGER! I wish I had not had a huge lunch prior to this because this dessert was a bit of a challenge but luckily one of my gorl friends was able to help! I just got really excited to get to the boba at the bottom with the melted ice cream mixed into it! My only caveat now to this experience is the sadness I'll feel when I enter other ice cream shops because now I have an expection of BOBA as a topping to be placed inside my cone... hahaha (But for real, can we normalize boba as a topping much like we have sprinkles and candy at ice cream shops? please????) Soft serve was not available at the time we went so that just means I'll have to come back! read more

KURIMU - Royal Purple x Black Sesame in a Strawberry Shortcake cone with boba inside - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I am sad to update my review from 3 years ago and drop it from 5 stars to 2. I called ahead last night to check on their soft serve flavors and went enthusiastically since it's warmer outside and perfect ice cream weather. They had tahini and black sesame. They do let you sample, so I tried the tahini which honestly , I didn't care much for so I decided to get black sesame instead and got a sticker shock while paying since it's $8.75 for a cup!!! For comparison, soft serve at McDonald's is $2.50. If the price wasn't bad enough, their machine started acting up after I paid and I was asked to wait while they tried to figure it out. 10-15 min later I was told that they didn't know what was wrong with the black sesame side of the machine and perhaps they had 'overworked' it. I was told all this by an employee who kept chewing/biting a toothpick the whole time. I wasn't offered a refund either so instead my friend got the tahini since we had already paid and I left with no ice cream. Honestly, between the we don't care attitude, and the ridiculous price, I see no reason to go back anymore. read more

KURIMU - Taro soft serve - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came passed 9 on a Wednesday. This place still had a small line. Service is slow because there was only one girl at the register and scooping the ice cream. Ice cream flavors were awesome though. I tried the black sesame and loved it. If I come again I would try the bubble tea read more

KURIMU - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kurimu is one of those spots I keep going back to because there's always something new to try. They rotate their flavors often, and it's a mix of soft serve and ice cream, so every visit feels like a treat in the best way. What I've Tried & Loved: Mango Sticky Rice Ice Cream - So unique and well done! Creamy with just the right hint of coconut and sweetness--totally captures the vibe of the dessert. Pandan Ice Cream - Earthy, floral, and super refreshing. If you love Southeast Asian flavors, this one's a standout. Lychee Soft Serve - Light, delicate, and smooth. One of my all-time faves here. Mango & Lychee (past visits) - Always refreshing and well-balanced--never overly sweet. The staff is friendly, the vibe is fun, and the presentation is always cute. Whether you're grabbing a cone or a cup, Kurimu delivers with creative flavors and consistent quality. Can't wait to see what they come up with next! read more

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Finally got to try kurimu! Kind of sad I missed out on the tea flavor soft serves. But the lime and coconut flavors are equally good and refreshing. Staff are friendly and you can try their flavors. I just went for the classic soft serve in a cup with brown sugar boba. The boba drizzle did get a bit messy. It came with this cute shovel shaped spoon. I do want to come back and try some of their ice creams. It is a bit pricey but there's plenty in one cup to split. read more

KURIMU - Lime and coconut boba soft serve - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was bummed they didn't have any good flavors of soft serve, so I ended up getting scoops. I got Black sesame and rose water. Both were so delicious. I did think they were a bit on the price side. 2 scoops costed me over $10 read more

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You know the ice cream has to be good if there are customers waiting in line even though it's cold and snowy outside! I'm always excited to see what the different seasonal flavor combinations that Kurimu will feature. This time it was a Thai Iced Tea flavor swirled with Taro in a waffle cone. The creaminess of both flavors completed each other very well and the waffle cone was sweet and crunchy. read more

KURIMU - Thai Iced Tea and Taro - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My go-to spot for soft serve!! There's nothing like the excitement of walking in and seeing a new flavor to try--especially with their frequent collabs with local and big brands alike. While flavors are frequently changing, I'm always impressed by the attention to detail when it comes to flavor. They're spot on in choosing flavors that correspond with the collabs and delivering what they advertise. The branding also extends to their storefront from the merch to the wallpaper and wraps they employ to make each trip there a full sensory experience. They've earned a loyal customer! read more

KURIMU - KURIMU x Aya Pastry Early Grey and Taro Soft Serve - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went with a group. Tried to tell them they'd be disappointed. I explained how expensive it was for the actual product you get. I'm fine spending extra for a quality product which this was not. read more

A cute ice cream place a short walk from the UIC campus, Kurimu offers a plethora of flavors including Blackpink, Miso Sweet, Melona, and Black Sesame as well as a rotating monthly specialty soft serve flavor. This months flavor (starting today!) is Thai Green Tea x Shinjuku Ramen, which tastes amaaazing- sweet and savory. The worker at the front was kind enough to offer a sample when he saw we were having a hard time deciding what we wanted. From the soft serve spoons shaped as shovels to the Snoopy themed vibe to the Kpop and K-rnb bops playing in the background, this place has so many thoughtful touches and is definitely one to visit/come back to! read more

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Both the ice cream and the store interior at Kurimu are very aesthetically pleasing, and it's nice that they have a variety of Asian-inspired flavors. The service is friendly, and samples are available. I found the ice cream and soft serve that I tried to be just OK. Prices are a bit on the higher side, and I don't think they're justified by the quality of the ice cream ($5.75 for 1 scoop, $8.25 for 2 scoops, $6.75 for soft serve swirl cone). In general, I found the ice cream to be relatively sweet and the flavors to be muted, and the texture wasn't my favorite. I tried the following flavors: -Rose Royale Soft Serve (February 2024) - way too sweet. It definitely had a noticeable rose flavor, and it reminded me of Turkish delight; I wish had just been less sweet. I did like the soft serve texture though. -White Chocolate Bar Soft Serve (February 2024) - surprisingly this was less sweet than the Rose Royale. It was still too sweet for me though. -Purple Yam Ice Cream - this was just OK. It didn't have a very strong yam flavor. The ice cream texture was very thick. -Durian Ice Cream - the texture was weirdly icy and not creamy. It was sweet but without a strong durian flavor (it did have a noticeable aftertaste though). -Black Sesame Ice Cream - this was my favorite of the flavors that I tried here, but it still wasn't one of the better black sesame ice creams that I've had. The texture was very thick (like the purple yam ice cream), and it has a decently strong nutty black sesame flavor. This one wasn't too sweet. read more

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While here in Chicago I wanted to see if they had boba ice cream. So glad to have found one. We ordered the boba ice cream with just the hodiko ice cream. The ocean mint, the mango, and a boba latte. The girl making the drinks was tying her hair and didn't wash it then took out the ice cream. For me that's a sanitary issue. She did hold the cone with a napkin otherwise we wouldn't have got anything and just canceled our order. There was only one person working there she did seem overwhelmed. The boba ice cream was good not bad. I'm not sure if we will come back to this particular location maybe we will have to go get it elsewhere. read more

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Super busy ice cream shop (but very worth it) with many Asian inspired flavors, both in scoop and soft serve. I got the passionfruit cheesecake which wasn't as passionfruit forward as it had hoped. It was very creamy and cheesecake flavored with passionfruit jam ribbons. The oolong tea was amazing! It has a pleasant strong tea flavor with delicate floral notes. If you're a huge tea person, this flavor is perfect. I ordered the special matcha cone. Usually these cones are just for color but it pleasantly had actual matcha taste! read more

KURIMU - Special flavor cones! - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Another very popular ice cream shop that carries mostly Asian flavor profiles! The matcha, ube, black sesame and earl grey flavors when they're in stock are to die for. I love coming here for creamy and delicious treats. Definitely worth checking out the next time you're near one. They also have a lot of boba options if that's more your taste! You can also buy pints to go. So so delicious!! read more

Have you ever had corn... physical corn in your ice cream? Well I didn't like that flavor (sweet corn) hehehe but I did find a few others that have me wanting to coming again. I had a late night craving for ice cream and we discovered this place not too far away. The inside is super cute/cool Peanuts themed. Little snoopies galore. Online they said they had matcha Oreo... once I got there they didn't have that flavor but they had regular matcha. They had multiple unique flavors like strawberry cheesecake and sweet corn. They also different flavored cones. I decided on Biscoff cookie, premium vanilla with Oreo dust in a cup. The quality of the ice cream was amazing but they could have kept that DUST. It literally was dust.. you'd need 3 or 4 dusts to actually be working with something. Back to the ice cream.. it was tasty, thick and flavorful. But... they need better quality plastic spoons. HOW are you selling this amazing quality ice cream with a spoon that bends with every scoop? The spoons easily bend and the cups are short... recipe for messy fingers. read more

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I saw unique flavors from the Yelp photos and was super excited to come try their soft serve. I didn't realize they rotate out their soft serve flavors - so everyday they only have 2 current flavors available. When I went it was strawberry shortcake and some vanilla type combo. It wasn't the exciting flavors I saw on the Yelp reviews. A bit disappointed so I went for the ice cream instead. They were doing a collaboration with Care Bear so I got the Care Bear flavor which consisted of purple yam, jackfruit, and coconut. It was delicious. You're allowed to sample before you pick your flavors! read more

KURIMU - Care bear - mix of three flavor (purple yam, jackfruit, and coconut) - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is basically a swirl of hokkaido milk and thai iced tea ice cream topped with tapioca pearls and it's absolutely amazing! A little on the pricey side but not too sweet and makes a great treat! Highly recommend if you like ice cream and want to try some east asian flavors. I will note that the service is okay and it's not really a place to sit and enjoy - it gets packed and you have to take it to go. read more

KURIMU - Messy swirl (hakkaido and thai iced tea swirl) - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A cute little dessert spot in Chicago! Nested in a little collegetown, Kurimu made its mark for me. Firstly, I was immediately attracted to the cute aesthetic of the place. Something about Carebears is just so cute to me and I love that they used it as the concept for this place! The music here was super fun as well, I love me some good kpop music! Really fit the vibe and the whole ambiance of the place! There were a bunch of flavors to choose from for the ice cream. Matcha, Ube, Blueberry Cheesecake, and more. I opted for the Soft Serve. On this day, they had Strawberry Lychee swirl. The texture of the soft serve was so good! Soft and creamy! Cute spot with great vibes, this whole place made me feel super happy, and the dessert was super good. I'd recommend this spot to anyone travelling to Chicago. read more

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Heard a lot about this place from my Chicago native friend. I would say it's a very standard ice cream shop. It's delicious and creamy! I ordered the boba ice cream. If you love brown sugar boba, this will be amazing. For my taste it was a little too sweet. The service was whatever. I took my order through a kiosk and made a small mistake but the worker was super rude about it and corrected me in such a condescending way. Like i don't work here, how was i supposed to know? read more

KURIMU - boba ice cream - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Unique and delicious flavors. I especially loved the flavored lavender cone, which was as tasty as it was beautiful. Made a special trip just to try it! The double scoop (not pictured) was ridiculously large and required an extra cup and spoon to enjoy instead of just the cone. read more

KURIMU - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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[ June, 2024 ] The ice cream was decent, but I had to remind the individual waiting on me that I wanted a $3 special cone (instead of the normal cone). Sure, no big deal... Also, I checked the receipt and there was some "misc. fee" of 3.75% added to the bill (without knowing this in advance as there is no summary screen for payments at the register. So....hard pass for this Yelper on any future returns to Kurimu! read more

KURIMU - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kurimu offers unique and bold flavors and I do feel it is often overshadowed by Gathers that is on the same street when it comes to dessert options (especially among my groups of friends). However I'm glad I came in today as they do rotate their flavors fairly often. I tried the lychee pearl and durian flavors and it was so tasty! The durian ice cream embodies this distinct and intense flavor of a moderately ripe durian. It was delightful as a fan of durian and each bite transported me to my childhood. I do admit the ice cream was rather watery and not as creamy as I'd have liked. I did come in the evening so maybe that was part of the factor but I had hoped the ice cream would be more creamy. The flavor is there, the texture and consistency needs more work. I also agree that the order experience was frustrating. The fact that this place offers boba and other drinks distracts the customers and staff from their main product that distinguishes Kurimu ... ice cream! I waited at least 10 minutes when it'd have taken 30 seconds to scoop 2 scoops of ice cream and they even finished making a few orders ahead of mine that were way more complicated and took more time to make. read more

KURIMU - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Tried this place for the first time and it was great! It's sweet so maybe split an item if you don't like too much sugar but the flavors were great! I got the boba with ice cream and it was so tasty! read more

During my time at UIC, I loved stopping by Kurimu on Taylor street for a sweet treat! I love that the ice cream flavors are on rotation because there's always something new to try! The boba is also super chewy and rich. The portions are really large as well (which I'm happy about because the prices are on the steeper end). The staff are very friendly and it's a cute place to sit and vibe. Would recommend if you're in the area, but there's cheaper places for boba in the city otherwise. read more

KURIMU - Strawberry Twist Icecream - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Everybody hyped up the ube ice cream here, and they were even sold out of the ube ice cream this past Tuesday afternoon. So I had to buy a pint of it in order to try it. UBE ICE CREAM, PINT - 12.50 A pint was a lot so I shared with my friend. The ice cream was pretty creamy but it was too sweet for me and some of the flavors felt artificial. The ice cream was very purple. I can see why people like it, but I prefer something less sweet with just pure ube flavor. The spoons here are also super flimsy so it was kind of hard to eat the ice cream without it being weird and bendy. I hear the cones here are good, but since I got a pint, it felt silly to get an empty cone. Maybe I should have tried other ice cream flavors that were available here. read more

Came here a few days ago to try out their Ramune and Watermelon soft serve swirl. It was a hot day so it was pretty packed inside but managed to find a seat on the bench inside. The flavors were really good together and the cone was crisp. I would recommend Kurimu if you're a fan of Asian flavors, as they have many other flavor alternatives like dragon fruit, lychee, matcha, etc. They also sell boba. Each of the three Kurimu locations have two soft serve flavors that rotate every month. I find it annoying that the soft serve flavors are not listed on their website -- you have to click through their Instagram page to figure it out. It's a bit pricy at about $7 after tax for a soft serve on a cone, but for the unique flavors and high quality ice cream I definitely will come back. read more

KURIMU - Ramune and watermelon soft serve swirl - Bubble Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois