The Sweet Duck

…And I fell into a tourist trap.
$ 8.97 for a scoop of Salted Caramel Ice Cream — maybe frozen yogurt — in a sprinkled cone? Would you like to leave an optional tip as well?
Never again.

I said it before and I will say it again, this is a hard place to classify. How do you group it when they sale ice cream/​frozen yogurt, jewelry, wine, souvenirs, trinkets, coffee items, small food items, etc. The list could go on for ever.
I still love this place and always make it a point to stop in here when in the area. Some pretty great items to be had in here and it is hard to decide what item is really worth buying here. You can’t go wrong with an ice cream on a hot summer day but you also might need those shark sunglasses because of the sun.
Staff are always pleasant. And I love the sound of quaking when a patron enters the door.

I went into this cute little store to quickly buy candies for my children, but ended up spending a wonderful 45 minutes in the store with Wanda.
As soon as I entered The Sweet Duck, I was greeted warmly by Wanda. She was so friendly and made me feel welcome as I perused the treats and trinkets. She helped me pick out some incredible beaded keychains that were sold to benefit schools in Central America. I took quite some time trying to decide which ones to buy, and she was so patient and cheerful as she pulled each one out of the glass display case for me to inspect. We ended up striking a great conversation about the key chains, teaching, and life. It was like talking to a long lost friend! As she packaged some of the hand made truffles I picked out, I told her I was on my way to the airport. Knowing this, Wanda then took extra care to beautifully wrap all of my purchases ensuring they would travel safely home with me.
My «quick trip» to the candy store ended up being a memorable 45 minutes and it was due to Wanda. The key chains are treasures and the chocolates were delicious, but far beyond my purchases, I truly enjoyed my time being treated like a friend instead of just a passing customer. I highly recommend The Sweet Duck for the awesome treats, trinkets and phenomenal customer service that can’t be beat!

Came here because of the reviews and was disappointed they didn’t have ice cream… just gelato. I tried several samples and thought they weren’t very good, but my husband got chocolate and my son got strawberry. Not overly impressed with the sweetness. I ordered a red velvet cookie that the staff recommended. I was told how great they are, and was incredibly disappointed again. It didn’t taste anything like red velvet. It tasted like flour died red. Sad. Oh well.

Visiting from out of town. Stopped in to get ice cream. The gelato was to die for! The sweet people working there took the time to come over and talk to us and let us try every flavor! Even encouraging us to try more when we felt bad about trying too many. All of the ice creams are house made with all natural ingredients making them 30% less fat than other ice creams and on top of that just real good clean food. Also all of the toppings were the real deal. Just awesome all around! A must stop when in Duck or neighboring cities.

There is a little bit of everything in here and I’d say it’s a perfect stop when walking the shops if you need something to drink or munch on.
I did not get the acclaimed gelato though, I got the coffee. A latte actually. Service was friendly, slow and the coffee was just okay. Not awful, not great.
If you are in the neighborhood anyway, and you want a true barista drawn espresso shot, head to Treehouse coffee next door at Scarborough Lane.
This place isn’t bad, though, and I would go there again for some ice cream or a cold drink. Lots to offer in a little shop.

Gelato is delicious here. Good and interesting flavors. The blondie we bought wasn’t anything special, not bad but not anything I would purchase again. Beware if you have children the store has a lot of glass items and I was terrified having my 1 year old walking around with all the breakable merchandise.

Great gelato, cool shop! Coconut was amazing. The prices are just okay, not so much that you feel like you’re getting yanked, but the gelato and frozen yogurt are good enough to justify a splurge.

Hangry after you drove for 2 hours and only travelled 10 miles into Duck? Pop in here to take the edge off. Everything is homemade by the owner and his wife. They give you samples of wine, let you taste anything you want before you buy. This New Yorker owned establishment is a local gem. (They’ve lived in Duck for 30 years) Make sure to stop by!

Great find!!! Wife got fudge, I picked up a fresh Heath bar bark. The items seemed very fresh.

It’s hard not to love house-​made gelato, especially if you’re an ice cream/​frozen treat aficionado. Although The Sweet Duck is in an odd space with a jumble of wine accessories, trinkets, etc., you have to give them credit for trying to appeal to more than just the «ice cream shop» set. They have seemingly endless choices of homemade non-​ice cream desserts, truffles, and pastry.
Fiancé went for baklava and a cookie. Cookie was huge but the baklava was tiny and overpriced. I have a feeling the girl behind the counter wasn’t aware of the proper serving size for $ 3, but who orders baklava at a gelato place? :)
Anyway, I had a waffle cone (tasted fresh, but was a little «soggy» — high humidity isn’t a cone’s friend) with a scoop of coffee and a scoop of moose tracks. Coffee flavor was amazing. Moose Tracks were… okay. I should have stuck with the Donatella flavor all along after my initial sample — their take on Nutella-​flavored gelato.

The gelato is fresh-​made; the Donatella (chocolate hazelnut) and coconut are both rich, smooth, and creamy — and less lethal than full-​cream gelato, as the owner told me it’s made from milk. No loss in flavor. The chocolate truffles are also made here, and are little works of art that actually won an award in Las Vegas. A great find.

I had a red velvet cupcake and an ice coffee, my husband had a brownie with icing (go figure) and my son 5 had bubble gum gelato. He was happy with it, I did try a spoonful from his, sorry I they don’t belong together! But my cupcake was very good but it was not cream cheese icing that usually is with red velvet. I have to say the lady working there was wonderful. I think whomever is making the flavor choices needs to consider that the same icing on all cupcakes doesn’t work on red velvet.

The Sweet Duck offers some of the most tasty and delectable items imaginable. From gorgeous, artisan truffles to diverse, creamy gelatos, the Duck has a little something for everyone.
The drip coffee is rich, frothy, and every cup is freshly made. (Honestly, the best I’ve had at the Outer Banks so far.) There are some lovely gifts toward the back of the shop: mostly jewelry and other trinkets. The inside is dark and cool — a nice reprieve from the hot sun.
The Sweet Duck is a delightful little stop in the Scarborough Faire Shopping Village. Don’t miss it!

The lady working there was very pleasant, even though it does have a strange assortment of jewelry, knick-​knacks, gelatos and desserts.
We stuck with the gelato, which was very good from the samples. I chose a mix between the snickers and pistachio (my favorite). The pistachio was the only flavor that was below average, the rest were great. The portions are small compared to other places. The combination of the portions and the screw up of my favorite flavor is the only reason it wasn’t a 4-​star.
The desserts looked unique and very professionally done. If I had the room, I would have definitely given it a try.

Sounds like grumpy duck wrote the last review. It was a good change from ice cream and it was delicious! Lots of flavors to choose from too. Owner was friedly and the food was awesome.

This is an odd little shop in the back of the Scarborough (Lane? Faire?) shopping center in Duck. It’s clearly too big to be a gelato/​pasty shop all by itself. So… they added wine and jewelry sections! Random. And the place is still eerily about ¾ full. The gelato itself was ok. Nothing special. Our family actually ordered one gelato milkshake, which was really thin. I guess the gelator here is a break from the typical ice cream /​frozen custard you get at the beach. (Not that I EVER need a break from frozen custard.) We tried a pastry or two. The «éclair» cupcake was a misnomer. Was there supposed to be custard inside? My wife’s commented that her lemon bar had too much lemon zest — and she’s a lemon bar connoiseur. Overall, I’d skip The Sweet Duck. Given it’s poor location in the back of the shopping center, I suspect it will be The Dead Duck before too long.

A newer addition to the Scarborough Lanes shopping, this place is AWESOME. I wanted to stop in for their frozen yogurt (advertised on a sandwich board just outside the storefront) but I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of jewelry also displayed in the store. It’s a tad dark in the place, but nothing to fret over. They also serve gelato, HANDcrafted belgian chocolates (which looked amazing) and pastries. All are made by renowned chef Deborah Sinkage who also owns Argyles in Kitty Hawk.
Now, I had the Pomegranate/​Wild Berry frozen yogurt and YUMMMM yum yum yum yum! It was just the right amount of sweet with a little tiny bit of tart! I am starting to drool just thinking about it!
The store is set in the WAY back part of the shopping center next to the Christmas Mouse.