Rita’s Italian Ice

The custard is cool, I didn’t like the slushy stuff that comes with it. Usually I just order the frozen custard with the hot fudge. What I don’t like is that they don’t have chopped nuts. I had to walk over to trader joes and buy some big ass bag of peanuts and pound them at the table just to have my custard complete. The service is always good and they allow you to sample before you purchase. Diffinitely better than that flavorless soft serve crap they serve at zestos up the street with a cherry on top of bad customer service! Rita’s is worth checking out and it’s close to the park to walk off those calories!

Appears to be closed… We stopped by about 3pm on a hot Saturday afternoon (⁹⁄₁₃) an it was closed. Looked out of business.

As a transplant after years in Philly, I’ve learned to adopt «Wudder Ice» as part of a Philadelphia religion that includes hoagies and cheese steaks. In a highly critical city, Rita’s is considered crème de la crème. So I was super-​excited when a Rita’s came to Atlanta and intown at that.
It’s a great takeout location featuring many of the traditional ices you’d expect up north. The folks who work there are nice and efficient. There’s probably fewer offerings than you’d expect, i.e., mango which is a universal fave sometimes is not offered, but if you go when the high school kids don’t, you’ll get great ice. (Check the fb page for daily offerings.)
A great choice for during the summer heat, particularly if the Beltline is your destination.

When I had a bad day, I drove right to Rita’s and had a mixture if custard and cherry ice. The shaved ice cones in many flavors; from standard cherry to interesting mint choc chip. It sounds odd, but my roomies favorite is mint choc chip so it is actually yummy. The employees were super friendly and always made me smile. The store is clean and bright.

Second time I tried frozen custard in atlanta now and the experience in Rita’s was so much better than the previous store I went to.
The girl behind the glass window was so attentive. She opened the window while waiting for us to decide on the flavor we wanted, even though outside was really hot :)
We tried italian slushie. It was pretty good although sweet and i was afraid we couldn’t finish the whole thing. So instead we ordered the twist frozen custard, and what a great decision we made. It was thick and creamy and not too sweet at all.

I love this Ritas! Clean, attentive staff, and yummy!
I love that it is always switching up the ice flavors (it seems like most Ritas dont). And my favorite is the Coconut Cream and Pistachio. I haven’t seen the pistachio at this location yet, but I hope I do in the future!
I’ve been here a few times, but I came once with a group of mom’s and unfortunately some of the moms were a tad sassy. Even though this happened, the crew member was super nice and handled the situation casually. I think they were only acting bratty because the air conditioner was broke, which sucks, but things happen. And I don’t care because there’s always plenty of seating outside.
Love these guys!

Service was fast and they were nice :] And I discovered custards!!! I love rita’s custards!!! I’m willing to get fat on rita’s custards!!! :D

I wasn’t sure what this place was… I went down to the window to check out the menu and I couldn’t really figure out if it served strange flavored ice cream or if custard was like normal custard that belonged in donuts and pastries.
The server at the window was really sweet and greeted me as I stared at the menu confused. She asked me if I had any questions. I proceeded to ask her what she would suggest and she quickly responded with «the Swedish Fish… it’s realllly good!» So I said I would take one and she looked at me funny. I continued and asked her if it was ice cream or what was it? She then showed me a small cup and told me it was like a soft Italian ice and Swedish Fish flavored. I was still confused and said ok. I paid her the $ 2.91 (I’m not sure how it came to 91 cents but whatever) and she came back to the window with a small cup filled with what looked like a slurpee/​icee!!! I was so excited to hold the cup in my hand. I took a spoonful and I will tell you. This was an amazing treat! I will be back for more!!!
I’m glad the server didn’t judge me and think I was an idiot for asking noob questions. But my fault for not reading Unilocal for tips on this place!!!

Water ice baby!
Whatever you do, don’t tell my wife that I love Rita too, she might get jealous. Rita and I go back about 10 years, way before they even came to Atlanta. My friend is from Philly and always told me about how fantastic Rita’s Water Ice was and finally, he brought back like 15 QT’s of the stuff. If you ever lived in NYC and loved the Italian ice with chunks of fruit in it sold in all the Italian joints, you know what I am talking about. Lemon shaved ice with chunks of lemon and cherry ice with chunks of cherries. Rita’s is exactly that, just with so many, many more flavours, plus the frozen custard. Where I am from people eat frozen custard during a snow blizzard, not just during the summer months.
We stopped here yesterday after my boy and I played at Piedmont Park. We stopped by and he had the small chocolate water ice, which was only $ 1. Not bad, right? and after all, that is all the sugar a child needs, probably less than would be better. I had the cherry and it was delicious as the last time I had it. Of course, he loved his. He even asked if he could fill half his spoon with cherry and mix it with his chocolate and after that, he was in sugary heaven. (He drank plenty of water later on in the day)
This location is great, right next door to Trader Joe’s and only about ¼ a mile from Piedmont Park. In terms of blocks, about 3 – 4 blocks, so it is within walking distance should you be playing in the park and needing a cool treat.
The guy at the walk-​up window was really nice and professional. The inside was closed (probably because he was working alone), so we sat outside on the patio chairs, which we planned on doing anyhow, seeing Tuesday was such a beautiful day.
We enjoyed our Rita’s water ice next to two of APD’s finest female officers who were enjoying their Rita’s after a long day riding their equine. Those were probably the coolest cops I met so far.
If you love Italian ice, you will love Rita’s for sure. They make everything themselves and as always the water ice has chunks of the actual fruit. I love the blueberry water ice with chunks of blue berries, just keep in mind afterwards that you will be walking around looking like you just ate a smurf.

Great snack for a warm day. They are perfectly located walking distance from piedmont park. They have outdoor seating and are pet friendly.
The service at this location was amazing. My daughter was having Rita’s for the first time and did not like her initial selection. The manager kindly asked her what else she would like to try and replaced her item at no additional charge. She made her feel very valued as a customer.
This location is further from our home, but I would travel back here just for the great service!

Really does live up to it’s name… happiness in a cup!
The custard is AMAZING. Definitely the best I’ve ever had…
I mixed coffee with brownie and had the vanilla custard.
TOGETHER, they were divine.
Why can’t the West Coast have Rita’s? We’re missing out!

Rita’s will always ALWAYS get top stars from me. I’m from the north, so, when this location opened, it reminded me of home. Love, love Ritas.
I always get the same thing: Mango Italian ice with vanilla custard on top. Bay-bay…lemme tell you, its the good stuff. The custard is boss, if you’re an ice cream fan, get the chocolate-​vanilla swirl. Unless you’re really hankering for ice cream, start with a small cone — custard is really, really thick and richer than ice cream, generally.

This review is for service only, because we ended up not buying anything.
I asked for one of the specialty items which was on the menu right next to the walk-​up window, the «Chocolate Covered Strawberry», which is chocolate custard cup topped with strawberries and chocolate sauce. Kid behind the counter says «I dunno how to make that.»
I point out it has three ingredients. He goes to the soft-​serve machine and starts adding strawberry custard into a cup. I call out «it’s chocolate, not strawberry». He said «What??» and scowls. I read him the three ingredients again. He scowls some more. Then he stands there for a moment glowering before saying, «Well, I’m just going to make your a strawberry milkshake because I dunno how to make that other thing.»
I just look at him for a second in disbelief. Not because of the issue of «it’s just three ingredients» or even «I dunno how to make that» but because this guy is telling me what he’s going to make, since what I want is irrelevant.
I just said «forget it». Kid shrugs. Next!
I wouldn’t care if it was 25 cents and tasted like a dream, I wouldn’t buy anything from here. If this is the type of person they hire, I’m not interested in doing business.

Being a double minority from the small town of Blue Ridge, GA (I’m gay and asian), I tend to get really insecure going out in public with a guy. Sure I am dating the hottest guy in Atlanta, but I still get a little insecure.
That being said, Rita’s is very gay-​friendly. Well maybe it’s just all of Midtown, but I felt at home with their rainbow sticker on their front window. Besides the great atmosphere, the ice cream here is to DIE for. I didn’t order any due to my new found insecurity of my weight (I recently found out that I’m average weight) but took a bite out of said cute man’s ice cream who I went with.
Eating their ice cream is probably an odd combination of winning the lottery and having your first kiss. I might be exaggerating, but only a little bit! This place is amazing. I don’t care if you’re underweight, average weight or overweight, ORDER THEIR ICE CREAM. I will never turn down this place again.

I know some folks like this stuff, but this is not real frozen custard. The only place you can get really good frozen custard is in St. Louis, MO. Trust me — I’m an expert.
Rita’s is «fluffy», not creamy like the good stuff.

Frozen Strawberry Custard:
The texture was very strange for a custard. It was similar to a whipped icing on a grocery store cake. It did not melt or have any movement like a dairy based frozen treat. Unfortunately, it seemed full of fillers and synthetic ingredients. My stomach did not feel good after eating this item. For a true custard lover, this place might not be for you. Other reviewers seem to like the italian ice.
Service and Atmosphere:
Standard for an ice cream type of place. Nice enough and pretty quick.
I’ve been looking for a good frozen custard place since I moved to ATL… the hunt continues…

Yesterday I was a first time visitor to Rita’s and I can’t wait to return. I had the most delicious Swedish fish (red chewy candy) flavored italian ice. It was so good! It was very flavorful and I literally had to get every last drop out of the cup. I loved it.
My friend ordered the custard and I was able to taste a little sample. While I enjoyed it, it did not compare to the italian ice. If you get the custard, take it all the way back to childhood and add the sprinkles.
Definitely if you are in the area, I would recommend that you stop by. The people are friendly and you will really enjoy your frozen treat.

I came here with a friend after walking at Piedmont Park. It was a hot day and we craving something cold. I didn’t know that the place was water ice spot. She suggested this place and I’m not going to lie… it definately hit the spot. It had a sweet after taste, which I’m really fond of.
All in all… I would come back here again if I’m in the area.
akatek1

Rita’s is great. Tons of yummy flavors. I’ve never had the custard, but the Italian ice is always yummy. Black cherry is good, also green apple, pineapple, and canteloupe. They have a couple of mixes too, like tropical punch and another one called island breeze I believe. You can mix flavors too. The better employees can place the two ice flavors side-​by-​side in your cup, otherwise, one flavor is on top of the other.
They will try to upsell to the large for an additional 50 cents. It’s tempting, but the regular size is really enough. It is empty calories after all.
Rita’s is a great place to stop on a hot day, going to or from the park, or for dessert after lunch or dinner at Midtown Promenade. They do have a Foursquare special, so be sure to check it out.

Having never been in Rita’s the manager explained the place and I was given a little sample of the three different styles they carry and decided on the large Mango. Ten minutes into it the sugar /​syrup ratio was killing me all I wanted was large amounts of H20 .
Here are my thoughts on that .
I found it to be like that person you were never sure you wanted to date .
At first it’s good .
Then it becomes overly sweet to fast you just want a break from it .
Then, well maybe I’ll want it later, maybe it will look/​taste better with vodka, Uhmm probably not .
Stick with the small and keep it at a distance, It’s only meant for that occasional phone call.