Rita’s Italian Ice

Love Rita’s, especially the gelati. My favorite flavors are mango and Florida orange. Service is always polite and portion sizes are fair, although sometimes I don’t get enough custard at the bottom of the gelati.
This location could use some seating (even if it’s outdoors next to the parking lot — some is better than none), and maybe more than one worker during hot summer days so the line doesn’t stretch so awkwardly long on this cramped sidewalk.

Great place to get some ice cream on a hot summer day. I actually prefer this place over the location near my house just because of their available parking spots in the back. The ice flavor selections here are fantastic! They have so much more flavors than any other Rita’s location I know.

Flavors are artificial portions large price is cheap but not worth eating. I always feel awful after I’ve had anything at this place.
When I see the lines I always wonder why people are eating there.

If there’s anything I love about this particular Rita’s location, its the fact that they have Strawberry as a custard option. It may not always be there around Spring time, but in the height of the hot and humid summer days, sure enough it’s on their board. Remember: Not all of the Rita’s out there are equal! This is why they win me over in comparison to Nutley and Belleville’s locations.

What’s not to love about this place. Great staff, clean location and delish ice cream!

Rita’s will always bring back great college memories for me. Freshman year all the way through senior year, when spring rolled around, Rita’s was always the first thought on our minds. I absolutely love the Gelati. It’s usually the only thing on the menu that I get because I love it too much. My go-​to flavor is Swedish Fish with vanilla custard. An ice flavor and a custard flavor makes up a gelati. The contrast between the refreshing water ice and the thick, creamy custard is perfection. My mouth is watering just writing this review. Head over to your closest Rita’s for a delicious and refreshing treat.

Good not great Italian ice with chocolate/​vanilla custards as well. Some of the ices are really good, but some are not so good with a very chemically flavor.
Parking is a bit of a problem at this location. There is a bank lot next door, but they can be a real stickler during business hours. Street parking can be tight.
They do a good enough job of moving the crowd along during peak times.

I know this is an Italian ice place, but OMG THE FROZEN CUSTARD. So creamy and rich. I love it.
I highly recommend the «gelati,» which is like a custard parfait-​ed with italian ice. Very delicious.
The ice flavors switch a lot so you never know what there’s going to be.
I give 4 stars because I wanted to go there one night, and got there a half an hour before closing time, but the place was completely dark and no one was there. Major bummer. Also, there are always middle/​high school aged kids hanging out.
Still, it’s quick, cheap, and delicious.

Rita’s was a new thing for me when I moved to Bloomfield, but now that Ive been coming regularly, I am noticing more around NJ. Since my favorite Ice places since I was a kid were the Italian bakeries around Bensonhurst Brooklyn, then at 8yo moving to Staten Island where Ralph’s famous Ices is located– Rita’s has a stiff heritage of Italian ices to stand up to when I first came to the counter…
And it held up pretty damn well indeed.
They arent really the kind of «Italian Ice» found 40 years ago in Brooklyn, or like Ralph’s who still supply the finest pizzerias in NYC, but Rita’s is worth standing in line for; albeit any longer than 8 people, and I can wait another few hours or a day.
The ICES: The standard fruit/​water ices are really good, but the one that got me hooked is the BLENDINI! Wow– its custard (and their custard is really exceptional) on the bottom, choice of ice in the center (I had chocolate brownie the first time, now every time I dont see that flavor I cry), then topped off again with custard-​wowowowowow. Gotta eat one you do (so says yoda). Ive tried the blendini also with mango and vanilla– was great too, but that chocolate brownie… wowwww
One suggestion– look up a recipe for «cremalata», its what all the best Bensonhurst Brooklyn bakeries served as ices– there were two flavors maybe tops, and still to this day I crave it– and so do MANY Italians– so make it, and I will wait in lines no matter HOW long, probably break my diet, eat these every day then become as huge as a house again… better yet, no :)

Had the choc/​vanilla kids’ size custard and was very happy with it– creamy, smooth and not overly sweet.
Kudos for the cotton candy flavored ice which was a hit with one of my friends.

OMG RITAS. How does this place not have more reviews –_​– And I’m not even from the east coast.
So I had to live in Jersey for an internship in the summer of ’09. Let’s get this straight, I am NOT an east coaster. West coast, best coast, forever. That being said, I think I would fly out here specifically just to have a cup of Rit’as amazing italian ice and custard. Or 5. Or 100. That good.
Imagine the most perfectly flavored italian ice/​slush, not too watery, perfect icy consistency, not too sweet, swirled together with the creamiest vanilla custard. And you have like 30 flavors from swedish fish to bubble gum to mango, anything you can imagine! It’s perfection, I tell you. Simply perfection. My mouth is watering terribly for one right now.
To this day I have yet to have a dessert as delicious and refreshing as Rita’s. My favorite mix is the mango swirled with vanilla custard. Check it.

I will already remember my first time at Rita’s Italian Ice.
I just want to start off by saying that the west coast needs to figure it out and get one of these on our side of the nation. This place would make a killing in California.
I’ve always been a fan of Italian ice, but it’s not really something that I go searching for or get cravings for, but all that changed once I tried Rita’s.
All the different flavors they have will being me back over and over again. Also, the different types of treats you can get (I highly recommend the Gelati, a mix of their Italian ice and their frozen «custard») is a great way to mix up your order.
I honestly wish that this chain would come make its way to California. I know for a fact that people over here would go crazy about it, and it’s simply not fair that I discovered this place at the end of the summer that I was living on the east coast.
My friend and I will randomly develop cravings for Rita’s, and we’re always griping that we don’t have access to this place. So if you’re on the east coast, go try Rita’s. Apparently they’re EVERYWHERE. I’ve only been to this location, so I decided to write a review for it, but I’m hoping that someday Rita’s and I will be reunited, and it will taste good.

Always great service and served with a smile! Because it’s located at the Watchung/​Broad Street crossroad, it tends to be a pretty busy location. On a hot summer’s night, you could spend 20 minutes just waiting to get your Italian Ice or Gelotti.
Prices are reasonable for this specialty treat. Try the new Blendini, but word of advice — don’t get a Cherry, Oreo cookie, and vanilla custard combination. =)