Mardi Gras Homemade Ice Cream

This place is awesome! Fantastic regular and unusual flavors! You must try this place. You will soon become a regular!

KULFI?! Woah. This place just got so intense! I have never heard of these flavors before (and to be honest, I still haven’t because I can’t pronounce them correctly).
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FALOODA KULFI — Sweet Rose but with seeds, I liked Sweet Rose better because the crunchiness was kind of weird. Pretty good nonetheless.
SWEET ROSE — tastes like rose (if you don’t know what that is then picture youth and innocence and arranged marriage while sipping some afternoon earl grey tea). Pretty strong. On the sweet side. I get this flavor a lot back at CA, and I think this one tastes pretty decent.
LYCHEE — I like this flavor on anything! This ice cream tastes as good as Rose. But I’m really picky so this doesn’t taste exactly like lychee (artificial sugariness…)
PISTACHIO — I’m pretty happy there are real pistachio bits in here! It also tastes too artificial for my liking, I would just stick to pistachio gelato if I wanted pistachio.
COCONUT CRUNCH — the best flavor there is hands down! There are a ton of coconut ice cream I don’t like, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one! There are a lot of coconut bits in the perfect texture, and the flavor is not too overwhelming!
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Great flavors but still on the artificial side for artisan ice cream. Not the most welcoming place and location. Double scoop price isn’t worth it unless you are madly in love with their ice cream (Single $ 3, Double $ 6, Kiddie Single $ 2.5, Kiddle Double $ 5) But I would come back for some Coconut Crunch.

I was there to pick up few of the flavors and it’s an awesome to place to get very different type of ice creqms. Good quality ice cream at quality price. Cant ask for any better ice cream than this place. Keep it up.

Simply delicious. Homemade ice creams in tons of flavors– plenty of typical ones and then a whole roster of excellent Indian flavors as well (custard apple– yum!), and some creative combinations of their own devising. Definitely give this place a try!

One of the best places for ice cream in Columbus (and I am an ice cream snob). Flavors are great and unique.

Oh man, I haven’t been here in sooo long. When I told the owner it’s probably been close to 15 years, she looked at me skeptically saying they’ve only been open for that long. Yup! I grew up a little over a mile from here, and the whole area was my old stomping grounds. At the time, I guess I didn’t realize they had just opened, and I was always more of a Graeter’s fan, so I wasn’t here often. Now that I’m older, I can really appreciate what they’re doing here.
This is just a great spot, and even though it’s in an old strip mall next to a beer and wine drive-​thru, it still feels like a great family spot. I mean, you are basically in Worthington after all, or at least the Kilbourne school district, so there’s a lot of families in the area. There were plenty of people hanging outside the ice cream store as well, and this was at the beginning of April when it wasn’t all that warm out!
There’s so many crazy flavors here that you’ll have to sample, and don’t be fooled by what’s displayed up at the front: the board behind you lists the rest of the flavors, and they’re hidden back behind the register. I didn’t go with any of the Indian influenced flavors, but I did try the candied apple that the husband said was a favorite, and it was delicious! Forget the fact that there’s apple chunks in there and that the flavor pops out, the light and fluffiness of the ice cream is the real star here in my opinion! My girlfriend’s mint chocolate chip was equally delicious, and she loved it, having never been before.
The biggest issue here is that the location is so far from downtown that it’s really hard to justify coming all the way up here. Unfortunately, for people living closer to the city, we’re kind of stuck with just Graeter’s and Jeni’s. Not that that’s even a problem, but we don’t get any great mom and pop shops down that way. It’s a real bummer, so you have to head out to the outskirts of town to find places like Diamonds or Mardi Gras. If you’re out this way though, you should definitely give them a shot, because there’s still some great independent ice cream makers in Columbus doing great things.

YOU KNOW WHEN SOMETHING TASTES SO GOOD, YOU JUST KEEP EATING AND LOOKING AT IT? WELL, THIS WAS THAT MOMENT. I COULDN’T STOP INSPECTING MY CONE. why was it so good???
The ice cream place that doesn’t make sense… or at least, I haven’t made any sense of it. Mardi Gras has Indian flavors and typical flavors and the texture is heavenly — and for that, they deserve 5 stars. Their flavors are more unique than Jeni’s in my opinion. There, I’ve said it! JUDGE ME!
With that being said, I really like how Mardi Gras’ flavors aren’t too sweet and the texture is thick yet creamy. I hate the runny, squishy type of ice cream. I got to try 4 flavors and ended up getting 3 out of the four on ONE cone. Can you believe that? Mango was my favorite, then comes paan, then comes cappuccino chunk. I also tried coffee and that was really good too. I can’t wait to be back to try all the other flavors. There’s no other place like Mardi Gras and I don’t want them to EVER lose their authenticity.

Pulled up to find the store closed. The owner was in his car pulling out, but when he saw us pull up he asked if we wanted ice cream. So, reopened the store just for us. Also, the ice cream was awesome!

I have been stopping by Mardi Gras for about a year and I have to say, I really dig this place. The staff is friendly, I’ve never experienced a wait, they let me try as many flavors as I like, and it’s all dairy free! The cones are huge and a pint only cost 6 bucks and a quarter *give or take a penny.
I love the International flavors at MG and that they alternate. They currently have a Custard Apple that is representing fall very well. I have many favorites here like Butter Pecan, Pistachio, Green Tea and Kesar Pista. The only drawback is that it’s really far from me so I don’t visit often.

I’m really, really glad I gave Mardi Gras another shot. The first time we went, we were underwhelmed with the ice cream. .. but we were driving by recently and said, what the hell, let’s try it again.
Success this time!
I got coconut ice cream and a fig flavor; both were DELICIOUS. (Also, I’m so stoked that figs are becoming more mainstream now, generally. I love them.) I always see half a dozen Indian flavors that I’m keen to try when I go in. Sometimes the descriptions of the flavors are lacking, and if the owners (I’m guessing) aren’t working, it can be hard to get a good explanation.
I definitely will be making the trek north again to have Mardi Gras, and only wish I hadn’t waited so long to give them another try.

In terms of texture and «mouthfeel,» I can’t say this place matches up to jenis or graeters, but this place gets all the stars for flavor uniqueness. A lot of Indian and south Asian inspired flavors. I feel like I’ve relatively cultured and know a lot of dishes from various cuisines, but they had so many ice cream flavors of things I’ve never even seen or heard of. The owner was helping to serve us and was very patient and willing to explain all the various flavors to us. I wanted to try them all since I didn’t know these flavors, and I have a feeling they’d be willing to let me, but I felt bad and only tried 3 or so haha. I got the guava flavor as it actually had a real (pink) guava smell and taste! I feel like it’s so rare to be able to find something with the actual guava smell, so I had to get it. Price wise is pretty on par with other ice cream shops. If I’m in the area, I wouldn’t hesitate to come back, just a little far from osu campus.

I got a scoop of Blue Moon and my wife got a scoop of Sweet Rose. Both were very good. The great quality and flavor of the Sweet Rose reminded my wife of her childhood in Chennai. There is nothing like authentic flavors! There are so many unique flavors to try here. The owner was really friendly and personable! The prices are so much better than G*‘s and J*‘s (I don’t like to use full names of other places in reviews) as well. Get some great ice cream at reasonable prices! Check it out!

Yummmmmm! Home made and better than a Philipino hooker! Everything is made fresh daily and there are so many flavors to choose from that are not the same old crap you get from corporate establishments that usually is made from silly putty and cement. The butterscotch was off the chain and they even had a spicy ice cream made with ghost peppers. The owners where very friendly folks as well. Why would anyone eat corporate food when there are so many locally owned places like this around?

Disclaimer: I’ve been going to Mardi Gras since I was a toddler, so I’m a pretty loyal fan. It’s been interesting to see its transition from a traditional-​style mom ‘n pop ice cream shop owned by the Shaws to the exotic/​unusual/​varied place it is today (definitely a good change).
The best part about Mardi Gras is its exotic flavors: lychee, rose, kesar pista (saffron almond pistachio), green tea, kaju draksh (cashew raisin), caramelized banana, etc. The shop is owned by a local Indian family, so a lot of the flavors reflect the fruits and spices of India. There are also unusual flavors from other regions of the world and some local twists on classic ice cream flavors.
Don’t come here expecting the ice cream to have a gelato-​like consistency like Jeni’s or be thick and dense like Graeter’s. Mardi Gras sells traditional American-​style ice cream, so it is light and airy (think the ice cream you grew up on). They do an excellent job of making ice cream that is both rich and light at the same time.
Most recently I got a scoop of anjeer fig ice cream and my bf got a scoop of guava. Mine had a good subtle fig flavor with hints of vanilla and a couple other spices. I really enjoyed that the ice cream had a ton of chunks of real fig in it. We also tasted a few other flavors before deciding – sitafal (custard apple) and lychee. Both were interesting. I’d never heard of the sitafal fruit before, so I didn’t really have a good reference point there. The lychee tasted very similar to a lot of Asian candies and desserts – quite good!
I would definitely recommend Mardi Gras to anyone in the area!

This is one of the best ice cream places (we have lots of local competition with Jenis and Graeters). The owners seem like nice people. You have to spend $ 5 to use a credit card.

This place is awesome! So of the tastiest ice cream ever! The owner is so nice she makes all her own ice cream and the scoops are über big!
If you are looking for some unique flavors or just want the regular flavors they are all here! Also you would never be able to tell the ice cream has no eggs or gelatin! I will be going back a lot this summer!

If you’re not tricked by the name and manage to find the off the beaten path location … congratulations, you’re in for a treat! This Indian ice cream shop is a true hidden gem in Columbus.
The owners are very nice and offered samples and explanations of the menu as soon as we walked in. Every flavor I tried was top notch, which made choosing a flavor a challenge! I ended up getting the international sampler, which comes with 3 flavors in what appears to be a pint sized container for a little over $ 9. I got fig, papaya, and Rajbhog (saffron with dried fruit chunks). My friend ordered fig, custard apple, and Kesar Pista (saffron, almonds, pistachio, cardamom).
There are about a dozen more exotic flavors on the menu that I’ll be sure to come back for!

Kulfis are simply awesome. kesar pista is my favorite.
Never had such a great kulfi in US.

Definitely a hidden gem! Please don’t read my review.
I have been driving by this place regularly without giving it much thought. There are so many things about it that sends off mixed signals. It’s name created images of something other than home made ice cream for me. It’s located in a small strip mall that shows its wear which was not especially inviting. I saw a recent Unilocal review and was like … hey, that’s close by!
Step inside to a small, family owned ice cream shop that has one long freezer counter on one side, a handful of indoor tables along another and two walls plastered with photos of patrons enjoying their treats for 14 years. I met the owner who is a sprite, charming and proud woman. She was all to happy to tell us about her ice cream. Her staff were just as pleasant to help with deciphering the wide selection of flavors. There are a lot of flavors to choose from, including their special selection of 15 international flavors. They eagerly encouraged tasting samples.
I went with the International Trio Sampler as I wanted to try a few different kinds. I had the Pista Kulfi, Falooda Kulfi and the Fire and Ice. The Pista and Falooda were creamy, subtle flavors without being overly sweet or heavy fat content. They were quite refreshing. They placed the more adventuresome Fire and Ice scoop at the bottom of the dish. The owner encouraged me to dip down through the bowl and so blending the fiery scoop with the more mellow scoops. I would have to agree with her that seemed the better way. The Fire and Ice has a potent kick. I sampled some of the Salty Caramel from my cohort. All tasted great! I’ve already been thinking about other flavors I want to try.
I hate the long lines at other locally popular shops and have been known to walk away because they were so popular. I’ll definitely be coming back to this quiet little gem.

Y’all know how I feel about ice cream. Queen Jeni reigns supreme, and she rules my heart. But I’ve had Mardi Gras bookmarked for about 3 years… so it was time for a visit!
Mardi Gras is amazing and crazy at the same time. It’s in an old strip mall in the middle of nowhere. The interior hasn’t been updated in about 30 years, but from what I can tell, the owners nor the customers care. This place has some serious fan loyalty! (and with good reason)
When we first arrived, we were met by an endearingly crotchety Indian man. He has funny little hand-​written notes all over the store that pretty much say — Hey, I’m glad you’re my customer, but I have some rules too. He was pretty reserved, but very, very helpful. He let me and my friends try so many different flavors, and he never once acted annoyed. He did smirk and LOL as he handed me a sample of Fire and Ice — chocolate with some type of fiery kick. It was delicious and painful at the same time.
After making my way around the globe with a flavor tour, I decided on the guanabana (custard apple) and the mango. Both were delicious. I really love that everything is made in-​house with a spectrum of flavors ranging from basic vanilla to outlandish Indian spices.
The Mister paid, but I recall it being inexpensive. But hey, when you’re not paying $ 5 for a half cup of ice cream, everything seems inexpensive by comparison. And if you really like a flavor, they’ll pack it up for you to go!
I really think it’s unfair to compare other Cbus ice cream spots to Jeni’s since she’s nationally recognized as one of the best in the US. So I won’t compare. I’ll just say that this is a lovely, quirky little mom and pop ice cream shop that is totally worth a try.
Protip: Take your own spoon. No, I’m not kidding. The crappy spoons here are so bad they almost make eating the ice cream impossible.