Carmela Ice Cream

I went to this place recently, but forgot about it. It was not a very memorable experience. There were a number of flavor options and I sampled a number of them before finally just settling on one. I wasn’t that impressed with the options, but wanted to get something after sampling so many. My husband got an earl grey ice cream, which he didn’t find too exciting and he absolutely loves earl grey flavors. I had some sort of sorbet, I can’t remember the flavor exactly, but I didn’t even finish it. It was so-​so. The place was really crowded and there were only a few people there. There aren’t a lot of options for sitting down so we just left and walked around, but then sat in our car since it was chilly. I already have a favorite ice cream place in town and I thought this would be on the same level, but it wasn’t at all.

The ice cream speaks for itself but the customer service made the whole experience!
Came here on a Thursday night after seeing that Carmela made it as one of the top ice cream places in the US by Tastemade. And it seriously did not disappoint!
First of all, the girl working was the nicest person ever. She let my friends and I try every flavor! There were even moments that she just gave us a flavor to try based on our side conversations. There weren’t a lot of ppl there that night so pretty much by the time we left the store, she was our new best friend.
Now for the ice cream, absolutely AMAZING. After trying everything, I ended up choosing the brown butter vanilla bean and the dark chocolate flavors. If I had the stomach, I probably would’ve also gotten the espresso and salted Carmel flavors. Well basically all the flavors cuz they’re so good! The good thing is that they also sell them in cartons on the side so if u can’t get enough of their ice cream, take them home with you!
Also, ask about the SECRET ROOM! I will admit walking into a freezer felt kind of like the moment of death in a scary movie but it’s actually really cool back there. It’s a nice place to listen to music and hang out with friends.
As for parking, I would recommend parking at the whole foods plaza and then walking over to Carmela because street parking around there can get tricky.

lavender honey ice cream
salted caramel latte
small & cute place for a quick picl-​me-​up.

Yum! I feel like the flavors and texture of this ice cream is so unique. I feel like it is less sweet and tastes more authentic and fresh than some other ice cream places. This location is located walking distance from the Grove. It is a cute little shop with limited seating.
One scoop will cost you about 4.75 but you can split the scoop into two flavors. At first it seems like a small cup but the amount of ice cream is enough that you will be satisfied. They have unique flavors like cardamom, salted caramel, brown sugar sage, orange blossom, nutmeg, lavender honey, etc. I think the flavors come through strongly and I love that. If you choose nutmeg, you will get nutmeg full on. They sell pints for 10.50 each as well.
We loved that the guy behind the counter allowed us to sample to our hearts’ content and didn’t seem like he minded at all. Will definitely come back here again :)

I’ve had Carmela Ice Cream at Pasadena 2 years ago and I thought it was slightly decent (at the time there weren’t that many competitions — no Salt & Straw, no Long Beach Creamery, no liquid nitrogen ice cream shops like Cauldron Ice Cream and à la minute). Two years later I had a chance to visit the second Carmela Ice Cream store right across from the Grove and honestly I think Carmela Ice Cream is the weakest artisan ice cream shop I’ve had in the SoCal.
Parking: Just park at the Grove (free parking 1^st hour and you can validate the parking ticket at women’s shoe section in Nordstrom for one more hour) and walk here. Other options: 2-​hour free Farmer Market parking WITH validation or street parking.
I sampled lavender honey, orange vanilla bean sorbet, and brown sugar vanilla bean. Sadly, the best flavor (brown sugar vanilla) was decent at best.
***
Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean ($ 4.75 a scoop): Ice cream was a bit icy and both flavor and texture were not as good as other artisan ice cream joints in the SoCal. The overall balance between sweetness and creaminess weren’t exactly on the spot.
***
Sorry Carmela Ice Cream, but I’ll be visiting other ice cream shops because I can pay the same price for better quality ice cream.

So delicious! Tried the fresh mint with cacao nibs and vanilla. BOTH were amazing flavors! Customer service was great, I was hesitant on trying flavors and the person working there kept insisting on trying flavors!
Def a must try and recommend getting the kids size for smaller portions.

I really like ice cream. Always down to eat ice cream.
This place was heavily recommended to me by my roommate, quote «THIS PLACE IS REALLY REALLY GOOD!!! LIKE SO SO SO GOOD!!»
Naturally I had to look up this place and try it to see if her claims had any hold to them.
Parking:
Kind of tricky because its along a really busy street but you can do either metered parking along the main street or go to a street behind in the neighborhood for free 2 hour parking (but check the signs they have some limitations for parking)
Interior/​Service: Sooooo cute! Very hipster and quaint with chalkboards galore and kitschy décor. Lady serving us was really enthusiastic and generous with the samples. Also the interior smells like lovely waffle cones so that’s a plus :)
Food: WOW. Okay yeah this is good ice cream. I sampled the salted caramel and honey lavender. The salted caramel is a great balance between salty and sweet but I would’ve liked a stronger flavor of caramel. The honey lavender is SOOO good. Not overly sweet and the flower flavor isn’t overpowering. I ended up getting a single scoop of honey lavender. The lady also had waffle cone pieces out to sample/​put in our ice cream and wow even the cones taste really good so if you’re a cone type of person I would recommend getting one. The ONLY thing I don’t like about this place is the price… but I guess because it’s high quality ice cream you pay what you get. ($ 4.75 for one scoop but its a relatively generous scoop I suppose). Also keep in mind I’m a poor college student HAHA so I don’t necessarily have hunneds to drop.
Overall: 4.5÷5, wouldn’t round to 5 though but still a solid ice cream place I would go to once in a while with friends.

They were out of the lavender honey so we tried the cardamom ice cream, wow it was amazing, A must try!!!
Ps: their waffle cones are really good and fresh

Dark Chocolate with Cacao nibs was one of the best ice cream flavors I’ve had in a long while. Not only was the flavor rich and not too sweet, but the complement of the warm waffle cone rounded it out to a fantastic dessert. The service was friendly and quick… I think we were in and out in under 2 minutes, although it didn’t hurt to linger. There was not much room to sit and eat, so I would not recommend it as a «meeting spot», but it is a convenient spot near the Grove, so stopping for ice cream before doing some shopping seems to be the better option.
My critique is more personal in nature — I really, really dislike wooden utensils that are unpolished. The spoons they provided us with were really cute and decorative, but I could not stand eating my ice cream from a wooden spoon. I’m not sure if it’ll deter me from visiting Carmela again, but I will be sure to check next time whether they have plastic utensils as an alternative.

Carmela is a great ice cream spot in the middle of the city. First thing you’ll notice is the great variety of flavors that are very LA (e.g. Honey Lavender, Brown Butter Sage, etc.). You won’t get your regular chocolate, vanilla, rocky road flavors you’ll get at Baskin Robbins.
Second thing you may notice is the smell. It’s a beautiful waffle cone smell. The third you may notice is the price, which is a bit pricey for ice cream standards, but par for LA standards. It’s about $ 4.75 for single scoop and $ 5.95 for two scoops. You can also get two flavors in a single scoop. When you eventually get the flavors of your liking, you’ll notice that the ice cream has a great texture that is hard to find. It’s not so ice-​y that you can’t really get the nuanced flavor in the ice cream, but not so creamy that it melts as soon as it hits your hand. The only place better than this place is Handel’s in Redondo Beach, which has the best ice cream texture by far. As for flavors, I got the Brown Butter Sage and the Honey Lavender, which were subtle, yet delicious.
One thing you may not notice here is that they have a room in the back that has a disco ball, Photo Booth, and a bunch of chairs for people to sit in. Had my friend not been so bold as to ask for additional seats for outside, we would not have found out about this hidden gem in the back.

I love that they are very generous with sampling their flavors (unlike some other ice cream parlors I’ve frequented). Interior atmosphere is charmingly rustic and welcoming. I also happened to come the evening they were baking fresh waffle cones. Yum! My suggestion, get a scoop of ice cream versus the sandwich, as I didn’t find the cookies all that delicious. However, 4.5 starts overall, and I’ll round up to 5!

So delicious that we even came here in 40 degree weather. They offer unique flavors, but all are very delicious. My favorite so far is the lavender honey. I sampled a few but as soon as I tried lavender honey, I knew it was the one. Try it!!!
The place is decorated very nicely! They have cute decorations, a small table to sit at for a small group and a taller table with some bar stools. They also offer cookies and other goodies as well! The front of the place is really cute with a bench and Carmela on the window. A great place to take pictures!
Service was excellent! The guy was very patient with us as we sampled the flavors and was very generous with the scoops.
Thank you so much for such a lovely experience Carmela!

I absolutely love Carmela! I think it’s because I really do enjoy Artisan flavors (than basic, artificial flavors) haha. I’m not sure if the prices went up or if that’s just me but it has been several months since I was last here at Carmela. Like $ 5 for a single scoop is no bueno. Though, my bestie was the first one who introduced me to Carmela and I thank her for that. Everything still feels the same :)
I went the day after Christmas and it was pretty slow. Probably because no one really wants to eat ice cream during the cold season haha. The guy who was working at the time was kinda rude to us because we were kinda indecisive with what to order. Oh well… one less star on the Unilocal review LOL. Flavors still taste uniquely fresh and light. My favorites are still the lavender honey and vanilla!
Hopefully, the next time I come back… that guy won’t be there LOL

My co-​worker always gets me a huge tub of Salted Caramel for Christmas.
I’m not a huge ice cream fan, but this stuff is nothing short of UH-​MAZZZING!
It’s almost like crack — totally addicting. Try it and you will believe =)

The place is super cute and the people were nice. The ice cream was pretty pricey for a small scoop, too. I got the dark chocolate with cacao nibs and my boyfriend at the candied pecan one. Ice cream had a good consistency, but both of ours were too sweet!

1, 2, 3, 4… I DECLARE AN… ICE CREAM CRAWL!!!
Day 1, Stop 5
BACKSTORY: (Repeated on all ice cream crawl reviews. If you’ve read it once, no need to read it 20+ times :-p)
Thanks to social media and their ways to entice peeps, like me, to get out and about town, I recently succumbed to their power of suggestion and checked out ice cream parlors in the LA area. The goal? The goal was not to find the best ice cream parlor, nor the worst, and to see what was out there, instead the goal was to have a frame of reference when peeps or fellow Unilocalers ask, suggest, or check into places.
And so it continues…
PARKING:
Metered street parking. Read posted signs for restrictions.
INTERIOR:
Cute décor. With the SoCal natural sun beaming through the picture windows, Caramela is clean and ooooh, love the chandeliers, very chic, and a photo booth??? What fun! Menu is written on bright and colorful hulking chalkboards, which add happiness to the white-​walled parlor.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Young gent behind the counter was patient and friendly toward the couple in front of me and a few fellow Unilocalers that joined me at this stop. Of course, typical Unilocalers had to sample every flavor. Seeing Salted Caramel at the top of the list of offerings, I read no further, nor tasted anything. Didn’t want to spoil the essence of what was about to melt on my tongue.
ORDERED:
Earl Grey Tea, Lavender Honey, Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean, and Salted Caramel. There were no major complaints from fellow Unilocalers, they had all been to Carmela’s before. We were all in the same container about this place; no one split like a banana, nor did anyone scream for more ice cream. My Salted Caramel did have that mediciney taste during and after. The excitement of finding a go to spot to get my Salted Caramel fix was quickly defused. Smh.
IN A SCOOP:
Street parking a bit of a challenge, as it typically is when I am meeting peeps. Tsk tsk tsk. We all found street parking a block or so away. Whatevs, walking is good, especially since, «No One Walks in LA.» Clean, quaint establishment and friendly staff, limited ice cream choices, all good qualities of a creamery. If I’m ever in the area, I’ll stop in and try a different flavor, in hopes it’ll make me SCREAM for ICE CREAM.
#LAICECREAMCRAWL

I was surprised that Carmela is actually super close to The Grove. We are super bad people and parked at Whole Foods right across the grove and just walked a block over XP
This place focuses more on the creaminess and the flavor of the ice cream. I personally love little chunks of stuff in my ice cream, which is why I love Salt and Straw and Ben and Jerrys, but the ice cream here is just very smooth. Don’t get me wrong though, the ice cream here is AMAZING, but I just prefer ice cream with chunks of things inside which is why I’m going to give this place 4 stars.
I got a single scoop on a waffle cone. Each scoop can be split into two flavors, so I got Honey Lavender and Salted Caramel. Carmela has a bunch of flavors, and some of them pretty unique and interesting, such as: fresh mind with cacao nibs, strawberry buttermilk, watermelon mint sorbet, etc.
You have the option of adding toppings or sauce to your ice cream or make it into an ice cream sandwich.
There is no limit to how many flavors you can sample so you best bet I sampled the whole store XD

Unbelievable ice cream! No joke this is the BEST Ice Cream I’ve ever had in my entire life!!!
Their flavors are out of this world they are not too sweet they are just right. I highly recommend this place to anyone who is around this area. I just loved every single lick and even the cone. :)
I came here on a Saturday night the place was a little packed but only waited in line for about 5 minutes. The guy who helped us his name was Zack he was super friendly, so personable and just great. He pretty much let us try every single flavor to our hearts content. I have to say the Top 3 flavors for my taste buds were the Salted Caramel, Cardamom and the Cantaloupe.
They offer ice cream cookie sandwiches, cupcakes and the interior is just so cute and perfect, they even have a photobooth in the back unfortunately I didn’t check it out but will make sure to do so in the future.
I don’t even know what else to say but I’m telling you this place by far is the BEST ICE CREAM in LA!!!

After a long day in a hot summer day in LA, it’s always a good time to have some ice cream.
This little ice cream shop located not too far from farmers market.
When we were there, it was just a few young people hangout there enjoyed their ice creams.
The guy greeted us and asked which sample that we’d like to try?
I tried the lavender honey and it was pretty tasty, very rich of lavender flavor in it.
My husband tried lemon verbena with vanilla bean.
I ordered a cup of dark chocolate with cocoa nibs and with waffle cone.
It was so yummy! It was so different not like some usual ice cream that you can buy at the groceries because this one is homemade ice cream! Very rich and creamy.
My husband ordered the lemon verbena vanilla bean
He said wow this ice cream was so yummy. This was the best lemon ice cream I’ve ever had so far! It was very refreshing.
Beside ice creams, there are some cookies, coffee & tea and pints of ice cream to sell.
Service was superb! We’ll definetely be back next time to try some other flavors.

**NICE ICE CREAM SHOP ON 3RD STREET**
PARKING
========
Can be challenging since it’s on 3^rd Street.
Street and metered.
AMBIANCE
=========
Super cozy but super cute.
Clean, well-​lighted tiled spaces.
Friendly and casual.
Their constantly changing assortment of seasonal flavors are written on the board to your left.
On a Wednesday night, there were no lines.
ICE CREAM
==========
One scoop was around $ 5 and you can get two flavors.
STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK
Probably the best-​tasting strawberry ice cream I’ve had!
Nice and creamy with a good balance. Not too sweet.
High quality ingredients.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
Had a bite of the husband’s scoop:
DARK CHOCOLATE
Creamy and not too sweet.
To be expected of dark chocolate, I suppose, but I like my
chocolate on the sweeter side.
RATING: ⁴⁄₅
PRO TIPS
========
— Check out their website for ice cream making classes!
— Current summer flavors are strawberry buttermilk (review above) and raspberry sorbet.
OVERALL
========
If you want high-​quality and seasonal ice cream flavors, do stop by here for a scoop or two.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND.