Cold Stone Creamery

This is probably one of my favorite places to get ice cream cakes, but I can’t deal with places that write on the cake so ugly. I’ve never been to a place where they sell cakes and have people who don’t know how to write on a cake. The spacing and the sizing of the words were so awful I wanted to bring it back and return it. If I knew how bad the people were at writing on cakes, I would’ve just paid for the plain cake and wrote on it myself… It literally looks like a 5 year olds work. This is just the most recent time this happened but it has happened plenty times before. Needless to say that this will be the last time I purchase a cake here.

I waited so long in line here that I ended up just leaving. They were severely understaffed and sooooooooooooooooooooo slow.

It was okay, but I’ve been to and had better. The selection of ice cream flavors was minimal and uninspiring. Using a Groupon, I purchased a medium cup with marshmallow toppings, which were hard and stale. I requested a new cup with fresh marshmallows — I was given a new cup of ice cream with fresh marshmallows, but instead of a medium cup, I was given a small. By that point, I was a bit frustrated and did not feel like bringing it back to the counter yet it again. I just may think twice before going there again. The only positive that came out of this experience is that I paid $ 8 for two cups instead of $ 13 — In my opinion, what they have to offer is NOT worth the prices they charge.

I’ve been here years ago but after my last experience I will not return. I walked in super excited for something sweet. Like previous Unilocalers I waited in line for quite some time. When it was my turn I was told they were out of coffee ice cream — annoying. I got a small Banana Caramel Nut something or other. It wasn’t bad but the ice cream was very melty. I understand it can’t be too hard to mix but it just made a big mess. The staff was just so slow and blah. But the main reason this gets 1 star is because for a small and a medium (with mix-​ins) cost $ 13.08!!! I couldn’t believe it especially because it was so average. I thought Rancatore’s was expensive but at least the quality and service is much better.

The Brownie lover option is amazing. I also had the girl put extra brownies in mine! The staff is okay, not overly friendly. It’s definitely on the expensive side. but well worth it for a well deserved cheat meal!

Rude service!!! Wow, I can’t believe people like this aren’t begging on Hanover St for change rather than employed.
No smiles
Guy took receipt, stared at tip, looked at receipt, crumpled it!
These guys don’t even deserve a tip so shouldn’t be looking for one. We will never ever return…

They are good, but are both overpriced and overrated. I know people complain about how slow they are. But that’s because they take their time and fold in all of the toppings. I don’t mind that. It’s their gimmick and I understand it. I just don’t see anything special about the ice cream itself. Especially for the price.

Had a hankering for ice cream when it was about 30 degrees out. Crazy I know. This place was the closest available option. I like the idea that they toss around the ice cream and mix in choice toppings. It reminds me of the old Steve’s Ice Cream in Davis Square Somerville back in the 70’s and 80’s. Yeah I’m dating myself but you can’t forget great ice cream with an innovative flair. CSC tries to emulate that and does a good job. The selection of ice cream is not that big but the flavors are. A well deserved treat.

The peach sorbet with graham crackers mixed in was delicious. An unusual, but perfect, combination.
And the girl working there was very patient with all my questions!

Nothing special. $ 7 for a medium sized cup is pretty steep. Not a «go to» place when I want ice cream, but it’s a convenient location, so will do in a pinch once in a while.

Love it here! The area is beautiful, and the service here has been great each time I’ve been here!

Good, friendly service, generous toppings in a generous serving of ice cream, and they didn’t even seem to care that we walked in literally 2 minutes before closing. This is the perfect place to go when you’re going to be stuck at Wellington station waiting for your bus for over half an hour. I’m a fan!

* 400^th review*
After indulging in sushi and mojitos across the street, I decided to further indulge in butter pecan ice cream with kit kats and m&m’s. However I wanted snickers, but they didn’t have any. bah humbug. The weather outside was humid and unbearable, the ice cream was so delicious and creamy. I could barely decide because the rainbow of delightful flavors had my already tipsy mind even more confused and uncertain of what to order. I evenually pulled myself together and savored each and every sweet bitter cold bite that ultimately made its way to every sensitive nerve ending in my teeth and made me cringe.
Damn you poor dental work!

I’m not sure why I keep coming back here, but sometimes the ice cream need just gets too great. Yes, they’re overpriced. Yes, the service is slooow, but yes, it is a delicious treat.
I always think I can handle a medium, but really, no one needs more than the small. I always feel sick if I try to eat too much — sugar overload! My regular is a chocolate ice cream/​peanut butter cup creation, but the brownie and the cookie dough are delicious as well.
This location, at least at off peak times, doesn’t sing for tips, yay! I always feel horrible when they have to do that. No one should be subjected to that, us or them!

When you tip them to funny singing for tip what will they come up with next, my friend must have tip them over and over it was hilarious !!(She totally did it three times)
I pretty much thought everyone visited stone cold at least once !! Lol
But love the the fact that you can mix-in’s any combo you like ‚
plus the cheesecake flavour is a FaVOrAtE !
I did notice some delicious ice cream cupcakes so of course we try them !!
ice cream filled chocolate cupcake was excellent ‚
every bite was better than the next very smooth and great texture not mushy like we thought it would have been, also if your eye’s are bigger than your stomach you can get cover’s and take them to go !
Service was great! Hmmm wondering if its all those ones she gave them !!
Also love the fact; that you can ask for a taste and they give you tiny spoons to try, BUT be careful you wont have room for your ice cream
Was extremely clean !!! it was pretty busy for a cold nite ‚
Parking a little crazy!

Best overpriced ice cream creations ever. I also love how their cake batter ice cream actually tastes like cake batter.
Unfortunately for this location, service sucks.
My most recent trip here was on a night that wasn’t busy when I walked in but the two kids working the counter clearly had no idea what they were doing. There were 3 people in front of me. Anywhere else that would be a quick wait. I was in there for 15 minutes! The kids had to keep referring to cheat sheets to make the orders. Also, I was not impressed when the girl who was making my birthday cake remix took the cup and literally measured to the exact amount of ice cream. I have never been in a cold stone or any ice cream place that has ever done that! Usually I’m pretty satisfied with the eye-​balling job because there’s always a little extra peeking out of the cup. No this girl made sure it was packed in there precisely, scraping off anything extra (about 3 minutes to do just this!).
Look, I know it’s a corporate run way overpriced place. But I love it so it’s my little splurge when I need a «pick-​me-​up.»
But if I ever have this problem again, I might just get angry.

The rating:
Three an a half stars for the both the delicious Signature Creations and the ability to make my own hot mess of a sundae regardless of how ridiculous it turns out. I just wish it were a little more reasonably priced.
Why I chose to eat here:
Come on now, it’s ice cream, eventually we all end up at Cold Stone at some point right?
The food:
The ice cream is good, but not on par with say, Christina’s in Cambridge. I don’t feel like you could get a dish of just plain ice cream regardless of flavor and enjoy it as you would at some other ice cream parlors. But that isn’t really the point of Cold Stone. The ice cream acts as more of a vessel, a backdrop to the mix-​ins that are either preselected in a Signature Creation, or chosen by you and your own imagination. That doesn’t make it bad, only different, and different in a very good way.
Personally, after trying my hand as a sundae creator a few times to less than stellar results, I’ve taken to letting Cold Stone tell me what is good, and have yet to be disappointed. My two favorites are the Founders Favorite (great minds think alike), and my new love, That’s How I Roll, Ms. Sarah-​pants tends to be an Oreo Overload girl. But my opinions of ice cream combos mean little if you love coffee ice cream, or just have to have strawberries in your sundae. But that is what is so great, no matter what you like, you can make it happen at Cold Stone. I do however recommend you try the waffle bowl, and that you crunch it all up into your sundae right from the start. The crunchy texture always plays well from my experience.
The service:
Usually adequate, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but i take it for what it is, a chain of ice cream parlors usually run by teenagers, so I don’t expect white glove treatment. Sometimes the tables are clean, sometime you may be grabbing a napkin to wipe it down yourself. Once in a blue moon you will get a song when you give them a tip, but this seems to be a dying trend in Cold Stones world. The prices however, are always high. Fifteen dollars of two medium creations is steep any way you slice it.
The final rundown:
As I said, we all end up at Cold Stone at some point, and thought the price of admission can be high, there are a lot worse places to be than the imaginorium of ice cream. For the record Sarah totally thinks the rating should be higher, four, maybe even five stars… maybe she should start writing some reviews.

Cold Stone is an outstanding ice cream parlor. They have a ton of creative creations. It is a little on the pricy side, almost everything is priced as if it were an ice cream sundae. My favorite flavor combo is the Strawberry Blonde which is strawberry ice cream mixed with graham crackers, strawberries, whipped cream, and caramel.

For those that aren’t familiar, Cold Stone Creamery is a chain Ice Cream shops that allows you to select your ice cream flavor, and then you can choose from any of a number of wet and dry ingredients to have mixed in. This is done by grinding and pressing the ice cream and ingredients on a special cold stone.
The selection is impressive. There are plenty of flavors to choose from, and the ingredients list is fun and varied.
The ice cream is pretty good, and I’ve never walked away disappointed at the food.
Where they lose a star for me is service. The place always has long lines, the counters and floors always seem dirty and the workers don’t tend to pay attention to detail. They get our orders wrong probably a quarter of the time, and when the cup is delivered it’s often in the wrong size, or has ice cream dripping down from it. They seem disinterested at best, and not very helpful when something goes wrong. The place is perpetually understaffed. Oh, and this isn’t the kind of place where you’ll come out and have a seat. With the long lines and the layout, you’ll be walking out with your treat.
If you’re willing to put up with some bad service and high (ish) prices, it’s not half bad. If you’re short in the patience department, take a pass.

I don’t believe the hype. I had ice cream here a while back, and then again recently. It was my first time to the mystical land of Cold Stone Creamery. I haven’t really had any strong desire to go back.
It’s all a little much for me. The lines, the waiting, the ice cream not being as stellar as it was described (both by friends, and by the signage ALL OVER THE STORE) which previously suggested I had been really missing out on a lot of very good treats for the last several years…
I don’t think I was really missing anything impressive. I found it a bit hard to watch these kids smush my ice cream around on a cutting board where all kinds of ice creams had been made before. What do they do when people have a way more severe nut allergy than I have and you’ve just rolled walnuts all over everything, bud? I wonder…
I would, if REALLY jonesing for ice cream, and not wanting to stop at all of the retail stores in the area (including gas stations, convenience stores or grocery stores) that sell cartons of ice cream, and didn’t want to support a more local (and better) place, I might stop in again. But that’s not even a definite maybe.
I know where the ice cream I like is, and it’s not here.