Tasti D-Lite

Delicious soft-​serve ice cream, and hard ice cream as well. There are cups, sugar cones, waffle cones, and toppings including: sprinkles, nuts and candies. The «coffee-​toffee» soft-​serve is delicious! With all of the yogurt places trending right now, Tasti D-​Lite is your place for light ice cream.

Meh! I’ve tasted better. I had a soft chocolate cone. They did have a variety of different flavors but I just think I’ve tasted better for less. A small cone is $ 3.50. Not worth it.

Vanilla Milk Shake was weakkkk and $ 5 for a reg.

The only reason why I gave this 2 stars is because my husband likes it. Personally, I think it is lousy. Every flavor tastes like vanilla. I don’t believe that the calories are as low as they say. Like pinkberry much better.

So I happened upon this particular Tasti D Lite when I first moved to new york city this summer. Looking for a cool frozen treat after exploring my new neighborhood in the hot summer sun, I was disappointed to see the prices were out of my range – like $ 5 for a small frozen yogurt.
But wait! There was a special, advertised on a small sign in the corner. $ 2 off milkshakes on Tuesday. It was a godsend! $ 2 off put a small milkshake at around $ 2.50, which I thought a fair price. So I bought one. Not the greatest milkshake in the world, but enjoyable. The shop was only a block from my new apartment, so I thought I’d make a weekly ritual of it; «Milkshake Tuesday» I called it.
But my guilty pleasure soon became a disaster, thanks to the tyrannical store owners at Tasti D Lite, 1585 2^nd Ave. At first their rudeness was just a nuisance. Every Tuesday I would show up, request a milkshake and they would try and charge me the full price. «But it’s Tuesday» I would mutter, politely reminding them of their weekly promotion. Not once did I get a «Oh, you’re right! I’m sorry.» They would just give me a dirty look and ring up the correct amount, as if to say «Damn, we couldn’t get one past you.» Surely this is corruption at its worst!
It went on like this for several weeks. Each week I would have to remind them to charge me the correct price, and each week they would stare daggers at me, apparently resentful of my fondness for bargains. Until one Tuesday, just like every other, I walked in and requested a milkshake. As the owner begrudgingly started to mix my drink, he suddenly barked:
«Why you always come on Tuesdays?»
«I come for the special,» I replied calmly.
«You have to come other days!» he yelled.
At first I thought he was kidding. But as I cracked a smile to acknowledge his witty frozen-​yogurt-​guy humor, all I got was a blank stare.
From there things got out of control. When I ordered a milkshake the next Tuesday, I was told they were out of milk. Then again the following week, and the week after that. It’s a frozen yogurt place! How do you not have milk?! Eventually I couldn’t even order; as soon as I opened the door, the owners would see me and yell «No milk! No milk!»
The message was very clear: I was persona non grata at the freaking tasti d lite all because I took advantage of their own promotional ploy. This is not how a business should operate. If you offer a special price, you should honor it and not give your customers flack for wanting to take you up on it. What good is a special price anyway, if not to attract people who would not otherwise buy your product (e.g. me)? And more generally, if you work in a service industry, you should treat customers with respect and courtesy, not contempt.
My ordeal with the 2^nd Ave TDL was not one I will soon forget. Cries of «No milk! No Milk!» haunt me in my sleep. And now the very thought of a chocolate pudding flavored milkshake makes me sick to my stomach. I will not be returning to this particular establishment ever again, and I urge my fellow soft serve-​inclined to join me!
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UPDATE-​July 2013
I am happy to report that the 2^nd Ave Tasti D Lite’s Reign of Terror has come to an end. I like to think my Unilocal review played a small part in the toppling of their despotic rule over UES lovers of frozen treats.
But I couldn’t have done it without you. Yes, you, Unilocal user, and your diligent researching of long-​winded Unilocal reviews to inform even the most trivial of purchase decisions. Like defiant Libyan freedom fighters in the Arab Spring, we ousted those two guys from the frozen yogurt place to live in permanent exile; probably at a jamba juice somewhere…
It was our glorious revolution that loosened the tasti d lite’s iron grip over the upper east side froyo market. Together we declared in one voice, «We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on, we’re going to survive. Today we celebrate our Milkshake Tuesday!»

Its a great yummy treat!!! They have about 10 045 654 different types of flavors! gotta try them all!

As a serious fan of Tasti D, I would have to say that I enjoy frequenting this location as the owners are always smiley and kind when I am in there. They recognize their daily customers and are always chatty. Sometimes you can tell when it’s been a long day, but hey, not everyone can plaster a permanent smile on their face day in and day out.
I’ve always been helped with a smile, even if I am redeeming my free Tasti.

Considering I have been seriously spoiled by self-​serve yogurt places with millions of choices of flavors and billions of selections of toppings, this place was OK at best.
First of all, I’m surprised they get as much business as they do. It’s a little pink hole-​in-​the-​wall that I discovered while walking down giant Times Square.
Tasti D-​Lite is very sparse in a number of areas: yogurt flavors, toppings, and customer service.
It surprised me to find that, even though a laminated poster stuck to the wall declared that Tasti D-​Lite had 20+ flavors, only 4 were available that day. That’s even WAY less than some of the non-​self-​serve yogurt places I have been too! However, I will say that the french vanilla yogurt had a very pure taste. Like really good soft serve.
The selection of toppings is also very pathetic. They claim to be healthy, yet there are only ever two – three fruit toppings every day??? Even the sweet toppings are less than impressive, not creative or original… just same old, same old.
Upon entering, I did not even receive a «Welcome!» or any type of acknowledgment for that matter. No «Can I help you?» as I was viewing my limited options. No nothing. Two men talking to each other in some type of Asian language, with zero acknowlegment of my prescence until I cleared my throat, ready to order. They were not hostile, but they were both rather unfriendly from the time I entered to the time I exited.
This place has definitely got some kinks to fix up if it wants to truly go far in this fro-​yo industry. But it’s got some good qualities.

I don’t really get it — it’s a weird kinda frozen dessert that isn’t yogurt or soft serve… and it tastes really weird. I think I’ll continue to get my desserts at McDonald’s, which I know is more natural and tastes better.

Sour belts are my idea of a tasty delight. When it comes to frozen yogurt, I prefer the Pinkberry a few stores down, but anyplace that sells a variety of candy by the pound is okay by me. Also — cheaper than Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Let me start this by saying that I absolutely LOVE Tasti-​D-​Lite. With that said, the actual ice cream at this location is great but the three guys that run it are not very personable or even remotely nice.
To start, Tasti is one of the few deserts that I can actually say that I have on a regular basis. I’m fairly health conscious and don’t generally like to eat a lot of junk. Tasti is my favorite desert because it is low in calories, filling, and, well, tasty! Each 4 ounce serving (total amount in a small cup is 4 ounces) falls between 70 — 100 calories. Not bad when the same amount of regular ice cream generally falls in the 230 — 350 range!
So it’s been established, I love their product. Unfortunately, the guys that run this place suck. They are uninviting, always on their cell phones, and when they do actually pay attention to you, they are fairly rude. They used to give out these «buy 10 times, get one medium free» cards. I filled it up over the course of a few weeks and when I went in and used the card, they got pissed that I didn’t have to pay. Don’t give out the cards if you don’t want people to use them!!!
Other than the lackluster service, this ice cream is amazing. But the service is so poor that this 5 star ice cream is only getting 3 stars from this location. Based on service, alone, I would give this place ½ a star (and not 0 because at least they do give you what you paid for).
Don’t let their rudeness stop you if you have a sweet tooth, though. This ice cream is definitely worth it.