J’s Ice Cream Parlor

Get the Italian ice, they have a lot of flavors. It’s basically shaved ice and then a big scoop of vanilla soft-​serve ice cream on top and way at the bottom. So delicious!!! Perfect for a sunny day :)

The ice cream and food are average. The prices are reasonable. The customer service lacks efficiency and could be better. What I noticed was people who leave because the service is not quick enough. The dinning inside feels humid when a person walks in. The person over the counter seemed quite indifferent to my suggestion about the quality of the air in the dinning area. It was sad to see Fosters Freeze go.

My husband and I have been wanting to try this place out since we live right down the street. First of all, we had to wait a while to even be noticed. We were the only ones in the place and it took a while for anyone to even notice we were there. My husband the big daddy and I got a peach smoothie. The peach smoothie was just OK. Not really sweet and nothing special about it. However, my husband said the big daddy was sorbet was «bomb» lol. The place was a little on the dirty side and the customer service was not very great. It’s just an average ma and pa place without ma and pa lol. Oh, and don’t go at night. Totally sketch and we even witnessed a fight right in front of the place.

J’s Ice Cream Parlor has been in the City of Pico Rivera for quite some time. It was previously known as Fosters Freeze for over 30 years and then within recent times, there was a name change. The business itself still looks the same and the menu hasn’t changed much either. Many people frequent J’s because they have great fast food selections and delicious desserts.
J’s is located near the Downey/​Pico River border, on the corner of Terradell and Rosemead Blvd. There is a large business signpost near the curb and it’s elevated high enough to draw attention to the business. There are a couple of parking spaces in front of the building, one tandem spot adjacent to the business, and a few behind the structure. You can also park on the street but it’s not advisable because there’s usually a lot of traffic, making it difficult to drive off later.
J’s is a very small business with a simple design. You can order from windows outside or from the countertop inside. There are several booths inside for you to sit down and enjoy your meal. The old menu seems to still be in place inside of J’s but what I found interesting was how the menu is displayed outside. When you order from the window, all of the menu items are are either printed out on paper with large font or hand written and taped to the window.
They are well-​known for their ice cream and their generous servings! Of course you can get sundaes, floats, milkshakes, and scoops of ice cream. However, they’ve added Italian Ice to the menu. This has really helped them differentiate themselves from the other ice cream businesses within the city. They have combined flavors and given them funky names to go with their colorful presentation. You can even have your Italian Ice served with a swirl of ice cream on top!
Most people think that they only serve ice cream but there’s so much more to discover. They also serve up burgers and fries! Their fries are the thick-​cut kind and they’re generously salted during preparation. What I noticed was that more people were ordering meals vs ice cream which seemed a bit surprising. Although they advertise their cold desserts, burgers were just as popular as the ice cream.
In the past, I’ve had their banana splits and hot fudge sundaes. They’re all amazing! However, this time we wanted to try their Italian Ice. The first one that I tried was called Big Daddy! It was a mixture of pineapple, cherry, and orange flavors. It tasted just like a Big Stick that you’d get from the ice cream truck or frozen food section of the grocery store. The second time, I got something called Da Bomb! It was awesome!!! This had blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon Italian Ice with a swirl of vanilla ice cream. They were both amazing and I couldn’t imagine having one served without ice cream. It just gives it more flavor and make the whole thing go over quite well.
I really like what J’s brings to the area as there really aren’t a lot of businesses that offer something different from the norm. Usually, people have to broaden their search to find businesses like this further out. Their prices are reasonable and their serving sizes are quite generous! If you’re in the area, don’t miss an opportunity to grab a bite to eat or something cold, sweet, and delicious before heading off to your next destination!

With so many trendy and upbeat dessert locations popping out like there was no tomorrow, my fiancé and I decided to take the tone down a bit. Yeah, donuts with ice cream or ice cream turned into sticks sounds all great, but honestly, the local mom and pop shops can do the same things as well. My fiancé and I drive this particular location a lot and always wanted to try it out. Just wasn’t sure if people were missing out or just not enough people give small business this type of review. We head over to the local J’s Ice Cream Parlor in Pico Rivera.
Only 39 Reviews?! Well, I hope more reviews start coming in after this. Located on the west side of Rosemead Blvd and just a bit north of Telegraph, you will find J’s Ice Cream Parlor. OK, you may notice the Tattoo Shop next door, but don’t worry… Not a lot of trouble going on here… Until I mention it later in my review. Parking is very small. You can park on Rosemead Blvd., but the traffic because of construction can make it hard to get out. My Fiancé told me that this used to be a former location of Foster’s Freeze. It still does resemble a lot like it.
Don’t expect a fancy location with special boards. Most of their menu is on paper. Simple and keeps overhead very low. J’s Ice Cream Parlor does serve hot food, but their name doesn’t indicate that they do. So, let’s just focus on the sweet treats. A lot of the focus is on the cold desserts. You can get the simple sundaes to ice cream. Little known to the area is that J’s offers, Italian Ice. How about that?! The offer selection is not a lot, but it sure does have the basic flavors for a small price. You can have straight Italian Ice or their J’s Latti selection with vanilla ice cream. With or without ice cream is +/​-​$.25 cents. You can order inside or outside, but I believe majority of the sweet treat items are outside.
We both got a J’s Latti ($ 3.75 each). The regular was actually a lot and I still have left overs today. My Fiancé had a Regular J’s Latti with Big Daddy (Cherry, Orange, and Pineapple Swirl). I, definitely, went the simple route and got myself a Watermelon. We went at the right time since there wasn’t a lot of people at 8pm, but after we ordered, many guests just rolled on in. The wait was very short. Simple design of the Italian Ice with the Vanilla Ice Cream on top. Now, I believe that Mom and Pop shops can beat these new generation ice cream shops. The watermelon tastes like watermelon. The flavor was spread evenly across the ice. I made a mistake of eating below the Vanilla Ice Cream and leaving a thin layer of ice for the ice cream to roll over… Fortunately for me, I caught it… and glad I used the free hand sanitizer that is inside. It was very delicious and quite simple without the whole waiting and complicated ordering system.
While we were taking photos for our J’s Latti, I noticed a hole on the window. It took me a few seconds to think about it… OMG! Its a bullet hole! But it came from inside. I wonder what kind of history J’s Ice Cream Parlor has. I’d say start marketing that bullet hole. Make a menu item about the bullet hole. The Bullet Ice Cream or something. More people would want to stop by and start putting that on social media.
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Great local place to get my ice cream/​shave ice fix! Really good! And would recommend if carving something sweet and cold!

I love it here, even before it was J’s. Their ice cream is delicious and they always seem nice. I haven’t tried their food, but I’m sure it’s good too. Nothing bad to say about this place.

Great place to sit and have some ice cream! My personal favorite is the Italian ice with vanilla ice cream. Oh and you get a lot for your money! Sundaes and banana split are also really good. It’s overall a great ice cream parlor :)

Best j latti ever i love the big daddy ! I love coming to this place no matter the weather. Good customer service. Im craving one right now lol

Forget about the ice cream try their food yes I said try their food I’ve tasted almost everything on the menu especially their burgers are really good stuff homemade you can tell all the stuff is freshly made and the cook has 15 years experience behind the kitchen I come here almost every other day and their food is really good the owner works behind the counter really nice Asian lady family business don’t get discouraged because it doesn’t say Foster freeze outside anymore same machines same ice cream just different name trust me

Since, the new owners bought this establishment. It gets my my vote. Good, good food and ice cream, sundae and generous portions

It’s a chill place to go for a quick snack. The ice cream is pretty good and it’s a reasonable price for ice cream.

I have the Big Daddy J Latti. Ice wasn’t as smooth as I’d like it to be, but the flavor was there. I just wish there was a small ice cream layer in the middle. Otherwise they put a layer at the bottom and top for the large size. The service is great and the workers/​owners are nice. Minus one star cause there was a bunch of flies flying around inside when I was ordering. I just worry about the cleanliness.

Used to be Foster freeze. Now J’s !
Very friendly employees and delicious Italian ice.
Offered us samples since it was our first time.
Omgoodness what a treat on a hot summer day. They have so many different flavors. You can also get the Italian ice with vanilla soft serve on top (known as a latti) a small is alot. I probably should have went with a Jr. We’ll definitely be back.

My girlfriend and I came here for the first time after viewing pictures on Unilocal.We ordered the latti’s and what can I say, they were delicious! The best part was the ice cream on top. We will definitely be coming back to try their ice cream cones and their cheeseburgers.
P. S. their prices were really affordable!

Visited during lunch once, had a chocolate Sunday and was very happy. Sat outside, ate it as I listed to their good music and went on my merry way. Good deal.

A nice little place to enjoy some food and ice cream. I’ve tried their burgers and fries, which were very tasty, they have a «homemade» taste. It’s a nice sized burger and a handful of fries. Reminds me of your typical Jims burger but tastier in my opinion.
If you decide to get ice cream or a «J-​Latti» afterward you gulp down that big burger, you’ll be stuffed for sure. I usually get a cyclone which is soft-​serve ice cream mixed with whatever topping you want, which there are plenty of. They don’t skimp on the topping either, trust me! I really enjoyed the strawberry shortcake/​cheesecake which has cheesecake and I swear to you it must have a whole slice! The «J-​Latti» is delicious as well, they put «Italian ice» (reminds of gelato, though perhaps that’s what it is) in the middle of a cup with soft serve at the bottom and top. It’s not a fancy pants type of a place but frankly I could care less as their food is awesome. One still does go out to restaurants to eat good food right?

Their italian ice is amazing! Randomly found this place and have been itching to go back. Prices are super reasonable and serving sizes are nice.

This place is legit when it comes to soft serve and banana splits. I honestly love places like this because it reminds me of the old days of A&W Root Beer drive thru.
Food:
The soft serve is so creamy and smooth that I’m now addicted and want it all the time.
They have fantastic Chili Cheese Fries without beans and tons of fries at a reasonable price.
Staff:
The staff is super nice every time I’ve popped in for my ice cream fix. Onetime a girl working there in error gave me two orders of chili cheese fries and when I told her I only orders one she said to just keep it which was nice but I decided to give it to the old lady next in line.
Restaurant:
There’s only two tables outside but they have 8 tables inside if you come with with a larger group. The neighborhood is surprisingly a nice area and most of the customers are families or younger adults with girlfriends and boyfriends.
I give this retro throw back ice cream place 5 stars for reminding me why I dig soft serve ice cream all year long.

Glad to see that they still have a good selection of ice cream, sundaes, and the banana split quite satisfying. Came with my kids for a treat and they really enjoyed their ice cream. We all picked something different and shared just to try their selection. No longer a Fosters Freeze but really glad that the service is great. Friendly service and nice atmosphere to enjoy quality time with the kids.
Sorry no pictures my kids were to eager to enjoy their treats !!