Rita’s of Scripps Ranch

Rita’s is the best dessert in the world. Other things come close, but this is the real thing. My favorite dessert ever since I discovered it. So excited this location opened up a few months ago. The cotton candy ice is the BEST, but 90% are really good. Just avoid the ones with peanut butter.

This place is amazing!!! The flavors of the ice are so delicious and to mix with their custard is devine! The green apple and mango have been my go to flavors but all the flavors are awesome! The cashiers are super friendly and there is always people in here no matter what time of day it is! Even now, in winter, still people coming here to get their custard and tasty ice delciousness!

Rita’s is my go to dessert place this past spring/​summer, ever since they opened up in San Diego area. I’m a frequent visitor to multiple locations in SD and OC. Absolutely love the combination of vanilla custard with any flavor ice! But today was my last visit to this location, even though it’s the nearest. Their return of custard from soft serve tasted like playdoh, and their freezer was not cold enough to keep their ice cold. I ended up with apple juice today. Worst gelati ever! If this was my first taste of Rita’s, I would not give them another try. One star for friendly staff. Zero for the gelati.

This is the 2^nd Rita’s I’ve been to and my 1^st choice by far. I went with my family (4 adults and 3 kids) who wanted to try some of the flavors– most of the little ones 2 or 3 flavors. They were very patient any helpful with our big group and we never felt rushed, even with another large group behind us.
The gelati was delicious! A mix of the custard with your choice of ice. I’m more of an ice fan so I would say next time I’d ask for the custard only on the top instead of the top and bottom. Better yet, if you have only a small sweet tooth like I do, you can get the kids size gelati and they will only put the custard on top.
Hours are listed as open until 9 online but on the store front it’s listed as 10 so you have an extra hour to enjoy!

Had an unhappy experience, Rita’s had planned to rectify the issue.

Being a true Unilocaler here, because I do know some of the workers that work here personally. BUT to rate this place… i was more of a frequent customer to the Rita’s of Mira Mesa but now I tend to hinder here more only because it is in a better location. They don’t have seating inside but they do have a couple tables outdoors if you wanted to snack on your treat and not spill everywhere in the car. They have different things on the menu everyday as it changes so you will never see your same flavor on the menu. I’ve tasted some pretty interesting ice and cream flavors they serve and let me tell you they have some pretty crazy combinations. But my ultimate favorite italian ice would have to be their cotton candy. Especially in misto shake form with vanilla custard. SO BOMB. i recommend trying it ! It’s sweet but not too sweet, just the right amount. Occasionally I also get their sundaes too since their custard is more rich than your normal «soft serve» ice cream. So its creamier and does fill you up.
I suggest getting their rita’s app which lets you have a punch on their punch card app on every time you visit a rita’s. Oh and another tip is to check their flavors they are serving before you go in the store (just in case you have a favorite like me) on their website. Rita’s is a satisfying treat that invites you to indulge in something creamy, sweet or sour. A great treat to beat the heat in and for any age to enjoy.

I’ve tried Rita’s of Scripps Ranch twice now. Just not a fan, ordered the Gelati (Frozen Custard and Ice) The ice just tasted artificial and too sweet for me the custard lacked flavor. The staff was friendly and they certainly have a lot of followers but it’s personally not my thing. I’d rather have real ice cream or froyo any day!

I love Rita’s. The custard is so good. Tastes like creamy ice cream. I do wish this place had a little more seating. Maybe in the summer. I also wish the rewards scanner worked all the time. I have about a 50% success rate. If this worked I’d give this place five stars.

A few years ago, there was a joint in Poway that helped with my ice cream custard fix.
That ship has sailed as it shut down for good.
Fast forward to today, you’ll find that the Rita’s chain is spreading like wildfire across the SD suburban landscape.
At this particular shop, you’ll find a plethora of flavors and sweet concoctions to fulfill your cravings. The servers are engaging and friendly. Patience is a must, as the custard comes out of the machine as fast as thick molasses. So, lines of anxious «Scrippies» can grow pretty quickly.
The knock against this place IMHO, is the picnic table area outside the front door. The tables/​floor are sticky (with numerous melted ice cream spills), dirty and not wiped down. Before you enter the store, you’ll feel like you’re walking on a filthy movie theater floor. I’d strongly suggest that the associates spend some time scrubbing up that area because that’s the first thing you’ll see before you walk in. Uh-​oh, here come the ants!
Nevertheless, a proper spot to visit during these sweltering days.

Grew up on the east coast eating frozen custard… and have missed it SOOOO much.
They do a great job with the recipe, this is some TASTY frozen custard… BUT…$ 14.99 for a quart of frozen custard (that is what Carlsbad and Scripps Ranch charge) is highway robbery!!!
AND
The way they pack the container, they don’t PACK it, they leave a hole in the center as it comes out of the machine… they just kind of slam it down on the counter a few times to encourage it to settle… so you are not actually getting a full quart… which is completely WRONG!!!
They also «push» «Gelati», which is Italian Ice topped with frozen custard, I never heard of until entering Rita’s…it sounds like a Baltimore Snowball by another name… and frankly the frozen custard is best enjoyed by itself, apparently it is popular in the Philadelphia metropolitan region, which would make sense, because I grew up in New FRIKKIN Yawk!!!
Two quarts of hand «not packed» and two cookie sandwich packs ($ 6.99 each, much better deal for sure) came to $ 43.96 with tax. Really hard to make the case for an ice cream treat that costs as much as a full meal over at Sammy’s Pizza Kitchen.
Seriously, if I owned this operation and charged these prices for a quart of ice cream, wouldn’t be able to look at my reflection in the mirror.
Just praying to the Ice Cream Gods that someone else will open up a frozen custard operation in San Diego that has reasonable prices, and packs a quart so it is a full quart.

We had a coupon for a buy one, get one. I ended up spending as much as I would have for two at another ice cream shop. I got the light vanilla custard in a cone dipped in caramel. They said the light tasted the same as the regular… maybe I should have sampled first. It tasted like soft serve from a buffet. The caramel coating was good, but not worth the price. I thought it was overpriced with the discount, I certainly wouldn’t pay full price. My daughter had chocolate custard dipped in chocolate and had a similar response… good, but not worth the price.

Delicious! I had never had frozen custard until this place and it is a treat! I recommend the frozen ice/​frozen custard combo! I got the juicy pear with vanilla :)

Friendly and quick service. Good prices. Loved the chocolate custard and the black cherry Italian iced was excellent. Will return again and frequently.

I just tried the product of rita’s. It was amazing! The staff were so nice and where very helpful. I tried the chocolate peanut butter which was fantastic. It had the perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter. I would absolutely recommend this place. I will be returning to Rita’s of scripps ranch.

Such a cute spot for a reward yogurt even if the reward is for going a whole day without saying a curse word. LOL
I like how they have ice cream sandwiches to go. Might be a nice to bring some to a deserving coworker.
We had the pear gelati. It had a custard top. I thought it was whipped cream but it actually was custard. It went well together. My kid had sour patch kids gelato. Warning: it’s pretty sour. But if that’s your thang, be my guest.

I am so happy this East Coast chain has finally made it out to California! The service at this Rita’s has been really good the few times I have been in there — two of those times were days that they were giving free Rita’s (opening day and the first day of spring) so I kind-​of expected a new staff to be overwhelmed… but they were great!
For those of you first trying it here are a few tips:
1) It’s not ice cream. Don’t expect ice cream — It is Italian Water Ice — a lighter refreshing treat! Or if you want it, custard — it’s thicker than ice cream. I like getting the Gelatis (sp?) that mixes the custard and the Italian ice
2) I recommend the Root Beer water ice with vanilla custard (fun version of a root beer float), the orange or tangerine water ice with vanilla custard (remember those creamsicles?), or the black cherry or strawberry with the chocolate custard (reminiscent of a chocolate covered strawberry/​cherry)
3) The cream ices are a little sweet for my tastes… but that is why I order one of the other flavors! I personally LOVE the fruit flavors — while my hubby’s sweet tooth is satisfied by the cream ices.
4) They will give you a sample of anything you want before you order, all you have to do is ask — so don’t order something on a whim (or because you like the ice cream version… this WILL be different) and then be rotten-​socks if you don’t like it!
My ONLY ONLY ONLY complaint, and this is not unique to this location, is that back East, they used to carry a Chocolate flavored water ice, and I haven’t seen that flavor carried at any location in CA. Of course, I haven’t seen that flavor at many places back east either in a while.

Tried this place out today. everyone seems to make a big fuss about it and swears it’s the best place… so I wanted to see for myslef. well I was not inpressed at all. I tried the chocolate chip cookie dough… it had no flavor at all. and the chocolate chips were the tiniest things ever… I won’t be going back. I do have to say the staff was very friendly and one girl even helped me while she was on her break… the 2 stars is for the ice cream…

Got a sample of mango ice today. Opening is around ²⁄₁₆! The cherry flavor taste more like medicine… But I just don’t like artificial cherry flavor so hard to say. The husband happily ate his cup.