Plush Gelato & Coffee

Their store is very neat and very refreshing. All their workers are really nice.
BEST GELATO place ever. btw, they also have the BEST GELATO!:)

I miss you, Plush.

ITS CLOSED NOW! :(
It was one of those rare sunny winter days and I was on one of those long pointless drives with the bestie. Made a stop here to pick up gelato after a strong unresisting craving kicked in! My taste buds were dancing as soon as they tasted the pistachio and coffee! Yum yum! The hazlenut was really yummo too! And homemade! :(I meant to visit again!!! :(

Pistachio and Vietnamese coffee gelato are amazing! The staff is also very friendly. I think I found my new favorite dessert spot :)

I swung by there today, and there was a sign up saying that they’re moving? No mention of it on their website at all. Pretty annoying considering the parking hassle during high traffic times.

If you haven’t heard yet, Plush is closing down because it can’t support the business in the winter. This is super unfortunate and I just found out yesterday that their last day will be today (January 27, 2013). I am so sad that this great small business will not be continuing because they have such a great product! I guess the Vienna rent though was too high for them to support. Such a shame.
Anyway, if you have been waiting to check out Plush, visit TODAY or it will be too late!

Decided to drop by after lunch.
The cashier was kind and quick. They offer a nice selection of gelati and sorbetti flavors. Some of the more popular flavors were almost gone when we arrived. If you have your heart set on a specific flavor, I suggest dropping by earlier in the day.
We were able to try the Vietnamese Coffee, Roasted Banana and Raspberry. Their gelati and sorbetti are smooth and packed with flavor. The Vietnamese Coffee is addicting. It had a nice coffee flavor and it wasn’t too sweet. The Roasted Banana had a natural banana flavor with hints of caramel. The Raspberry was refreshing and had loads of real fruit seeds throughout.
Seating is available with both tables and counter space. In addition to gelati, they offer coffee, tea and crepes. There are a couple of snack items on the counter as well.
Their Vietnamese Coffee flavor alone makes me a huge fan. I have my eye on the Thai Tea for next time.
$ 1 off any gelati with Unilocal check in.

I heard great things about this place and decided to come late on a weeknight. For only about $ 4.50 a crêpe + $ 2/​scoop of gelato ($ 4 for a small), Plush offers delicious desserts at reasonable prices.
SMORES’ CREPE: Someone who likes things on the sweeter side would love this; it had graham cracker bits, chocolate, and marshmallow fluff with chocolate drizzle on top
NUTELLA STRAWBERRY AND BANANA CREPE: This could have used some more nutella, but nonetheless, it was delicious and also had chocolate drizzle on top
VIETNAMESE COFFEE GELATO: tastes just like the real thing!
The owner (I think) was very friendly and the place is nice and clean with about 4 tables inside. The only weird thing was the parking, where you basically have to wait for traffic to stop before you can exit!

OMG, delumptuous!!! After dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant, I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass while 30+ minutes from home to experience some of what Virginia had to offer in the way of desserts. I know the pie is good — why not some of their other sugary sweets?
We first stopped by a yogurt joint but the flavors weren’t calling to me. I knew Plush was in the area but hadn’t made it my *first* stop because my well-​traveled husband has impossibly high standards when it comes to this creamy concoction. Consternation be gone! This placed wowed. First, it easily had 15 – 20 flavors to choose from; definitely more than 10. I have deduced from other reviews that folks are of different minds when it comes to an appropriate number of flavors to be offered but for me, if it means a product of this high quality, fine. Limit my options to 10. My recollection says: vietnamese coffee, chocolate, sugar-​free chocolate, another sugar-​free flavor I cannot recall, wild berry, mango, strawberry, roasted banana, salted peanut butter, Stracciatella, cinnamon biscotti, tiramisu, chocolate hazlenut, something that looked like vanilla with Oreo cookie??? and certainly several more I’m forgetting. My memory is only so good.
The three sizes are $ 4, $ 4.75 and $ 5.50. The portions were entirely reasonable. Sometimes I think us Americans confuse quantity with quality; bigger isn’t always better, and this little cup of high-​quality heaven was more than sufficient for the price. My husband asked for two flavors and was given the small; I upped mine to three and was given a medium. I bet they’d have squeezed three flavors into the small if I’d asked, but I had no problem polishing off my medium. On the other hand, my husband DID have trouble polishing off his small! To me, the value here is high — this is NOT a pricey place. Maybe I’ve been jaded by DC. At a pour-​your-​own yogurt place near me, our bill for the two of us is typically the same or higher than the $ 9 it was here (and while I never go small, my hubs often keeps his creation minimal), and I can only presume that the love and quality of ingredients that went into creating this gelato far exceeds that of the (still yummy) yogurt. I confess to being ignorant about the process for either, though, but stand by the final results.
Both of our faves was the roasted banana. Surprise! The salty PB was certainly salty but it didn’t deter me. The vietnamese coffee is probably what kept me up all night. :) All flavors had a purity, intensity and smoothness about them that simply cannot be beat.
The two guys behind the counter were patient and generous, allowing me to taste as many flavors as I gosh darn well pleased. The tastings were small, but I didn’t want anymore of something so rich, and I still shared most of my tastings with my more reticent hubs. They were awfully smiley and friendly for a Friday night at 9:30am — 10pm, which was wonderful. I always enjoy my food more when the people serving it to me seem to be enjoying themselves as well.
They also serve crepes and coffee (and have bottled juices and such) but we didn’t give those a try this round. Next time.
The place IS small, nothing cutesy or parlor-​esque about it, no. But I’ve always prioritized the product over the atmosphere, and in this case, the product more than compensates. If you’re not feeling it, get your gelato to go! Parking is limited and has you backing out straight into the street in many cases, but even on a Friday evening, we were some of the only ones in the lot. No problems.
I forgot about the Unilocal check-​in deal but am fine with not having used it; I don’t mind supporting a burgeoning small business when I’ve got the extra dollar to spare, especially when their goods are SO GOOD.

I’ve never been a huge fan of gelato. There, I said it. However, I would recommend their gelato to even the most those skeptical souls who swear on ice cream or frozen yogurt.
My friend and I visited this corner place in downtown Vienna and were greeted by a friendly employee. When asked for a recommendation she suggested the chocolate hazelnut and nutella flavors, both of which were nearly gone. My friend asked for a chocolate hazlenut and coffee combination, which was tasty, but I preferred my nutella gelato, which was slightly crunchy and delightfully sweet. The smooth chocolate hazelnut was perfection. Nothing else to say.
Two scoops came out to $ 4 and since it was a quiet Sunday afternoon, we spent a few hours chatting without any disturbances. I will definitely be back again.
Parking is a bit tricky and cramped, larger cars might want to try walking from another parking lot.

I didn’t see the big deal about this place.
The one thing I love about it is the hours, specifically on Sundays. I was at Caffee Amouri charging my phone, when the clock struck 8 pm. That’s closing time at Caffee Amouri. I quickly searched the Unilocal app for other coffee shops that were still open so I could continue to charge my phone, and I saw that Plush Gelato was open until 9:30 pm. Yippee! Charging my phone was my most enjoyable part of my time at Plush Gelato.
I ordered a small gelato with Pistachio, Salted Peanut Butter, and Nutella Cookie. First, I didn’t really care for the presentation of the gelato. The three different flavors were placed in perfect scoops in my cup, but that also meant some of the cup was empty, as 3 circles don’t fill a cup. I enjoyed all the flavors, but the texture of the gelato was not what I wanted it to be. It wasn’t as soft or creamy as I expected. Instead, when I put my spoon into the Nutella Cookie, I felt like I was literally scooping spoonfuls of cookie dough. I don’t believe gelato is supposed to be that thick.
They also need to work on keeping their bottled drinks a lot cooker. The bottled water I took from the fridge was barely over room temperature when I drank it before receiving my gelato, which means when I drank it after receiving my gelato, it tasted like I had just boiled it. That’s not what I needed in 80 degree weather.

Quaint and quiet Vietnamese family-​owned shop off Maple Ave. This corner location will have you turning and parking your car at the same time due to the oddly shaped U parking lot.
Inside they offer artisan coffee, gelato, and crepes.
So far, I have only tried Plush’s gelato. I highly recommend the Vietnamese Coffee (it tastes just like the real thing) which pairs quite well with the Roasted Banana. Every gelato spot will have their own version of coffee and pistachio, but the roasted banana had this lady gush for Plush! I also recommend pairing the Chocolate Hazelnut with the Pistachio. Both highlight the distinct and nutty flavors of each ingredient while maintaining it’s overall subtlety. What I will rave most about besides the flavor is the creaminess and consistency of the gelato itself. Plush has this down pat.
Tip: Checking in will get you a $ 1 off gelato. Regular price for two (2) scoops is about $ 4.25.
I’ll definitely be back to try their crepes and coffee!

I was going to Virginia to visit my friend in Fairfax County and looked for places to try on Unilocal.I came across Plush on top. And I love ice cream and dessert so I figured I had to give it a try.
It is definitely a cute little ice cream shop. The décor is modern. It has about 4 tables with seats so seating is limited. However, they seemed to have many different types of flavors your typical ice cream shop wouldn’t have. They had pistachio, roasted banana, caramel, Vietnamese coffee flavors. There were plenty more also. I just got the pistachio in a sugar cone. I got that so I can compare it to other places where I’ve had pistachio. There were probably two other places that I have had pistachio at. I don’t think the pistachio flavor from Plush was the best one I’ve had. I wanted to try other flavors as well, but decided not to overdo it. I guess I’ll have to go back the next time I go to Virginia to try the other unique flavors… lol.
As far as customer service, they were pretty patient about it since there were 4 of us adults and a little 3 year old with us trying to decide which flavors to get.

After asking what seemed like 1000 samples, I finally settled on Vietnamese Ice Coffee, Pistachio, and Roasted Banana. Three scoops came out to $ 4.89 and if you show your Unilocal check in you get $ 1 off. Great deal for the quality of Gelato you’re getting.
The pistachio blew me away.
The creaminess combined with that toasted nutty flavor is just unbeatable. This is the best I’ve ever had. The bits of pistachio are very subtle and aren’t overwhelming although I could have used more! I can see why the Viet Ice Coffee is the most popular flavor, it tasted EXACTLY like it… condensed milk and all!

The gelato is pretty good but the portions are really small. When they use that ice cream scooper, they really just fill up that scooper and nothing more. I like that they have unique flavors but I tried some of them and although they taste authentic I just couldn’t go for a whole scoop of it.
I did try a honey vanilla latte and I thought the coffee was mediocre. It looked delicious but didn’t taste all that great.
I will come back to try some more gelato and a different kind of coffee. I do like that they have punch cards, 5 visits and you get a gelato free on your next visit.

This place is wonderful! With the weather slowly becoming warmer, it’s a great time to venture into Plush Gelato & Coffee. While it doesn’t have the best parking situation, it does have some really creative and interesting flavors such as avocado cilantro, chocolate covered raspberry, roasted banana, anjou pear, lemon honey and ginger, etc. They do carry your standard flavors such as chocolate and strawberry but I would encourage you to be adventurous and try some flavors out of your comfort zone.
Their most popular flavor is Vietnamese coffee and while I’m a huuuge coffee fan, it wasn’t my most favorite. I actually liked their kiwi flavor, a very subtle and mild taste of the small furry fruit.
They do change their flavors on a weekly basis and Henry, the owner, said to check their website for their new flavors.
Not only do they take their gelato seriously but also their coffee. They do french press or the pour-​over brewing method using good quality coffee. They also sell the clever coffee dripper with lid from Sweet Marias (
) which is an awesome coffee spot in Oakland (woot! woot!) selling green coffee beans from all over the world as well as coffee equipment.
Henry was nice enough to show me how the coffee dripper worked and gave me a small sample of the coffee. Delicious! Needless to say, I bought the dripper.
I can’t say enough positive things about this place. Check it out and see what I mean.

A good new addition to Vienna area! Staff is super friendly and I like their flavors!
Flavors taste natural and not some chemical set to induce memories of the real ingredient!
Parking is a pain though and hence the –1 star.

Armed with 2 Specialicious vouchers that were about to expire, we stopped in on a Sunday afternoon and walked out with 2 pints of gelato, a regular gelato, and a «gelato float» (I forget the name of it).
Pints are packed in rectangular styrofoam boxes and not the typical ice cream cartons. Good for bringing the stuff home.
Although the regular «Red Velvet Cake» gelato didn’t look very big, it was surprisingly more than enough for me. When my wife got her float, the both of us realized very quickly how filling it was. Think more like a shake instead of a float. It was thick and more than my wife could finish.
But even if you don’t fancy the fine coffee or rich velvety gelato, you couldn’t walk out of here after having a warm, inviting, personal conversation with Henry or Dinh and NOT LOVE the place. We even got to meet their adorable little girl who sat shyly in the corner eating her gelato like the most well behaved tot ever. She must LOVE her parent’s business. =P
Some people may think it’s a little bit expensive, but with the high price, you get high quality. We are looking forward to visiting again.

I really wanted to give this place four stars.
The gelato is pretty awesome, but some flavors are kind of off. Not bad, just off. The tiramisu and pistachio gelatos were alright, but the real star of the show was the Vietnamese Coffee gelato. Definitely awesome. While it doesn’t taste exactly like café sua da, it definitely is delicious and has subtle notes of chicory coffee and condensed milk.
Pricewise, this place is pricy, but not the most pricy. Small is $ 3.75, Regular is $ 4.50, and large is $ 5.25, I think?
This place is also impossible to find, despite being right on 123. The signage blends in too much with the building, and can kind of be in the shadow of the adjacent shopping center. Despite an extremely ugly exterior, the interior is clean and dare I say… cute?
The real reason that this is a five star review is the same reason I give any place a five star review; the service. There was a totally charming (vietnamese?) girl working the counter and she was super helpful. She told us what went into the gelato flavors, offered us more than enough samples, immediately cleaned our tables, and well, just made the already delicious gelato an even more delightful experience. You can tell there’s a real pride of ownership here, and even if it’s a little pricy, at least I know it’s supporting small and local business.
There are still a few kinks to work out, but I think these people are on to something.

I should have just focused on driving. but oh well. so many cars, so many traffic lights. I got bored. so I looked around. It was mistake. I just saw Plush. It was mistake. I saw a parking spot in front of Plush. It was mistake. I walked into Plush.
One of the best Gelato I’ve ever had. So silky and smooth. I tried a few flavors, honey tea, chai latte and tiramisu. All flavors were very good. Both the flavor and texture (especially) made me speechless.
I’ve been hanging out with ice cream, frozen yogurt and frozen custard but I miss Plush Gelato every day. Nothing comes close to Plush Gelato… ugh. Why did I make so many mistakes… ???