I do understand that in NYC, frozen desserts are certainly a seasonal thing, as long lines out the door in the middle of summer conversely turn into thumb twiddling sessions for the employees in the dead of winter, so costs must be recuperated during the warmer months. However, the price at 16 Handles is indeed a bit steep for what you get. What would normally run about $3-4 (a medium sized serving for one) back home in CA ended up coming in at a tad over $6! Now, coming from an area with an equally expensive cost of living as NYC, I am rarely in sticker shock when in town, but this is the first time I've felt that something was truly, as the famous movie line goes, "More than you can afford, PAL!" Yes, I know that in CA, yogurt can be had year round, so pricing is indicative of that, and it is difficult to compare, but this doesn't explain why other cold items such as ice cream or smoothies don't cost twice as much here as in other areas. With that said, 16 Handles does serve up a pretty good selection of yogurt and toppings. It took me the longest time to figure it out, but the name is in reference to the amount of flavors, and of course, the actual handles on the machines. I also like how there is a booming system bumpin' 90's pop and R&B that makes you yearn for better days. There is competition in the form of Pinkberry two doors down, but it is much smaller, with less flavors. read more

I was actually really impressed with the cleanliness of this 16 Handles when walking in. There are a ton of flavors to choose from and I love how YOU are allowed to fill up your own cup and mix flavors to your own liking unlike other froyo places (pinkberry). 16 Handles came out with new vegan dairy free flavors that are actually really really good. They had a cookie dough flavor and a hazelnut flavor. I tried the cookie dough flavor and would honestly never know it was dairy free if there wasn't a sign. To prove how good it was, my boyfriend is always anti vegan and dairy free stuff because he likes the real deal... i gave him a bite to try and he loved it and had no idea it was made with cashew milk! Jenisa, the manager at this location while I was there, was really nice and helpful with answering any questions. Glad there are several locations nearby, i will def start rotating this into my dessert places to go! read more

16 Handles - VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH with cookie dough balls from dough - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

Every few years people tend to rediscover froyo and a plethora of new froyo places tend to pop-up. I've casually observed that this trend occurs every seven or so years--just like the reemergence of the Cicada. And just as in the case of the aforementioned annoying and noisy insect, froyo places tend to go away as quickly as they emerged. Thank a higher power for this. While 16 Handles was one of many froyo places to sprout relatively recently, 16 Handles (16H) has staying power. Namely because they are good; I daresay they are great! My favorite 16H location is on 30th Ave in Astoria. When there I head for the salted caramel flavored froyo while the munchkin goes for the birthday cake. Other great flavors include cotton candy, vanilla bean and gram cracker. Yummy! The staff at this location is almost always on point and very friendly. The girl that served us yesterday afternoon (Sat on Mem Day weekend) was fantastic! I regret not asking her name so that I'd give her a shout-out here. My faux pas. Perhaps she'll be there on our next visit and I'll update this review. read more

I loved 16 handles when I first ventured into the St. Marks location so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw there was one opened on the Upper East Side, close to where I live. Flavors: Great. 16 flavors, including the popular birthday cake, coffee, and cookies and cream. Red velvet was there too. Definitely try to Mango Sorbet and the Kiwi Strawberry. Also has original, vanilla, chocolate, amongst others. Toppings: seemingly endless. the standard candies and fruits, along with clumpy nutty nutella clusters. They even had rainbow cookies when I went! Service: Unlike the other self serve yogurt places, 16 handles actually handed out taste tester cups for us to try the different flavours with no hesitation. The place was very very clean with ample room for seating and literally no line to check out. Overall, I love 16 handles because of the plethora of combinations that you can create in your cup! Pinkberry is literally located 2 doors down so if you'd rather have the original froyo, you can drop by there but if you love your froyo to be of various concoctions, I highly recommend 16 handles on the upper east side! read more

16 Handles - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

Have you ever wanted to get your froyo on while a sweet sixteener rages on in the background and a family of seven tries to figure out how to pull the lever down so the leftover yogurt doesn't hang like a brightly colored turd for the next person to scoop up? Plus one star for the many different toppings (fruit, candy, and crushed crackers and pretzels) though why in god's name you don't have mochi is beyond me. Subtract one star for the glassy-eyed cashiers whose voices have gone hoarse from yelling "Following guest!" at the hordes. Also not a fan of the sugary sweet, chalky aftertaste of 16 Handle's non-fat Eurotart. It's basically cake frosting in frozen yogurt form. Call me crazy but I much prefer Pinkberry's or Red Mango's slightly sour, more yogurt-y version. Also Red Mango offers, I dunno, lighter flavors, like green tea, white peach, and mango. I guess 16 Handles is going the ice cream route, with flavors like irish mint and cookie dough, but I like eating frozen yogurt and not ice cream for a reason. It's okay for a dessert or a snack on the way home from work but I wouldn't ever seek it out. Also I came here on a Thursday at 8 and the line was out the door. Cray cray. read more

Oh boy ... 16 Handles is dangerously located too close to where I live. I stop by here to get my salted caramel fro-yo fix at least twice a month & feel no shame about it! At all. Their toppings are all delicious and very cleanly handled by the staff. But honestly, you could leave here happy just with the yogurt itself, sans the toppings. It's that good. ** Salted Caramel & Birthday Cake are the best flavors ** If you're looking to avoid cute couples on their 3rd date or obnoxious groups of Tweens, don't come here on a Saturday night. It can get quite rowdy ... Just sayin' (I warned you). If you insist on coming here anyhow during the Sat night rush, you will find yourself waiting in line with your yogurt for what may feel like an hour before getting to the toppings section, meanwhile your yogurt has started melting. Therefore I often skip the toppings altogether and just go to the register so I can start eating it while it's still cold. Be sure to get one of those frequent buyer cards! It tracks each time you come here and you get points & free yogurt after a certain # of visits and on your b-day. It's free so why not!? After posting this review, I may or may not go and treat myself to some 16 handles. Mmmm ... read more

16 Handles - Salted Caramel with some whipped cream, chocolate syrup, coconut & butterfinger crumble #heaven - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

Love this place! During the summer I literally go twice a week at least! I'm a creature of habit so I always go with the Caramel Chocolate and Regular Chocolate then load up on toppings. Be careful though because if you load up too much it can get quite pricey! Only negative is they often seem to run out of whipped cream and don't refill when it is night time. Multiple times I've walked in between 9-10pm and they were out and said they weren't refilling for the night even though they were still open for a few hours. read more

I go out of my way to hit up a 16 Handles every time I'm in New York. This is probably my least favorite location because the worker that rang me up looked absolutely miserable. Girl, you could have a much shittier job than working at a delicious and beloved froyo place. The froyo itself, however, was excellent as always. The creamiest of any DIY froyo place I've ever been to. They didn't have my favorite liquid chocolate crunch topping, but the froyo is so delicious that it can hold its own without any add-ons. 16 handles is everything Yogurtland wishes it was. Now if only they made their way over to the West Coast... read more

Love 16 handles, all the frozen yogurt options -16 ... and all the toppings! From fruit and granola to many candy toppings. This location is spacious and with a lot of seating. As all the locations I've been to service is friendly, quick and helpful when people want samples. Always clean. I usually end up with far more than I can eat because I want to have at least a little taste of so many different types: caramel is one of my favorites. There are also a handful of non dairy options for people who have dairy allergies. A lot of kids / families visit this location. read more

16 Handles - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

So delicious! They have a huge variety of different froyo flavors. MY favorites are the cake batter, vanilla, and strawberry shortcake. This place is very busy at night. Usually they will have their topping bar open but because of COVID, they are putting their toppings in plastic cups and weighing them separately. I can't wait until the topping bar will be open for self serve! Definitely one of my favorite go to dessert spots because you can controls and customize the amount and type of froyo you want. read more

I came here after the fireworks on July 4th. It was over 95º in the city so nothing hit the spot quite like some frozen yogurt. Now not being from the city, I quickly learned how difficult it is to find a public bathroom when in need. A needle in a haystack would be a good analogy. So I was amazed to find out they had a bathroom right in the back that was open to the public. The toppings were abundant for the frozen yogurt and unlike PinkBerry, they let you put them on yourself. I would check them out again. read more

$6 for a mega ginormous cup with about 8 different flavors all mixing and mingling with lychee and strawberries and mangoes... Quantity beats Pinkberry. But I still like the taste of Pinkberry slightly better. I'm torn. read more

If it wasn't exactly 100 degrees in Manhattan right now, I would be walking uptown to this particular 16 Handles today. Their frozen yogurt is very convenient (self-serve, all soft, all available for tasting) and there are always two non-dairy flavors (one is mango, the other I forget - but the mango is preferable, which is probably why) and a whole host of sugar-free/lower-in-fat flavors too. My favorite flavors are probably the pistachio, red velvet, cookies and cream (or oreo, whichever they go by), and peanut butter, in no particular order. As for toppings, it's an endless array of delicious. It's a beautiful thing - all animal crackers, fresh fruit, cheesecake bites, and the best thing on earth: rainbow cookie pieces. There's a lot of seating, but it gets really busy mid-day during the summer (watch out for a billion strollers and Blackberry-toting teens at this location, truth be told) and on weekend nights. I aim for late afternoon if I can. It's cheaper than most other frozen yogurt chains because it goes by weight (priced for yogurt and priced for toppings), so you won't get stuck paying six bucks for a ratio you didn't want in the first place. It's entirely what you make it. Also, they compost. The California in me likes this. read more

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The screens are broken on the dispensers, they don't have any dry nuts like almonds or peanuts, only wet walnuts and very few healthy toppings. The fruit is all in syrup. read more

Poor customer service. There is no pricing anywhere displayed in the store and I think they're ripping people off and overcharging. At least 3 people had the same sentiment and left the store. Staff was not attentive and was disorganized. Sad. Will not be returning. If you go make note of how much it weighs on the scale! It costs .75 per ounce do the math. read more

I love Eurotart and chocolicious the most!! Perfect combination of sweet and tart! If you're an iffy person, this is the place for you!!! You can taste all the flavors first in baby cups before you decide which one to partake!!! I love that they have a lot of toppings to choose from but the froyo is enough calories for me. They have an app that you can download so you are updated with their promotions and rewards system :-) It's the perfect dessert place in the upper east side!!! Best froyo place!!! You're the one to put on the froyo you like and they just weigh it. So you can fill up your cup to your heart's content. I love this froyo place!!! Perfect for a casual date or if you just get a sweet craving, grab one to go!!! This is my favorite dessert place at the upper east side. Tried the others, but this one won my heart!! read more

16 Handles - Lotsa toppings!!! - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

Person who was behind the counter had the meatiest attitude, I asked her for a spoon and she responded in a very rudely manner. If she didn't want to work she could have just went home. Not my problem. read more

I rate my frozen yogurts first based on their toppings and second on their flavor choices. Although their flavors aren't necessarily anything I personally would rave about (please just add red velvet), they do have nutella which is always a plus for me. They also have a lot of other topping choices that are pretty good (soft double chocolate chip cookie, real cookie dough, etc). First time I stayed in Manhattan two years ago, this place was my joint. I've had a lot of frozen yogurt since then and unfortunately, 16 handles really doesn't stand out to me. It's like all the other frozen yogurts around, but it is the closest option to where I'm staying now, so I keep going. I know they wanted to be unique where their 16 handles concept, but sometimes you just want the swirl, you know read more

Ok, this place is awesome! The concept is great. It is a total serve yourself experience. You have 16 yogurts to choose from and get to dispense it yourself so you can take as much or as little as you would like. Cake batter is my favorite flavor. Then you get to load up on toppings. They have a huge assortment of sprinkles, cookie and graham cracker crumbs, chocolate and peanut butter chips. If your anything like me, you take a little yogurt and load up on toppings! Then they weigh your container and charge accordingly. They are much cheaper than Pinkberry with a better assortment of flavors and toppings. Have and will go back!! read more

Lines are somewhat slow at this location due to the amount of families in the area. However I don't mind because the young staff usually has hip-hop blasting through the speakers. Besides that, it's a typical frozen yogurt/16 Handles location with lots of yogurt and topping choices. read more

I understand now why there are some scathing reviews of this place... Although I love their froyo here - Welch's Concord Grape Sorbet (very rare to find grape!), Strawberry + Cookies n' Cream, I really don't like how messy & dirty this place is & the lazy, incompetent & rude employees who work here! The whole place felt like an after-hours club w/ party music thumping & majority of the staff milling about & socializing w/ each other. The floors were sticky & the spoons + toppings were all over the counter. One had to wonder if there was a manager in attendance. A few nights ago, two of the employees snickered at me. I asked for a couple of samples and, after that, one employee passive-aggressively said to the other (right within my earshot), "half of the time people asking for samples never buy anything," while I had every intention of doing so. But after that comment, I seriously had second thoughts of ever returning to this 16 Handles shop that employs such idiots to represent their chain. These two were clowning around when I got there & simply just didn't want to get off their lazy asses to help a customer! I thought two unruly employees were bad enough...and then..there was also the cashier. She was busy chatting w/ a friend, took my card & rung me up without giving me credit on my 16 Handles rewards app. She then told me there was no way to retroactively apply the credit & that I had to call Customer Service, which is obviously something the employees do NOT provide at this shop because apparently no one here wants to do their job! I wanted so badly to give this place a great rating since actual froyo & flavors are good and shop is the closest to me (pity, I probably will need to come back because of that), but I really just can't because I was totally turned off by all of the above! read more

I absolutely love their desserts. Perfect and cheerful this time of year. Delivery was quick and food was excellent.

Awesome! It's the only place I can find that it's self-served. They are all following Covid-19 guidelines.

There were no prices displayed, and you can't see the scale weight. Very questionable business.

This place have gotten so bad since the pandemic started, do not get your froyo at this location if you don't want to get food poisoning. My husband & I went twice in april & june 2020 & those two times the graham cracker flavor wasn't tasting fresh, at this time you couldn't make your froyo yourself for sanitary purposes. Today we went & finally you could make your own, my husband picked graham cracker & it was coming out so stiff out the machine not creamy looking. I got the euro tart & same thing, came out so stiff literally looking like a big ass dump. My husband told me I should taste it before we put toppings so I did & I kid you not this tasted like spoiled milk. This is the third time it happens at this location, never had a problem at the west side one. read more

This location is filled with lots of kids, like many places in this area. Just keep in mind if you're thinking post date dessert, you may find yourself battling with a middle schooler for toppings. The staff keeps the place pretty clean given the traffic is super high, especially during warmer months. The place is always a solid hit though, plenty of flavors to satisfy whatever you're craving and toppings galore! Definitely come here to calm down cravings as this makes my dessert soul happy. read more

The best yogurt frozen & ice cream ever ! What I like the most from this place is that they always have new seasonal flavours. If you have the time to go soon please try you would have to try red velvet cake, Graham Cracker and pumpkin pie. They are really good and taste like real. For the classics, go for Birthday cake or chocolicious. read more

I love the euro tart. The staff is always friendly very eager to help. I wish they had more of the chocolate flavors. Also they should should should put Nutella topping. I love this place so much I'm here twice a week. read more

I've been coming to this location for years and never had an issue until today. I had almonds on my yogurt. When I took one bite, I knew right away that the almonds were rancid. I approached the counter and told the man behind the register that the almonds were bad. A woman next to him turned around and yelled, hey I'm talking to you." At which point I repeated myself to her. She told me that I should have tried the almonds before I put them on my yogurt and that she just filled up the container and tasted them and they seemed fine to her. She did not offer my money back or a new yogurt. I just left feeling offended. I will never go back there which is a shame because it was one of my family's favorite places. I'm telling all my friends not to go and be subjected to such treatment. When all the while I was just trying to help them. read more

i love their original tart froyo!! and the interior is very cutee i like the furniture and color schemes.

All of the toppings were in a small container which was good because of COVID, but sucked since you couldn't get your choice of amount. Still got great flavors and still got to self serve myself with the small containers weighed at the end. They do offer a cover for the froyo cup, napkin and a spoon. read more

My FAVORRIIIIIIIIITEEEEEEEEEEE 16 handles in all of NY, they have my cake batter ice cream and Nutella ice cream. This spot is always clean, they topping stations are always full and whenever I need something there's always a staff member handy. If my word isn't enough then just know that this place is always packed full of people on the weekends even in the winter. read more

Came in for some frozen yogurt, this place has a lot of choices for yogurt as well as toppings. The salted caramel is so good, too sweet for me so I get just a little bit on the side of my cup, but definitely ask for a free sample to try it. I went with my usual cheesecake yogurt with fruit on top, so good! read more

16 Handles - Desserts Near Me - New York, New York

There are two things you should know about me to preface this review. 1. I don't love dessert and especially don't love ice cream or fro-yo. 2. I do love options. Enter 16 Handles. I went with a friend who has a weird obsession with this place. I agreed to go see what she loved about it so much. I had no expectations and frankly was planning on having a bite or two of hers instead of getting my own. When we walked into the fun space I liked that they were playing music from the 90's and I found myself checking out all the flavors while waiting in line. I was intrigued by the levers on the wall releasing multiple flavors or fro-yo. People were having fun loading up their cups with fro-yo...and I wanted in. So I have been there quite a few times since that first fateful day, and have since tried the following flavors: Praline, Graham Cracker, Heath Toffee, Birthday Cake, Pistachio and Snickerdoodle. I don't remember which one I tried the first time, which is weird, because doesn't everyone remember all the details of their first time? (HAHA. See what I did there?) Anyway, let's say the first time was praline, because I think that's my current favorite. I went over to the Praline machine and pulled that sucker full throttle. I filled up my cup to the very brim with fro-yo deliciousness and then made my way to the toppings bar. This was also self serve and do you believe they just let you put whatever you want on top? Yeah, whatever you want, however much of it you want. (Granted, you pay per pound later...but at the moment when you approach the toppings bar, that just doesn't matter.) I loaded up on miniature peanut butter cups, cookie dough and heath bar. I placed my winning concoction of the scale and forked over the money I owed. I sort of couldn't stop looking at it, it was just so cool and awesome. I wound up parking my butt on one of the bench seats and eating until my stomach hurt. I couldn't even finish my cup, which made me a little sad inside. The fro-y itself was so tasty and refreshing, and each and every time it actually tastes like the flavor it's modeled after. Really, almost identical, so you don't feel like it's the phony low fat version. It's the real, tasty deal. You know what else is cool? The staff is super nice and they don't judge just how overloaded your cup of goodies is. Ahh sweet relief. I think you know how this story ends... Fro-Yo Win!!!!! read more

I am a huge fan of ice cream even if there's ice on the ground, and this place does a pretty good job of fulfilling the craving. I love the salted caramel, vanilla, cookies and cream and graham cracker. I never feel too guilty since it is much lower in calories than your traditional ice cream...and then I hit the toppings bar! Ouch! Rainbow cookies? Reese's? Sprinkles? White chocolate chips? Hot fudge? Whipped cream? Yes to all! And there is my $6 sundae haha The problem I have with a lot of the flavors is that they taste chemically. Good luck refusing the toppings, but no matter what you choose enjoy! read more

This is actually the best frozen yogurt I've ever had. I thought maybe it wouldn't be as good as pinkberry, but it's 10x better. I had the Gramcracker and the ny cheesecake, with wet walnuts on top. The long line makes you not want to wait, but I promise it's worth it. There are about 10 different flavors, all really delicious and low in calories. So many toppings to choose from- all fresh! It's good to know in advance that there is a huge line (always), AND that your icecream will be weighed at the end to determine price. Think about it as you pile up your brownies a'top a cup of cookie dough yogurt. I will absolutely be back here. I'm almost unsure if I'll ever be back to pinkberry after this... read more

People told me that 16 Handles is the best for you in NYC. For the sake of NYC, I hope that this isn't true. The Froyo. Flavors: They have 1 tart flavor. The rest of their flavors are sickeningly sweet and artificially flavored. The predominant theme of the flavors is cake-related. None of the fruit flavors taste fresh. What's the point of having all of these options if they aren't good? Consistency: Too icy. The Toppings: Variety: Predominantly sweet toppings, like crumbled brownie bits, cookie dough, oreos, etc. Some fruit and syrups. Quality: Appallingly not fresh at all. They looked like they had been sitting out of a while. Kiwi and Strawberries look particularly mushy and the banana's were brown. I know I'm biased towards a certain type of fro-yo (more "Asian" tart/fruit flavors) but the lack of quality is disappointing no matter what type of froyo you like. The lines are long for this sub-par frozen yogurt and the staff isn't that friendly either. I'll pass. read more

The FroYo here is good. My problem with this location is that I've been three separate times with children, and while there's a kids' show on the TV, the music is explicit and not kid-friendly at all. One time is an accident. Two times is a pattern. Three times is a policy. I'm surprised that I still see children going in. I will not be going with kids anymore, and be sending an advisory to our PTA that parents should be careful patronizing this particular establishment. Of course, I did send a tweet to their account and got a "thanks for the feedback" response, so I'm not sure anyone actually cares. read more

I have been going to this location several times a week since it opened. I've never had a problem. Lately the employees have not been wearing masks or wearing them on their chin. Tonight I came in and there was one woman sitting on the bench talking on the phone without a mask. I figured she was eating there and that was why her mask was down. Then she went behind the counter to ring me up (while still talking on the phone). I asked her to please put her mask on. She pulled it up UNDER her nose. I explained that I am a teacher and it's really important to wear a mask. She half-heartedly pulled it up. It fell right down. She rang me up and as I was leaving starting screaming at me - she said I was rude and she is pregnant. I answered that being that she is pregnant she should really be worried about COVID. I asked her name but she refused to tell me but she did tell me that she was the manager. I have honestly never been treated this way in my life. She continued on about how rude I was (while the mask was under her nose) and told me that I need to retire. How is this o.k.? read more

Definitely the best frozen yogurt place I have been to. Pinkberry is a VERY CLOSE second. But I love 16 Handles. I love sampling all the flavors! And I go crazy with all the awesome toppings. Prices are reasonable too- I always fill up my cup and it's never been more than 5 bucks. The only thing I would say is it's soooo loud! This is not a club! Turn the music down people! read more