Shavers in Culver City shows us that we can have a little bit of Kona, Hawaii right in our…read morebackyards... And even better... Maritza was as sweet as the offerings and prepared our treats 'just right' for us... Definitely gets our highest of recommendations... The options were incredible and our taste buds were taken on an immensely spectacular ride... Thank you Shavers

Tried Shavers for the first time tonight and overall I really liked it. I will say that Brian's…read moreShaved Ice is still my favorite in town, but Shavers is a nice second option. I wish they would offer popping pearls and a few more flavor options but in the end it is a great sweet treat. Inside is pretty small and is more designed to go, which is what we did. Both of the employees working were polite and everything was made in a few minutes. They don't have a dedicated parking lot, but we were able to find a space directly in front so parking is really easy in this part of town. For this visit, I chose cherry and strawberry and got a large and it was honestly huge. I would say medium is more than fine and a large is something that would be hard to finish. I would recommend this to any fan of Hawaiian shaved ice and would stop in again next time I am in this part of town.

Awan is such a godsend for those who are lactose intolerant!! All of their ice creams are coconut…read moremilk based. I'm not generally a coconut fan, and didn't find the coconut taste to be overwhelming at all. Very light and refreshing, especially with how hot is has been out lately.

Wow, I was so excited to see that AWAN had a new location in Venice and I was completely blown away…read moresince I hadn't tried it before! This is supposed to be one of the best ice creams out there, it was started as an artisanal LA based vegan ice cream pop-up, and I had no idea that it was vegan when I ate it. The service was a little slow, but I think they were busy and slammed so I didn't mind waiting a few minutes for the ice cream. The ambiance is unique, but it is very cozy and there isn't a lot of room inside so I wouldn't plan on staying there, haha. The Gavito Strawberry was superb, I also think The salted caramel was really good, but I was very happy with the strawberry as my main option. They also offer samples so that's great!

We ordered two crepes from this spot on New Year's Day. They were served in a nice durable…read morecontainer. Nice presentation and tasty. Sugar crepe is approx $12. We enjoyed our crepe on the beach.

As a Venice resident, this spot is my go-to for ice cream. It's right down the block and the family…read morethat owns and runs this shop is super sweet. Simply put -- they're good at what they do! The ice cream itself is the perfect soft, creamy texture and they have a good amount of flavor offerings. My partner and I have tried about 75% of the ice cream flavors at this point. I will be back to try the coffee and boba. If you're on the Venice boardwalk, look no further if you have an ice cream craving. Great service and yummy flavors -- this is the place to go! I've seen a multitude of businesses cycle through this location and I hope this spot stays open and successful because it's a personal local fave.

This spot is optimal being right by the beach! Just an order & pick up kind of place. Still super…read morecute. Service was fast & friendly. I got the Oreo milkshake which was huge in size & tasty.

Located at the heart of the Venice boardwalk; is the very cute sweet treat shop Turn Dough! With…read moreit's bright pastel painted exterior; this is the spot to go to if you're looking for the ulitmate dessert. On the menu of Turn Dough is belgian waffles, soft serve gelato, milkshakes and chimney cakes! For those who don't know what chimney cakes are; they are a traditional snack from Hungary that is made from sweet yeast dough that is rolled into a long rope and baked around a cylinder. Here at Turn Dough; you can actually watch them make and bake the chimney cake. It was really hard to choose what dessert to get here as everything looked so yummy. This place happens to be the first place to offer chimney cake in Los Angeles and so you know I just had to try that. Even choosing which chimney cake to get was hard! They've got 18 different types or you can even create your own! From oreo to nutella to coconut to Disney inspired or unicorn inspired; they've got something for everyone! I ended up getting the very cute Minnie Macaron chimney cake which has Italian-style soft-serve gelato, French Macarons, Rainbow sprinkles, and a handmade Minnie Mouse bow on top. It was definitely a magical Disney inspired creation. We also got the Nutella Dream. This one is a must try for Nutella lovers. It's a chocolate delight that even includes Kinder chocolates! Tastewise; I really liked the freshly baked chimney cakes from here. The chimney cakes are so soft and fluffy. My gelato ice cream melted pretty quickly but I still enjoyed the sweet, creamy soft serve. One has the option to get the chimney cake upside down in a cup and I have to say that is not a bad option because it helps with eating the ice cream and you won't have to worry about the oozy, dripping mess hehe that you will get a with a cone. Overall; Turn Dough is a good place for some delightful and sweet treats right by the beach

I finally stopped by Penguin Frozen Yogurt after being intrigued by the name. I grew up going to a…read morePenguin Frozen Yogurt in my hometown that has since closed, so I was curious whether this one would be similar. To my surprise, they had the peanut butter frozen yogurt that I always ordered as a child, and it tasted just as I remembered. It brought back a lot of nostalgia. This location also serves ice cream in addition to frozen yogurt, giving you plenty of options. A fun trip down memory lane and a tasty treat.

3.5 because the service was definitely there. Oh, let's call it 4 for the team…read more Realistically an overall round up isn't justified because flavor selection was limited, actually boring (more topping options than fro-yo) and prepackaged pints are currently not available. Today was perhaps an off day? Hope so. Hubby wanted a Cappuccino flavored yogurt. TCBY makes one but I was at Penguin's. Perhaps what he really wanted was not fro-yo but gourmet ice cream or gelato, transformed to traditional affogato with a vanilla variety of either as a base, or what I frequently serve for dessert - Scotch, Espresso & Vanilla Affogato. (DM me for the recipe, it's SO easy!) Because I am a good wife, I settled for one small chocolate brownie and one small low-fat vanilla. My attempt to fake his requested flavor profile. Anxious to get his take. My take? Both WAY too cloyingly sweet, especially the low-fat vanilla and it's lingering aftertaste. If he hates them, he's getting a peanut butter banana smoothie with the spoils as a base for Sunday brunch with an affogato back. Can't stand to waste food. Penguin's has been in the Hayes Center for as long as I can remember, a WLA institution surviving the across the street Big Chill competitor. If you're not a sweet treat snob like I am, definitely snag free parking and a few samples.

I hadn't been to Bubble Boba in years, and coming back reminded me how much I like this place…read more Service is quick, everything tastes fresh, and they always get it right. This time I had the Hojicha Milk Tea--a roasted Japanese green tea with a rich, nutty flavor--and it was so good. Light, smooth, and just the right amount of caffeine and boba. for those wondering Boba are made of tapioca versus mochi which are made of rice. The K-pop music gives it a fun vibe, and the staff is always kind. It's also in a prety walkable area, so it's easy to grab a drink and stroll but it's mostly been a great destination for the times I had to take my children to soccer or if you have to go to Santa Monica college or a quick stop in after visiting one of the cute art studios here. They also have Frappuccino's and brown sugar milk drinks, and dipping dots. Support local. Thank you!

Cozy milk tea shop with some sweet drinks, some indoor seating, and an easy to order from kiosk. We…read moregot the classic milk tea (do appreciate the clear instruction of what drinks do or don't include boba) - tasted like cocoa puff soaked milk with chewey boba. Will say the boba had a good soft chewy even if bigger than I expected. For $8, a bit steep for what you're getting and what you could be getting for another 8 min drive to Sawtelle. Service is chill. Parking is tough.

Very very friendly service, and honestly not too expensive! I had the Enlighten smoothie and loved…read moreit, it did have a slight protein powdery taste but comes with the territory tbh

Love the owner, love the smoothies, but for the past year or so have had trouble with the current…read morebaristas since she's been gone. I've worked on the block for 4 years now and I'd always recommend it to people shopping, but it's changed since then. Talking to other workers on the block , a lot of us have similar experiences; She doesn't greet us or seem happy to be there, seems annoyed anyone is even ordering, etc. First instance happened when I went to order my usual, a matcha blended with oat milk, the barista (the one with the black hair), stated that they don't have that and she doesn't know how to make it. I was confused because a few of us workers on the block get that, but I happily just got a regular iced drink. As shes making it, I noticed that it said "Matcha milkshake," and said "oh wait there it is, it says matcha milkshake" (nicely). She then proceeded to say in an angry tone "That says milkshake, if you wanted a milkshake you should have said that, you said blended." I just shutup and got a little sad, my coworker with me was thrown off as well. She did apologize after handing me my drink, so I just kind of brushed it off and didn't let this experience deter me. Mind you, I haven't worked in a coffee shop in years but I believe a blended is just matcha, milk of choice and ice.. so a little different than a milkshake but whatever. Anyways I just chucked it up to a bad day. I then went back another day and got, I believe, the All is One smoothie. Before she started making it, I asked if I could actually add Acai because I forgot to ask initially (I had a free coffee stamp that day). There was another blonde coworker there at the time, not the owner, and she turned and said "She wants acai in it." They then were just like "Uh okay," she turned to me and said "Are you sure you want acai, it wont be very good" and nicely I said "yes im sure it's super good actually." THEY THEN PROCEEDED TO TURN TO EACH OTHER AND START LAUGHING. Like a genuine, bullying, mean girl laugh, like we were stupid. Turns out, It was actually super good. I just went back today for the first time since then. The attitude was still the same. She's short with her words and makes me feel so bad when ordering anything. There's also a bunch of little things that happen that genuinely just make me scared to order what I want, or order at all. For example, she gets visibly upset when I ask for almond butter instead of peanut butter. It sucks, Niche has such great options and I just want to see them thrive. I've loved loved loved going here, and would get so excited when they first started popping up on Abbot Kinney. I've always wanted to support in any way I can, but I just can't not say anything anymore. I don't want anyone to get in trouble, but just hopefully this helps shift attitude for the greater good of things. I just want to see them improve and not have anyone else experience this.

After a fun time at the Santa Monica Pier, my friends and I wanted to end our hangout on a sweet…read morenote. We found Dolcenero Gelato and were impressed. Highlighting flavors are the espresso coffee and raspberry. We also loved how the gelato comes with a waffle chip- we used it as a spoon before we ate it. The scooperist was also very friendly to us and other customers as we waited in line. Instead of going to the viral places promoted on social media, this is defintely a better spot to come to while visiting Santa Monica.

Great options, tasted very decent. My Italian colleague recommended it and it was real Italian…read moregelato.