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    Carvel

    3.1 (179 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Carvel Photos

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    Recommended Reviews - Carvel

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    Reviews With Photos

    Twist Small Soft Serve w/ Rainbow sprinkles
    Elizabeth O.

    This Carvel spot was so cute! According to their signs, they've been serving ice cream here since the 1950s, which made it feel extra special. It was surprisingly packed for a Wednesday evening, but the service was fast and efficient. Seeing so many people lined up for ice cream felt like the perfect start to summer and honestly brought me a lot of joy. I'll definitely be back!

    Linnea E.

    I haven't been to a Carvel in years! Twist soft-serve was my go-to order as a kid and it still delivers especially on a hot summer day. It was a little unclear if I was supposed to go inside or order at the window but I figured it out (order outside) and was rewarded with ice creamy goodness!

    Nancy M.

    What's better than to have dinner and walk over to Mario's to get some Carvel ice cream! I'm pretty simple, I love a good vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles in a cake cone. This definitely hit the spot, but do wish I got a cup because summer time heat had this melting pretty quickly!

    Single Chipster
    Stephanie C.

    There is a free parking lot for customers in the back. We got the Reese's peanut butter cup carvelanche. Their vanilla ice cream isn't that creamy but the mix-ins were good. Also got the Chipster which is like a quintessential grocery store ice cream sandwich. Fluffy vanilla ice cream inside and soft dissolvable cookies on the outside. A bit pricey at over $5 for a small cookie ice cream sandwich and $13 for the carvelanche, which is like a shake.

    Chocolate hard ice cream

    Went here for a treat on a sunny Sunday afternoon! So glad we did! There's a lot of flavors, and they also have food!!! I'll be back to try the food and a different flavor of ice cream. I got chocolate and it was good.

    Ordering window
    Caroline K.

    DELICIOUS ice cream!!! I cannot recommend the Peanut Butter Treasure enough! Chocolate ice cream with Reese's bits in it. So good. The flavors they make are high quality. You're paying for it though with a bit pricey of a menu. They do give you a substantial amount for a small cup so that's awesome. Ice cream orders made within a minute and handed to you at the cute little counter they have. Plenty of outdoor seating. The whole outdoor section had such cute decorations to make it a really great vibe to hang out with family or on a date. Several parking spots as well was a nice plus!

    Medium Soft Serve Ice Cream
    Cole D.

    Too expensive but lots of ice cream and very tasty. $9 for soft serve is too much but the quality of Carvel is worthy of note. A huge amount of chocolate and vanilla swirl for my ice cream. Cool seating area. Very fast from order to delivery.

    Dee D.

    We went here for soft serve ice cream after lunch at a high end steakhouse. It was more for nostalgic reasons because I ate Carvel growing up in NYC. It's sort of pricey like everything else and the cost of a small cone $7.49 but the worst is a topping cost $1.79! That is ludicrous. They also overcharged us for a topping and the manager corrected it.

    Exterior
    Meredith B.

    At $7.50 for a small ice cream and $10 for a small milkshake the prices are a little steep! We were served quickly and settled on a twisted small soft serve. There were very limited shady seats and none left, so we took it to go. I enjoyed the ice cream!

    Mike R.

    A childhood memory. First off am happy to find this. Carvel was well, Cookie Puss, Fudgie the Whale, and other characters if I remember them correctly. Nostalgia lives here. It's in a nice part of Arlington, but $36 for three ice cream cones and bottles of water is insane. Sorry that won't be happening anytime soon. Is the rent and inflation for real? Yeah but I can't justify this cost. Is the ice cream good? Absolutely. Yet there is a lot of competition. I'll say it is tasty, and I liked having it today as hot weather. Very efficient and friendly staff. It's connected to Mario's. Parking is challenging. I liked it but it is not in the love category.

    The price is egregious for the smallest blizzard type ice cream. And what are the two taxes?! What a bummer.

    Strawberry Shortcake
    Hammed A.

    Been a customer here for as long as I have been one of Mario's Pizza House. It's so inviting to grab ice cream after eating at Mario's. Overall this Carvel is a good experience for traditional ice cream options and American staples. This place has an incredibly extensive cold dessert menu. So much that it makes me wonder if it is all served fresh. I normally get soft serve ice cream or hand dipped ice cream. Despite how good their ice cream is my biggest concern is the inconsistent customer service and inconsistent quality of the ice cream. On too many occasions the hand dipped ice cream I purchased was freezer burned. More concerning is in those instances they knew the ice cream was freezer burned yet they still packaged and sold it. If ever I get hand dipped ice cream I walk into the store to inspect the ice cream case to determine if the ice cream is fresh and not freezer burned. I don't like that I have to do this, however it is necessary considering the prices here are above average, so imagine paying above average for ice cream and it is freezer burned. I've purchased milkshakes, floats, Chipsters, chocolate dipped soft serve and others however recently I've stuck with the soft serve ice cream because it is the safest bet and most consistent ice cream they offer. There were occasions where I purchased Chipsters and they were simply rock hard. Literally impossible to bite with human teeth. They were so hard it took minutes to thaw even in the summer air. I simply stopped purchasing Chipsters. Regarding the customer service, the girls that work here are really nice once you get to know them. I think the lacking customer service stems from the occasional language barrier. As a result their shortness or shyness can be taken the wrong way but they really are sweet girls once you get to know them over time. Again, the customer service can be better but it's not bad nor is it negligent. The lacking customer service comes into play when issues arise such as poorly packaged ice cream. They've become more consistent in how they package the ice cream however that wasn't always the case as there would be times I had to ask them to wipe the side of the ice cream cup because they let ice cream drip down the side of the cup or to replace the cone because they put ice cream in a cracked cone which eventually breaks in your hand. Essentially these are quality control issues that should be remedied with standard protocols. Overall an OK experience and it gets better as you get to know the staff. I want to give this place a 4 star however in fairness it wouldn't be right to do so considering there are better ice cream shops that offer higher quality ice cream and consistently better with customer service. Perhaps the iconic status of this Carvel location and the long lines it serves on Fridays and weekends keeps this location in the middle of the pack of local ice cream shops comparable to Hershey's ice cream shops. Give them a try.

    Vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles in a cone
    Katie W.

    Favorite spot for late night ice cream in the summer! They've got all your basics (I always get vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles) as well as an extensive milkshake menu. Nice outdoor seating, somewhat covered seating area with tables with long benches. If you're looking for a classic ice cream night to keep cool in the heat, this hits just right

    2 small ice cream cups

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    10 hours ago

    Friendly service and tasty soft serve. Keep up the good work. Fun atmosphere. Long time customer. Great iconic landmark.

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    1 year ago

    They have rats outside. Be careful. That's why they have 3 stars. I don't even want to go in. I'm kinda scared

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    Ask the Community - Carvel

    Nicecream

    Nicecream

    4.2
    (628 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$

    This place is not NICE on the wallet. But pro-tip they sometimes have a 15% off if you check-in on…read moreYelp! The staff is super friendly and the place is quaint but has a handful of tables inside and outside. They justify the high price tag by whipping the ice cream with liquid nitrogen in a mixer. Although cool I didn't think it added much to the experience and was little gimmicky. I tried the cookie dough which was solid and not too sweet. My friend tried one of their seasonal flavors (lavender honey) and it tasted like neither. I think they use the same base for most of their flavors because hers tasted very similar to mine and both were good quality. I think the flavors are hit or miss, but unfortunately you can't sample them! I think this place is a good treat, but overall I'm not sure I'd go back.

    A friend wanted to get Icecream and we found this in Clarendon area. Such a beautiful area with…read morelots of stores and food options and great place to walk around. PISTACHIO & CHOCOLATE SCOOPS I was skeptical at first esp with this combo but babyyyyy this was EVERYTHING! Both flavors together and separate were delicious and sweet but not overpowering. Perfect match and will definitely get again... maybe even I'll get all flavors lol. Btw I love seeing the NITRO coming out the kitchen aids, such a cool scene. I love the colors in the store, orange spoons and white kitchen aids are so different but I love it plus the aesthetics thru-out the store was cute. The pricing is decent and they have a limited menu of Icecream flavors, milkshakes and even hot cocoa. We will definitely be back especially since they gave us a Punch card so after 10 scoops/visits, you get FREE Icecream.

    Photos
    Very bright and modern looking store
    Very bright and modern looking store
    Nicecream
    Ice cream made with liquid nitrogen...dessert meets science!

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    Ice cream made with liquid nitrogen...dessert meets science!

    Carvel - icecream - Updated August 2026

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