One waitress on her phone and the other in no rush to make orders... We thought the shakes were something local and fun to do every time guests came to visit and for celebrations. We have had negative previous experiences incluring poor time management, very slow service, and witnessed many upset and confused customers being turned away when there are empty tables and an unnecessarily long wait time. After some time we decided to give them another try for a first birthday celebration with some out of town family. Again, many empty tables, long wait time, and all for some very expensive shakes. I'm all for paying and waiting for them if it's worth it, but not for almost 2 hours. We were told a wait time for 2 shakes, which was pushed and pushed until almost 2 hours later and we had to leave. SO...I'm trying to keep my 1 year old calm and walk over so he can see the shakes being made (the whole table was ready to just leave) and I see our 4 shakes finally getting started. 2 girls back there. 1 on her phone the whole time and the other moving slowww. I've worked in food service and I know slow is not the goal! I hope the owner sees the reviews and makes staff changes or don't ever go to Mable's if you're short on time!! read more

My son took me there for my birthday and I totally loved it. Had to take my 2 grandkids there and they wanted to go back! I have been there 3 times in the last month. I plan on visiting again when my daughter comes down next month. read more

My family and I went to Mabel's recently for the first time. It was a cute restaurant. Loved the atmosphere of the whole place. We were seated right away. Our server came right over to take our drink order. Our server was very attentive the whole time! The menu had a good variety of choices! From food to ice cream! We ordered an appetizer, the appetizer sampler. It was very good. It was enough for the 3 of us, and if we had our other son it still would have been enough. Then it was time to order our main meal and it was a tough decision but I settled on the Copenhagen burger with fries. It was delicious! I asked for lettuce and tomato on the side and it came with it. It wasn't listed on the description. Mabel's is known for their crazy shakes and ice cream, so I ordered the chocolate sundae, my husband ordered the peanut butter sundae, and my son ordered a traditional milkshake cookies n cream flavored. It was very good, but I thought for the size of the sundaes we ordered the price of $12.49 was pretty steep. Overall it was very good and I will be a return customer! read more

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Management should really take a more hand on approach with the staff. It's being ran by a bunch of children who seem to only want to hang out & gossip with each other. Ask for drink refills from 3 different waitresses before actually getting it... wait for food is long, ac seems to be broken it's abnormally hot inside & uncomfortable(so it'd be nice to at least have cold drinks) very frustrating first experience, food was okay - very sloppy & difficult to eat. Over all unimpressed, it's a VERY expensive meal that is far from worth it when you see the way you're serviced. Sonic is cheaper & I expect them to be rude so there's that. Also our $17 shake was melted by the time it got to our table. Watched it sit there for a solid 20 min & we ordered it immediately after we got our food since we figured it would be ANOTHER long wait. read more

I'm sorry but this place is terribly overrated, with a 60-90 minute wait time to boot. No reservations. No menus. No beer or alcohol. Once seated, we waited about 15-20 minutes for our sodas. Kids and I ordered burgers and the crazy shake flight. We had to keep asking for napkins and waiting for them. They would only give out ketchup & mustard packets for "sanitary reasons" but kids were trying within an inch of their lives to open the packets, only to have them squirt everywhere. Just put out the ketchup & mustard bottles, seriously. Service was a nightmare. And very very slow. And inexperienced. The burgers were good, but could I have gotten a tasty, juicier burger at Ruby Tuesdays? Definitely. Especially for $14. Shake flight came out. People, these shakes are basically 90% filled with vanilla milkshake, a few toppings thrown on, and a fun size candy bar squirting out the side. I would say these shakes lean more towards being eye candy for Instagram than actually tasty desserts. Despite 5 fans being on, inside it was sweltering with very very bright lights. Half the staff standing around twiddling their thumbs as I waited 10 minutes for napkins and mustard packets. Really really bad service. This place is very much ado about nothing. You're certainly not coming here for the food and if you came here for their monster shakes, take your picture, try it out, and then check your box. Mabels is one big gimmick. read more

I went to Mabels with my brothers when I read about the food and ice cream they had there. A few post calling it the "Best in Powathan". First service was VERY slow and we weren't even provided napkins. The waitress kept disappearing and I would say below average service. The food below average as well, all three meals tasted off. BLT- very salty, Reuben- Greasy, Chicken salad- no taste. We all had homemade chips- average taste. All three ordered shakes, which are OVER PRiCEd and tasteless. I ordered the strawberry and there was no strawberry taste. The only thing that this place is HiGH Priced for below average service and food. Not with the drive or time time to go out there. read more

Extremely overpriced menu especially their shakes, their food is quite average and they don't have great customer service, but it is rarely busy there. read more

Mabels always serves up the biggest and the best in burgers and ice cream. They have a great staff and fantastic food. Here's my daughter enjoying a cloud nine milkshake while a picture of herself enjoying a s'mores milkshake at her last visit. Her photo was playing in the restaurant on a large TV because they love showing their customers that they care ! read more

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The name does not tell the story. Mabel's Espresso Bakery Café does not tell the story about the exciting foods they have to offer. Mabel's has a new menu filled with delicious sandwiches and paninis, burgers that are out of this world. They have home cooked meals such as country fried steak, fried flounder, flank steak, chicken and dumplings, grilled salmon, chicken parmigiana, and a host of other delightful items. They are best known for their ice cream. We stopped by while in Powhatan to check out their ice cream. Check out our picture of the milk shake Helen and I shared. They're located in Powhatan at 3844 Old Buckingham Road, Powhatan, Virginia 23139. Just be sure to stop by Monday through Saturday since they are closed on Sundays. read more

MABELS - Fantastic ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

Did not have any of the main course meal, but I did have one of their milkshakes! It took 30 minutes to be seated. When we finally seat down it took them a long time for us to get our milkshakes. The server was very friendly. The milkshakes looked amazing and very fun to look at. The cake on both milkshakes were fantastic! (celebration shake and peanut butter insanity) I felt like the actual milkshake part was not the greatest but not the worse it was just okay. I would suggest people to come here at least once so they can see how cool the milkshake looks. read more

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It's good food and they have really good milkshakes but it can be expensive other than that it is so delicious they even do special things for the holidays if you celebrated you can take photos with Santa the only thing that made us sad is when they moved from the original place really really good read more

Stopped in for lunch and because a lot of co-workers were raving about the place. They have an outside covered area available as well as inside. The hostesses were all cheery and welcoming. We decided to eat inside. They have you scan a QR code to get the menu to keep down the hand touching. The waitress was nice and very attentive and always got us whatever we needed. The food was plentiful and delicious. It all had really good flavor. We started with the cheese fries. It had A LOT of cheese...I think more cheese than fries. They were still good. My husband had the smokehouse burger which he said was one of the first burgers that actually had a punch of flavor. I was a little disappointed with the chicken Florentine panini. It was not on panini bread, but rather toasted bread. My daughter got the chicken tenders and quite a few came on her order. We ended up sharing the Milky Way Galaxy Sundae. It was huge and perfect for the three of us to share. I think the only downfall to the place was the prices are a little high. read more

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I meant to post this review in December but when a friend asked me to meet for dinner and suggested Mabels, it was a reminder. I visited Mabels quite often when they were in Powhatan proper and enjoy the times I did. This new location leaves a lot to be desired. The food was pretty good but the atmosphere of the new location is cold and almost cafeteria-like. The lighting is so bright and overwhelming, and the "store-front" windows are not good. The other location felt homey and intimate, this, well like I already said cold and exposed. I even tried it twice but that will be it. My sister and her husband also visited. They always loved the salads but this time the lettuce was wilted and somewhat brown. Disappointing on too many levels. read more

Believe the rave. This place is the bomb for crazy ice cream. The staff was very pleasant, it seemed clean (we ordered take out) & we LOVED the outside seating! read more

MABELS - Cookie Dough Monster Sunday - half eaten - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

We visited Mabel's for the second time recently on a weeknight, around 730pm. We came for the milkshakes! Having read recent reviews I honestly arrived expecting to be let down due to all the complaints about service/speed. While I will agree they are on the slower side, our server was great! They were swamped and close at 9pm. People were still rolling in at 845/850. Throughout the chaos our server kept her cool and had a great personality. The SHAKES! Holy moly these are diabetes in a cup but I ain't mad at it. My husband got the PB Insanity and I had the Mint to Be. So good!!! It's so fun to watch people's faces as their shakes arrive, too. Hard to not smile at these things! read more

MABELS - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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Had such high hopes. I walked out with out getting all of my food ; (I paid) but I don't feel like I should of. I usually say I'll give restaurants another try but I had such a negative experience that I'd rather not go back. They have two vegetarian option that I saw and besides the ice cream being cute it all fluff. None of the guest had food, every one was on edge, most of the servers where behind the counter and never checked on their tables. Our server did apologize that it took over 45 minutes for us to get our food which was not cooked all the way. I got the garden panini, my friend got a club sandwich plus and ice cream share and the bill was almost $50 but the server was nice enough not to charge us for the food that did not arrive. I was very unhappy that I couldn't get any of the servers attention that I ended up going up to the counter to order the ice cream. Which was the whole reason we went to this restaurant. None of the servers were rude or anything they just were not present. If asked a question or went directly up to they talk to them they where fine but other than that they really did not do anything. I kept seeing them refill sodas but the staff seemed huge for us to have to wait so long. The new location is on strip mall and takes away from the home town feel my group thought we where going to have. To much hype. Ironic part is that I was looking at three awards that they got in 2018 for best in something and so on which just made me more frustrated that we were getting such bad service. Honestly I just wish my experience and meal would of been better. read more

We haven't been out much since March but needed to make a trip to Powhatan. We stopped in Mabel's because we heard the food was great. They are very concerned about patron safety. They had removed tables so there was more than 6 feet between tables. The menus were QR codes on the tables. Service was great and the food fabulous. We will definitely be back. read more

MABELS - Best banana split ever! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

This restaurant is one of our favorites in the area. The menu is big, and delicious. They are also open for breakfast, which is equally as good. We have been in many times and are never disappointed. They have daily specials which are always creative and new. Also they are know for their 11 dollar milkshakes, which are absolutely huge! One of them even has an ice cream cookie on the side of it. One of my personal favorites is the french dip with onion rings. Their onion rings are crispy and not the lease bit soggy so the onion doesn't just come out of the ring, leaving only breading. It's a quaint little restaurant with seating available outside, if desired. They also have many different coffee, pastry, and ice cream selections that you can just go in and order without having to be seated. Make sure you stop in here and grab something. Even try the huge 11 dollar shakes if you dare! Oh and one last thing, they bring you free mini cupcakes for dessert, which are amazing! read more

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We showed up around 1250 to enjoy the experience everyone talks about. They informed us it was a 45 minute wait and we said that's fine but we'd be happy to split our group. As we waited we saw (whom I can only assume is their friends)arrive and immediately be seated.... we spoke to them again and they said they were getting us a table.. We had given our order before we were seated so we didn't have to wait.... when we get into the back area there was 2 large tables and 3 small tables open. I'm not sure why they were making people wait when all these tables were available. We waited over an hour to get a table. Our food arrived. The milkshakes didn't... finally one by one they showed up. We got our checks before the milkshakes all arrived. The lady informed us the waiter we initially had walked out (quit? Was fired?).. entire experience was weird. Hope it's not their normal. read more

Phenomenal shakes and tasty lunch too! We had the cookies and cream shake and it was big enough to share between three of us!! Our server was Hannah and she was awesome! read more

MABELS - Cookies and cream milkshake - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

Mabel's is a mix of good and bad. Sandwiches were good, sides were lackluster, desert was great, kitchen was slow and inaccurate, and service was horrible. By far the slowest service I have ever received! We came for lunch, were seated at 12:10 but did not get all of our meal until 1:17pm. This is too long for sandwiches and burgers. Plus two of the burgers were wrong and the first attempt to fix both were not successful. Including an attempt to fix a burger that had two patties on it by removing the patty with the unwanted mayo on it and brining it back with just one patty. Seemed a little shady to me. The burgers and sandwiches were good once correct. The fries and chips were not great. Both were a bit soft and mushy. We did not get all of our deserts until 2:15. Half of the deserts came out and the rest waited over 15 minutes for theirs. The deserts were great and lived up to expectations after we finally received them. By the time we finally got the check and paid it was 2:55. We spent 2 hours and 50 minutes from the time we walked in until we left. This was way too long especially with 3 kids in our party. Service was extremely slow and we had to constantly ask for drinks to be refilled. The servers seemed distracted when talking to you and constantly look over at other tables. I felt bad for the table beside us, they both ordered burgers. He got his, sent it back to be fixed correctly and then had to go to the kitchen to get a ketchup bottle all before she got her sandwich. Hers was missing items as well so she had to wait for her burger toppings as well. The server told me he would take care of the charge for my burger (the missing patty fiasco from above). I didn't ask for it but I was appreciative. Then when he brought the will he said he would add a 10% off coupon instead. So instead of taking the $12.99 off it would have been about $9 off as I understood it. Not what he said originally but I was willing to go along with it. WRONG! He took 1.30 off my burger. This is a far cry from what he said he would do. We dropped $90 for lunch and desert here but felt like a bother to the staff. If I have a choice, I will not dine here again. I would not recommend Mabel's for any meals but would feel recommending for dessert if you have patience and low expectations of the wait staff. read more

Definitely came for the crazy shakes. Staff was super polite and sweet. Service was excellent. We did grab dinner before the shake. It was very good. Very flavors or. Definitely recommend the sampler appetizer, was delicious and gives you a chance to find what you like most. Dinner was excellent. Good selection of food. Quality was perfect, reminds me of home. And then the shakes. Big, beautiful, sugar coma worthy. Definitely would split with someone, unless you have a huge sweet tooth. Overall, and excellent place to stab and have a good dinner read more

MABELS - Unicorn Milkshake - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

First time in and will revisit. With the first bite of the patty melt I knew this was fresh, cooked just right and I loved that it came on deli bread instead of a huge bun. Onions rings perfect. Friend's chicken salad was generous, fresh and a nice assortment of greens. The chicken lightly seasoned and tender. Service very cordial and efficient. Yeah, a bit pricey but isn't everything these days? Oh, the lack of a physical menu is annoying. My smart phone couldn't get a signal but they have Ipads for you to use. Ipads and not menus????? read more

Don't know what happened to the mabels we knew! We had gone many times before now and the food was always so delicious and the milkshakes we're always so good. Today we went around 1pm and we were the only ones there the whole time, which was fine. We order 2 lunch burgers and chicken tenders and fries. The tenders were basically burnt and the fries were crinkle fries they bought at food lion nextdoor, not the fries they always had in the past. The burgers were ok but nothing special at all like in the past. They were out of lemons, certain bread and they were out of a lot of their shakes and ingredients to make them. How are they out of so many shake ingredients when that is the number one thing they are known for? I don't know if they have a new owner or manger or what the problem was but I'm definitely not going back there and paying those prices for food from food lion. I might go back only for a shake but not anytime soon. read more

Was surprised to see the lack of stars this place has! Other than the water tasting very weird we loved it! We got the cookie licious and would definitely recommend it if you can't make up your mind! It comes with cookies in it, whipped cream, frosting and chocolate drizzle and it will fill ya right up! We also got the appetizer sampler and this included fried pickles, mozzarella sticks, hush puppies and onion rings! It came out super hot and seemed fresh! I'd definitely re visit here if it was closer to me! I'll go back but, not frequently due to location! All in all we enjoyed it! read more

MABELS - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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Sadly, this place has been destroyed by their popularity. We used to frequent here as it is middle ground for my parents for grandkids exchange. Now, we will gladly go anywhere but. We made plans to meet here today and my husband said let's just go for ice cream. Remember last time how long we had to wait for food and how bad it was? And I agreed. We ate up the street and then came down for a shake. That was quickly shot down as we drove into the parking lot and saw the mass of cars. We walked in to a cluster of people standing in the entryway and no hostess. I could go on for days but most people have stopped reading by now. Bottom line....the place is understaffed, overworked, dirty, flies were everywhere. It's hard when you get too big for your britches. read more

We never have great service at Mabels but the kids love the shakes so we've gone back a few times. Tonight will be the last time. Understandably, due to Covid, restaurants have had to make adjustments and one of them at Mabels is that they don't seat parties of more than 5 together. However it would have been nice to know this when we put our name on the list for 6. After waiting 30 minutes for a table we were told that we'd need to sit at separate tables. Their fountain machine was down so they were serving soft drinks out of 2 liter bottles - it was flat. One person in our party never got their meal at all. They were out of 5 types of their shakes, and told us they were also out of vanilla ice cream. From start to finish, tonight's dinner and dessert took over 2 hours (waiting for service, waiting for food); additionally, their new location's AC unit seems to not be working very well on a 90+ degree day. We were sweating, hungry, and disappointed. We won't go back to Mabels - ever. read more

We checked in and there was a wait for an hour. We waited and saw multiple people get seated that came after us. When we finally got sat down, the food took about 45 minutes to get to us....we only got two appetizers. I will say, the milkshakes were fabulous. I wouldn't go here if you are looking to get in and out fast. read more

Let me start this off by saying that the shakes are good, which is why I gave the 1 star. However, the service was an absolute disorganized mess! It took them approximately 2 hours for 2 milkshakes!!! My family and I went to Mabel'S at 6:30pm this Wednesday evening, they weren't busy we were seated within 10 minutes of getting there and there were plenty of open tables. We didn't see our waitress until 7:20pm to finally take our order!!! We only ordered 2 milkshakes, that's it, no food or anything. We did not get them until 8:20pm!!! This is just unacceptable. If we had known it was going to take 2 hours for 2 milkshakes we would not have gone!!!! Just ridiculous!!! The only reason we stayed was because our kids were looking forward to going and we had promised them we would go and didn't want to break our promise to them. read more

I went there today to have lunch on the patio since we had our 2 dogs with us. I went inside to ask for a menu and was told that there was no patio service because of the construction. I would have been happy to wait on myself so to speak, but wasn't given the option. On Friday night we went there to eat, but were told that the kitchen was really backed up. On both occassions I went to another local restaurant where my business was appreciated. read more

This location is permanently closed. Sign on the door says "Opening in new location October 7, 2019." So disappointed last night. read more

If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. I have a gluten allergy and I have been so excited to try their shakes! I drove 40 minutes to get there to be EXTREMELY disappointed. I went to order a shake and asked to leave the piece of cake off because of my allergy. I was told they CANNOT alter the sundaes because they are trademarked. I then asked to place the piece of cake on a plate and still bring it and was still told NO! What in the actual f***?! I have NEVER been anywhere where they wouldn't be accommodating to my food allergy except this place! WORST SERVICE EVER!! Spread the word! read more

Very good food. Fresh and interesting menu and decor. Rear dining area is very nice. Pastries and ice cream are a sweet bonus. The wait staff is a weakness. Always nice and friendly but apparently overwhelmed. Don't let them seat you in the front dining room. It appears to be an overflow area, outside of the view of the staff, you'll likely be forgotten. I've had this happen both of the times I've been dining alone. Had to go out and find staff for drink refills. Once my food was delivered after it clearly had been sitting for a while. Like I said, forgotten. I'll be back, it's still a nice option just be aware. read more

Great food and friendly. A little pricey. Food is a delicious and fancy shakes are worth every penny!!!

The food was good but the shake, was NOT a shake. It was more of a frosty but WAY watered down. It really doesn't taste like a shake or good at all. One half of the "shake" was mostly whip cream so I'm EXTREMELY disappointed for the price of it. Just imagine getting a frosty from Wendy's and freezing it. THATS EXACTLY WHAT WE GOT! read more

Ice cream is great, over priced but good. The food that I've order here was not appealing nor tasty. See pic off the loaded fries for 8.99 The 2 staff members were pleasant, entirely over worked. read more

MABELS - Loaded fries - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

Fun place to eat! Kind of on the pricy side, but it's good for a special treat. We knew we wanted the desserts so went prepared to order just that. We got an appetizer to share with the table and split a crazy shake. The loaded fries did not disappoint and the avalanche dessert made with mint ice cream was so good. Even though we traveled an hour to get here we will definitely be back! read more

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My very first YELP review, so that should tell you something. Went to Mabel's last night for the 2nd time since they moved to the new location. The first time was very busy and took quite some time to be seated, but once we placed our order, it took about 20-25 minutes for the food to arrive and it was very good. Much to my dismay though, last nights visit was far from a good experience. We walked right in and were seated immediately... good start right??? We placed our order and waited.... and waited....and waited. The restaurant was not busy and there were 5 girls standing around at the ice cream station, but no food coming out. It took 52 minutes to get 2 "medium" hamburgers. And they were cooked beyond recognition... almost to the point of "crispy". And if there was a piece of a french fry that was longer than an inch, it was not in my serving. Could not have been more disappointed. To the owner, please, please, please, staff your KITCHEN so the food comes out more than a single order at a time and is cooked appropriately. We were so excited for a good burger place in Powhatan, and you could do very well, but if you aren't able to get good food out in a timely manner - people are not going to return.... like us. read more

Like many people, we came because of the Crazy Shake pictures. We drove 35 minutes to Mabel's for lunch & a shake. At 2pm on Saturday, there was a 30 min wait. They have some chairs out front on the lawn and it was a nice day, so that was fine. The place is cute, but small. I was glad to be with only the girls (table of 3), because only 1 of 6 tables in the front room can seat 4-5. There is also a small back room and a patio. We ordered two burgers and a kids mac and cheese with fruit. It took ~20mim for food. Food was okay. The burgers and fries were pretty good, although a little on the well done side and fries needed salt. We had to ask for silverware and the burger came without the bacon and had to be asked for as well. Fruit with kids meal is in a tiny cup (size of ketchup cup). We ordered the cookies & cream shake when the food came and we should have ordered even earlier. It took 30 min for the shake. The shake is definitely picture worthy and was enough for us to share. You get an Oreo Shake in a glass that is rimmed with vanilla icing (like cupcake icing) with Oreo bits pressed on it. There is a mound of whipped cream, two Oreo cookies and an Oreo ice cream sandwich. The shake itself is too thin/milky, maybe it sits while they finish the shake. The ice cream sandwich was good. I think you really pay for the labor and the presentation. Waited for the check and waited 15min with credit card ready before walking it to the counter. Staff was all friendly, but super slow. It took ~2hours for lunch. Overall, glad I went and tried it. If we lived close by and it was quicker, we would likely go back. For us though, I think it will be one and done. read more

MABELS - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

Food is not as good as it was before moving to new location. Our food was greasy and not very appetizing. read more