Another wonderful surprise! This little shop is exactly why Portland is so special--independent businesses with creative, one-of-a-kind concepts. We were craving ice cream, and Zephyr popped up on Yelp. As soon as I saw their shaved ice and ice cream creations, I was intrigued. They reminded me of the incredible shaved ice desserts I'd enjoyed in Hawaii and across Asia. The shop itself is charming, with fun signage and a welcoming atmosphere. Every ice cream combination sounded tempting, but I finally settled on the chocolate pretzel and the orange creamsicle. Both were outstanding, and it's easy to see why they've been voted one of Portland's best. The staff were thoughtful and attentive, and the owner was especially welcoming. He told us he was a former bartender, which makes sense--every syrup is made in-house, as is the ice cream. That extra care and craftsmanship really shine through in every bite. read more

We were in Maine for a quick trip and visited this little shop after watching multiple people walk by with heaping bowls filled with a strange concoction. I wasn't sure about the shaved ice and ice cream combo, but my gosh, I was blown away. We tried the coffee/caramel combo which had superb coffee flavor, but the Creamsicle was our favorite with raspberry syrup. We went back four times during our three day stay. That's how amazing it was. And the owners are simply wonderful people. Happy to chat with you and eager to make your experience five stars. Crowds move quickly through and the vibes of the shop are very tropical, upbeat and welcoming. The staff were friendly and super helpful, especially since the options are overwhelming. Next time we visit Portland we will definitely be back. If you haven't tried this little shop, give it a try. Wonderful!! read more

Zephyr Ice - Menu items - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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I was visiting Portland for a few days and had to check this place out because I love shave ice. I've had shave ice at lots of places, including Hawaii, and I honestly have to say this is the best I've had so far! I got the guava and passion fruit flavors, and they were both so flavorful and refreshing. The condensed milk and Li Hing Mui toppings were amazing and made it even better. I'll definitely be coming back the next time I'm in Portland. If you love shave ice, this place is a must try! read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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A true gem of a local business, incredible and unique sweet treats, fantastic customer service, a perfect location and the price is right! They get really busy at peak times so try to stop in at an off time if you can. Though the lines move quick so don't be afraid when you see it's out the door. Their homemade ice cream and syrups are really something special. The owners are such special community members. A must stop place if you're visiting Portland, and a regular place to keep in rotation if you live here! read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

Umm...WTH is this? Damn...light, sweet, not overbearing. And somehow refreshing. Wow wow wow. Can't wait to go back and try a tropical flavored one. They even have guava! My fav. read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

This was my first time trying Zephyr Ice, and I have to say -- it did not disappoint! The flavors were so tasty and refreshing, every bite was a little moment of joy. The owners were incredibly sweet and welcoming, which made the experience even better. Even though it was cold outside, I didn't care at all -- I was too busy enjoying how delicious everything was. The presentation was cute, the service was friendly, and it just felt like a little treat that made my day. I can't wait to come back and try more flavors. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, tasty experience! read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

You really have to try this. The staff/owner were so accommodating they made lots of adaptations to keep it dairy free. The coconut vegan ice cream was delicious. I was a bit confused by the concept at first and the idea of shaved ice on ice cream. I got the shaved iced coffee at first it was a bit weird but after a minute it was really really good. Cute space with parking right out front. read more

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This place reminds me of the shaved ice in Hawaii. We got Shaved Ice: Mango, Watermelon, Passion fruit with condensed milk. You can taste the quality in the ingredients. Definitely a great idea read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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Delicious shaved ice and super friendly service, even when it was busy! I had the macadamia nut with coconut mango snow cap and toasted coconut--SO good. Great flavors, great price. Will definitely be back! read more

Zephyr Ice - Macadamia Nut Shaved Ice with Mango/Coconut topped with Snowcap (condensed milk) and toasted coconut - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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Wow! Just WOW!!! Where do I begin; The facilities has a Vibrant, Bright, and Clean! The atmosphere has a total tropical vibe, feel of Hawaii, and sweet fruity smell! The service was astonishing. The sweet lady working the counter went well out of her way to explain the magic that Zephyr Ice creates in a bowl. The demonstrated Kindness, Tentative Approach, and Outgoing Energy is everything that you could ever want from a food service provider to your children! The Food: The MAGIC presentation started with the construction of the core of the dessert: the home made Ice-cream covered with fresh shaved ice! The Magic is then doused in the sweetest and most flavorful homemade syrups! And if you're lucky enough to top that magical treat... the hand crafted masterpiece will then get hit with a well paired homemade whip cream and Demi-sauce. As we were eating the food, the lady carefully watched and questioned my child as she milled through her dessert and asked if it was prepared the way she wanted, then insisted on remaking it a different flavor!!! This alone is why this company has 5 out of 5 over and over!! Among the 5 of us that made the trip to Zephyr Ice, 5 out of 5 desserts were FIRE. My children adored the service provided, loved the process of it all coming together, and devoured the unique experience at hand. We will be coming here again (and AGAIN)! read more

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Incredible. Absolutely delicious...even in winter!! Highly recommend! I had a custom dessert made by the wonderful, Julie. Vegan coconut ice cream with shaved ice with chocolate and coffee syrups, topped with roasted coconut. You have to support this local business. I'll definitely be back. read more

Yum! Came here on a whim with a friend and were warmly greeted by the staff. After a quick run down I ordered the rose kanani with classic vanilla and a mix of guava, passion fruit, and mango syrups. Their signage says all their syrups are house made and it's really cute to see them cup and shape the shaved ice. I'm *very* biased towards Taiwanese shaved ice because I love the ribbon-y, soft, milky texture and tend to really dislike straight shaved ice because it usually reminds me of chemicals and is not that pleasant to eat. Zephyr ice does a nice job of providing really strong and bold syrup flavors that tasted really refreshing. The ice cream was my favorite part because that's the kind of texture I prefer but I liked this combination and would try it again! read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

So delicious and refreshing! We had the special ice cream flavor, cinnamon cereal milk, which was amazing, along with blueberry, coconut, and pineapple syrup, and condensed milk. Amazing!!! Also fast and friendly service. read more

This place! Fruit flavored shaved ice with ice cream on the bottom--yum! If you are looking for a cool treat on a hot day this is just the thing. They are welcoming to everyone entering the shop and take the time to explain the ordering process, menu options, and specials. I ordered raspberry, banana, and lime with the homemade vegan coconut ice cream on the bottom and toasted coconut on the top. I am a big ice cream person and wasn't sure how this would go but it was so refreshing. We were also happy to hear they don't use dyes in their syrups. As they served us they told us just to ask if we wanted more syrup (we didn't) and even checked in after we started in on our orders. Excellent treats and service. A fun addition to Portland. We will be back. read more

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Such a cute little space, which such a great ice cream/ shave ice treat. Wasn't sure how I would like it, but after seeing the creamsicle combo I was in. Strawberry / cherry with vanilla was delicious! Beware parking lot next to building is for club only. Walk or park on the street. read more

UNREAL! I have never had shaved and ice cream together so I was skeptical or expecting something like a Rita's but it was unbelievable!!! Everything is house made and it was truly the best ice cream I have EVER had. The staff were so nice and answered all of our questions but I guess how can you be anything other than happy working in an ice cream shop. 10/10 all around, new fave dessert and will be the new craving for the rest of my life. read more

Zephyr Ice - Half eaten cookies and cream - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

This place was everything. I've been obsessed with sno cones since my youth. These are elevated because the syrups (along with ice creams) are made in house. My mom ended up loving this, too, since it wasn't the fake flavors of my childhood. Service was great and accommodating. You can get just a sno cone, just ice cream, or their signature of a sno cone with ice cream. We just got the sno cone. The place was popping as well. Owners and staff were great. read more

Zephyr Ice - Passionfruit and guava with snowcap - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

Oh My Heavens. Read about this place in The Portland Logbook and have had it down to try for a while now. Came in around 7:00pm and was immediately greeted by friendly and courteous staff who explained how it works. It is fairly overwhelming at first because of the options but that's what makes this so great. We have no allergies and aren't picky so we asked the cashier to surprise us. One of the best desserts I have ever had in my life. She ordered us a Cherry Passion Fruit Pie with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream. We got a small thinking the large was too big but wish we had gotten the large. It eats so easy and fast because of how lite the ice is. Highly recommend you try it . read more

Zephyr Ice - Cherry Passionfruit Pie with cream cheese snow cap, graham cracker, and Macadamia Nut Ice Cream. - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

One of the best desserts in Portland hands down. Service was great, owner is very friendly along with workers. Ice cream and syrups are homemade and are BOMB. So yummy! Will definitely be coming back frequently. read more

Zephyr Ice - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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Place is incredible and very combination the come up with is killer! Apple pie combo was amazing! Sweetest couple own the spot and can't recommend this place highly enough. All their syrups are homemade!!! read more

I first came across this place after a trip to Hawaii where I first discovered my love for shave ice. Back home here in Portland I just googled on the off chance there was a shave ice place nearby that I hadn't heard of and ...oh my goodness! So glad I found this place. Somehow the customer service is even better than the actual product, which is saying A LOT. The syrups are house made-they are not the syrupy fake tasting stuff. The rotating homemade flavors of ice cream are a special treat. And -thy have Li Hing as a topping!! IYKYK but if you don't-go here and try it. They even have some super fancy bladed machine thing that shaves the ice perfectly. Since the syrups are made with real fruit and the ice is no calories I tell myself this is my healthy dessert choice :):) read more

Just dropping in to leave another review for Zephyr Ice because it's an amazing spot with treats that are unlike any others in Portland. The soft shave ice is topped with homemade syrups made from real fruit (though there are always some non fruit flavors too), and the homemade ice cream that serves as the base is delicious too. I always get the macadamia nut ice cream and choose a combo for fruit syrups (I try to get different combos every time - part of the fun is the endless flavor combos!), and I usually opt for a condensed milk "snow cap" topping. They always have fun seasonal flavors and special combinations too. read more

I had Jerry's now cones in Memphis last year and now I am chasing the flavor which is what lead me to Zephyr. Ice cream and a snow cone in one? YES!! Zephyr is downtown and on a Thursday in June... no parking. Small shop, felt overwhelming with all the choices and signs. They are there to help though! The girl working the register was super nice and walked us through the process. She gave us all the options and gave some advice. Loved how helpful she was! I cannot tell you what each kid ordered but I can tell you what I had: Vanilla Ice cream on the bottom of the bowl Topped and surrounded with ice Hald drizzled in watermelon, half drizzled in cantaloupe Topped with condensed milk I wasn't in love with my combo choice which is odd because I love both flavors. If I did it again i would have swapped to cherry and watermelon. But it was good. Large size, enough to share and that was their smaller option! I do wish I had more opportunity to get to the vanilla ice cream earlier than did and have more shared bites of the ice cream and snow cone part. It wasn't Jerry's but I would suggest giving this a try! Also... they offered one of three ice cream flavors. Banana bread- I feel like I need to try this favor! read more

Zephyr Ice - Making that ice! - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

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Great quality shaved ice. All real fruit ingredients ! No coloring or corn syrup in their fruit flavorings ! Highly recommend and will be back! read more

Thought $10 for a large shaved ice was a little much....but totally worth it. We split the large between two people and it was perfect. The ice cream underneath was amazing. Service was also impeccable. Highly recommend read more

Zephyr Ice - Pineapple, raspberry, and coconut shaved ice (large) - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

Wow did not expect this to be this amazing. A special item everyone should try! Not your ordinary shaved ice.

This is not your typical shaved ice place. We stopped here one day while driving through and now we make it a point to stop here anytime we're coming through the area absolutely fantastic and had vegan options as well over the moon about this place. read more

If there was an option to give no stars, I would have chosen negative 5.. but I can't, so I choose 1. I had the displeasure to taste the apple pie flavored ice desert back in the fall, and I still think about it to this day. Horrible. Services was fine. Ambiance... subpar. The water ice desert.. now that, that's horrible. read more

Zephyr started out as a food cart at the Eastern Prom a few years ago, and I've loved watching their business develop and now grow in to a brick and mortar location. This sort of cute dessert cafe is exactly what Portland has been needing! We were greeted warmly and they explained the menu clearly. I had been at the food cart before, but this was my husband's first time, so he appreciated the explanation. The base price is $7.50, and then you pay for various upgrades including macadamia nut ice cream, extra fruit syrup, and toppings. You HAVE to get the macadamia nut ice cream- it is homemade and amazing. All the fruit syrups are made from scratch, so you really can't go wrong with any of them. We had macadamia nut ice cream, guava, coconut, strawberry, with a snow cap topping. It would be interesting if they branched out into boba tea, bing soo, or had more Asian focused desserts too (or even musubi!!). But really, they're rocking at what they're doing right now. They could use a little sprucing up inside, in particular the stools need a little love. read more

Zephyr Ice - Guava, coconut, and strawberry - Desserts Near Me - Portland, Maine

The yummiest treat with the kindest owners! Legitimately the best ice cream around. Their fruit syrups are all made in house and you can tell there isn't anything artificial in them. I recommend Zephyr Ice to everyone! read more

We stopped in after camping for a week in Maine. Two parents and four children all smelly, covered in dirt, and shave ice deprived. We've had the best shave ice around: Hawaii and NOLA. Never in my life did I think that Portland, ME would enter the top of tops. Seriously better than Hawaii! So amazingly good. The macadamia nut ice cream is life changing. The folks running it are just so kind. They helped us with big smiles and made sure we were all enjoying our treat. Great place and will make sure we stop in every time we're in the area. Which might be more often now that we've been here! Super easy to find location and clean also. Highly recommend!! read more

The best service I've received anywhere! Employees are willing to work with you and when I've needed more syrup/toppings they've made a point to add more without additional charge. The shaved ice/ice cream/toppings combos are amazing and you can tell the how fresh everything is from making their products in house. I get sent on a flavor journey every time I go. read more

The experience was unique and the ice-cream and shaved ice was delicious! We brought my parents and nieces and they all loved it!!

I'm from Hawai'i and fully approve of this shave ice! Delicious real fruit-based syrups, fantastic authentic flavors, and such a warm and friendly staff. Such a home away from home! read more

Amazing family with amazing ideas!! each time i've gone in you would think im someone they've known forever with the openness and kindness they treat me and each person that walks through those doors with. They really have an incredible thing going despite what may seem like an initially odd concept, and the home made ice cream is absolutely to die for. Gotta get the snow cap on top! Would give 20 stars if it was possible. read more

Stopped in the other night with a pal after dinner at LTH down the street. It had been a very hot day, followed by a very hot evening and we both thought shaved ice would be the right thing to do! The extremely nice owners were working that night, so we were able to learn all about the various fruit topping and syrups and also how they put a scoop of house made ice cream at the bottom of every bowl. As the owner explained, I couldn't stop thinking about the macadamia ice cream she had mentioned. It sounded incredible and while I LOVE shaved ice desserts, I started wondering if I could go with ice cream straight up! Well...the answer was yes, so I went with the macadamia ice cream with whipped cream and toasted coconut on top. Which was so so excellent, I urge you to head over to Zephyr ice for the ice cream alone! Overall, a great stop on a hot summer day or night. They also have a cart sometimes out at the Eastern Prom. read more

Guava and coconut with a touch of banana and the macadamia nut ice cream ( totally work the extra 1.50 !! ) and added the condensed milk drizzle. This is the closest you can get to real Hawaiian snow ice. I'm definitely coming back when I'm in the area. I wish they had this in NY! They had many flavors to choose one and they said their drizzles are all real fruit juices...which you can taste the difference. They have only opened for about a year and I hope their business does well. The owner was super nice and all of the staff was super helpful and accommodating!! read more

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Such a great little spot! We had shave ice on Maui and this holds up. Great service, awesome variety of interesting flavors (add macadamia ice cream, trust me). Can't wait to come back and try more! read more

Visited Zephyr Ice once and I can't stop thinking about my next visit. First and foremost, there's a 15 minute parking spot out front which works perfectly to grab your ice and either eat it in the car or find another place to eat it, but it's so convenient. As a macadamia nut fanatic I was super excited to try the macadamia nut ice cream base which did not disappoint. I got a small ice with cantaloupe and honeydew fruit flavors and a toasted coconut top. They use terms like "cap" and I don't exactly know what that is but it looks good. With so many flavor combinations and periodic specials, you could have a different flavor every day. So glad this exists in Portland! read more

This place is not only the happiest little place but it's all soooo well thought out. Instantly you get excited for your creation to come alive. The syrups aren't bright and full of dyes, and the flavors and service are top notch. Very good with allergies and curious kiddos. ;) read more