Rita’s Water Ice NYC
“Italian Ice and custard is just not found on the west coast (or if found, done well) and when you've had the best (Rita's), you gotta continue with the best.”
“Fortunately, the Jews allowed Rita's to come to the UWS so that we may all enjoy great custard and water ice.”
“It was 37 degrees out, so not the best weather for an icy treat but best believe I'll be back in the summer!”
Rita’s Water Ice NYC
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Inexpensive
8 reviews
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If it's sweet, I like it. If it's icy, I like it. If it's fruity, I like it. Now all three in one happy cup? Heaven! Sweet smooth frozen treat.
I'm a sucker for the blueberry, pink grapefruit and the pink lemonade Italian ice!!!
But there are too many options, too many combinations and too much flavor to enjoy but not enough tummy space.
It a small branch and space is a downside. It's a good thing there are benches nearby.
frozen custard
the creamiest and smoothest,
decadent without being overly sweet.
more than satisfied an ice cream craving.
will be back even in the middle of winter!
We stumbled in here during a date night after dinner. After perusing the menu and taking some tips from the friendly staff, we went ahead and ordered.
I got the twist custard cone and it was delicious! This stuff is creamier than regular ice cream. I went with simple rainbow sprinkles on top since that is a favorite of mine. It was a better-than-usual version of a simple treat. I meant to have a bite but are the whole thing #oops
I would definitely come back to this place! The only thing I'd do differently is share – I ordered the child size cone but it was still big.
Frozen fatness is the only way to do dessert in NYC summer. Rita's hits the spot when you just want to melt in cold creaminess. I highly recommend the vanilla frozen custard because nothing beats a classic, and the cookies 'n' cream ice. Skip the seasonal Dragonfruit, as it's mostly just pink sugar water.
I tried the gelati on my most recent visit. Cherry flavor with vanilla. I was told that the cherry/vanilla or the mango/vanilla is the most popular flavor. I have to say I really did not like the Italian Ice at all. I thought it really detracted from the custard and if I could do it again I would just stick to the custard.
I can see why kids love the Italian ice as it is excessively sweet. It is so sweet though that it doesn't go well with the custard.
Stick to the custard and you won't be disappointed. No guarantees with the italian ice though.
Summary: I highly recommend the frozen custard. The italian ice is overly sweet and some of the flavors have an artificial taste.
I didn't try their Italian ice but instead went for their twist custard which is a mix of vanilla n chocolate flavours. It was creamy, thick and not overtly sweet which is kind of gud. But nothing in particular that blew off my mind!
I like the coconut, watermelon, and cotton candy flavors. The gelati hits the spot when you need to cool down!
Perhaps my attatchment to this place is sentimental; in April 2012, the beau, before we started dating and we were merely platonic homeslices, we met up for ice cream one evening. He bought me a bowl of vanilla custard with hot caramel sauce, which I thought was very sweet of him. We sat outside and ate it and talked for many hours more, post-dessert.
AWWWWWWWWWWW.
Okay, moving on from this sap fest, haha…
I do like Rita's namely for their custards over their ices. The ices are fine, but I am a soft-serve lovin' gal, and I've always had an affinity for the extra thickness of a good custard. I go to Rita's pretty strictly for that. I have had their cherry and strawberry ices in the past, however, and I love to top them with a little bit of vanilla custard! (I can not NOT have any. Ha!) I've also had some of their mixed ice creams (think "Blizzard"), and they are pretty tasty as well! However, because of nostalgia and my love of the custard and hot caramel sauce, I almost always get that same dessert I was gifted four years ago.
Once again, I'm getting too sentimental in a review of a ice cream / ice spot. Ha!
It's a nice alternative to the other ice cream / froyo spots in the area, which are admittedly a little sparse. It's always nice to make the trip down here to switch things up.