Carvel

Amazing birthday experience: We ordered a Fudgie the Whale to San Francisco and they were able to ship it overnight via fedex. My friend was blown away! Thank you Stephan and the team for making this possible.

Rude and racist shop owner. He originally gave one price and then increased the price once he rang me up. Then decided to “meet in the middle” and still ended up charging me $5 extra, like he was somehow doing me a favor?? SCAM. I had him put an ethnic name on the cake and he asked me “what religion is this?” I truly have no words for this man. Then he abruptly said, “BOY OR GIRL” when deciding what color to put on the cake (blue or pink). Is this the 1920’s? Can you just ask what color to make the icing… such a hostile and rude experience for no reason- especially when ordering a celebration cake. I’ve had better experiences getting my tires changed or at the DMV. It’s that bad. And the shop is so dirty. I’m not sure it’s up to health standards, ended up throwing the cake out and buying a different one entirely.

These guys make a delicious and consistent product and we always get their ice cream cakes for our celebrations. They went out of their way to ensure my child got their birthday cake after we were evacuated during the wildfires and I will always be grateful to them for this! Plus the cake looked amazing!! Really thank you so much if you are reading this- you made a really hard transition for us a little easier. * note call the store directly to order and do not use the online cake ordering portal- it will look like it went through but it doesn’t work for the LA location. Once they have your order they are the best!

worker was kind. especially at 1030 still was very nice and made conversation. as a new yorker, where all the carvels primarilary are, i’d say this is a great location! not out of this world great but it’s also the only location in the state. go here if you can!

The Ghirardelli Chocolate ice cream cake was yummy! We bought a cake for my son, and it was pricey to me for its size. Also, beware that you get the cake that you think you're getting because the box will show a vanilla and chocolate cake, yet when you cut it, you may get a surprise. I would suggest you read the top of the box and ask the worker to confirm what type of cake is ACTUALLY inside. Enjoy!!!

The best ice cream in town. They offer soft serve, swirls, sundaes, shakes, ice cream sandwiches, pint sized assorted flavors. Definitely will visit again.

Will never return to CARVEL. I visited on Sunday, October 3rd, with my family to try out the new Sanderson Sisters shakes.We ordered all three: Sarah's Chilling Churro, Winnie's Glorious Cake Batter and Mary's Devine Cookies & Cream. First disappointment was that Winnie's Glorious Cake Batter was not available due to, what we were told was, delivery on ingredients not arrived. But the sweet employee assured us if we ordered one of the other two shakes she would provide the collectable Winnie spoon. It was a long wait for the shakes to be prepared, at no fault of the employee, but management's fault for scheduling only one employee to run the store. The shakes were done and the 80 degree weather had me so ready for a sip. Unfortunately, my Mary's Devine Cookies & Cream was also 80 degrees. The texture was like warm tomato paste from a can. The flavour had me wondering where the cookies in cookies & cream were. My first thought was maybe mine was a fluke and asked my family if I could take a sip of there's. Nope all were the same watery texture, which is a shame since there are signs in the store and on their website that state they have THICK shakes. As for the flavor of Sarah's Chilling Churro, the only way I could describe it, is like doing the viral Cinnamon Challenge. My mouth was left dry. I left feeling so disappointed that I spent over $10 for EACH shake and angry for the employee left alone to handle the mess of a store. Where was the management to help with the long line. Where was management to help fix broken machines. Where was the management to make sure deliveries on ingredients arrived on time. CARVEL IS A JOKE! There is a reason only one location is left in California, because you can literally get better shakes and ice cream at Rally's hamburgers. Save your money people and don't waste your time on the Halloween hype.

There is nothing like a creamy, delicious Carvel soft serve ice cream. I make the trip here near Westwood just for this. In addition, the staff is always very friendly.

Ice cream is soft and delicious at this hidden gem in the Santa Monica and Westwood area. You will need your GPS because you can easily miss it or pass it by in this tiny little strip mall. Love the ice cream and Ice Cream sandwiches. Everything taste all genuine here compared to your ordinary and average ice cream. Nice people and cool spot to have ice cream.

What We Ordered: -Small Cup of Swirl Soft Serve with 1 Topping $7.61 I grew up eating Carvel. You can imagine it was very nostalgic for me. I use to eat Carvel's famous ice cream cakes for special occasions. It brings back so many great memories. They have several different kinds of ice cream cakes, but they are largely known for the Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale ice cream cakes. This is the only remaining location left in California. I really was looking forward to coming here. I'm not going to lie. I was very disappointed when I came inside and it looked the shop was going out of business. First off, there was a handwritten note on he door about calling for service. I thought was odd, but I saw people inside and decided to ignore the message on the door. The shop was bare bones. There was no ice cream on display. I was immediately confused and felt duped. Where was all the ice cream? I wanted to try one or two flavors then decide which one to purchase, but that experience was taken away from me as they didn't have any ice cream on display. I asked the owner where all the ice cream was and he said they had it and he came around to show me the different flavors. The odd thing was that all the ice cream was prepackaged in containers you receive the ice cream in when you order it. Meaning the ice cream was not in pint size containers from the factory. They were packaged in house. Really bizarre set-up! There's so much competition in Ice cream game. I don't see how Carvel can continue to remain open running their franchise like this. I really hope they can continue to stay in business and figure out how to get out of the hole. These days all it takes is for something to go viral to give restaurants the big break they need. I ordered the soft serve because I really didn't have any other options. I got a small twist soft serve with crunchies for a topping. If you are not familiar with crunchies look them up! They are a topping they use in the paste for their ice cream cakes they provide this wonderful crunch texture. I really like this texture and the vanilla soft serve was quite good. I will say that the price of small ice cream is quite expensive. Over $7 for a small soft serve is a bit steep even with inflation and one topping. I'm giving it 3 stars because the ice cream was pretty good. If the ice cream wasn't good. I would having given it 2 stars or less. Price and lack of options drove the score down for me. I wouldn't come back due to the status of the shop being a bit in disarray.

No one inside. No one answering the phone. It's 3:30 on a Monday. :( We were hoping to re-live a childhood memory but guess not.

When I went to the store there was great employee who was really nice. He encouraged us to try new flavors and my whole family left feeling great. He does the best dipped cones.

Oh, how I miss Carvel back in NY! This location is the only one in California. I grew up with Carvel ice cream birthday cake pretty much every year as far back as I can remember! I especially love their soft serve vanilla ice cream and flying saucers. Ever since I moved to NorCal from NY I've missed Carvel. So when I was in SoCal I made sure to stop by for my fix! Not the nicest location tbh. Small parking lot. Area looks a bit run down as well as the store. They could definitely use a refresh. But I didn't mind as long as the ice cream was legit and it was! I figured I'd go all out, and I ordered both a soft serve in a cup and a flying saucer. They didn't have the sugar cones I used to get back in NY. But that's okay, I was just happy it all tasted exactly how it should! The vanilla soft serve ice cream was the perfect smooth creaminess I remember. The flying saucer chocolate cookie part had a nice crunch and wasn't soggy. I hope this location stays open forever. I'd love for a closer location, but for sure, I will stop by whenever I'm in town for it!

Zero star!!!!!! I just buy sunday ice cream , front side the shop has promotion buy 1 get 1 free. But he charges for 2 orders and i ask him for promotion buy 1 get 1 free... he say.. it's close and no more...!!!!!! I think... it is scam... it is not fair to customers..

0 stars if I could!! There is a reason why this place has so many terrible reviews. The owner is extremely rude and disrespectful. I tried to call several times and ask questions... as one does when purchasing cakes. He was condescending and hung up on me multiple times. I will never be ordering from here. Ended up ordering from Baskin Robbins, which had better pricing and kind customer service.

It's nice to have a Carvel for a taste of the East Coast. Quality isn't quite the same but you know exactly what it is even without any label on it. That said their prices have gone from kinda expensive to absurd. I get inflation has affected things but a six pack of flying saucers with sprinkles is now $25. Back east they are still $14-$17. Mediocre sundae is now also over $10. It's a shame but nostalgia isn't worth a huge markup.

Wish I could give 0 stars. My girlfriend has a name from a different culture and when the owner saw the accent marks on her name he said "whatever that means".... Like what? We called ahead to get help and he literally hung up on us. Only reason she still went and got the cake is because he's the only carvel shop in the city and she wanted to relive a childhood memory. He was blasting Fox News and talking to her about the death penalty...

the food is just okay but the server was super sweet and attentive despite how late we came in so I bumped it up a star. Inside is weirdly messy and unorganized.

*WARNING* DO NOT do online business with this Carvel franchise or do so at your own risk. They are completely disreputable. They will take your money and not confirm your online order. Here's a summary of my experience: - Monday, May 6 - I placed an online order for a Fudgie the whale personalized birthday cake plus one box of candles for my husband's birthday with a pick up time/date between 4-5 pm on Saturday, May 11. I did this on the Carvel website. Order total $55.01. - Tuesday, May 7 - I received an email from Carvel saying my order was not confirmed and to call the Carvel store to confirm my order. - Tuesday, May 7 - I called the store and spoke with owner/manager who grumpily told me he would not honor the online order because he did not want to pay the 15% fee to corporate. He said he would cancel the order and it would need to be replaced either in person or over the phone. He asked me to email my order to him and he would call me back. The store is open until 11 pm - I received no call back or response to my email. - Wednesday, May 8 - no call back received or response to my email. More importantly, i received no order confirmation. I called again and left a message with his staff who told me only the owner could confirm or cancel my order and refund the charge. In the meantime the $55.01 charge hit my bank account. I emailed again and asked that my order be cancelled. - Thursday, May 9 - still no response from the owner/manager. No order confirmation either. His staff once again took my message and said they'd pass it on. Now I'm really nervous because I have no order confirmation, no cake for my husband's birthday party and I'm working with a franchise owner who has clearly expressed he will not accept an online order because he will have to pay corporate 15% for online orders. Oh yeah, he's already charged my account. Not sure about other Yelp customers but taking four days to respond is inexcusable. Putting a charge through a customer's checking account without confirming an order is a really bad business practice. Am I furious - yes! All this stress and I still don't have a fudgie the whale cake for my husband's birthday this Saturday. And I have no confirmation that my money will be refunded for this terrible customer service. And if you read their Yelp description they clearly state they do catering and online orders -- not true. As they say "let the buyer beware..."

Manager is actually so rude. I went there some time ago and he was so abusive towards his staff. It was painful to watch his staff sustain his words!! Such horrible service too, this place should not still be standing. The man who owns this place is not all there and needs serious help.

My wife tried my chocolate vanilla twirl cone and can confirm that this was the warmest and most chemically tasting yucky ice cream we have had in a long time. It was so warm, I think that the artificial ingredients must have kept it from running down the cone and onto the ground. We both love a good cone and go to McDonalds on Pico at Fairfax for our fix. Just say no to Carvel unless they can explain what the heck happened on that sad sad day we are there

I had been waiting for this moment for years. It's been on my bucket list to eat a Fudgie the Whale cake ever since I found out about its existence. Sadly, I don't visit or live in the Eastern half of the country where most Carvel shops are. The only one within driving distance from where I live is this one! So, when we were in the LA area I figured hey let's try it. I first placed an order several days in advance for good ol' Fudgie. The small size cake serves 6-8 and is about $50. The order went through with an email payment confirmation soon after but then the next day I got another email saying the online system could not confirm the order with the actual store so I would have to call. So, call I did. I got a pleasant person on the phone who apologized, saying the online system doesn't get through to them sometimes but she would take my order and have it ready by my requested time. My actual pick up time was a bit delayed (Darn that traffic and running on toddler time) but I was so relieved to actually get to the store! Then, my heart sank as it looked like the shop owner(?) was closing up the shop well before the advertised closing time. I quickly got out of the car to see if I could pick up my order. Luckily I caught him just in time. My order was ready and waiting for me inside the shop nestled in between his pod of other Fudgie whales. Hooray for Fudgie! The person at the store had a gruff demeanor and wasn't winning any politeness points from me but I gotta commend him for helping drive his cake maker back home (That was the reason he was temporarily closing the store when I got here). The cake maker did a wonderful job with my cake as it was really delicious. The fudge top frosting layer was perfect with the chocolate crunchies on the outside and inside of the cake, and the chocolate and vanilla layers were even, smooth and creamy. Fudgie looked fabulous!

Growing up in Brooklyn New York used to go to Carvel ice cream all the time with my parents. This is one of the best ice creams around flavor consistency and I like soft serve ice cream. Unfortunately this is the last location in California. Ice cream is top notch make sure you check out their flying saucers and their ice cream cakes as well as their ice cream cones you will not be disappointed

This business is dysfunctional! The man who runs it, is discombobulated and rude. I used to place orders with him over the phone and always found him to be difficult to deal with. I tried ordering through Postmates and they canceled the order. The store is barren and unkempt. I don't know where this business went downhill but I will be going elsewhere.

I grew up on carvel on Long Island NY where there was a carvel ice cream store every 10 miles. Carvel is the best ice cream on Earth! The soft serve is always the way to go! But the flying saucers are a fantastic blast from the past! Where else can u get a Fudgie The Whale cake or a genuine Cookie Puss?? Tom Carvel was a blessing to the ice cream world & a true ice cream genius. Frozen custard aerated to provide the perfect taste. Chocolate soft serve cone with chocolate sprinkles is my go to every time I'm in the area. ***To the negative review posters especially those from the east coast that grew up on Carvel.... Please reconsider your rating/reviews as this is the only Carvel in So Cal or CA that I am aware of. The product is what you desire, not the aesthetic appearance of the store! Just enjoy genuine authentic Carvel ice cream straight from the source & the delicious fond memories it brings!!! You can always visit the east coast if u really want to relish that deeply but, that of course would be much more costly & time consuming!Remember, this is a singular store completely isolated by great distance from the rest of the franchise. The owner is bearing the brunt of these economies of scale to bring you fresh genuine Carvel without the cost & hassle traveling cross country.

ZERO STARS!!!! This company will take your money, will not make your order and will attempt to keep your money for orders not made. Do not continue to keep them in business. Buckle in for my review. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do business with this location. I've never heard of this company but a Fudgie the Whale cake was requested by the birthday boy. So, of course I ordered one immediately online to pick up from the Santa Monica location. The money was taken out of my account and I received an email confirming that my order was placed. Then the night before (5/5/24 7:01pm) I was scheduled to pick up my cake, I received an email stating that the location has not confirmed my order yet and that I should call the store. In a panic, I called several times up until their 11pm closing time and no one answered. I called the store the next morning (5/6/24) several times, no answer. I called the corporate number and kept getting a message that said, "We sorry, we're unable to take your call, please try again." So, the day of the event, 5/6/24, I had to scrambled to get a very last minute cake elsewhere. I called corporate again but this time the message said no one was available and to press 1 to hold my place in line and get a call back. I pressed 1, confirmed my phone number and decided to go to the website and see if there was another way to get ahold of corporate. I submitted a complaint through the website and waited. I want to note that no one ever called me back from corporate. I called the store, over and over throughout the day to see how to get a refund, no answer. At the end of the day, around 9pm, I attempt another call to the bakery and finally get someone on the phone. I quickly explained my situation and the guy said that he doesn't receive online orders then asked for me to call him back in 5-10 minutes. Now, I know I should have said no but I was shocked at this request and was trying to stay calm. I called back per his request and no answer. I called several times, even on a different phone, no answer. The following day, (5/7/24), I called the corporate number again and was actually able to get someone on the phone. After explaining my situation, I was told that they were going to reach out the the person overseeing that location. Out of curiosity, I finally looked up this company on Yelp and read that I'm not alone in my experience with this location. A little later I received a call but because I was working, I did not answer. When I was free, I listened to the VM and it was the same guy at the store who asked me to call back in 5-10 minutes. Basically said that he was told that I submitted a complaint that he hadn't reviewed yet. That he doesn't take online orders anymore and asked what I was looking for. At this point, I only want written correspondence so there is no he said/she said. So, since he called me from a cell, I texted my response asking for a refund. I waited days as I know it can take banks 5-7 business days to process a refund. I sent a follow up text to check on my refund status, he read the text and did not respond. I called corporate again, only this time to be told that they are unable to process refunds for franchise locations. That this location does receive online orders. That they do not have the capability to process refunds for the franchised locations and suggested I reach out to my bank to get a refund while they investigate. Which I did. Thanks for reading.

Nasty it's fake not even a real carvel different ingredients. This should not even be aloud. Someone needs to check this out not sanitary

I have enjoyed Carvel's for years and told my Uber passengers on the West Side about this New York delicacy, but the owner continues nevertheless to treat me like crap! Baffling...

I will add myself the chorus of voices giving this place a bad review. I've been to this place once before. Back then the employee was enthusiastic about carvel but the shop itself seemed just like any small ice cream shop. Nothing special. This time was worse because the guy at the counter was plain rude. After waiting for him to finish flirting with some young ladies, it was my turn. They had maybe a dozen selections of ice cream, none with labels. I'm not a frequent visitor and I'm a visual person, so the lack of labels was very annoying. I commented on the lack of labels and asked for the flavors and the guy listed all of the ice creams. I asked somewhat rhetorically why they didn't have labels as I was deciding which flavors to try. Apparently that was enough to set him off because he accused me of being difficult and made comments about how he didn't have to answer my questions. I was shocked. Good customer service sometimes means putting up with customers that might be annoying to deal with. He could have been apologetic in addressing my concerns and suggested some popular flavors to try and steer the conversation in a more productive direction. Once he made the accusations I decided I had enough. I said "Thank You" and promptly left. As I noted in the beginning of this review there is nothing special about this shop other than the brand name, and I'm surprised they are still in business.

If I can give 0 stars I would! I was picking up for uber and the guy in the fro t doing orders brushed his hand on my butt. At first I thought it was a mistake. Once he brought the cake over to me he tried touching my daughter's shoulder: PLEASE SAVW YOUR MONEY AND GO ELSE WHERE!!! My daughter is only 14

The health department should shut this place down. I was so disgusted how filthy everything is in this shop I immediately threw my ice cream away upon walking out. How are you still doing any business?

Probably the best soft serve I've had in some time. Quick service. Feels like an old school shop.

Do place an order online via the corporate website because this location will not receive it, and then they'll act like it was your mistake for placing it online in the first place. The payment for the order will have gone through, and you'll het the run around when trying to get a refund for an order that you paid for, but was never made. Eventually, you'll have to dispute the charge through your bank, and will have to wait months for the charge to be removed. I know all this because this was my experience with this location. I wanted a Fudgie the Whale for my birthday. I did not get one.

Don't listen to the snowflake reviews. The owner is a great guy & ive bought multiple cakes from him

Can't believe this place is still in business. The owner is rude and extremely limited product selection. Must be easy to make a profit if this place can. Wont be getting any of my money again. Im giving my business to Rita's down Sepulveda @ Palms. Very nice employees there and many flavors to choose from.

Once a big biz, one in Woodland Hills 1970s - 1990s. I hear this is the LAST store (a francised store) in CA. What a mess ! Owner there, must be demented or mentally ill, why doesn't the Health Dept inspect & close it ? Tasted ok as eat but within 1-2 hours, became SEVERELY sick, the symptoms lasted 24 hours...a nightmare. Don't go !

It's Carvel!! We love it, we need it! Some of these reviewers on here are over analyzing and searching for faults, like they're giving out Michelin stars or something!

I have never been treated so badly by a manager/owner. Not only did he refuse to walk me through the options of the menu, he asked me if I had been there before, and then showed us out the door truly experience for somewhere that has never had a single customer in it every time that I've gone, spend your earned cash somewhere else

I'm reading these reviews about "the grouchy old guy behind the counter" or whatever. I've been coming to this Carvel since moving to LA 11 years ago. It's now the only one in Southern Cal, I'm from NY where my childhood was non stop Carvel like many NYers. It's great to see at least one here. The soft service is just as good as it's been albeit more pricey. These are franchise locations and the guy behind the counter is the owner. Not only is he the owner, but he is now holding the mantle for anyone who wants Carvel here in America's 2nd largest city. He has a hard time finding workers as is now the case with many establishments. He even had a sign saying "HELP WANTED TO REMAIN OPEN" a few weeks ago! Maybe he isn't as nice or as pleasant or as fake as some people out here.... But he is doing what he can to make sure something that's part of the eastern part of this country's fabric is not lose from the City Of Angels. Through Covid he is still there. So let's cut this guy a break... and be happy we can still get Carvel, It will be a sad day when going to this yelp page and it says "Yelpers report this location has closed." Cut him some slack. The soft serve is legendary. I suggest strawberry sundae or hot fudge.

If you wanna straight to the point delicious ice cream shop that makes the best ice cream cakes ever! They look no further, it's easy to see why parking is difficult here this place is absolutely one of my favorite ice cream shops they keep it nice and simple but the flavor choices and options are perfect I couldn't say no to the vanilla Oreo cookie but next time I come back I'm going to do cookie dough and Reese's peanut butter cups! They also offer Sundays and a wonderful assortment of ice cream sandwiches!! I ordered the Oreo shake with vanilla ice cream the soft serve... I am in heaven it feels just like putting my head on a pillow and feeling uncomfortable soft enveloping breeze of cooler that puts me to sleep if that was a flavor? That would Be the delicious and soothing shake Im Drinking now

Drove about 30 minutes here with my kids and they only had vanilla & chocolate soft serve. I don't know why online it shows they have many soft serve flavors.

Wow! The miserable old guy behind the counter really is unbelievable. Rude, dismissive, downright nasty. Barely lifted his head out of the TV set when I walked in and was clearly upset that he had to deal with a customer. Worst attitude ever. On a brighter note, if you have a hard time making up your mind - this place might be for you. You get to choose between chocolate or vanilla ice cream. That's it. The ice cream itself is greatly overpriced and very mediocre. The store itself is disorganized and dirty, and the whole experience sucked. I won't be back. And the fact that so many of the reviews for this place are so bad (and speak to similar issues), it really is amazing that this place gets any customers at all.

No ice cream since Covid. Soft serve only. The girl working seemed startled to see a human and anxious. Paid $9 for a basically a McFlurry. Overpriced. I assume they'll be out of business soon

Send your complaint to Carvel corporate: https://survey3.medallia.com/?carvel-contact-us&br=2 The owner contacted me, asking me to change my review. I said I'd normally consider it but since there were so many other ppl with my same exact complaints, no-can-do, Don!

First of all, if you make the mistake of ordering a Carvel cake online - you will get a call from this location's unapologetically gruff owner telling you the website doesn't work and you need to deal with him directly. So just know that whatever purchase you've already made will be canceled and you'll have to start all over again. Then, if you make the mistake of having a photo cake made like I did - you will eventually discover that this location's unpleasant owner doesn't actually have any of the necessary printing supplies to create an edible image. Of course, he won't bother to tell you that up front. Instead, when you go to pick up the cake, you'll discover that it's not ready - because he's had to drive to some other third party place across town to print the image. Which means you'll have to wait for an hour while he fights traffic and then rushes back to haphazardly assemble it in his store-- not to mention crappily add the personalized decoration you paid for, as well. (See photo of the $100 cake attached with my friend's face blurred to prevent any further embarrassment beyond what Carvel already caused). Then finally, just to add insult to injury, you'll get to watch the jerkwad owner take out his frustration over his own incompetence by unfairly yelling at his only employee - as if any of the nonsense you've just witnessed was that poor kid's fault. And yes, whether Yelp wants anybody to mention it or not--while you're being subjected to all of this terrible customer service and low quality product-- you also get to look around at a cluttered and dirty store that clearly takes much more pride in its sycophantic support of the worst president in American history than living up in any way to a beloved east coast ice cream brand. I cannot for the life of me understand how this nasty joint is still open - but I can sure tell you this much: I will never, ever go back.

I called to order a cake and find out how the rewards worked since my husband signed up to receive a free cone for his birthday. The person who answered the phone was extremely rude, wouldn't even let me finish my sentence and said I have no idea what you're talking about we don't have rewards. "We're not in business to give free cones." No sht. I obviously didn't order a cake from them and will warn every person I know about the service they'll get from this place. I hope he finds peace but am absolutely baffled at how this location is still in business. Save your money, your patience and go anywhere else to not be treated so poorly. That person isn't grouchy, he's downright miserable and wants everyone he comes into contact with feel the same.

this is a no-go. The first pictures are misleading! it's great if you want a cake but they do not have soft serve like the site promotes. They only had vanilla and chocolate so we asked for swirl only for the chocolate to come out looking like diarrhea. We then switched to vanilla and it literally was like whipped cream consistency the ambiance was giving busted, unclean, piles of boxes visible in the back, spoiled containers that left you questioning when the last time they refreshed the toppings was ‍

First & LastTime!!! Awful rundown and dirty place, unorganized and nothing available. Had Good Memories of Carvel Shop in San Gabriel and their delicious Cherry Vanilla, which closed 30 yr ago, excited to find one in CA. Carvel website boasts beautiful pictures of many different flavors and a Wed BOGO soft serve sundae. This is only location entire state of CA, It's 20 mi away, so decided to make day trip on the way to Santa Monica Beach. Opens at 11am. Arrived at 11:15am, door locked. Lady worker inside, I knocked on window, she let me in. All 4 Soft Serve Machines empty, Only two machines being used, but the parts dismantled and laid out to dry, other two were inoperative. All ice cream metal tubs empty. I asked, where's all the ice cream? She didn't speak English, shrugged her shoulders and kept wiping down machines. Your website said open 11am, again she shrugged, threw her hands up and swivel her head left & right, as in "No". Asked, "No hablas en Ingles" said 'sí no Ingles' (yes, no English) Twilight Zone Moment. Beautiful website pictures lured me in, and I get this twisted reality of hell on ice cream planet. I checked out the Freezer Displays, entire Left Bank filled with ice cream cake prep pans in various stages of construction. Center bank with more cake supplies and only 6 flavors of packed pints. Main Bank for scooped ice cream filled with empty metal tubs. Final freezer on right had cakes and same flavor pints. I took a video to illustrate my descriptions. I sat down, called corporate to inquire what's wrong with this Carvel shop and to report sad state of affairs, they said this is privately owned franchise and owner can do whatever they want and not bound by corporate standards. Told them this shop is an embarrassment for their corporate image and gives me a lousy impression. She said, thanks for your input, will relay message to corporate, have a nice day. Buh-Bye. Now 11:20am, young lady employee arrive rush into the back room. Came out, asked her what's going on? Answered all my questions with total blanks, but very sincere, nice and polite. She said just got here, is new 2wks & part time only trained how to sell and collect payment, first time opening store, nobody trained her what to do. Just now realized she should've asked because doesn't know anything. Doesn't know how to run soft serves, had to call, mgr not answer phone, called co-worker walked her through, but takes 20-30 min to be ready to dispense. Doesn't know about the empty ice cream tubs or what flavors available, has to see what's in the back freezer, but wasn't trained if she should fill the display case with those tubs or what? Checked back freezer to report what flavors avail, came back, can't tell, nothing labeled. Seasoned employees can tell by looking. Poor dear girl, I reassure her, didn't blame her at all, was not properly trained and doing the best she can. 18 yo, just summerPT job before go college. Very apologetic to me asked me to pls wait 20 min, will check if soft serve firm enough yo serve. Because I told her interested in the Wednesday special Buy One Get One Free Sundae. She said Owner told her he does not do that and not to honor any requests. I showed her website, clicked on this location, it shows all available services including this bogo.click back to home page- The only*with disclaimer says soft serve Sundae only and buy one get one only for same price or lower. Does not say anywhere 'at participating locations only' Again I called corporate, they explain bcuz this owner is independent franchise he can do whatever he likes. Told them corporate website misleading, does not say participating locations only. Rude unhelpful lady said I should have phoned them first to ask if avail. Told her will sue false advertising (half-kidding/not) she said have nice day and hung up on me. Hahahaha apple not fall far from tree!! Of course I didn't wait around... Eff this lame ass dump. Disappointing AF It's a wonder they stay in business, Probably because of their busy catering business, as this yelp page boasts. If people came to shop would be disgusted. I had the pleasure of Not meeting Owner, Based on others reviews, Owner sounds like a jerk, and the way this poor young employee left to Flounder at his shop without any training.

I go here for the best ice cream (grew up in NY blah blah blah); but most importantly I go for the performance art of the bat shit insane owner. Misanthropic, rude, no sense of customer service - but it's like watching a David Attenborough nature documentary: you're watching a rare specimen operate as if all social mores do not exist in his world. You're a spectator and should embrace the inhospitable service as a unique and authentic experience unlike The Weiner Circle in Chicago where everyone is in on the joke.

This is the only Carvel in Los Angeles and as someone who grew up in NY, may I say I'm desperate for more.

The ice cream was amazing! It was actually soft serve but tasted like frozen custard. The chocolate crunchies were so delicious and really added to the flavor. The guy who helped us was the owner I think and he was very enthusiastic about the ice cream and very friendly and helpful. The inside of the restaurant was kinda messy and not very nice so that's why I took away a star.

I've been driving by this place everyday before and after work everyday and finally decided to go in. My order was yummy, and although the girl helping me was very polite and helpful, she was not wearing any gloves, nor did she take any measures of cleanliness. With the previous guest before us, we observed the employee taking the customers cash, then processing a POS transaction, answer the phone, as well as sharing a pen with the guest (all without gloves). After the guest left, the employee didn't wash or sanitize her hands and continued to touch and use the same thing to scoop toppings (which were overflowing on her hands and falling back into the tray of toppings) Again, very nice girl, but, it's very important to comply with measures that are in place especially in any food handling businesses... and especially during Covid!

I got a Fudgie the Whale cake here, a little pricey but plenty of servings and it was very well-made and delicious.

1 Star out of 5. (Not Good) With over 300+ locations nationwide, this is the only Carvel's Ice Cream in all of California, and it's horrible! Kid's Cone w/ Swirl: 1/5 My Food Rating = F Ambience/Decor: 1/5 Presentation: 1/5 Service: 3/5 Cleanliness: 1/5 Price: 1/5 My Experience Rating: F Location: 2/5 Wait: 5/5 Hours: 4.5/5 Parking: 3/5 My Convenience Rating: B- Pros: - Really can't think of any. Cons: - Expensive ($3.99 for a kid's cone, which is about half the size of a cone at McDonald's., and it's not even a waffle cone). - Dated Interior - Filthy - Only two flavors, just chocolate and vanilla. Conclusion: I live 3 minutes away and drive by this place all the time, thought I'd give it a try at least once. Once it will be. The place charges an arm and a leg for the tiniest soft serve ice cream, the whole shop was a mess, and looks like it hasn't been cleaned in half a decade. They've had "filthy" reviews for the past few years and it is STILL filthy. Apparently the owners just don't care. The only item available was soft serve and they had two flavors. I understand the whole nostalgia factor for East Coasters, but really you'd be better off getting yourself 3 or 4 McD cones for the price one Carvel.

I have no idea what I just experienced but yikes. I walked in SO excited. I haven't been to Carvel in years and grew up in New York with a zillion. I exclaimed this and how excited and happy I was and the older gentleman just stared at me. His wife? Maybe? Looked up, MADE EYE CONTACT, and ignored me. Here I am bopping with joy inside and get completely ignored. So I repeated myself because I just don't understand how someone who is so happy you could ignore? Aren't you proud to be one of the only Carvels on the west coast? It makes zero sense. But instead of just not even looking at me this time, both the woman and guy walked into the back instead and turned the tv up. LOLOLOL. You cannot make this up. The young blonde girl behind the counter had 0 social skills. I worked at Carvel. Many years. I asked for a dasher. I don't even know what I got. It's awful and in the garbage after two bites. As someone who is a general manager in a customer facing business.... I cannot do anything but laugh and understand why you have HORRIBLE reviews. Does that not bother you???? Shit, bring a Friendlys out here instead. I'll go to Universal Studios to get some Carvel soft serve next time and fight the tourist traffic. It'll be a much happier experience than what your store offers. PS a dasher is a parfait. It should be layered. Not a cup of vanilla with a dribble of peanut butter and hot fudge. There's not even Reese's pieces cups in it. What did I pay $10 for???

Amazing soft serve ice cream from the east coast. Please stay here and open more locations. Plenty of us expat west coaster's will be grateful as hell

So typically Carvel is delicious...That said, this specific store is pitiful and filthy- sure, there is zero atmosphere (no music, dated and run down decor) but much worse is the filth! Looks like no surface has ever been wiped down (finger prints on every surface), big stacks of cardboard boxes of supplies all in front of the counter/front door and also empty ones! Like they can't break them down and toss? This is ALL front of house. There are no ice cream flavors. Only soft serve and the vanilla was out when I came last. The cakes are twice the price of grocery store. I wish this place would be decent but YUCK. So nasty. That said, there is only one employee aside from the owner. She is very sweet but he is really rude and just bizarre.