Emack & Bolio's

Terrible Service at Emack & Bolio's - Avoid at All Costs! My wife and I visited Emack & Bolio's today, June 18, 2025, and I can honestly say it was one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. If I could give zero stars, I absolutely would. From the moment we walked in, the saleswoman seemed unfriendly, but things escalated quickly. After placing our order, I paid with a $20 bill. The total was $17.52, meaning I was due $2.48 in change. However, she initially handed me only $1.50. When I politely pointed out that the change was incorrect, she then gave me an additional $0.75. I placed the money she'd given me on the counter and reiterated that it still wasn't the full amount. After that she almost threw the rest. At this point, her demeanor became incredibly rude. She began gesturing emphatically with both hands towards the exit, effectively telling us to leave. I was stunned. She continued to point and repeat "goodbye," but it was delivered with such a hostile tone that it felt more like she was swearing at us. Normally, if someone is short on change, customers might say "keep the change" or leave it as a tip in a designated jar. We had actually considered leaving an additional tip to bring it up to 20%, but I am so glad we didn't! If you value your peace of mind and your good mood, I strongly advise you to find another place to buy ice cream. There are plenty of other establishments that offer both delicious treats and respectful service.

Really good ice cream and a very happy to help staff, the store has a very nice vibe. there are vegan flavors available.

Had the worst customer service experience tonight at this establishment. The ice cream scooper misunderstood my order and proceeded to get aggressive with me about her mistake. I then decided to just take the messed up order and leave with ice cream I did not want. Also this place is extremely overpriced. Almost 20 bucks for 2 ice creams. Will not be returning here ever again. Left with a bad taste in my mouth both from the ice cream flavor I did not want and the ice cream server’s nasty attitude.

The ice cream was just ok. Barely a sprinkle of coconut for an extra charge topping. Tables were dirty and two trashes were overflowing and the girl at the counter couldn’t be bothered to get off her phone and take care of it. We will get ice cream elsewhere, even though this place is closest to home.

The two women who worked there had the biggest DGAF attitude and got my order wildly wrong because they didn't even care to listen to what I had asked for. Also, the place doesn't have any air conditioning and is hot as F in side. The ice cream was decent.

Kind of a funky vibe. Owners have history with rock bands and seemed to enjoy the 70's and 80's ... Only 1 server when we went. Seemed short staffed. Wait wasn't too bad though...Ice Cream was pretty good. Tourist Pricing.

We walked in to find not one single table cleaned off. Both trash cans were overflowing with trash while the young lady (dreads in her hair and 1.5” fake eyelashes) behind the counter was on her phone. We purchased our two ice creams and had to clear trash off a table to sit down to eat the ice creams. As it came time for us to leave, the employee was BACK ON HER PHONE behind the counter and we had to ask her to please empty the trash cans so we could have a place to throw our empty cups. She acted as it was a huge imposition for her to put her phone down and do her job! The $1.60 for a topping yielded about $.25 worth of sprinkling of nuts in top. We live across the street and have been wanting to try this place. We won’t be returning. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻 Sad, because the ice cream we OK

The woman had a terrible attitude, mean, impolite and touched the ice cream when scooping. They used to have a good looking Asian dude with a much better attitude, won’t come back again

My husband and I visited tonight and we were very confused. I order a simple sundae, and I was handed a very small scoop with just a little hot fudge. Nothing else. I asked for at least whipped cream and the server looked confused. My husband got a frappe, and it tasted like milk. I had to fix it when I got home. The server was nice, but she was alone until another person came out to assist. Anyway, felt like we spent good money for no good experience. I won't be going back anytime soon.

Amazing customer service alongside amazing root beer floats and ice cream. Staff was so kind to me and my family. The atmosphere of the ice cream parlor was made so retro and 80s. This is criminal to be a 3 star ice cream parlor. I think the customer service varies just because of what days and what times you go at. I would suggest going at night during the weekdays because that is when I have noticed the best customer service.

Icecream was freezer burned. Whipped cream was from Whole Foods and didn't even give enough to cover the icecream! I have never seen someone put sprinkles on before the whipped cream. Disappointing considering emacks used to be a legit establishments with amazing icecream, fresh whipped cream and wide arrange of toppings. I will never be coming back

Ordered three fruit smoothies and they were horrible. The servers did not know what we were asking even tho it was clearly on the menu. The smoothies were mostly orange juice with a few chunks of fruit, and were warm.

Alex, Carlos, and Wis are the best! They're super friendly, excellent in customer service, and care about customer satisfaction. Carlos made sure I've had a chance to try out different flavors before making a purchase, mitigating the possibility of buyer's remorse. They're really patient, and I never felt like I was being rushed. Alex also makes a very tasty shake with strawberry, mango, and peach. I'll definitely come back for more ice cream.

Flavor was fine but paid almost $7 for a single scoop in a cup, and the scoop was tiny. Would be better off just buying a pint of Ben and Jerry's for the same price.

Meh, I expected better since it was ranked so highly on so many top ice cream lists. I got the space cake and toasted s'mores. Both flavors were okay just lacked depth. I usually prefer a creamier almost mousse-like ice cream and this was definitely a bit icier than I would have expected. The vanilla bases also weren't very strong in vanilla flavor. I'd skip it for Christina's or Toscanini's personally.

Amazing smoothie! I have never had a better fruit smoothie and the service was great. Add to that an awesome store that's so well decorated, and you have a winner.

I just had the chocolate pudding vegan ice cream and was highly impressed by the taste. I saw other reviews and had to say it was a surprised to see such a low score. Everything In Boston is expensive but this was reasonable.

Emack + Bolio's makes some pretty delicious ice cream in a variety of funky flavors. The place reminds me of a Ben and Jerry's or West coast type chain, but they are from the area. Staff was friendly and the AC was at a great level to cool off from the heat. This place is attached to the Residence Inn hotel and there is some meter parking in the area. They are known for their dipped and coated cones. We didn't try them, but they looked good. I had a cake batter ice cream and loved it. There were large chunks of real tasty cake in it. The ice cream itself was dense and sugary with a strong vanilla flavor. The oreo ice cream was even more decadent and was one of the better ice creams I have had in recent memory. Prices were pretty decent too! Check this place out if you have a sweet tooth!

Stop what you are doing and get here! Being lactose intolerant, I constantly am looking for ice cream that I can eat... after 12 years! I've found it!!!! Wow! My 3 daughters each had traditional ice cream and have declared that we have to drive here (never mind that we live in Chicago) next time that we want ice cream! Wow!!! Wow!!! Wow!!! Is all I can say and the service here is amazing and friendly! Find parking, walk, run, jog or crawl if needed and get her for your sweet tooth fix!

This place was in walking distance to our hotel on our way back from dinner. Not being from town, we had never heard of this place, and asked the chick behind the desk if they had "cookies n cream." Everyone has some kind of version of cookies n cream ice cream. The chick behind the desk, acted like we were bothering her, and then told me they did not. They had peanut butter ice cream with cookies in it.... Ok, so since the customer service was off to a rocky start, we went ahead and read the menu on the board thoroughly, since it was obvious, this chick was not interested in helping us. I did notice on the menu, ice cream called "Cookie monster." Which sounded more like cookies n cream, vanilla ice cream with Oreo chunks and cookie dough. Bingo. Lol. Other than the terrible service. The ice cream was actually really good. The establishment was clean, and the menu options were cute. Pricing was also affordable. And the portion sizes were quite large. I'm not from the area, so don't know if there is another ice cream spot to go to that is nearby the Marriott residence inn on the harbor. I know the next time I am in town, I will probably check elsewhere to satisfy my ice cream cravings and get a little bit better service. Although, it is possible, she was just having an off day. ‍

Ice cream is okay, nice enough, but why so expensive?! A small Poland Spring water bottle for $3?! Why???

They seem to close at the most random times with no posted reason or change in hours. Today was the second time in recent weeks that I went to the Charlestown location to get a mid-week afternoon ice-cream and the shop had the lights on, food visible in the cases, but no one was behind the counter and the door was locked. It was 3:45pm on a Wednesday. Why are they closed? Staffing issues? At least post a sign explaining. Disappointed.

The girl inside was very rude and didn't have attention. She ended up giving me the wrong flavor and made it a horrible experience.

This was a solid 4.2 , ice cream, ambiance and customer service on point. 3.0 on yelp is criminal

Walk in during the apex of summer. Let the air conditioning and supercool display case of candy dipped waffle cones chill you to the core. Take a moment to see that, yes, Chunk o' Funk is on today's menu. Order it - a small is plenty - and watch as that vessel spills over with salted caramel ice cream, Oreo cookie chunks and whole chocolate dipped mini pretzels. Pay your ~$6 for dense, premium ice cream. Take a seat behind the floral cow's udders and bask in the deliciously grippy scenario you painted yourself in to. Go for the first bite. Black out. Return to the now as you're licking sweet trails of formerly frozen bliss off your left hand, as the right rubs the floral cow udder as though it were Milo Buddha's tummy. Because you're lucky. Oh yes, you are. FWIW, I saw nothing but efficient, cordial service from the employees on a quiet Tuesday night. Perhaps the complaints from other reviews are of staffers gone by?

When I need to get away from my desk at work and treat myself to something for no reason whatsoever, Emack & Bolio's is usually where I accidentally (purposely) end up. I don't know if it's the allure of their baller cones or the unique variety of ice cream offerings, but I somehow find myself here once a week. This locale is a quick walk from my office, conveniently a few steps from the park under the Tobin and right off the Freedom Trail. It's usually fairly quiet, so there's no need to wait in line or hold up a line because you're too overwhelmed to make a decision. For starters, they have these cones that are coated in cereals and sweet treats to cater to the fat kid in all of us. My favorite is the Rice Krispies one. Top that with three scoops of ice cream and you're good to go. My favorites? Grasshopper Pie (minty and chocolatey), Trippin' on Espresso, and Cake Batter. They're all creamy and packed with flavor without tasting too sweet or processed. Honestly, a wonderful treat for any occasion or not occasion.

Bad service for exorbitant prices - IF they are open, the single person working there will take their sweet time filling the order and checking their phone regardless of how many people are in line. Tonight I called to check what time they closed and they STILL closed an hour early! Their ice cream is delicious but I can't justify spending close to $15 for two cones that required a 10 minute wait behind only two people.

I thought the flavors were different and very good. The ice cream was just okay in my opinion. I didn't try the cones as I'm not much of a cone person to begin with. The prices were definitely high. I think we paid $11 for two one scoop cups. I wouldn't say it's a need to stop and try place.

This quarantine has not been to great and it has definitely been great to go on walks and grab some ice cream! This was my first time at Emack & Bolio's and I really enjoyed the richness of the ice cream. This flavor, Toasted S'mores is by far one of the best s'mores flavored ice creams I have ever had. The cone was also super fresh and complimented the ice cream perfectly! I would only say it is quite pricey. It was $8.50 for this cone, definitely not ideal, but it was worth it to try the ice cream once. Definitely plan to go back! Hopefully they have coupons and discounts!!

The ice cream was not good at all. The two young female staff employees didn't crack a smile at all. They were anxious to get our transaction over with so as to return back to their cell phones to text again. It's unusual to see young female servers so miserable. This is a popular tourist area and they should try to be a bit more friendly, if not, the owner needs to find friendlier employees to represent their store. They should consider switching to gelato during this summer heat.

Have tried to give this location the benefit of the doubt but today was my breaking point. Not only were they out of every flavor I wanted, but two flavors I decided to go with the bottom scoop was 80% melted as the top scoop was floating on it. The girl who was working behind the counter was just so disengaged and couldn't be bothered to let me know that the particular flavor wasn't really frozen and that I should just go with another flavor. Every time I have gone here (it's not my first choice but today was pretty humid and I was craving ice cream) anyone who is working always seems unhappy or rude or just impatient. Management needs to really retrain all their staff for better customer service. I was the ONLY person there at the time so there is absolutely no excuses for this poor attitude and service. Try stocking up on more flavors and having the ice cream be frozen not melted and served. Their prices are a little high for what they actually scoop out.

Ice cream tasted great, but the ice cream cone was extremely stale and I literally felt like I was chewing gum or that I was going to break a tooth. Very overpriced for what it's worth. An extra $2.75 for a stale cone that looked beautiful but tasted terrible.

*MEGA DROOL! It was so yummy and full of flavor. They have a vegan selection too. The only vegan flavors is mango and toasted coconut. Two scoops of the Cookie Monster with sprinkles and two scoops of the toasted s'mores.

ice cream was just what the doctor ordered during the heatwave. The young man serving us was not only friendly but extremely knowledgeable about local history and attractions. he made the experience a five star. only negative I can say is the ice cream is a little pricey

Very dissatisfied. I am coming from Albany NY. (The Albany location is AMAZING) However, the server was not very friendly and the sizes were extremely small. The ice cream cup was not even close to being full and the cones looked sad. Since this is in fact my favorite ice cream I plan on trying the Newbury location and see if that is any better. However , I feel really ripped off.

Ice cream cookies and rock & roll Emack & Bolio's was started in 1975 by a guy named Robert Rook. A hippie sort of fellow, he had the rather odd notion of combining ice cream with rock and roll. As strange as it seems the idea worked and now there are several of the stores in Boston and they have even spread to several other states. The place is pretty cool, lots of different flavors of ice cream and fro yo as well as cookies, brownies and other unhealthy but tasty things. Some scruffy people hang out here but that's all right, they were friendly and nice. I really enjoyed seeing all the photos of different rock musicians that have visited this place hanging on the walls. The big fake cow in the front was also pretty cool. It's not the cheapest place in Boston to get ice cream but it certainly is tasty. I like pretty much all ice cream so I can't really tell the difference but this place definitely has a unique feel to it. A cool place that dances to it's own drummer.

A review from a tourist who has never been in an Emack & Bolio's. I thought the ice cream was good. I had a grasshopper with Oreo and it was quite tasty. Husband had a hazelnut ice cream atop a homemade chocolate dipped waffle cone, and he was like a kid in a .. er .. well, ice cream store, eating it all up. Granted we were on our way back from walking the Freedom Trail. We were tired. It was a bright, sunny day. Ice cream just sounded good. The store itself was brightly colored and festive. However, I dripped some ice cream on the counter and I couldn't find a napkin anywhere. I would go back if I lived in Boston. However, I wouldn't make a special trip or anything.

My husband tried to be thoughtful and bring home a hot fudge sundae. The server was not friendly and didn't even ask how many scoops. She claimed they didn't have the bubble tops so she pushed down the ice cream, whipped cream and hot fudge with a typical flat pint top. It was extremely unimpressive and didn't travel well. She also claims they do not have cherries--when have you ever had a hot fudge sundae without the cherry on top?! Very underwhelming for the price; would not recommend.

It was my third or fourth time there. I don't know what some people complain about but this place never disappointed me. Their smoothie is very, very good and they use sparkling water to make it - it's sooo delicious. We got two chocolate bars - one with peanuts and caramel and the other one with dry cherries and caramel. Chocolate is usually sweet but it wasn't very sweet - I thought it was delicious!! If you are in the area I recommend Emack & Bolio's :) go try it out and you ll keep going back!!!

Accessibility (Parking / Wait Time) 1/1 Star: I walked. No wait. _____ Service (Waiter / Cleanness / Ambiance) 1/1 Star: fast food style service. Clean place and clean ambiance. _____ Taste (0=Not Edible / 1=Edible / 2=Good (average) / 3=Must Try!) 2/3 Stars: smoothie was good. _____ Overall Experience 4/5 Stars _____ Last Words Great place for a treat after finishing the Freedom Trail

Rounding up from 3.5 stars. Amazing ice cream. The waffle cone was fragrant and tasted super fresh, like they'd just rolled it out. They don't get four stars completely because I can't believe it's almost $6 for a one scoop waffle cone ice cream... but otherwise, great experience.

It was a local ice cream place near our hotel. The ice cream is average but on the expensive side. But the customer service was terrible.

Deliciously creamy with a twist on traditional flavors. Fast and friendly service. Reasonable price. Good serving size.

I come here at least 3 times a week, they have these two girls working on Friday afternoons so RUDE, today I was left waiting while one of them was making a personal phone call at the register

Thanks for having dairy-free options. I really dig the Mango and Raspberry sorbets. So good and creamy. I wish the prices were affordable and not on the expensive side for a scoop or two. Sam's great every time I go there. Instead of saying they didn't have any vegan options left at the front, he made sure to go check there if there were any.

I went here with a friend to grab a bite to eat for dessert after dinner and barely made it before the 10:30pm close. Though we were there late, the staff still was very friendly in assisting us and letting us try a couple of flavors. After a couple of tastes, we decided to go with a scoop of the space cake and the peanut butter cookie with chocolate covered pretzels. While both of the flavors were decent, they were so packed with ingredients that I felt that it overwhelmed the flavor of the ice cream. Because of that, it was not as creamy and refreshing as I hoped for. In addition, we had it topped with whipped cream, but the whipped cream was basically melting as it appeared to have been made much earlier in the day. Overall, while the ice cream hit the spot, it was not as memorable as some of the other ice cream options around the area.

We stopped here in the afternoon while walking the freedom trail. The ice cream was tasty and really hit the spot. I normally don't go for fancy dipped cones but the Rice Krispie cone was intriguing and was definitely worth it! We had the Beantown buzz (mocha ice cream with chocolate-covered coffee beans), caramel and roasted banana, and raspberry and lemon sorbets. Everyone loved their choice! I would go out of my way to go here again.

Not sure what the big deal is here. Pros - -It's in a convenient spot. They get a lot of foot traffic from the freedom trail, which is probably what's keeping them in business. -Nice display. Things look pretty. Store is clean. Cons - -Everything on their menu just tastes ok. Sure, it's ice cream, but it has too much air. It's not rich and flavorful. The chocolates just use melted chocolate blocks that don't have a smooth rich mouthfeel. -Expensive given the eh quality

Wow, I'm very surprised to find that this location hadn't been reviewed yet! It has been open for a couple months so far and we finally made it over to sample their super premium ice cream. I can say with certainty that E&B's is an improvement over Coldstone, which previously occupied the space. I never really bought into the whole Coldstone gimmick, though their ice cream cupcakes were quite tasty. That being said, I have never really been an E&B's fan either. When I lived in the Back Bay / Fenway area, JP Licks was always my go-to ice cream shop of choice. I went to the E&B's Newbury Street location once many years ago and I was not particularly impressed. This is why I was a little reluctant to try the Charlestown location. Well, craving an ice cream cone on a warm Saturday afternoon, we decided to make the 5 minute walk over to City Square. The space is typical E&B's: psychedelically colorful. And the service is decent After a few minutes of indecision, I decided on one scoop ($3.50) of Cosmic Crunch which is a delightful melange of vanilla ice cream, caramel swirl, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cookies. The flavor selection was not huge, but was well edited to include something for everyone. And next time I will be sampling one of their rice krispie treat cones (the top part of the cone is wrapped in a layer of rice krispie treats) which looked absolutely delicious. They also offer fro-yo, smoothies, frappes, hand made chocolates, and other delicious-looking treats. Bottomline: E&B's is definitely worth a stop if you are in need of refreshment while trekking the Freedom Trail, but probably not worth going out of your way for (and you don't really need to, since there are quite a few locations scattered throughout the city).

Are you kidding me? This is Boston's best ice cream? I'm not sure I will ever find out. We've been standing in line for over 20 minutes. Is the line long, you ask? Um, there's about 5 people ahead of us. This is a ridiculous amount of time to make a simple ice cream cone. Perhaps I'll return when I have a couple hours to kill.. There's a zillion places to get ice cream in Boston. None are worth waiting in line for 20 minutes. It's ice cream, not haute cuisine.

$12.41 for two, single scoop waffle cones...good lord at the tourist prices. And they weren't even 'big' scoops...

It seems like the Boston version of Ben and Jerry's. A little hippie-ish a couple of funky flavors and an equally long line especially in the summer. We showed up here after walking across the Charlestown bridge and needed something to cool down. Basically, it's the first stop once you cross and it's a pretty easy stop to make if it's a hot day out. The flavors are pretty interesting, with the salted caramel being just as tasty as imagined. I might have come on a bad day but the service seemed like it was mostly high school kids trying to look attentive but failing, there was a little bit of exasperation there and it was a little off putting to order ice cream from sullen teenagers.

We love this place. We were so excited to see a location along the end of the Freedom Trail walk. My husband and I have been going to the UWS NYC location for years and love it! It was good to try it in the original town of Boston. Yes it's more expensive. So what? It's specialty ice cream. It's the same as any other specialty ice cream place. The flavors are cool. Every location has a different selection. Here I had the bananas foster. It tasted like fresh bananas (not that fake crap banana flavor). It was good. My husband had a soft serve chocolate with a mix-in of oreoes. It was all blended together and smooth and creamy. The cones with stuff on them rock (you can get rice krispy, fruity pebbles, chocolate, etc). I liked reading the little history they had along the counter.

Came here twice for some ice cream. I really like the vibe of the place. Reminds me of Amy's Ice Cream in Austin, TX. The ice cream was really good and satisfied my cravings both times. They also sell smoothies and chocolate. If you like coffee, the you will love their flavor of Bean Town Buzz. I highly recommend it. The first time I came here they were out of it, so I had the Chocolate Addiction instead which was also very tasty.

Emack, you rock. I mean, let's be honest here... the owner stops in at 7am most days to check on things and drives a Bentley... this place is doing well for sure. Seriously though, the ice cream is incredible and I have never run into the attitude that other people are talking about. Their selection of flavors is so unique and rotates frequently. So happy this place replaced Cold Stone - that place was awful. Now I'm happy to stop in and support another local business, even if the owner drives a ridiculous car. Hey, I own a business too and what business owner doesn't want a Bentley, right?

Delicious ice cream but the service was as slow as molasses. Just one guy working the store, didn't seem to know where the pint lids were. The line backed up really quick.

Automatically I am a fan of any ice cream shop. I actually just wrote a review for a visit to Cold Stone a few days after my Emack and Bolio's experience. Unfortunatley, I was not as pleased with E&B's BUT a disclaimer is warranted. I went at about 9:30 pm on a Thursday night and they seemed to be having some kind of issue with the computer system. The staff was friendly, but more stressed out than necessary for the amount of people in the shop. It made me stressed out. It was also really, really hot inside. Unbearable. Maybe it had something to do with the computer issue as well. I ended up with their Green Monster sundae (mint chocolate chip ice cream with fudge, whipped cream, peanuts) and my boyfriend had a mix of nutella and chocolate ice cream. My sundae left something to be desired, but my boyfriend really enjoyed his. I was definitely drawn in by the rice krispie covered cones and other chocolate delights in the front window. The variety of products and my love of all things sweet pretty much guarantees I will be back again. I'll update my review assuming the customer service was a one-time blunder.