Emack & Bolio's Ice Cream

A funky vibes dessert shop. On the pricey end but ingredients are top-notch. Went for the Cookie Monster ice-cream sundae with the store-made fudge. I hate fudge usually as it’s very artificial tasting however the store has garnered quite a recipe that’s enjoyable without being throat-wrecking. Added choice of toppings at the end, I choose nuts which went down nicely. Recommend to try it. Visited October 2023.

The icecream was good, but not cold enough and wasn’t frozen enough. I had an overall pleasant experience but I think it was just a crowded day for them. Still worth a visit, but it didn’t blow my socks off! They definitely had good looking vegan options, if you’re into that!

It’s been 25 plus years that I’ve been coming here. Back then it was either this or Ben and Jerry’s But now, coming back after years of not experiencing it, it is completely underwhelming and very poor value. A single scoop is over $6 - and it honestly tastes like over sweetened ice cream truck ice cream What was once eclectic feels tired and dingy The service is cheerful, but I just don’t see how this once of a gem survives in this neighborhood for long - especially with all these awesome bubble tea joints and Amorino a few steps away

Amazing ice cream!! I loved their Space Cake and Banana Foster flavors, and their vanilla bean and vegan toasted coconut ice cream flavors were good too! The picture shows their 1 scoop option in each cup, and it's pretty filling. You can ask them to do half -and-half with the 1 scoop option too. I highly recommend!

In the end, I enjoyed the ice cream. But we wouldn’t go back. We got two single scoop waffle cones and paid more than $16. Just not worth it. My chocolate “flake” (it has large chunks, not flakes) had several ice crunches in it. Not fresh. My wife had the s’moreo and enjoyed it. I can see the the ice cream is good, but it could have been better, especially for that much money.

Vegan and non-vegan ice cream options. Normal sized scoops. We had the space cake and it did not disappoint. So good! The place is just to the left once you enter the building. There are stairs.

This is a must try ice cream place.. We tried chocolate flakes icecream with coconut waffle cone. Average cone in taste but the ice cream was wonderful and satisfying! It's one of the better ice cream parlors, if not THE BEST, I have ever had been to.

Oh my gosh I can’t express in words so you have to def visit this place and taste their icecream . Wonderful flavours and creative cone . We just love it and it is now our go to place for icecream in Newbury street . I highly recommend this place for icecream lover ❤️!

Great, tasty, FLAVORFUL vegan options--their cones are also super fun and the environment is great; shop is super small though with no seating

Good ice cream but nothing insanely special. I ordered the peanut butter oreo. It was very creamy and had a good ratio of oreos. Emack & Bolio's menu changes either daily or weekly. They have a lot of interesting flavors. The service was pretty quick. If you ask, they give very small samples to try too. Pretty small interior. I'd definitely try more flavors if I were roaming newbury street in the future.

My gym (Tennis & Racquet Club) is right around the corner so I've come to Emack for smoothies for years, they never disappoint. I like making my own combo, but today I had the Emack & bolio Chocolate peanut butter blast! Which is: Protein, Soy milk, peanut butter, chocolate ice cream and banana. Superb if you're in the mood for just a smoothie or a protein one.

Overall, great ice cream! I ordered the Bananas Foster and the Beantown Buzz. All the flavors looked interesting, and there are also a handful of vegan options. The prices are a little steep, but I feel like that's become standard at many scoop shops. The location is not ideal. There is absolutely no room inside to sit and eat. Be prepared to eat your ice cream on Newbury Street, or run to the Prudential Center if you want to go inside. There is a bench or two outside the store, but if it's crowded, good luck.

I know it's a little cold for ice cream, but sometimes you just want something creamy for that sweet tooth. The sign on the outside advertises the availability of vegan ice cream, and I must say it does not disappoint. The vegan coffee fudge flavor is to die for-- a strong coffee flavor, with a generous ripple of rich dark chocolate fudge throughout. Sweet and rich without being overwhelming. Amazing! It's a coconut milk base, but I couldn't taste any strong coconut flavor (maybe the tiniest hint, but tbh i think it added to the flavor profile). A long time Boston establishment for a reason!

Walking down newbury street and I noticed a sign for vegan Ice cream!! I was so excited to check it out - the space itself was small and very warm inside. I was a little disappointed with the limited amount of vegan choices, but tried 2 flavors (coffee fudge & chocolate pudding) and they were both delicious. The coffee had more of a standard ice cream consistency, where the chocolate pudding one was a bit thicker (like pudding) which was different but I definitely enjoyed! I was there on a 70 degree fall Saturday - making Newbury street very busy, therefore parking the car required some patience. But once parked we walked from the Ice cream shop to a variety of stores for the perfect afternoon!

I have heard great reviews about this place. It's an odd (but in a good way) spot in newbury street. The interior is fun and there is a variety of flavours to choose from. I appreciate that the staff was masked up. Regarding the service, they're super helpful. I went with the standard/most popular choice. A little sad that unlike the other icecream shops, they don't have ginormous scoops. But I'll live with that! Definitely would recommend to those in the area. Great stop while you shop!

my friend and i checked out emack and bolio's on newbury st after dinner to give it a try. to be honest, i think their ice cream is just ok. nothing too special or tasty. although their ice cream is mediocre, they have many options for cones, compared to other ice cream places. it's super pricey for some decent ice cream. there are a variety of flavors and vegan options. i ordered the deep purple chip flavor which is blackberry with white and dark chocolate chips. their flavors change on a daily basis so there are always a ton of options. there's no seating area or bathroom. they have fast and friendly service which is a plus, but i don't think i'll be back. overall rating: 5/10

On the recommendation from a bartender at Select Oyster, I headed over here to check out their "creamier" ice cream, and WOW, I was very impressed. I got the Blueberry Crumble, which kinda reminded me of a blueberry pie with bits of graham crackers in it. Worth the scoop (literally and figuratively), and it was a great early afternoon sweet treat. No real seating inside our outside (just a bench that was already occupied), but got the job done! :)

I had a great first time experience at Emack & Bolio's on Newbury Street. My husband and I visited Boston for a short trip a few weeks ago and was disappointed to find so many of the shops on Newbury closed so early in the evening on the weekend (I know...COVID times). We were due for a dessert stop after an awesome dinner we had earlier in the evening and Emack & Bolio's was one of the few, if only, places open late. With that hot and humid, weather, ice cream was the perfect sweet treat! This Emack & Bolio's is a an intimate space that does not hold many people in it. At the time of our visit, they were able to serve two small groups at a time. As a result, there was a small line formed outside their store, but that didn't seem to deter people from still filing in line...so this must have been an early sign of deliciousness, right? Our wait was short and once we got inside, the girl who was helping us was so friendly and patient as we sampled and tried to nail down our order to something that wouldn't put us into diabetic shock since everything sounded so good. They had tons of speciality waffle cones, but we ultimately ended up ordering - a Peanut Butter Oreo shake - two scoops of ice cream (Cookie Monster & Lemon Blueberry) in a plain waffle cone I didn't get a chance to try the Peanut Butter Oreo shake since it was my husband's, but his report was that it was AMAZING (which is why it disappeared so quickly without giving me a chance to sample). My two scoop ice cream cone was rich, tasty, and fit the flavor profiles described on the menu. The Cookie Monster was vanilla ice cream with oreos and cookie dough pieces. It was nice and creamy, loaded with the respective cookies. My ultimate favorite out of the two was the Lemon Blueberry, which is also a vegan option. Love the combo of Lemon Blueberry in general, so to have it manifested as an ice cream elevated the taste beyond the imaginable for me. The waffle cone was also delicious. Tasted fresh and made in house. Loved Emack & Bolio's on Newbury Street. Definitely a must stop place for us next time we're in town!

I'm so glad they offer a few vegan choices. The service was great. The ice cream was...fine. The employees were Boiling Hot! The only fan in the whole place was pointed at the customers in line. I felt so badly watching them bake ( not in a good way). One of them even made a comment about how much she was suffering from the heat. There were no prices listed on the board so, I was pretty shocked when 2 single scoop cones were $20! Yikes. At those prices, it seems like they could give their employees a bit more consideration.

I was in town for the week and this was a great place to fulfill my ice cream cravings. Lots of fantastic sounding and tasting flavors to choose from.

Best ice cream ever! Innovative flavors, incredible quality! I get there every chance I get Newbury street and Bostons finest Back there on a sunny Saturday, that's ideal.

I got Beantown Buzz. Honestly the best espresso ice cream I have ever had. The store is located on a very cute street that makes it perfect for a walking date. My partner and I grabbed ice cream, enjoyed the sights of the street, and headed over to the Boston Gardens. Made for a wonderful evening!

I've had my fair share of coconut ice cream but the vegan toasted coconut one here just might have become my favorite! It was so yummy I came back twice in one week - and added a specialty cone this time around. The cones and ice cream here are crisp and will definitely fulfill your sweet tooth. The store itself is pretty small but I had no issues with this. They allow two people in the store at a time to follow covid guidelines, which definitely made me feel safer. Plus the transaction is quick anyways. Only downside here was the service. The workers were very blunt and unamused, it almost felt like I was a burden to buy ice cream here! BUT, for the coconut ice cream, I would come back

The ice crean are delicious even the vegan ice creams. But the service not so good. The girl was rude, she slam the freezer doors and had a mad face. No greetings, no communication whats so ever and when we where done she said "you are done". Worst customer service. 6/30/23 @ 6:26pm

After reading reviews, we were excited to try out this ice cream. We ordered one small and one with 2 scoops. I had my daughter pay and afterwards she said, wow that is the most expensive ice cream. In the Newbury Street store, the flavors were listed as you are looking into the ice cream and conversing with the employees, but no prices. Turns out the prices were behind us. Great location for the sign so no one sees it as the prices are ridiculous and I Iive in the Bay Area where prices are often crazy. If the ice cream were amazing I'd have put up with it, but it was not exceptional and one flavor that my daughter had she didn't even like and threw part of it away. For the 2 cones it was $18 with a tip. The next day we ate gelato at Eataly, which was far better, and it was $10 for the same sizes. I guess you know where we will continue to go when we want ice cream in Boston.

Worker was acting and looking like she was high on pills, took her 12 minutes in total to scoop two ice creams that she messed up twice. She also gave us like no ice cream. Scoops were even formed from it not that it matters but the laziness and effort was distasteful. My small cup was half empty.

my friend and i were craving ice cream so we decided to give this spot a try! i've tried emack & bolio's back in nyc and really loved it, so i was hoping it would live up to my expectations. needless to say, it definitely did! - notes - both cash and card are accepted! their flavors change every once in a while, so if you see a flavor you're interested in, i'd suggest you get it! you never know if/when it'll be back. - atmosphere - the inside of this ice cream shop is relatively small. only 3-5 people can fit inside at a time, which causes a long line out the door during peak hours. even though there's no space to eat inside, there is a bench next to the stairs where you can enjoy your scoops! - overall experience - my friend and i came at around 8:30 pm on a friday night, and there was a line of around 8 people out the door. and since there were only two people working inside, the line moved relatively slowly. we were there for around 20 minutes before we eventually reached the register and put in our orders. they scoop your order right away so we were there for less than 25 minutes in total. the workers there are super friendly and welcoming! - recommendations - highly recommend that you must try their toasted s'mores ice cream! 6/24/22 -toasted s'mores ice cream: i'm always a fan of s'mores so it's no surprise why i liked this flavor so much! its base is a toasted marsh"mellow" ice cream, with oreos mixed in and swirls of graham crackers. the flavors in here seriously complimented each other so well! you get a subtle smokiness from the toasted marshmallow ice cream, which paired extremely well with the huge chunks of oreo! the ice cream was also extremely creamy, which i absolutely loved. i will say that because there were so many oreos in here, it kind of overshadowed the graham crackers and eventually just tasted like a big scoop of oreo ice cream. it definitely got a bit overwhelmingly sweet halfway through, so i probably could've shared it with someone else. for ~$6, the single scoop cups are seriously so huge and worth the price! (5/5)

One of my favorite ice cream places in Boston. Cool themed, kid-friendly with a variety of flavors. They're very busy during the weekends with a long line waiting.

Perfect little shop on Newbury St Boston. Kinda a very small store so you can barely fit 3 people in there. With covid there is like no room lo. You have to wait on the steps till the others leave. The employee the first time I went was really sweet and young. Had a charm to her. She helped us find the best vegan options there. They have about 4 vegan flavors. This place is a vegan friendly establishment so they have non vegan flavors too. However, we drove from Rhode Island to Boston for date night. We always go for ramen and ice cream. Sadly this time I couldnt get ice cream. We literally waited over 15 minutes on the steps for 2 people in front of us. This girl was messing up and going so slow this time. It became somewhat painful. Since I am in food sevice I have patience but not for this was so long that my husband walked off. It was kind of a buzz kill to our date night. When you drive from a different state for a specific place it sucks to wait that long. I'm sure we will be back but I'm not rushing there.

I wanted to love this more- I mean, look at it?? It was good, but the flavors weren't strong enough. Great portions, cute location, and lots of diet friendly options and creative flavor names. Again- really wanted to like it! I will say, the cone was delicious and tasted like one big krispy treat!

I came here with my friend for vegan ice cream (coconut based, small batch) and though the worker in the front warned me that it didn't set properly I actually prefer my ice cream a little melted so it was perfect for me. I don't like coconut based ice creams but the chocolate masked it well. My friend really enjoyed the milkshake made with oatmilk and said it was very filling. The line is out of the door for a reason, but it moves fast. Stop by if you're in the area.

This is a cute little ice cream shop on Newbury Street. Staff is super friendly and helpful if it is your first time here. There are plenty of ice cream flavors, and I love the bright colors of display! Ice cream was delicious, and I would definitely come back again!

This is a Boston classic. They are known for their fun cones but I always liked ice cream in a cup. They have a rotating selection of vegan flavors usually 2-3 which I appreciate! This shop is in a busy area so there is often a line on weekends. There isn't really a place to sit, so plan to take your ice cream to go!

I was lucky enough to get the LAST fruity pebbles ice cream cone, I had vanilla bean speck ice cream it was fantastic, and my friend got the plain rice crispy cone with cookies n cream--amazing! This place is a whole in the wall and I am lucky to have found it through yelp! Make sure to ask for only one scoop that's all you need! It is an expensive cone 16$ for two special waffle cones with one scoop. The scoop is more like 3 giant scoops, so you get a lot! I would recommend coming here if you love unique ice cream flavors it was so fun eating this cone. It truly is a hidden gem and I feel SO lucky to have found this place through yelp reviewers because I legit ask everyone in boston if they have been here, but no one had heard of it..so I was happy to come here myself to try it, did not disappoint.

I literally licked every last drop of my ice cream... that's how good it is!!! Was excited to try this place out as I have heard a lot of positive things about their ice cream. And it surely did not disappoint! I tried their space batter flavor and I found it to be SO GOOD. I loved the combination of the cake batter ice cream, short bread cookies and red velvet cake. It was surprisingly not very sweet and it reminded me vaguely of good humor strawberry shortcake ice cream (which ppl who know me know that I love!!) It is a bit on the pricier side but that is why it makes it the perfect treat.... now I'm thinking of the a reason why I should treat myself to their ice cream super soon hehe

I have nothing but positive experiences when I go to Emac & Bolios on Newbury street or any location really. The ice cream is always spot on and I love those they are always changing the flavors and you have something new. They have ice cream for everybody and you aren't limited. If you are lactose intolerant like myself then they have many choices from milk to choose from for a milkshake base. If you're vegan as well then this a good spot because they have a lot of vegan friendly ice cream, smoothies and milkshakes!

I have been coming here for the past couple of years. I love their cosmic crunch and so do many other people as they are often out of that flavor whenever I come. Luckily they're still allowing us to taste test the ice creams before we decide. Recently, I got a small ice cream and tried their smoreos with the strawberry ice cream since they allow two flavors for their smallest size. Love their ice cream and will always stop by on a hot and humid day.

Cute place but wow, too many cons to ever make me want to come back again. $5.80 for 2 scoops. That's fine, if there were actually TWO scoops. I had to ask if there were 2 because the 2nd scoop was so skillfully hidden. We got there at 9:45pm. They close at 10:30pm. I wonder if the owner knows how early they shut down the machines . It was our first time here. She tells us that they normally offer shakes and smoothies, but we couldn't order any because she already cleaned out the machines. Excuse me? 45 minutes before closing? Mind you, everything was already clean. That means she started shutting down well before we even got there. And then, when asked about the flavors, she said she didnt know because... "I dont really like any of the flavors." Wow. Awesome customer service. And really great way to sell your product! The flavors were fine. My bf got his "2" scoops in a marshmallow cone. The cone was really hard to chew through. If you have braces, this would definitely not be an approved food item. $16 for a double scoop and a double scoop in a fancy cone, is way overpriced and doesnt live up to the hype.

The best vegan ice cream in boston! The chocolate pudding is my personal favorite. Beware there is usually a long wait but it's always worth it!

The rice krispy treat cone (and other marshmallow treat cones) are instagram-worthy and fun to eat, although not sure that they are worth the price. The small Newbury street shop is cute and cozy; it would maybe be too small if they were busier but have never found it to be an issue. The flavors rotate, something that keeps it interesting, but is a bummer if you arrive and they don't have the flavor you are craving (for me, that's always mint chip). I would come back, but the prices and potential missing of a flavor you are craving has made me walk in and walk back out on occasion.

Sweet staff, great ice cream. Did not realize they could toast the whipped marshmellow topping, but it was ABSOLUTELY worth it. I'd highly recommend it.

Good Ice creams both regular and vegan. One scoop is 5$ but you can add 2 more scoops for a dollar each. Vegan ice creams are coconut based so adds another flavor to vegan ice creams. We got vegan mango, toasted coconut and mint chocolate all were good.

I got the coconut vegan ice cream and the scoops were decent, but I thought the price was a little bit too high

The girl in front of me grabbed the last of their black raspberry ice cream so I "suffered" and got the fat free vanilla fro yo and frozen raspberries on top which the guy at the counter said they normally don't do. I asked if for a topping I could just get some fruit like raspberries on top. I was grateful he accommodated and it was a delicious cup full. I love that when any location does not have what I am in the mood for or a daily flavor I can jump on board with I can just grab their delicious vanilla fro yo. It is just plain delicious and well made. The downside to this location is that there is one park bench for seating so I imagine if it gets busy you are fairly screwed. There are no seats inside - the counter is almost at the door so you get your dairy or non dairy crack and leave...

Best ice cream in town. I stop in when I'm in town. Funky looking shop. Had an excellent shake.

I've tried various locations & can say I e been satisfied with the quality. They are a bit on the pricier side but ice cream seems to be pricey in Boston for some reason. At these prices I do prefer gelato but one should not discount good American style ice cream. Their cones are really the best, they always seem fresh, even with the creative trimmings.

I got Mapple walnut ice cream. It is really tasty and milky. I do recommend. It has different locations. The one we went is a bit tiny and no seating available. You just take it and go. But it is still ok. The flavors were missing. Maybe because of pandemic the staff is not working or they are not producing all of the flavors. I really wanted to try their coconut almond but they didn't have. Maybe if I come back to Boston area I can try.

A classic ice cream spot that's been on Newbury Street for years, and for good reason - they serve some really well-made ice cream, with varieties to satisfy any sweet tooth. The choice this evening was easy - the Chocolate Moose, a very thick dark chocolate ice cream that any chocoholic would love. The store itself is quite cute in a quirky sort of way, with very bright graphics and colors that any kid would find fun, even the grown-up ones. The price point's a bit high - just under $6 for a scoop, with the rest going into the tip jar - so it can be an expensive stop for a family. There's no seating inside, but that's fine - go sit on the bench outside and enjoy some people-watching on Newbury Street while enjoying your treat!

Slightly pricey but really cute shop and creative favors! Loved their space cake flavor. Highly instagrammable.

Why does this place have such low reviews?! I don't understand. I admit it's a bit pricey; my one scoop with the Fruity Pebbles cone was a little over $8. But, they have such unique and delicious flavors! I tried the Deep Purple Chip (black raspberry with white/dark chocolate chips) which was pretty good and creamy. They give some big scoops as well, so it was really hard to finish the entire cone. I'd recommend sharing with someone if you're comfortable. The cone was also pretty good -- a little hard where there's cereal, but it's a fun idea and tasty idea. I'm pretty excited to come back since the flavors rotate every so often.

Hair in my ice cream. Gross. Not off my bald head OR the servers dark hair. Begrudgingly refunded my money. That is all they did. I will never be back.

Ice cream gets a 4, cone gets a 2. I'll call that a 3 average. Came here later (well, later for the sleepy city of Boston) on a Friday night because this place was open later than other ice cream places (until 10:30 PM). They have very limited flavor options but I am okay with that because it means they specialize and the ones they do have are good. I opted for the Deep Purple Chip which has black raspberry ice cream with white and dark chocolate chips. The ice cream was delicious. Unfortunately, I opted for the highly-instagrammable but not very functional fruity pebbles cone (think rice Krispie treats coating the side of the cone). See picture for reference. Though it looks really cool, in reality, the cone is very hard and difficult to eat and I was scared I was going to break a tooth. The fruity pebbles portion was stronger than the cone itself and the cone ended up breaking as I was trying to eat the ice cream. Definitely had a negative impact on my ice cream eating experience so next time I am back, I will opt for a cup or a normal cone.

Iceeee cream! Yum. They have unique flavors and let you try them. We came here on a Friday night and we just beat a after dinner rush. There was only one worker when we arrived but luckily the other employee came back bc now the line was out the door. We had space cake in a rice krispie waffle cone. This was amazing and satisfied my sweet tooth. Definitely will plan to come back and try the other flavors!

This dipped cones are BEAUTIFUL. The prices are not. For the picture, I definitely had to stop by while visiting Boston. I saw it on social media and it was the most beautiful thing I have seen. It was a really hot 98 degrees so it was a perfect afternoon to grab some ice cream. To be honest, super basic. I got whatever basic flavor they had but there was nothing special. The menu had some fancy options but I opted for ice cream cones. Overall, for the image. Go ahead and stop by! But if you want to spend less than $8 on a fancy cone and one scoop, I'd go somewhere else.

Being from Cape Cod where there are ice cream stores on every corner, I am picky. With that being said, Emack & Bolio's is very good. They have limited flavors but that allows them to do a great job with what they do have. The ice cream is very creamy so that is up to individual preference -- a little too creamy for me. What I do love is their deluxe cone options, specifically their rice crispy cone. SO GOOD. I got the rice crispy cone with their cookie dough/Oreo flavor. It's a small location so it can get crowded easily. My critique is it's a little expensive making it a special occasion instead of my go-to spot.

Going there for years. Delicious ice creams milkshakes and frozen yogurt. I ordered the coconut almond bar ice cream. Loved it! So many flavors to choose fromperiod in the most idealistic location on Newbury Street and it is Tiny. No place to sit down indoors basically go in there get your ice cream and leave.

The ice cream itself was not horrible. Unfortunately the customer service was very poor. The prices are extremely high for mediocre quality. One scoop of ice cream on a waffle cone is almost $10. When I asked for torched marshmallows on top, the girl who was serving me was unable to torch it and served it to me with marshmallow dripping everywhere and melted ice cream. She simply said "sorry I can't torch it" and didn't offer a refund for the extra cost I paid. She gave me a cup for the inconvenience but when she handed it to me, dropped it on the ground. She said sorry but did not get me another cup until I asked. The workers were complaining about another coworker and were pretty inattentive to paying customers. It wouldn't bother me so much had I not paid $10.50 for one scoop.

We've popped into this location a few times, and while the ice cream is okay, it's nothing memorable. Emack & Bolio's will suffice if I'm desperately craving ice cream, I'm nearby, and the line isn't out the door, but we've passed it up numerous times because the ice cream wasn't worth the wait and chaos. The space is so cramped and inefficient, and the staff aren't nearly as colorful as the menus, flavors, and artwork in the store would make you hope. During my last visit, the person at the counter wasn't convincing me that anything was going to be worth my time, so I went with a "Best in New England" vanilla bean. As with many "best of" menu items in life, the hype fell short. It was strong on the vanilla with a decent texture, but not sure how this was considered the best. The more adventurous flavors are better in my experiences. The one door in/out and the constant lines and jockeying with tourists and families for position is so ridiculous that this location has always been a last resort. Maybe it's the crazy cones, or wild flavors that draw customers in, but if you're looking for simple, excellent ice cream, this might not be your spot. If you can't stand disorganization, you may also dislike this location. Overall, the Instagram hype in pictures far outweighs what I've had in the cup or cone. If that's what draws you in, you won't be disappointed by what you see or the size of your ice cream. The prices may shock you a bit, though. I wish I had a better suggestion in the area for ice cream, but sadly, there aren't many options in Back Bay. Emack & Bolio's will hit the spot if you have a craving, but don't expect to walk away saying, "this is everything I had hoped for!"