Fred's Water Ice

Looking for a late night snack and we decided to head to an all night market when we stumbled upon Fred’s and they were open. Hard and soft ice cream and plenty of snacks. Very happy customers!

Water ice joint with lots of great flavors. I got tangerine and passion fruit. It was so fresh and flavorful. The place is open late for a late night snack. Plenty of seating with covering. Will be back to try different flavors!

Hands down some of the best water ice jn the city. Yea the lines can get long, but just help to build the anticipation...lol... for the most part the staff are courteous and helpful, but we not expecting 100% red carpet treatment from summer workers are we??? Definitely a must stop if you in the area

The workers forgot my order, had to wait longer for them to prepare & give me what I asked for. They were out of 1 of the flavors of water ice that my boyfriend had asked for. We both got pretzels & neither one of us liked them-dry & tasted day old.

The water ice had a weird taste but not horrible, maybe the flavor I chose. They were out of a lot of flavors, the line was long but moved pretty fast and the dude at the window mumbled a few sentences, I had no idea what he said lol. Decent place.

The thing I appreciate about Fred's is the texture of the water ice. Nobody else blends theirs like they do, so it stands out in a way where you can love water ice from anywhere in the city and still appreciate theirs.

Late evening visit for water ice(tangerine & sour apple), a pretzel with no salt (absolutely naked) and a beef patty (Yes, they have those.) Refreshing and quality controlled.. the flavors taste great !

This place is in the hood, and it is quite possibly the slowest and least efficient foodservices I have ever seen (like they were practically trying to be as slow and clueless as possible) HOWEVER, the water ice was so good I still give it 4 stars. It was just terrific. I'd be the fattest person in Philly if I lived next to this place.

Look...this simply is the BEST water ice in Philly. My dad introduced me to this place about four years ago and I never miss an opportunity to stop by when I come to Philly. Yeah, it's not in the best of neighborhoods, but I've never worried about my safety when coming. I stay out the way when I'm deciding what to order and wait in line when I'm ready. I'm always sure to be extra respectful and i've never encountered any issues with the employees there. Truth be told, it could be a battle going on, and I'm going to Fred's! It's just that good! If you go no where else in Philly, you must stop here! Your taste buds will thank you!

I visited Fred's on an extremely hot and humid day. Water Ice was exactly what I needed. People were just arriving, so there wasn't an immediate line. Service was quick (which I liked). I'm giving THREE stars because: -- They were going to microwave my pretzel b|c I asked for cheese on it. A definite NO-NO!! -- The medium water ice was $3.50 and I feel like a larger cup and more water ice was warranted for that price. The pretzel and water ice did hit the spot and I will be back, but more product for my money please!!

For those long -time west Philly residents...do you remember Fred and his water ice cart that was one-hundred percent a god-send at Clark park in the early 2000's? Well, this is the out -pouring of that. I didn't even realize it until my 18-year-old daughter requested to ride our bikes to Fred's because "it is a part of my childhood". Kudos to Fred. He definitely built something. I told my kid, "it's like we just ordered from a boardwalk place on the jersey shore... but it's better". She readily agreed. Funnel cake, pretzels, hotdogs, ice cream, water ice and so much more! We waited in line and both ordered gelatis . So good! The best custardy ice cream with delicious water ice! Pick your flavor! Plenty of tables to sit and enjoy! I love this hard working success story! Go visit Fred!

I've gotten water ice and pizza pretzels from here. I love their water ice because they're thicker than most ppl that have a more watered down taste. I've bought a few containers and the price was certainly right.

First time trying Fred's! Awesome Ice pretty rough area though if I must say. Good for pick up orders on a hot Philly day

Finally had time to stop by this place. I was looking forward since Rita's isn't good any more. Parking: residential street. Hard to find parking. People double parking, so there isn't much parking around. Service: cashier was nice. Water ice: passion fruit and mango. Flavor good but water ice melted right before my eyes while I was walking to the car; my car wasn't even 20 feet from the counter!!! I could not enjoy it. I've never had water ice melt that fast!! When I tried to lick the part that didn't melt, it sank down into the juice, the juice rose up and spilled all over my shirt!! A sticky mess! Pretzel is microwaved with cheese wiz. Overall: disappointed. I won't be back.

I love absolutely love Fred's I will travel from any part of the City to purchase from Fred's

Came here a week ago. The line was looooonnnng this day. Nothing new, but the person behind the counter had no sense of urgency. I had to buy like a gallon for a party and for some reason they gave me a hard time about it lol There are gallon buckets sitting in the back, just hand me one! lol The water ice itself was solid as usual. I still want to try one of their fancy pretzels but I didn't have the patience to wait another 15-20 minutes.

Freddy is a true gentleman with great business sense. He is a man of God. His Water Ice is something to be enjoyed!

A must stop every time I'm in Philly! Cherry on the bottom, lemon on top is my FAVORITE water ice!

Be careful when you buy here I went today and buy 4 small water ice and 1 pretzel with cheese the person charge me 10.25 when the small water ice cost 1 dollar each and the pretzel with cheese 1.50 this only makes 5.50 and even if you put 1 dollar of taxes doesn't make 10.25 there was a kid who was infront of me and bought 1 small water ice too and he only pay 1 dollar and no taxes

Damn it!!! I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture; I'll be sure to add a picture when I update this review because I'll most definitely be returning!! The staff is kind of stand-offish, and may come off slightly rude, however, the gelati (soft-served ice cream + water ice) and cheese pretzels are my go-to and hit home every time for me! I usually visit the location on McDade Blvd which also stays open until 12am daily--Perfect place to stop by for a late night snack, be sure to bring the fam!!

Best water ice I've had in my 40 years of eating water ice. They have every flavor you can think of.

Classic spot eat the wooder ice jawn gew birdz schuylkill dobbler Black Cherry Hot chicks sometimes?

Love, love, love their products.

I stopped on a hot Sunday afternoon for a water ice. I ended up getting a Strawberry Vanilla Gelati and it was awesome. The water ice was great, not too sweet and the creamy Vanilla soft serve was a nice complement. People around were very friendly and the prices were very reasonable.

Fred's is pretty good to be a local water ice spot for years in Southwest. They pretty much took over around here after Jacks on 54th and Kingsessing closed which was so many years ago I think I was still a kid, it's a smoothie store now or something called Dylan's. Back to Fred's though, Fred's is definitely if not the top in the whole city, one of the tops in the city. They pretty decent on the pockets for their sizes of water ice too. They sale pretzels like regular, cheese, pepperoni, and pizza pretzels. Finger foods too like fried Oreos, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, hot dogs, and onion rings. So I mean you have a variety for a decent price. Forgot to mention they serve ice cream too, but of course why wouldn't they if you wanna have a gelati too? Just saying though. You like sweet, right consistency water ice? Come here

Great place! Water ice and beef pepperoni pizza pretzels are to die for. Place stays open late and is very reasonably priced.

New to Philly and I heard about a thing called water ice and figured I had to try it. Fred's was near the Airbnb I was staying at and seemed like a good option. It was not hot outside on the day I stopped by and probably an off time since there was no line at all. I checked out the menu and picked the pistachio flavor in a medium size. It was only $2 and more than I needed. I loved the green color because that's my favorite color. Can't necessarily say it tasted like pistachios, but it was super sweet, gave me brain freeze, and turned my mouth and hands green. It's a decent summertime treat but nothing I could eat regularly due to the sweetness. I did like the really finely ground ice texture. I definitely want to try the gelati so I'll stop by sometime again.

Fred's in west oak lane is horrible. Your waiting sooooooo long for cheap ice cream. It's nothing but pure cheap ice cream. Under staff, the should have more workers so the wait is not a half an hour. Milkshake was made wrong like milk I will not be going back

Amazing, family-run place. CHEAP with huge portions, excellent customer service, and quarter rides.

I've been a fan of Fred's water ice for years! A few weeks ago, I bought my first bucket of mango water ice for a picnic which was surprisingly cheap! For a 2.5 gallon tub, it only cost $14 while other specialty flavors (like passionfruit, coconut cream, etc) were $18. Aaaand when you take your empty and clean tub back, you get a discount on your next tub. The tub I bought fed about 30+ people using my own small foam cups. Will be stocking up for the winter lol. Only downside that knocked a star off is the long wait in line, but I think it's because they serve hot food items like pizza pretzels and things. Will be back!

Best water ice in Philly hands down. Been coming here since a little kid. Only downfall is the long line, but it's well worth the wait

Amazing, addictive, yummy. Came to see my daughter in Philly and we came back every night. The gentleman behind the counter found out it was our first time. Got a spoon if every flavor handed to me!! It is amazing. My daughter lives 2 miles away and is trying to have every flavor they have.

The best water ice around!!!! I don't eat a lot of ice cream or Italian ice, but WATER ICE is something I would eat all the time especially Fred's!! When your in Philly go to this spot not the others!!! This is it!!

I enjoy the variety of waterice flavors that Fred's offers, and the prices are good but their service is sorely lacking. There are 4 windows, which should all be utilized to wait on customers, however there is only one window to wait on several customers at a time (the order window) and one window to pick up one's order. It makes the experience very slow, and extremely time consuming. What makes the process so agonizing are the buses and trolleys which operate right in front of Fred's and people (myself included) have to either miss their bus or stand in a slow line. Finally, Fred's staff are either distracted to the point of not focusing (missing peoples' orders) or moving too slow. The waterice is never dolled out with a smile, or a positive greeting, which would make up for the sdlow service. I have reduced the amount of times I go there, once every 2 weeks because of the poor service. It's unfortunate since I live a few blocks away from Fred's. I've also heard others say they avoid going to Fred's.

Great water ice with lots of flavors and very reasonably priced. They also serve Phili pretzels and other treats too.

I was in Philly for a business trip. On the first day I was there I saw someone post on Instagram about the best Water Ice "Whutter Ice" and Philly Cheese Steaks in Philly and it was on from there. I'm from Texas so I had to try and I was not disappointed. I got a cherry and pineapple in one cup and let's say if I could have gone back every day I would have!!!

I tasted Fred's Water Ice while attending the Dollar Stroll on Baltimore. While there were some deals to be had for a buck, this was not one of them. This was a case of capitalizing on an opportunity to make money, not just market their product. I regularly get a large cup of water ice for a buck in this neighborhood, and smaller ones sell for fifty cents. His cup, which cost a buck, was much closer in size to the smaller ones. On a whim, I tried it anyway thinking maybe it's a special water ice. And, besides, it's not like I am breaking the bank with a buck. The water ice was okay. I've had better, and in fact better from the places that give me twice as much for my money. When I stroll Dollar Days I expect to sample something for a buck that I can not usually get at that price. This was overpriced for t he sample size I got. It's not the worst water ice, but don't overpay for it.

Fred's Water Ice has to be the best water ice place in Philadelphia. If you're from the area or have visited his location over the past two decides your summer time memories would probably include a good bbq, a block party and enjoying your favorite flavor of his water ice.

Friendly crowd, had a generous Black Cherry medium water ice and it was delicious. Pretzel was horrible, no salt, microwaved. Pretzels in Philadelphia should be fantastic.

This is one of my favorite spots for water ice not pricey and ten minutes from my house . I usually have a somewhat decent experience there (bedsides the long line) when I go but this time omg it was horrible . After standing in line 25 minutes finally got to the window and the ladies that were working in the back were super slow ! Oh not to mention they only had two windows open for about 25-30 people in line smh.Ok ordered four water ices and requested a carrier to put them in . My friend tagged along to help me ..so we get to the car and by the time he sits down an grabs the carrier most of the water ice spills everywhere . The cups they use are soooo cheap and the water ice melted so fast tht by the time I got home it was mostly juice . So bottom line is Fred u need better cups and faster workers at the window smh!

They have the best water ice in Philly! The prices are reasonable and good customer service

Horrible customer service. I asked for a quote on wholesale delivery specifically the minimum purchase for delivery as the website does not specify. It has been my experience twice that Fred is a CEO who sucks up all the work no one can answer a simple question with out him. The person who answered the phone was cynical argumentative and down right rude all because of his inadequacy with not being able to answer simple customer service questions if answering customer calls via the company phone. I would recommend if you are looking to by wholesale go somewhere where else!

Well worth the trip out to southwest Philly, the neon signs of Fred's welcomed me from an aerobic bike ride. The place had come highly recommended to me by a pretentious hipster friend who was so moved by their water ice that he started telling everyone "that shit is the chronic." Naturally, this was a compelling endorsement, and as a self-proclaimed water ice fanatic, it was my sworn duty to check it out. I arrived to find a crowd of several families and about 7 cops in line - and with good reason: the water ice is made fresh on the premises and better yet, it's cheap. A small (about 8 oz) is $1, and it's all you need. The workers moved the line exceptionally fast and were happy to prepare my bizarre request for strawberry + sour apple. The texture was perfect, they'll mix any flavors you ask for, and the outdoor patio seating is PERFECT for a summer's evening.

Emily did such a great job of reviewing our trip there that I am not sure what else to add, but seriously: if you are in search of quality homemade water ice west of the Schuykill, this is the place. Sugary, sweet, and just right. Prices are absolutely reasonable - a $1 small comes in what seems to be a pretty tiny plastic cup, but they sure know how to pack a ton of water ice in the thing. I decided on the Strawberry Lemon flavor - and was not disappointed. Strawberry with a bit of tang, and some chunks of real lemon here and there. Next time I stop by I'll make sure to mix a couple flavors, as Emily did. I'm also intrigued by what sounds like the disgusting Fried Oreos. We shall see.

The water ice is mediocre. The ice cream is just as bland. And the various carbs available (Pizza pretzels, etc. ) can be found anywhere in Philadelphia. From the product we slip down to service, where the customer is asked "Whatcha want?" It took me ten minutes to get my water ice and there wasn't a line. Fred's is great for people watching. In ten minutes sitting at Fred's I saw a fist fight between two very classy ladies over a man whose name seemed to be "Butter". Also, as the line got longer, the various one liners from impatient customers were hilarious. But it's not a place you leave your own neighborhood for. I was visiting relatives and thought , why not ? BUT, if you need inspiration for the latest styles in synthetic hair art, please go here.

Wow I am so Happy Fred's water Ice has spread his business in the West Oak lane Area!! Now I don't have to travel all the way to South West Philly to indulge in a great Water Ice.

Definitely recommend coming here for a nice cold treat. Reasonably priced & everything tastes fresh!!

I placed a large order 2 weeks ago and reconfirmed on Thursday. I called today to see if they were near but to my surprise I was told that they threw out my slip and "had no way to contact me". I placed an order for 10 buckets of water ice for middle school students to have for lunch (which started at 11:00 am). They told me that they wouldn't be able to provide the 600 spoons I ordered nor would they be able to provide the 500 cups I ordered. They didn't arrive to the school until 12:00 (after 2 lunches). Will never order from this company again.

The best water ice in Philly. I will be back!!!! Size? Small water ice and small gelati are probably enough (and still maybe too much).

Good water ice, good variety, good prices, the gelati is good, but too many bees and wasps to sit and enjoy it. Take it to go!

Just came home. We live in Florida and Fred's is all I want from Philly. Not a cheese steak just a Feds water ice. Love it. Tangerine and pineapple

Fred's water ice and ice cream is soo good and there food is good and there very nice

Great water ice with tons of flavors. The workers can be a bit cold, but i guess it comes with the territory.

only in philly youll get something called a "gelati" cause i know for damn sure i never heard that in san jose why havent anyone thought of doing this in the west coast?! for 2 dollars you can get this icee mixed with soft served ice cream?! .75 cents for a cheese pretzel 1 dollar for a water ice!? you must be insane to be charging people that cheap for something soo good. i bet its better in the summer time.. too bad i have wrong timings FRED you really know what youre doing with those water ice

"In West Philadelphia, born and raised at Fred's is where I spent most of my summer days" hehe. Love Fred's!! Miss this place now more than ever, now that I moved out of state. Such a variety of flavors and cheap prices; Sit back, cool out, and enjoy Fred's on a hot summer day

Franks Water Ice: he makes it, you'll love it! The best water ice in the city - lemon is my favorite! In Clark Park every day - eat it and cool down in the hot, hot summer.

Not only do they have 20 flavors of water ice, and pretzels, and all kinds of food at their 3 locations. But they have all the supplies at the Chester St. location so that people can start their own neighborhood business. BTW Mango is my favorite!