Sweet P's

Great quick Icecream at a great price. Not listed on here but it was very cute was they had a little flight you can get of four different scoops for $7. Or you can even get a mini cone with a single scoop for $2 Definitely worth a try!

Awesome ice cream... Essex Mud... Lemon Graham...Pumpkin Ginger ...and Mango sorbet combo for $7 is just too good to let go....must have in Essex

I was so excited to go to Sweet P's during our trip to Essex, especially after hearing they use Ashley's ice cream! We were greeted so kindly! I ordered lemon graham and salted caramel on a waffle cone. Both flavors were amazing, but man, was that lemon something special! We really enjoyed everything! This place is a must when visiting Essex.

Fantastic little ice cream shop on the way down to the river. They have a great selection of flavors, including dairy free vegan choices. My kids and family were all able to find something right away. I highly recommend the Essex Mud. The brownie bits were so soft and fresh. The woman working the day we went was very patient with my little ones and very nice. While the shop is small, there is a little courtyard out back with benches and chairs to sit and eat. Or, take it to go on the way to the park by the boat ramp at the end of the road. Overall, this made for a great treat on a nice summer day.

Served us very late, amazing service 10/10 would recommend. I find the employees to be very charming and make the store a brighter place. Made my day better and had some great ice cream!

Very kind service took care of us right as they where about to close very sweet Abby and charlotte are such fantastic employees who always show kindness even when they get small tips they are still amazing if I owned a icecream store I would poach them immediately, they made my night 100X better they were so fantastic that they got tipped $5 for there fantastic service. Would give sweet P's 10 out of 5 starts if I could, they deserve a raise for how polite they where.

Being lactose intolerant, I was thrilled to see two nondairy selections. Plus, a first for me, the $2.00 sample cone, which I got. Wish other shops sold them. Sometimes you don't want a bigger size.

Some of the best ice cream I have ever had! Service was amazing and Gabby even remembered my order from last time. 10/10

Cute little ice cream shop. Very small inside (no seating and would be crowded in a busy day). Decor inside was well suited with cute and funny signs. Several fun flavors to choose from and lots of toppings. I had a very happy 8yo!

This is a cute ice cream shop on Main Street in Essex. The have Ashley's ice cream from Connecticut, and the flavors were excellent! I had a scoop of nondairy lemon Graham crackers and pistachio. Both was excellent! Highly recommend this place!! Service was good!

The service is exceptional, the location is scenic as well as beautiful, and most importantly the ice cream is easily the best in the region.

Essex, Connecticut has greater laid-back vibes and is more elegant and cuter than touristy Mystic, Connecticut. Essex, also closer to New York City, is exceedingly more walkable than Mystic; it won't take you a whole day to stroll through town, maybe 2 hours! There are three Main Streets in Essex, Connecticut but Sweet P's, and all the other town's attractions, are nearby the Connecticut River Museum. I drove to the wrong Main Street on my first visit to Essex. The Connecticut River Museum and all the chic clothing boutiques are must-visits. The views of the Connecticut River is mind-boggling beautiful and the ultimate natural serenity! Sweet P's is a fun family-owned, local small business that offers tasty ice cream, especially flavors with a New England connection like Essex Mud. I'm a big ice cream eater and their Red, White & Blueberry, Coconut Raspberry, Mint Chip, and Black Raspberry ice creams are creamy, refreshing and delightful to savor.

Sweet P's is a gourmet ice cream parlor that opened in Essex, Connecticut in 1989. It was founded by businessman Lee Thompson. Since 2014, it has been under the ownership of Angelica Linfesty. Sweet P's proudly serves ice cream which is made by Ashley's Ice Cream: a popular local creamery chain with five locations in the Greater New Haven area. Sweet P's supply is made fresh at Ashley's Guilford location. One flavor in particular is made exclusively for Sweet P's: "Essex Mud" (coffee ice cream base with fudge, brownie, Oreo and almonds). In addition to carrying two dozen ice cream flavors at any given time, Sweet P's also serves milkshakes, soda floats, sundaes, affogato, strawberry shortcake, frozen lemonade, smoothies and acai bowls. My wife and I recently visited Sweet P's while we were staying in Essex for our anniversary. We were staying across the street at the Griswold Inn. While exploring the nearby shops, we wandered into the ice cream parlor. After looking over the menu, I ordered a scoop of Essex Mud and a scoop of Pumpkin Gingersnap while my wife ordered a scoop of Oreo and a scoop of Salted Caramel. My wife and I are both fans of Ashley's Ice Cream, so we were not surprised that the ice cream was so good at Sweet P's. We ate our ice cream cups outside in the relaxation garden while enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather. We would definitely stop by again!

Great, delicious ice cream. The staff were friendly and got my ice cream quickly. The price for the amount of ice cream I got was a tad high, and much cheaper at other places but overall a good experience!

We have been going to Sweet P's for years. We love the ice cream so much often we buy by the pint. A pint of their ice cream costs $10. The problem we often have is the pints are not packed! The weight of the print can differ drastically. For $10 pint, ask them to pack it!!!

Cutest little ice cream shop with great ice cream. We came here after dinner and we were not disappointed. Just happy it was open! Seriously so many places aren't open until like late May. It was our routine on vacation of ice cream after dinner which our son obviously loved.

Last season I would religiously visit sweet p's ice cream shop nearly every weekend for an after-dinner cone. Due to my frequent happenings as soon as I stepped in the shop, they knew just what my choice would be without asking. The young girl would then fill in the deep well of a waffle cone with an extra 1/2 scoop on top. Over the months we would take a moment before it started to melt and drip over my hand to have a quick lighthearted chat. This promoted a kind and friendly atmosphere. The ice cream shop re-opened for this season offering the well-known and like tasty treats in the middle of Lent. where/when many would be customers abstain from various forms of indulgences. Other may also have dietary restrictions that may have developed over the winter months. For these reasons I had to fore-go these yummy cones at least until after Easter Sunday, although this didn't stop me from going in to say hello to those, I thought were friends {superficial at best} a few times. This was heavily frowned upon; thus, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was no longer welcome to step inside for a hello and or an ice cream. Oh well! that deep coned chocolate ice cream can be sought elsewhere. So go in enjoy your tasty treat but say nothing other than "Hello please, I would like and thank you" Don't forget to leave a tip for the scoop gals.

We believe that we are ice cream connoisseurs. There are many places that offer it and we have come to the conclusion that Sweet P's gets our vote. Choose your ice cream, walk down to the water and sit on a bench to enjoy it. The young crew of women are nice and you can always get a sample from them if you want to explore more flavors. The coconut is their frozen yogurt which I get sometimes. Tonight I ventured into their Oreo ice cream. My boyfriend gets chocolate chip -always. All are delicious.

Outstanding ice cream. What a cool setting in the town. Had a peanut butter ice cream. Absolutely terrific. It's a small location but well worth the time. Ice cream should be a real Effort to make people happy Vs making it fancy. This place makes excellent ice cream. It is seasonal so after the end of October they close for the season. Worth your time.

Great place, ice cream tastes great. Priced like metropolitan areas, unfortunately, but not a deterrent! Check it out!

Great little shop that sells the best ice cream in CT - Ashley's! Line, if theee is one, moves quite quickly.

Gluten allergy or sensitivity alert! This location has poor labeling and only one very small disclaimer on top the counter that encourages people to notify allergic concerns which is easily missed. They do not list ingredients. "Salted Caramel" ice cream contains pretzel and should have been at least labeled "Caramel salted pretzel". Store "policy" is to charge you to replace your purchase with no expression of concern for the potential seriousness of the issue

I don't believe I hadn't already reviewed Sweet P's. This is a cute little ice cream and candy shop on the main drag behind the coffee shop headed to the river in Essex. Decent flavors, ok prices, friendly scoopers. Sad they were out of their signature flavor (essex mud or something like that, sounded good but they ran out) and I got a very nice Mint Chocolate Chip (and it wasn't green). I have been here probably 10 times in the last 4 years or so and it is always good, and a nice stop on the way to check out the river or go look for eagles or something.

This place is simply not good. The ice cream tastes bad, the serving sizes are pathetically small, and it's served on a small, transparent piece of plastic. It's not even a cup, it's like a random scrap of plastic. Never get the milkshake. I love milkshakes and I thought there was no such thing as a bad milkshake... then I came here! Thank you, Sweet P's, for disproving my original thought. The one worker there was awkward and unfriendly, and made the whole ordering and purchasing experience an uncomfortable one. I don't care how hungry you are or how much you're craving ice cream, find another place. Don't go here. It's a waste of money, you're better off spending money at the Duck Store nearby.

Fresh and wonderful - I was so impressed that I bought four quarts to share with my new boss and his family. I also bought the Açaí bowl for a topping. Wonderful service, highly recommend.

Yea, yea, they serve Ashley's ice cream which won Connecticut's best ice cream for several years in a row. Big whoop de do. I don't know who those voters are, but I've never gotten overly enthusiastic over Ashley's ice cream. And that's coming from somebody who has childhood memories of visiting their original College Street location. Unfortunately Ashley's is sort of like the ice cream mafia when it comes to selling ice cream along the CT shoreline. If you're a tiny ice cream shop looking to purchase local ice cream you don't really have many choices. Either you sell Ashley's or you sell one of the big mass marketed brands of ice cream. Ashley's probably makes them an offer they can't refuse. Monopolies do that because they can. This is a really tiny scoop shop. There are no tables on the inside. There are a few benches along picturesque Main Street in Essex.

Very quaint place, and nice location. Grab an ice cream and walk down the road and sit by the CT river enjoying it

The hours are "all over the place". It is noon on a beautiful Saturday and the place is closed! C'mon'

My wife and I stopped in for lunch while we were in route to Providence. We love the quaint and charming downtown of Essex. We ordered the chicken avocado panini and the turkey cranberry panini. Both paninis were fresh, very flavorful and tasty. The paninis came out by themselves with nothing else on the plate. Our issues were elsewhere. We waited a long time for our sandwiches. There was only one person making the sandwiches and there were a few people in front of us. There was a lack of snack options to accompany the paninis. They only offered a very unhealthy large bag of chips over the counter. There were no other over the counter options. No pretzels, no other chips, macaroni salad, or coleslaw. They offered pita chips with hummus as a side and carrots on the menu. The prices were high. We spent almost $27 on lunch if you include the 2 waters. Great location but small inside with only about 4 or 5 tables. Probably more known for their ice cream but as I mentioned the paninis were very tasty. This place must get really busy in the Summer.

TL;DR: Absolutely fantastic on all fronts. The ice cream is great, it's a family owned business, and great for children and adults alike. They don't accept AmEx and there is a $10 minimum on cards! If you want ice cream served with family and a smile, look no further than here. Sweet P's is a local shop known for its creamy, decadent ice cream and the refreshing, delicious smoothies and juices. The girls who work there are no less than delightful as the owner takes great care in selecting workers for the season who will receptively cater to the customers. The owner herself is the definition of sweet. You wouldn't be exaggerating by saying she's as sweet as the ice cream she serves. She takes pride in owning the town's most prized ice cream shop and that fact is very clear the moment you step into the door. The establishment is wonderfully family oriented, as it is owned by a loving one, with bright colors and fun decorations that'll entertain the eyes of everyone from those having their first scoops to those who have lived to have many. It's always a pleasure seeing the faces of Essex in this cozy little shop and I look forward to this upcoming season of frosty delight. Keep in mind: they don't accept AmEx and they have a $10 limit on cards.

Great little charming ice cream shop on Main St in Essex. Nice selection of flavors, ice cream, sherbet and sorbet. We order our ice cream and then walk down and sit by the river. Very charming! Only caveat is that they have a minimun card charge of $20 so bring cash if your order is small.

Boo hiss! The icecream is gluey and frost bitten. For $3.75 for a small I would like better quality and flavors. Also when a customer didn't reach the $20 credit card minimum, the counter person put the ice cream back into the tub! That must violate a health code. I sure didn't ever do that when I scooped ice cream. Update2013: I haven't been since, but the place is under new management. I would give it another try.

The location is fantastic; it's the definition of quaint. They have a great selection of ice cream flavors and a good sized menu, including lighter and healthier options. I had their chowder and turkey panini of the day. Both tasted fresh and had a lot of flavor. The jalapeño was a nice touch in the sandwich. Only downside is it's small and probably gets packed in the summer time.

What a great spot!!! We stopped in for lunch and got the turkey cranberry panini and the chicken pesto panini - both were perfect! They're large so 3 of us shared the two sandwiches and a bag of chips. Best paninis I've had in a long time!!

The workers are so nice and the ice cream is delicious! There is so much food to chose from and the smoothies are so good I recommend the amazing berry smoothie. It's is so good and I love that they have vegan ice cream and nut free too ! Overall wonderful ice cream parlor!

Visited last evening. Pros: The two scoopers were friendly, flexible and fun. Only as we were leaving did we discover that closing time was 15 minutes before. As it was our first visit, we were interested in learning about the flavors etc and they never showed any impatience. Chocolate ice cream was good, the salted caramel ice cream was excellent, the coconut ice cream was good. The cones were fresh. The shop was spotlessly clean. Cons: None

I ordered the butter pecan shake. I could have paid more and gotten the "extra thick", but assumed that the regular one was thick. VERY mistaken. The "shake" was no more than sweetened milk. Very thin. In future I will be getting my ice cream from Ben and Jerry's in Old Saybrook. Haven't been there yet, but it has to be better. Very disappointing. Essex deserves better.

It is a great new year at Sweet P's. New Ice Cream selections made by Ashley's in Guilford, CT and a create your own Smoothie selection. All new interior is CLEAN and pops with color and FUN brought on by the enthusiastic young staff who are there to please you. New offerings of a child's size cone and a scoop for your puppy as well. This will be a destination you will be proud to share with your friends.

This review is based on the ice cream only. It's a nice little shop, There were 2 young people working, and both were pleasant. The ice cream was good. A two scoop dish was $4.95 including tax. They were smallish, perfectly round scoops. If you are walking in downtown Essex, it's worth a stop. If you are driving someplace for ice cream, both Scoops in Centerbrook and Main Street Sweet Shop in Deep River will pack a dish twice as big for the same money.

We stopped in for a quick lunch to enjoy in the courtyard next to the shop. My vegan/gluten free sister recommended this place and while they did have nice specialty choices, her sandwich looked rather small for the price. My panini with goat cheese and apricot was original and did taste good, though difficult to eat because it was just a bit too toasty, and again I found the lunch a little overpriced for the portion. Drink selections were really limited so we just opted for bottled water. We considered, but did not try the ice cream and smoothies the day we visited. The real turn off was the strong smell of cleaning products still wafting through the air when we came in for lunch. Though we should appreciate the restaurant cleaning, it overwhelmed the food smells and made it unappealing to stay inside the shop any longer than necessary.

The service at Sweet P's it amazing, they make us feel like family. Not to mention the ice cream its really delicious. They have a lot of ice cream flavors to choose from, we will definitely be coming here every summer the Atmosphere is great and so is the ice cream.

Cute little shop on Main Street across from the Griswold Inn. Service was friendly and fast, but the ice cream is not of high quality- very gummy and sweet. Olive Oyls right next door has better ice cream (homemade), but they close after 3 PM.

This place is awful! The woman who runs it is so nasty, rude and ill-mannered I could hardly believe what I observed as she Interacted with customers. She overcharged three individuals in a row and rather than show some grace and apologize, she made excuses and became hostile with each customer. The ice cream was stale and gummy AND very over priced. This is an establishment I will never again return to. It is not respectable and does not do justice to this lovely village.

Love this place! Ice cream is incredible. They even offer a sugar free variety that doesn't taste like cardboard. Great food options as well. Employees are super friendly and very helpful.

Excellent ice cream, but small portions (usually a "scoop" really means a scoop and a half or two scoops, but here they take the term literally) and a hefty price tag.

Good food, terrible service. These people clearly should not be serving anything other than ice cream. You can order, pay and get served your beverage and never receive your lunch. Be sure to follow up while they still remember your face

Back in town visiting and decided to get ice cream. Only to get there and see that it's only open until 7:30 not 9 like they had always been previously. Also disappointed to see they no longer serve Bucks ice cream. All in all, does not look like the Sweet P's it used to be.... Can only give two stars since it wasn't even open

Stopped in on a busy Sunday afternoon with a crowd of 9 people, of course all wanting different things -- a variety of 1- and 2-scoop ice cream cups, a few paninis, some soup -- pretty much sampled the menu! The three-cheese grilled cheese panini was delicious, crusty and gooey, not too hot to eat, and a generous portion. Ice cream flavors were delicious and rich -- a few in our party were absolutely THRILLED to see an early arrival of peppermint stick, and the seasonal pumpkin flavor was also really good. The staff was friendly, accommodating (to us and other patrons), and efficient, given the variety of different orders we had in our group. Sweet P's was a nice treat on a gorgeous autumn day in Essex. We chose to take our food out to stroll, since seating is somewhat limited (we waited at the tables inside, tables on the patio were full).

Adorable little shop with great food and ice cream. The owner is very friendly. I had some of their minestrone soup today and it was fantastic.

I had the $20 minimum problem too. They sent me two blocks away to the atm that charged me $3! Turns out they are not supposed to do that. Call the number on the back of your card to report them.

We were dining in Madison yesterday and afterward visited Essex and stopped into Sweet P's. We typically order a small or kids size for our two toddlers to split (in two separate cups) only because they really never get a more than few bites in before it melts or they lose interest! It is not about the cost, but more that it just ends up in their lap or garbage. I wish I had taken a photo of how tiny the portion was they served us. It was literally equal to the size of a matchbook in each cup! It was actually insulting. I asked the girl if this was "it"? She was quite unfriendly shortly explaining the kids size is small. The cost for this was $3.20. Now I fully realize this shop is going to be somewhat overpriced being in downtown Essex. For the normal sizes it is expensive and portions are small but I feel like the shop owner should have been embarrassed to serve this. Save your time and head to another spot!

Loved this adorable little venue, run by a family, with EXCELLENT ice cream and homemade soup! Had a lovely little conversation with them as I passed through this tourist town for a sweet little visit.

Cute, family run old time ice cream parlor Great spot after a meal in downtown Essex or anytime

OK if you are going to complain that you could have gotten ice cream for a dollar cheaper, then by all means, go to the giant, commercial, revolving door ice cream shop that sells the cheaper crap. People come here to have freshly made soups and paninis... they come for ice cream that is made locally with quality ingredients. The smoothies are made with real fruit... in other words, if you are the type of person that cant appreciate this, go to dunkin donuts and order something that has been frozen for 3 weeks and feel good that you saved a dollar. I will come to sweet p's every time I am in or near the area and next time will be for Cocoliso to try ice cream for the first time.

The new Sweet Ps is great. A happy place with yummy ice cream and smoothies. And located in a beautiful old New England historical town right in the middle Main Street. A must visit.

Sweet P's is the perfect name for this perfectly perfect ice cream shop located in the "prettiest small town in Connecticut", Essex. The care and attention to the details: The quality of the products, the professionalism of the staff and personality of the place will have you returning again and again. You won't have to "scream for ice cream", because Sweet P's is a short drive from anywhere. Personally anything chocolate makes me smile and theirs is great!

Delicious gourmet panini sandwiches (I enjoyed the chicken pesto) and ice cream (among other things)! Family-owned business with a very friendly owner and staff who truly care about the quality and freshness of the food they prepare for you. Yelp '$$$' rating is incorrect - it should be '$' The prices are very reasonable given the quality of the food! Definitely worth a visit if you are in Essex!