This morning I had ice cream for breakfast.
The reason being, the last 2 weekend
afternoons that I’ve walked past the newly opened Joe’s ice cream on Wellfield
Road there’s been a queue.
Not just a queue, but a massive queue – at least
20 deep. I don’t doubt that it would only take 5 minutes to get to the front; it’s
just that I really don’t want to spend my weekend waiting in a line.
Joe’s Ice Cream, the first Cardiff branch of
the Swansea institution, is a chuffing awesome addition to Roath and a
dangerously short 5 minute stroll from home.
Their interior is a thing of retro beauty -
all chrome, white and baby blue.
Their menu is packed with old school
favourites which conjure memories of childhood holidays by the seaside – 99s,
knickerbockerglories and ice cream sodas.
And, their prices put the Roath Park ice
cream kiosk to shame – whilst a single scoop in the park costs north of £2, a
single scoop at Joe’s costs £1.20 and their sundaes start at £2.60.
Joe’s serves a range of different flavours
of ice cream but it’s their vanilla which they’re famous for. The vanilla, the
only flavour made on the premises, is ultra creamy and has the soft texture of an
Italian gelato. In contrast, the other flavours are firmer and made in
their Swansea based factory.
In fact, sampling the vanilla really is a
must; it’s what makes Joe’s different to other places selling ice cream in Cardiff. The other
flavours are delicious yet no different to what you can get elsewhere.
Mrs G ordered 2 scoop tub of strawberry and
welsh cake flavour ice creams with nuts and chocolate sprinkles (£2.30).
I, however, let my curiosity get the better
of me and ordered a strawberry marshmallow North Pole (£2.75). According to the
server, North Poles are the best value option on the menu. A liberal amount of
vanilla ice cream was sandwiched between wafers and topped with a soft, super sweet,
strawberry marshmallow. Raspberry sauce, nuts and chocolate sprinkles were optional
extras – it would have been rude to say no. It was bloody good but I should caveat
this by admitting that I’ve got a sweet tooth.
After one visit, I’m a massive fan of Joe’s
ice cream. I’m just a little worried that I might need a tent and deck chair
for the queue when the summer comes…
The
details:
Address
– Joe’s ice cream, 69 Wellfield Road, Roath,
Cardiff, CF24 3PA
I agree, their Vanilla is to die for!!
ReplyDeleteThe only disappointment for me, was the amount of unnecessary plastic that they use. Single use spoons, containers, cups and yellow plastic ice cream boats (as photographed)! All of which end up in a bin (or littered in the park) after the few minutes it takes to scoff your ice cream. There are plenty of affordable biodegradable options out there, especially for an established company like Joes.
Stick to their edible cones.
For all you JOE's fans, did you know you can book Bernard's Tricycle, serving JOE's ice cream at weddings and events throughout Wales!
ReplyDeleteA massive fan of Joes ice cream for well over 20 years,(a trip to Swansea from Blackwood every couple of months or so just foran ice cream?)you cannot imagine my exitement when working in the Roath area of Cardiff one day, I spied the synonymous blue and white colours in the distance and thought "could it really be?".That was two days after the Wellfield rd shop had opened and now I love Cardiff just a little bit more now,and seeing as I work there 3-4 days a month, well you can guess the rest.
ReplyDeleteBut your advice is spot on the vanilla is king of all ice creams , but I'm slowly working my way through the other flavours and now buy one plain vanilla and one other flavour (small portions of course) per visit and yep they don't disappoint either, so top drawer ice cream and service from pleasant staff so its an A+ from me.
@Al - I guess I'll have to check out the other flavours now so it'll be two scoops for me too!
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