Toscanini's Ice Cream — Restaurant in Cambridge

I love Toscanini’s.

I don’t know how many times I’ve eaten here but today I enjoyed a split micro of Green Tea and Coconut Pandan and was convinced that I needed to share my love for this shop.

Everything is great: Banana Bourbon, Strawberry, Chocolate #3 (well anything chocolate for that matter), anything containing coffee, Earl Grey, B3… you name it, it’ll be good.

What makes Toscanini’s ice cream so special is how balanced and flavorful it is. The flavor it advertises is what you get — not some flavored cream with a thin veneer of whatever flavor it masquerades around as. What really impressed me was the Coconut Pandan today. I’m of Southeast Asian descent so naturally anything containing Pandan (aka Screwpine) gets me excited. It’s the Vanilla of SE Asia, and it’s delightful, fragrant, and tasty. Toscanini’s nailed the Coconut Pandan flavor — not too creamy, not too coconut-y, not too pandan-y. It’s the Goldilocks of the two flavors, just right.

“Just right” describes all the ice cream here. It’s not too cream forward and not too sugar forward. It’s the perfect balance of the two that allows the intended flavor to come through.

Anyway, I’m a huge fan and I’m so glad Toscanini’s is in Cambridge. I honestly think about that day I move out of Cambridge and the fact that I may be so far away from...

The ice cream slaps. The customer service? Slaps you back.

Came in excited to try some wild and funky flavors (because let’s be real, they’ve got some bold ones), but the energy behind the counter was giving “I hate it here.”

The woman serving us looked annoyed before we even said a word. Then she rushed us to order—even though we were clearly off to the side, not holding up the line. When we finally stepped up and asked for a few samples (because, hello, who blindly commits to “goat cheese guava surprise” without tasting it?), she acted like we asked her to churn the batch from scratch.

And listen—what made it even more disappointing is that she was the only BIPOC employee, and somehow managed to have the worst attitude. I came in wanting to support, not get served a side of shade with my scoop.

I’ve since heard I’m not the only one who’s clocked the vibes here. It’s starting to feel like being moody is part of the job description. Are y’all hiring for “Resident Crabby Patty”? Because you’ve got some solid candidates.

Bottom line: the flavors are fire, but the service puts out the flame. I’ll be back—just not often, and not with high expectations for anything...

Some of the best ice cream I've had ever.

For a place that the NYT once called the best ice cream place in the world, I had high expectations. I had heard good things, both about the quality of the ice cream and the uniqueness of the flavors (two keys to a great ice cream shop, in my opinion), so I was excited to try it.

We went around 9:30 PM on a Saturday and there was a line to the door but worry not, it moves fast!

One thing I was surprised about was the modern, minimalist aesthetic of the place. With a name like Toscanini's, and the great reputation, I expected a bit more eclectic, older, historical decor but that expectation was wrong. This place almost looked like a frozen yogurt shop with the blue and white-colored walls.

This place has some very unique flavors (i.e. Vienna Finger Cookie, Rum Raisin) but I decided to go with one of my go-to classics (mint chocolate chip) and a unique flavor (banana Nutella). Both were rich and delicious and paired well together. I got a large but I still wish there was more.

I will definitely be back to Toscanini's and I can't wait to try some of the...