Emack & Bolio's Ice Cream — Restaurant in Pembroke Pines

The ice cream is top notch. Super creamy and many varied flavors and options from ice cream to smoothies. The service is kind and attentive and prompt. The show stoppers are the dipped and topped cones. They are truly amazing and delicious not just gimmicky eye candy. Why one less star? 2 small gripes: After waiting months for them to get the vegan flavors in stock, the only options are chocolate and coconut ... 🙁 With as many fun and inventive flavors as they offer, I really was disappointed that the vegan flavors are so basic. With a dairy allergy my options for ice cream are very limited and I was truly hoping for some flavors like their regular ones 😔 but still, at least it's still creamy and smooth. It does have a moderate coconut flavor, I'm guessing from the milk used. I've noticed that oat, cashew, and macadamia milks seem to make creamy ice cream with a more mild taste that makes a better blank canvas for other flavors. Coconut pairs decently with chocolate, but it's a very specific flavor that you may not want all your ice cream to taste like. The 2nd thing is the hefty price tag. I went in today and got two ice creams with specialty cones and it was legit 22$. I understand the price of ingredients is high nowadays but ooof. That means for my family of four it would normally be around 50$ for an ice cream outing. 🥹 that's a bit up there to make it a routine dessert place and lands it at special treats only status. Which is too bad because the ice cream really is delicious. But oh well, this world has become completely unaffordable recently so i guess it is what it is. Perhaps they can create some customer loyalty rewards or discounted days for kids or something. Either way, i will happily change to 5 stars if non dairy flavors are given a...

I recently hosted a party at Activate in Pembroke Pines and brought the kids over to Emack & Bolio’s afterward for ice cream. Before our group arrived, I walked in to give the staff a heads-up that 18 boys would be coming. At no point did anyone mention a required reservation or any fees for bringing in a group.

It was only when we arrived and I asked to move a few chairs to accommodate the kids that the owner came out and informed me there would be a $150 fee to “reserve the restaurant.” There is no mention of this anywhere on their website, and by the time she brought it up, our entire group was already walking over. After I questioned it, the fee was changed to $75, but the restaurant was never actually reserved for us — other customers continued coming in, and we did not block access or occupy the entire space.

Honestly, can you imagine walking into any restaurant, letting them know you have a party of 18, and being charged just to sit down? That’s exactly what this felt like.

What made the experience even more uncomfortable was that a staff member tried to take a video of the kids while they were singing happy birthday — potentially for promotional use — without any permission. We had to politely ask them not to record the kids.

I’m not someone who writes negative reviews lightly, but I truly feel the owner took advantage of the situation simply because we had a large group of kids coming in. We were bringing business into the shop on a slow afternoon, yet were met with an unexpected fee that felt completely unjustified.

I hope Emack & Bolio’s takes this feedback seriously and begins clearly communicating any group policies in advance so other parents aren’t put in the...

Just left this place after having a horrible experience with the owner. My friend brought her son’s birthday crew over for ice cream after playing games at Activate next door. While the boys were playing she stopped over to let her know we were bringing 18 kids to get ice cream. We arrived with plenty of adult supervision and guidance. Each kid waited in line and ordered what they wanted. Somewhere in this transaction the owner says she’s going to have to charge my friend, who was paying for all the ice creams, $150 for taking up too much space. Oh and then she said we ate all the cones so now she has no cones for the rest of her customers. WE ARE THE CUSTOMERS! The majority of the party waited outside. Once the kids were done eating their ice cream they left. The owner was obviously overwhelmed but I find this shocking. 18 customers should not be overwhelming. It should...