GiGi’s Ice Cream of Punta Gorda — Restaurant in Punta Gorda

Yesterday my husband and I decided to give "Gigis ice cream of Punta Gorda" a try. We arrived at 12:15. 15 minutes after they opened.

I went in wanting to get a flavor they have listed on their website "mint oreos and cream".. they did NOT have the flavor. It took me a few minutes to decide on another flavor, as a few of their buckets were so empty, it wasnt enough to fill a small bowl... I decided to go with their "world's best vanilla" ice cream. Husband went with black raspberry gelato.

2 small bowls, $8.02, gave the girl $11.00, walked back to our car. Took our first bite....

She had to scrape every single inch of the bucket just to make my small cup of THEIR world best VANILLA. Whatever. No big deal. I personally didn't like the flavor at all. It lacked vanilla flavor!!! Hardly tasted like anything. It was also very strange consistency.. very thick and had hard chunks. It also tasted like they use artificial sweetener or something as the taste and film of whatever on my mouth after even just 1 bite, was horrible. My husbands black raspberry gelato. I hadn't heard what he ordered and when I tasted it, I thought it was strawberry. He agreed that it didn't taste anything like black raspberries at all. And, it ALSO had the same strange after taste and also felt it's whatever sweetener they use. Neither of us ate more than 2 bites unfortunately.

Did we go back in? No, it was $8.02 and not worth my time. Its just not a place i'd give another chance. I wrote a very straight forward, short, not rude at all review on their page, they deleted the review and blocked me completely. Update... they unblocked me when I called them out on a local restaurant review group on Facebook.. went on the post accusing me of blocking them and i guess they didnt actually delete my review but instead took the review section down off their FB page.. isn't that the point of social media for businesses? Honest reviews. So, here it is on Google, where they...

Edit: Thanks for your response. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. My son-in-law DID NOT use a fake name. I, my daughter and my-son-in-law have had dozens of acia bowls and from many different states/locations.

I visited your establishment on Sunday, December 29th, with my daughter and son-in-law. We arrived right at noon when you opened, intending to order açaí bowls. When my daughter placed her order, I noticed that the açaí was being scooped from a large bucket rather than freshly blended. This differed from my expectations of a creamy, freshly prepared açaí bowl, so I decided to pass on ordering. My son-in-law decided to try it but ended up throwing his bowl away after eating less than half. My daughter finished hers and said it was “okay.”

While waiting, I used the restroom and found the men’s room out of order, with a handwritten sign directing customers to use the women’s restroom. Unfortunately, the women’s restroom was in a very unsanitary condition, with the toilet seat covered in what appeared to be diarrhea. This was extremely off-putting.

To make matters worse, your response to my son-in-law’s review (posted as Ethan Jaffe on Sunday, December 29th) was highly unprofessional, accusing him of being a competitor and writing a false review. This accusation was uncalled for and dismissive of valid customer feedback. You’re welcome to check my review history: I give positive reviews for great experiences and negative ones for subpar ones.

Instead of deflecting criticism, I suggest focusing on improving the quality of your offerings, maintaining cleanliness, and responding professionally to feedback. I hope you take this as an opportunity to grow and better serve...

We frequently enjoy grabbing ice cream and trying new places, so we were excited to see a new spot, GiGi's, in Punta Gorda. Located across from Shorty's in the building that used to be Old Town Convenience, they've given the exterior a vibrant makeover with pink paint, replacing the old yellow-tan color.

The interior matches the lively exterior, offering a colorful setting with wide open space. There are four four-top tables inside, providing seating for up to 16 people. When we visited, three tables were already occupied, and we were lucky to grab the last one.

Before our visit, we checked their website for available flavors and planned to get Turtle and Reese's, but unfortunately, they were out of both. They also had a Snickers flavor not listed on their site, but it was unavailable as well. Usually, we like to get two different flavors and share, but we both settled on the same flavor, Tin Lizzy.

Upon ordering, we were informed that the Tin Lizzy tub needed to be mixed first because it was melting. Despite this, the ice cream we received still had poor consistency. Additionally, the mix-ins were so sporadic that it tasted like we were just eating vanilla ice cream, which was disappointing.

Understanding that newer businesses can face challenges, I hope this feedback helps GiGi's improve. Ensuring popular flavors are in stock and maintaining consistent quality can significantly improve the customer experience. We look forward to trying GiGi's again in the future to see if these issues have...