Toscanini's Ice Cream

Lauded as having ?the world?s best ice cream,? by the New York Times, Toscanini?s attracts frozen treat aficionados from around the globe. With everything made fresh on the premises, Toscanini?s offers luscious flavors you won?t find anywhere else. Try the Burnt Caramel Creme Brulee; Pepper Bourbon; Cake Batter; or Black Bottom (a heavenly mixture of ginger, molasses, & chocolate pudding). They also have specialty ice creams that cater to Cambridge?s large Caribbean and Indian populations such as Guinness, Grape Nut Raisin, Cardamom-Pistachio and Saffron. But ice cream isn?t the only story here. They also serve thirst-quenching ices like Kiwi Banana, Pineapple Rum, and spicy Mango with habanero peppers. Since 1981, owner Gus Rancatore?s irresistible homemade flavors have attracted luminaries such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Dalai Lama. With free wireless, hip music and a friendly staff happy to give free samples, this cool shop with exposed brick and light wood paneling is the perfect place to lounge. If you want to experience one of the best ice cream parlors in America, a visit to Toscanini?s is a must. more

Love this place! It's actually hooked into Facebook via their digital interactive signage. Gus and the folks there no their stuff and can hook you up with the best latte in Cambridge. Check it out! Pros: Coffee, Ice Cream, Digital Signage Cons: nine more

Very rich ice cream (too rich for me), over-priced. I like their mango and raspberry ice creams. The interior is nice, more sophisticated/grown-up ... more

I don't usually like sweets, and I'm not a big fan of Coldstone's, JP Licks, etc. etc. But we were walking around in the heat for awhile and we went into Toscanini's for something to cool us down, and I really really liked the ice cream. I think my friend had some kind of mocha flavored ice cream. I took a bite and I was hooked. I would be coming here all the time and gaining weight like crazy, it's a good thing I don't go to school around there. more

\r Just came back from Toscanini after they kicked me out without even letting me finish my drink!\r they claimed they do not allow students to study there on Sunday mornings, while there were many other people studying there!\r they were rude and said that if we want to be the study police we should go out side.\r We were just 2 people and each of us bought breakfast and drinks!\r We are not going there ever again!\r Students more

Toscanini's flavors are bold and strong: the chocolate is like eating a chocolate bar, the lemon sorbet is downright sour...There are few subtleties or ""layers"" of flavor. If Toscanini's flavors were dress shirts, they'd all be solids. Some of the flavors are quite unusual, but none pull their punches. If what you want from ice cream is *cream*, something mild and milky, then Boston has better choices. But if what you're after is a specific flavor, experienced as unambiguously as possible, then Toscanini's is the best there is. I fall into the latter camp, which is why I'm sure to drop in whenever I'm in Boston. more

It's obvious that a lot of reviewers just don't get Toscanini's. This place is not about getting a huge cone for cheap. It's not about taking the kids for ice cream. It's not about lattes. It IS about the best ice cream anywhere with the perfect creamy flavor balance. Not too sweet, not too dense, just right. The flavors are always creative and the hot fudge is like what grandma made, not what comes from a can at the other places. They don't always have your favorite flavor, they can be rude, the shop can be messy. That's because we're dealing with art here, and sometimes you've got to put up with the ""artistic attitude"" to enjoy the results. Pros: It's the best Cons: , slacker service more

There's too much fuzz about this place and it's nothing great, the service is ok, the cones are very small and wicked expensive!! -- if you want good ice cream right at the farm -- go to Crecent Ridge in Sharon -- now THAT'S good Ice Cream more

Fabulous ice cream, no question: softer, creamier, and more dense than most other places. If you grew up on mainstream, mass-produced, full-of-air ice creams, then yes, Tosci's may be too much for you. So many great flavors started here, though other places have since made copycat versions. Coffee is EXCELLENT, espresso drinks vary in quality. Pros: top notch ice cream, top notch coffee Cons: unreliable lattes more

When Toscanini's gets it right, they *really* get it right, and it truly *is* the best ice cream in the world. *However* Tosci's is extremely inconsistent. Certainly, there is going to be a certain amount of fluctuation from batch to batch, but sometimes things go horribly wrong and they ought not to serve certain tubs. The owner is smarmily overbearing and, sadly, seems more concerned with the hipness of the shop's fixtures than cleanliness or quality control. Worth it if you're already almost there, but don't bother schlepping in from the 'burbs--or even from Brookline. Pros: When good, very good. Cons: Not good often enough more

people rave about tosci's icecream. it's alright. the flavors are interesting, the espresso drinks aren't very good but that's why Gus owns the SOMEDAY CAFE in davis square. he bought a staff that really knows what the hell they're doing. they're all too smart to be working at a coffeeshop, but i'm thankful they all do. Pros: staff is friendly more

I'd heard a lot of buzz about Toscanini's, so I packed up my 4 kids and drove to Cambridge to try it. I was *very* disappointed! Their flavors are definitely extreme, but in my opinion *too* extreme -- my white chocolate was so heavy in taste that I couldn't eat more than about a third. Of my wife and four kids, only one of the kids (lemon sorbet) finished her small cup -- the rest only ate about half, and that *never* happens with my kids. Everyone had the same objections as me -- the tastes were too overpoweringly heavy to enjoy more than a couple of spoonfuls. I also didn't like the texture of the ice cream, all four flavors I tried had a graininess that just didn't compare to the smoothness of some of the other places I've tried in Cambridge and Somerville. Pros: Funky store, extreme flavors Cons: graininess, overpowering flavors, expensive more

Not sure which flavor to try? Never had chocolate cinammon icecream? Don't be shy, just ask for a sample. You can't go wrong at Toscanini's. I've never been disappointed (unlike at Denise's). The value is so-so, but for gourmet ice cream I guess the value is okay. Parking in the area can be a pain so expect to walk a couple blocks. Service is always friendly. And most importantly....the mark of all good ice cream restaurants.... they have a water fountain (water bubbler to us Massachusetts folk) and plastic cups so that you can wash down the hot fudge and ice cream. This is probably my favorite ice cream place in Boston and Cambridge. Pros: lots of flavors, get to try samples, water bubbler!!! Cons: so-so value, lousy parking more

The New York Times is not incorrect: Toscanini's has the best ice cream on earth. Unless you like goopy and sticky, ignore all of the other nominees. There is no comparison. more

You haven't tried real ice cream 'till you've tried Toscanini's. The proprietor, whose name I have forgotten is the greatest guy too. He knows a ton about ice cream and the Boston food scene in general. He makes his own ice cream and new flavors are added while others are discarded periodically. He's very responsive to consumer tastes. I would HIGHLY recommend the green tea ice cream- it's creamy, smooth, and successfully recreates the essence of green tea. more

Cherries n Chips, Burnt Caramel,Vienna Finger Cookie, Mango Sorbet - they use the highest quality ingredients and their ice creams are WonderFul!!! more

This is the best ice cream in Boston PERIOD. I did a taste test of my own to prove it. I ordered chocolate chip with hot fudge sauce at both Toscanini's and JP Licks. With Toscanini's, the ice cream was smooth, creamy, with a great undertone of vanilla. The chocolate chips were large(but not too large)and flavorful. The sauce had just the right consistency(not too thick/thin) and had a great, deep chocolatey taste. At the ""#1"" place, JP Licks, the ice cream had an overwhelmingly boring cream taste-that's it-cream-no flavoring. And the chocolate chips were too small to make an impact on my taste buds. The chocolate sauce tasted like something store-bought-one of those thick caramel-like chocolate sauces. So be forewarned, if you're an ice cream lover, as I am, I highly recommend you skip what other's deem #1, and head for Toscanini's more

The ice cream at Toscanini's blows away all others in the city because of the true flavors they achieve. The flavors change frequently and are always exotic. Toscanini's needs to open a location in Boston! Pros: flavor, richness, exotic Cons: price more