While we’d been lucky with several windy days to keep the temps down, it finally got hot. Hot and hot and bright and hot. Just like a Georgia summer! And when it gets that dang hot you need some ice cream. At least, that’s what I need… STAT. After reading so many good/great reviews about King Cream ‘ice cream’, I knew a few things… a) I wanted to go to there b) I knew it wasn’t going to your typical ice cream experience(mainly milk or cream) but instead was a combination of ice, water, milk(coconut, cow or maybe neither depending on what you get) and your ingredients c) I wanted coconut because it sounded like the best, most popular, most delicious So, off we went! I got the coconut I’d dreamed about and it was so freakin’ delicious. So light but rich. I, I, I can’t even begin to explain. Just trust me. Get a small. It melts fast and you can’t eat the whole thing if you get a larger size. And this is coming from an ice cream hoover. My partner got the lemon and it was more like an snow cone and very tart. He liked it but declared mine the winner for sure. I think all the fruit ones are more ice, less creamy. Service was shite. Really, the most god awful service we’d encountered at that point… and still, really, to this day in our trip almost 1 ½ weeks later. Don’t expect a smile or happiness or even indifference. This was angry service. The ice cream is worth it though. The price? Less than $ 4 for both of us to get what looked like about 2⁄3 a pint of ice cream goodness. Heck yeah! Two thumbs up for the King!
Hector R.
Place rating: 5 Salinas, Puerto Rico
Sin lugar a duda los mejores helados de Ponce un poco sucios los pisos pero el flujo de gentes es increíble estos tienen otra sucursal con la misma calidad pero con menos gente en la calle
Jackie M.
Place rating: 5 JACKSON HTS, NY
Literally the best coconut frozen concoction I’ve everrrrrr had! Prices are crazy cheap too! Very simple little place in the ponce plaza. clean, straightforward. About 8 flavors. I got a medium coco and it was $ 2.05… And it was a largeeeee medium! Sat and ate some and watched the lady prepare more sorbet almost like a ritual dance. Super delicious and fresh! Thanks to my friend Myriam for the recommendation
Jose B.
Place rating: 5 New York, NY
Everyone do your taste buds a favor and buy the tamarindo. Every time I go there I buy it by the gallon. Literally. And then eat it all in like 3 days span. Definitely my favorite ice cream/icee/slush… place hands down!
Jan P.
Place rating: 2 FOREST HILLS, NY
Not sure what the hype is about. Certainly not lemon ice king of corona. Actually gave away our piña to a beggar in the street who asked for money to buy ice cream.
Jess C.
Place rating: 3 Washington, DC
Definitely taste different from normal, heavy, ice-cream. If anything it felt like there was an equal balance of water & cream because it tasted lighter than usual ice-cream I’ve had. It was the most incredible thing I’ve had, but considering the limited selection of food/snacks in Ponce, I can see why people go nuts for this place. There was always a line when we came on a long-weekend. The almond was by far the best. The chocolate, vanilla, passion fruit, coconut was just boring and light. The prices are very cheap for being a tourist destination. I learned a few Spanish terms here: «china» flavor is orange, «mani» is peanut, «parcha» is passionfruit, «almendra» is almond.
Emily T.
Place rating: 5 New York, NY
Delicious«ice cream» made from real fresh fruit juice! More like an italian ice or sorbet then creamy ice cream, but fresh and SUPER tasty. There’s some construction around the place(as of last week), so don’t be afraid to seek it out.
M J.
Place rating: 4 Scottsdale, AZ
We were sweating it out in Ponce and asked at the Parque de Bombas for an ice cream recommendation — they pointed us across the street to King’s Cream Helados and we were extremely thankful. The line was out the door but moved fast. When it was our turn we asked for samples and had a hard time choosing — the piña was good, the almond delicious, the chocolate smooth and creamy. We would have had more if the portions weren’t so huge! Very reasonably priced. And I’m not sure which is better to watch — the machines making the ice cream right there at the counter, or the staff flinging the ice cream into cups as fast as you can call out flavors. A great treat.
Ozo m.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
If you ever find yourself in Ponce, PR you can not leave without making a stop here. Coconut was on my top list.
Ashley C.
Place rating: 5 Manhattan, NY
The ice cream is just plain delicious. There’s not much more to say. I would recommend this place to anyone. Coconut is my favorite!
Ky G.
Place rating: 5 Aptos, CA
The ice cream here is amazing! Super fresh unique flavors that are all amazing. My family ate the ice cream here twice in the one day that we visited Ponce. The prices are inexpensive and serving sizes pretty big. I got almond and coconut together and they were both absolutely delicious! Great place to get ice cream, wish they had one of these back home, I could eat here every day!
Jesse F.
Place rating: 4 Delran, NJ
Great fresh fruit flavor, super cheap & a great location right on the park. I mixed lemon & passion fruit more a sorbet feel then a «ice cream» deal.
Antonio M.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
You can’t visit Ponce without tasting a tropical fruit flavored sherbet from King’s Cream, better known to ponceños as «Los Chinitos» because the place was originally run by Chinese immigrants. Top flavors are guanábana and coco, mango and parcha follow.
Mike W.
Place rating: 5 Houston, TX
This place is wicked good! And super cheap! I got a medium sized cup but if I had a time machine I would have bought a gallon. I don’t know why you would consider the small size unless you were an ant. Loved the tamarind the most.
Savanna M.
Place rating: 5 Fort Lauderdale, FL
For the last 3 years my boyfriend has been telling me about helado de china… apparently that’s what he called this place when he was little. Finally I got the chance to experience it. This is a hole in the wall, but that’s what makes it great. He literally came here three times on the trip, sometimes the line was out the door. I opted for tamarind flavor which was a bit tart and harsh… he opted for coconut with passion fruit, or his favorite coconut with almond. I wasn’t a huge fan of the almond, and the passion fruit was also a bit tart, but the coconut was heavenly. The coconut with tamarind would be the best in my opinion… although I’m still kicking myself for not trying mango. Best part… it’s cheap… REALLY cheap! Small cups are about $ 1.65 each and pricing goes up from there. You can even get gallons to take home!
R ALopo C.
Place rating: 5 Boston, MA
This, my friends, is the best ice cream in the world. Los Chinos has been a staple of Ponce, and has been part of every Puerto Rican’s childhood memory, ESPECIALLY for me and my family. Very inexpensive, awesome flavors, always packed for a good reason, and most definitely worth the [short] wait in line. I always stick to 3 flavors: coco(coconut), parcha(passion fruit), y almendra(almond).
V B.
Place rating: 5 San Francisco, CA
We stumbled upon this place after visiting the Cathedral across the street during our drive to Ponce from San Juan. We noticed folks congregating in the shop and we were wondering why so we ventured inside. We saw scoops of fluffy light ice cream being served to a line of people. My husband and I decided to join the queue and sample some. He had a scoop of mango and I had a scoop of coconut on a cone. OMG! The icy smooth mixture of light gelato sorbet creamy flavor and texture was an unforgettable symphony in our mouths. Before my husband finished his scoop, I went back for more. This time I tried strawberry and ordered another scoop of the coconut. The strawberry was good too but my fave is the coconut! We both knew that we would not find ice cream like this anywhere else so we were a bit sad to leave the Ponce area. But if we are ever in Puerto Rico again, I would make the trek to Ponce just for this ice cream(although calling it just ice cream doesn’t do it justice).
Nicole C.
Place rating: 4 Queens, NY
With a texture somewhere in-between ice cream and sorbet, King Cream’s creations are supremely light and refreshing on a scorching Puerto Rican summer day. It’s a little bit hard to find since there’s no store sign, but look for Hotel Melia– King Cream is located inside, and there is always a line outside for it! All of their flavors are great, but for me– the combination of Almendra & Coco(Almond & Coconut) were unbeatable. On top of that, the total for 3 medium scoops and 1 small scoop was $ 6.50! With those prices, it doesn’t hurt to try them all!
Matthew L.
Place rating: 4 San Mateo, CA
What do I love about King Cream? The freshness and lightness of their ice cream — it was perfect on a hot day. While some people complain about their iciness of their ice cream, this of course is based on personal preference. On a hot day, would you really want to be eating some heavy, creamy ice cream or something light, icy +/-fruity? I’d go for the latter. King Cream was a little hard to find, but it’s right across the street from Parque de Bombas. There’s usually a line, but fortunately the place is air conditioned. One of the girls in line translated what the flavors were in English, and helped us get a sample of one of the flavors. The ladies behind the counter were really nice and not only gave us the sample we wanted to try(which was a really large scoopful), but also gave us samples of the other flavors without us even asking! What excellent service. My personal favorite flavors were the coconut(coco) and passion fruit(parcha). The medium cup gives you two flavors, and the two together are a great combination — a mix of sweet tang with sweet creaminess. Love it. This place is also very reasonable($ 1.71 for a medium cup) and the servings are heaping and generous. Love this place!
Gloria C.
Place rating: 4 Irvine, CA
This place is great! Although named King Cream, there’s nothing creamy about their ice cream. In fact, I would dare call it more of a sorbet? This is a little hole in the wall ice cream shop in Ponce, across the street from the Parque de Bombas. There are a variety of flavors listed on the wall(chocolate, orange, coconut, banana, peanut butter, almond). The lady at the counter knew we looked like lost tourists and was kind enough to give us a sample of almost every flavor. I settled on a medium cup of passionfruit and pineapple. It was so refreshing on a hot day! Because it was very sweet, I couldn’t finish my whole cup but enjoyed what I ate of it.
Annie H.
Place rating: 5 New York, NY
Delicious delicious ice, we stopped by here every single day of our trip, and visited twice the afternoon of our departure!(and at $ 1.60 a cone? I only wish the line wasn’t so long so I can eat one after another after another!) — Coconut(coco) — the most popular flavor according to the locals we spoke w/waiting in line. Rich, creamy coconut flavor, delicous! — Almond — my favorite flavor, with almond flakes and a fragrant almond flavor. Sooooooo delicious! — Peanut(mani) — good, but not as fragrant as the almond and a bit overpowering in flavor — Passion fruit(pasha) — if you like passion fruit, it’s great. If you’re picky about your passion fruit not coming from concentrate, skip.(that’s my way of saying my friends liked it and I didn’t lol) — Chocolate — semi-sweet dark chocolate flavored ice. Pretty tasty — Guava — very tasty, though I could not figure out what this flavor was till I got to the airport and saw a translation! Melts extremely fast(a deterrence to my double-fisting ice cream ways) but definitely a must try if you’re in Puerto Rico!
