Marble Slab Creamery

The service was poor and workers engaged in unsanitary food handling practices. A clerk scooped ice cream, handled money, wiped his nose and then scooped ice cream again without gloves or washing his hands.
I can’t imagine what goes on in the back room!

This is the place that has the walnut icecream I can’t stop thinking about. I think they make it from scratch. They have mix-​ins like Cold Stone and you know, it’s so great to be a crazy American and get exactly what you want. This place has a great location so they don’t have to bother with appearances to get people to come in. That’s all I will say about that.

What’s there to not like about ice cream? But you know, sometimes you just have impatient people and chaos inside a store and somehow that feeling of happiness and excitement disappears by the time you walk out of the store?
Once upon a time there used to be a Marble Slab Creamery in Evanston and I really used to like it back then. I recently discovered there’s one in the South Loop and today tried it out! I was quite disappointed, frankly.

I was asked to leave the ice cream shop because I was discreetly breastfeeding my baby by both a worker and the owner. My husband was confronted aggressively. It’s unfortunate considering all the business my family has given them. Here are the Illinois laws for breastfeeding mothers:
Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 720 5÷11−9 (1995) clarifies that breastfeeding of infants is not an act of public indecency. (SB 190)
Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 740 137 (2004) creates the Right to Breastfeed Act. The law provides that a mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be; a mother who breastfeeds in a place of worship shall follow the appropriate norms within that place of worship. (SB 3211)

Tasty modern take on an ice cream parlor. Lots of options. Pretty comparable to Cold Stone.

This was my first visit and I’m very glad we stopped in. I am not a fan of cold stone creamery so I was hesitant about coming. But the ice cream is soooo fresh and full of flavor. I had strawberry and chocolate scoops… it was just want I needed. It was a little pricey but it was good for a treat to myself. Definitely try this place out

If I could give marble slab 2.5 stars, I would. I’m being nice and rounding up to 3 — I went the other day and tried the rocky road in the waffle cup. First of all, the waffle cup is an excellent concept. Yum. The ice cream, however was just ok — mediocre at best. The chocolate needed to be more chocolatey, and the marshmallows were hard when they were mixed in the ice cream — what’s with that?
The other thing that was hilarious (but not really) is that when anyone walked in the door, someone would say, «Hi, welcome to Marble Slab» but not look in their direction, or have any kind of sincerity. All the employees did it. Why even say it? Its like they are required to say it — you know when you watch those tv shows and people have to answer the phone with a ridiculous line and they don’t really mean it? That’s how I felt at this marble slab.
If, and I mean IF I go back again I’ll try a different flavor — not chocolate.
If you want custom mixed ice cream that tastes good, just go to Coldstone.

I’ve been here a couple of times and I have to say that not only is the ice cream delicious, but the staff is very friendly. There’s plenty of bad customer service around these days so it’s great to see such friendly and helpful people.

As bright as an operating room.
As loud as a ballpark.
As expensive as a jewelry store.
As delicious as uh… well…it was so-​so.
Good thing they have a captive, South Loop clientele.
Oh, yeah… it wasn’t all that clean, either.

It’s actually terrible that this place is so close to my house. The temptation to stop in for a sweet cream and Oreo dish is too much to resist and I predict my willpower will wane as the summer months progress. And they are open until 11pm most nights. There goes my hope for a slammin’ bikini bod (as if that was an option).

So tonight was my first time experiencing Marble Slab Creamery and I can say quite assuredly that I am a fan. I had a small swirl with pecans and it was delicious. I’m so tired of traveling to the north side every time I get a craving for (somewhat) healthy treats. I’ve passed by MSC several times but never went in because I was fearful it was very similar to ColdStone (of which I am not a fan).
The only issue I have is the price of the yogurt. The prices at Red Mango were much more reasonable but RM doesn’t have chocolate frozen yogurt so I’ll sacrifice spending a few more quid here and actually end up saving money by not wasting gas traveling up north. Also, I can get a quart and take it home!!!

I work in this area and kept hearing about how good this ice cream place is, from the employees who work there who happen to be customers at the Potbelly I work at, and from one of our regular customers, so it’s been on my list of places to try on for a little while now. That and the fact that I was grumpy after being let out of work early led me to stop in today. (Am I the only one who feels less grumpy after some ice cream).
I have never been to Cold stone, so I can’t compare like other reviewers have.
What I can say is that the service I received was very friendly, they had a nice selection, a few seats, and a very clean store. I ended up ordering a «Raspberry Cheesecake». I was disappointed that they did not have any coffee ice cream because it just so happens to be a favorite, I really wanted to try the «Coffee Bar» off the creation menu.
Anyway, the ice cream had that super wonderful texture that you only get from home made ice cream, and I found out that they do make their own ice cream in house. As for the taste? It really wasn’t what I expected. The cheesecake ice cream was not nearly cheese cake tasting enough, and my raspberries were under ripe. Boo. I really think for the crazy price I payed, It should have had a lot better flavor.
I think I would stop in again just to give them a fair shot at being good, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way for it or anything.

On a not so hot summer day, Marble Slab was quite a find walking the sidewalk of the South South Loop. Who wouldn’t want a scoop? I did. So did Tina B. And the boy. But everybody know prices can be a deterrent to have some stone cold/​‘cold stone’ enjoyment. I’m sure during the usually 100+ Chicago summer’s buying ice cream and gasoline can leave you with the sense (cents) of being gouged. Yet, that wasn’t my experience.
Three scoops for $ 3. Yep. That’s a deal anytime of the year, OK.
The people inside were friendly enough. Idon’t need people to give me fake «Welcome» especially when their boss is behind the ice cream counter, but I can’t hate employees over that. They’re doing their job & probably happy to have one.
This place is more roomy than it looks from the outside. I know that the $ 1 a scoop is just a promotion but it worked.

MSC only gets this review because they have soft serve frozen yogurt… do the swirl! And maybe a little somthin somthin for the sense of urgency the owner showed on the one occasion I saw him there.
Other than if you like half @$$ service with a smile, this place is way overpriced and under serviced. Save your second mortgage for something worth the investment. you’ll have to forgo to pay for this.
Just a note to the staff, most of which appear to have just received their work permits. Just because you smile when you’re screwing up order after order or moving at a pace that would make growing grass exciting to watch doesn’t mean your providing good customer service.
Another tip, move the «greeter» from the door to behind the counter, especially when the line starts to double back. I really don’t think I need to be greeted with «Welcome to Marble Slab»…I’m pretty sure I didn’t wander in by accident.

PALEEZE stop comparing it to Cold Stone! Marble Slab is it’s own entity completely!
One lovely breezy evening in a Chicago SummerTime I was biking by, from ChinaTown (of course) and Marble Slab’s bright lights and ritzy logo enchanted sha boi. So, here I am busting a Larry David trying as many flavours as the charming and willing server was down to offer me. We all know, friendly service is always A+. the A+ remains an enigma to me so I was intrigued. You don’t have to go all crazy here and get snickerdoodles and bickeradumdums. the fact is, flavours like blackberry and chocolat are good just plain old. Like they should be.
they got a lifetime customer out of me and despite the $$ I suggest rocking it if you find yourself on deep Michigan Ave’s new developed area that is totally desolate yet classy+.

WAY too expensive for what you get. The ice cream is good, but not great, and certainly not worth $ 4 a scoop or more!
Just go down the street to Jewel and buy your favorite from the ice box.

3 stars for the ice cream
2 stars for the flavor choices
1 star for the prices
My friends and I decided to cap our dinner off with a sweet treat and headed over to Marble Slab, a Cold Stone wannabe.
I’m not a really big on the «create your own flavor» gimmick. I’d rather the place come up with some original flavors, complete with mixins, for me to choose from. Marble Slab does have a Tasty Creations menu, their recommended combos; however, I’ve noticed 2 things in writing this review:
(1) The Tasty Creations menu on the website is FAR more extensive than the one in-​store (at least posted behind the counter). I think the in-​store one had 8 choices, none of which spoke to me. I was gypped; there are about 30 TC’s online!
(2) The store had around 15 flavors to choose from, none of which really struck my fancy. I was ticked to find out that there are way more ice cream flavor choices online (maybe twice as many), a number of which I would’ve liked to try. :(
I hate being put on the spot; the place is small and narrow and I felt like I had to make a quick decision so as not to create an angry mob of people behind me. I didn’t want to be that boring, uninspired person who gets a single flavor without a mixin, afterall that is the whole point of the place. After scouring the flavors, the Tasty Creations, and the mixins I went with the raspberry ice cream and chocolate chips. Maybe it would’ve tasted better «blizzard style» so that the chips were ground up with the ice cream; maybe I was banking on it tasting more like sorbet; or maybe I just suck at flavor pairings, whatever the reason I found it disappointing and didn’t even eat the whole thing.
Since my friend picked up dinner the least I could do was spring for ice cream; her small Tasty Creation and my small ice cream +1 ingredient ran me just over $ 10. I didn’t even get a cone for that price, just a plastic cup. Ouch!
I think they need more staff or a more efficient mixing process, it seemed like it took forever for all 4 of our orders to be complete. Aside from my disappointment with the product, the place was clean, well lit and service was friendly.
Bottom line: Disappointing selection + overpriced product = Mary not coming back here any time soon. If you have a marble countertop at home save yourself some dollars, buy some ingredients and DIY it on the cheap!

I was walking home from work one day and I had a thought. I was thinking what would hit the spot right now and at that exact moment I walked past this place. The staff was great and friendly. I actually was the only person there. I looked at their selection and thought «not bad». I picked the Butter Pecan with graham crackers and nuts. I watched them put it together which was cool and the next move was to have a bite. Pure delight going down my throat!
After that initial time I kept going back! Everytime I walk by, I fight myself to not go inside. It works sometimes. It can be pretty pricey, but is usually worth it. I saw a sign that says they deliver, which I thought was funny because I did not know you could have ice cream delivered. LOL!!! They have a key lime ice cream, which I sampled (will try that the next time I go)
Great place, but not enough room for a lot of people to sit and enjoy their ice cream.
I recommend this place with 4 big ones!

Be ready to spend $$$$! The ice cream was hit or miss. The butter pecan tasted like pure sugar and it didn’t have much pecan flavor at all. In comparison to Cold Stone, it has fewer flavors, fewer choices of sizes, and the ice cream is not as good.
We came in on a weekend and there weren’t that many people there but the operation seemed chaotic.
I wish this place were run better and priced more reasonably, because it has the potential to be a big hit in the South Loop.

inevitable comparisons with Coldstone and Maggie Moo
somehow, Coldstone appears to be winning.
They all do mix-​ins. I’m still partial to cake batter from Cold Stone…