Rita’s Italian Ice

If a Rita’s franchise opened closer to home, I would be a more frequent and very satisfied customer. If & when that would happen, I enjoy the ride out to Deer Park and the friendly service they provide. And of course, Rita’s choice of Custard and Ice combinations.

Thankfully, I live in the area and frequent Rita’s quite a bit with my kids. So I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write my first Unilocal review about them. Their ices are so good that I can’t even remember the last time I had Italian ice anywhere else. Their flavors are spot on. And if you like, they even let you do 2 flavors in one cup. Wild Black Cherry is probably one of my favorites since it actually has bits of cherry in it. Yum! But honestly, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the flavors. They’re all so delicious.
On warm summer nights when I drive back home around 9pm, I’m still seeing long lines at this place. It’s crazy. But it goes to show you how fanatic people are with these ices.

The best Italian ice on Long Island. Easy to get to with some parking spaces fast friendly service. good prices. Highly recommend.

The ices are great but the driveway to come in and out are absolutely horrible! The bottom of my car scrapped and there was damage to my exhaust pipes, and every single car that came in and out did the same! This is something that should be fixed asap!

Not sure why I haven’t tried Rita’s earlier. After shopping at Tanger Outlets, we made our way here. It’s a small storefront on the corner with a few parking spots. There’s two windows but being that it slow, only one was opened. The workers let us try a few flavors and didn’t seem to mind. Even though they don’t have as many flavors as Ralph’s, they do have quite a few unique ones. The red sour patch for one, it had a little bit of tartness just like chewing into one. I opted for the blood orange, which tasted exactly like a blood orange and wasn’t watery. It was just so good and after the first bite I regret not ordering the largest size.
Besides ices, they offered custards and combos of ices & custards in one. Prices are decent, only 3.35 for regular and 3.80 for a large. They really pack the ice into each cup so you are getting a good amount.
Come to Queens please!

I discovered this place a year ago and could not believe it took this long for me to find it. Besides NYC, the closest Rita’s I could find is the one near my friend’s house all the way in Deer Park. It’s about a 30 min drive from where I live, but I’m always willing to head over to her place for a taste of Rita’s.
The first time I came, I tried the Juicy Pear ice with custard, and omg BEST THING EVERR! Can Rita’s please make Juicy Pear a more common flavor!!! they make their ices fresh each day, so their flavors are constantly changing
In terms of the custard, it’s extremely rich and creamy and pairing it with the water ice seems like such a strange combination but it surprisingly works! Personally, I don’t like TOO much of the custard (when you get the water ice with the custard, they put custard on the bottom AND on the top). So I either get a sample of the custard, or I’ll ask for a little bit of custard. That goes onto the next point about customer service. A lot of the employees seem to be locals and on the younger side, however, they’re really nice and don’t seem to get annoyed or frustrated when you ask for multiple samples of the water ice or custard!

Deer Park locals don’t realize how rare Rita’s establishments are. How could we? When Rita’s sits next to 711 and Daily Barn, most people would assume it is just as common as Carvel (We have two Carvels, McDonalds, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Taco Bells by the way). So like my fellow Unilocaler, Harry H, I have taken the role of the procurer of custard and ice!
Let’s start with their Italian ice selection because simply put: Rita’s Italian ice makes everyone jump for joy. They want to try all the flavors! I tell them about the First Day of Spring deal. Shortly after, iCal is open and you can bet that they will be back. So far, the top flavor has been Black Cherry. Black Cherry will be the best cherry flavored dessert you will ever experienced! I’ve had numerous cherry fanatics swear loyalty to this cup of tarty goodness. Their speciality Starburst is also tasty. Kids will always get something funky and sweeter than life like the Starburst flavor.
Personally, I’ve been loving their Oreo custard pies. If they sold them individually, I would come more often, but with a rack of 5, I’m more of a in-​out guy. How can I go on a date and sit there with my rack of frozen pies? Honestly, I would do it if they were not frozen
The seating area has a beautiful statue that is pretty scenic, but the real view is the large line. You can see all types of groups and cravers hanging out and supplementing their fun night with ice cream. For a city lover, this atmosphere is almost Madison Square Parkish. Once in a blue, there are several Porsches and Lamborghinis flashing by, which is always a treat for the exotic car fans.
Rita’s is the place to go during the season because that’s the only chance they give you to fall in love with them and the moments they create. If you are in Deer Park, I highly recommend that you save space for dessert at Rita’s.

Delicious custard and ices as expected from a franchise. What sets them apart is the cleanliness and the courteous staff.

It’s basically impossible to give this place any less than 4 stars. There are these late night rides back from my in-​laws place when my wife and i are hoping that the kids will fall asleep so that we can partake in some gelati or some water ice. Note this, gelati and gelato are definitely NOT the same thing so don’t go there expecting to get pistachio, or hazelnut or any other Italian treat. A gelati is water ice aka, Italian Ice, with soft serve. I don’t know how that sounds to you but trust me, it’s delicious. In the dead of summer we’ve been known to drive around the block a couple of times to make sure the kids are asleep before continuing on to Rita’s.

Ah, love me some Rita’s in the summertime. Their Italian ices are fresh-​made and their frozen custard is yum-​tastic! Ralph’s are everywhere and pretty decent. But they are in my humble opinion, over-​priced and do not have the delicious frozen custard like Rita’s does. So, on occasion I will drive 20-​plus minutes from my home to Rita’s in Deer Park instead of a short walk from my home for the convenience of Ralph’s. Rita’s is much. much better. They have a delicious confection called a Misto which is their Italian ice blended with their frozen custard with a big swirl of the custard on top. Cold and luscious, okay??. Enjoy!

I moved to Southern California almost 4 years ago and I’ve cried every day since because there’s no Rita’s in this God forsaken place. What’s a New Yorker gotta do around here to get a friggin’ gelatti? Why am I forced to wait until I go home to visit my family maybe once a year or so (if I’m lucky) in order to be able to taste the deliciousness that is Rita’s across my taste buds again?
Help me.

Not because of the music blasting overhead, but due to the bright, striped sign, you can’t miss the joint along DPA adjacent to Sevs & Dairy Barn. I had an Entertainment BOGO large ice coupon, which I redeemed for a cookies & cream/​fudge brownie hybrid and a butterscotch krimpets Tastykake special/​birthday cake combo. The dude working there was effervescent, competent, and super helpful. He knew the coupon almost before I busted it out, rang me up quick, and offered all you could possibly want to go along with your ices. They close at midnight and dish out half price regular/​large items during the last hour.
I’m happy to have shared a couple firsts with lovely, lovely Rita’s. It was here that I endured the first brainfreeze of my life, scarfing down 2 large ices in a single-​digit amount of minutes. I committed myself fully to Rita’s, and finally overcame the Rita’s vs. Ralph’s internal mixups (the R + ices thing gets me every time). The fact that they dedicate this much land to a storefront delving out cold treats makes me warm inside, and I couldn’t think of a better use of the space. It was also here that I first truly grasped the chocolate conundrum with which I am constantly faced. There exists an innate assumption that chocolatey things melt faster and thus must be consumed before their counterparts. The crux, however, lies in the fact that their taste lingers on your palate and taints the next item (s) accordingly. I threw caution to the wind here, and hit up the fudge brownie/​cookies & cream (the former of which I didn’t care much for, due to a personal aversion toward chocolate-​flavored cold things not named ice cream; the latter, I enjoyed greatly, with divine cookie chunks throughout) before the butterscotch/​cake batter mixture (neither of which I found to be remarkably leaps and bounds above the wares of competitors’). The only possible qualm I had with this place was angled parking and a bit of a rough exit on your vehicle’s undercarriage. This bone of contention is likely maneuverable and navigating it is superseded by delicious frostiness.