Sweet Retreat

so we were driving around Los Gatos last week after having some really good pizza at Oak & Rye. I wanted something sweet so I Unilocaled (yes, I’m beginning to use that as a verb now.) an ice cream place n came up with Sweet Retreat. thanks Unilocalers!
when we walked in around 7ish, I was surprised there wasn’t anyone else in the shop. they were all probably still having dinner I’m assuming. (I eat super early sometimes just cuz I NEED to stop my stomach from growling.) the 3 girls working seemed kinda bored; not a surprise. they immediately asked us what we wanted to get n which flavor we wanted to sample, which was nice.
I noticed they sold Treat ice cream, but then I can get that at my usual ice cream place, Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream. I saw they have these frozen buckets of fruit in the freezers alongside their ice creams. I asked about them. one girl said that those fruits r used to blend with the frozen yogurts for a fruity option. I haven’t seen that before n was intrigued, so I decided to give it a try.
I got a small size. it was just enough for me, cuz it towers above the rim of the cup. I thought I would really like it, but it wasn’t the case. the peach pieces that I picked to blend with their frozen yogurt was still VERY frozen n hard. while the yogurt part was good n soft, I just couldn’t take the small pieces of frozen peach. it just wasn’t for me. I don’t even think I would like it in the summer.
so this review is only for their frozen yogurt w/​fruit. the service was good n fast. I think I should just stick with good ol’ Treat ice cream if ever I go again.

We love going to this ice cream shop. Really enjoy ordering the sampler all the time so I can get my fix. The owner is really nice and friendly. Best ice cream shop in town!

Sweet retreat owner was unfriendly & rude.(
My first time there with my Grandsons. I was explaining to them which was Ice Cream, Sherbet & Yogurt.). The owner telling me it’s all ice cream, I said this is Sherbet.(. He said its all the same.;). I went to pay he says $ 5?. I start to get my card out, he says only cash, I said oh, where is the sign? He says where is the sign that says I accept cards? I said generally when you only accept cash, there is a sign. He says I am the sign;) He says they charge 10% I said I know. He says it’s only $ 2 ea;). I left, never to return.(

The owner here cares about his stuff.
On our recent visit, he gave the gf & I a quick lecture on how all the fruits are organic and that he slices and freezes them himself. «You can really see it in the blueberries.» He says in a thick accent I can’t quite pinpoint. «In the color. There’s no dye.»
That’s cool. I just came here for some frozen yogurt, dye or no dye. But I appreciate the hard work and extra care he puts into it.
The frozen yogurt here is really good. There are no flavors like «Strawberry Cheesecake Crumble» or «Key Lime Pie Tartlet.» You start with a creamy frozen yogurt and mix in the frozen fruits of your choosing… or even chocolate. Last night we rolled with a small (shareable after a large dinner) Blueberry (dye-​free) & Banana, it was delicious.
FYI: Cash & cards both accepted. $ 10 minimum purchase for cards.

Great ice cream at a reasonable price. The amounts are larger than average. The owner is very nice and so are the people who work there.

Always fun to visit Sweet Retreat with kids. Ice cream is great and owner is friendly.

So yummy! Lots of flavors and the owner let the girls sample as many flavors as they wanted! So sweet!

Sweet Retreat serves super yummy Treat ice cream. It is just the best. Good high quality ingredients. This is a locally produced ice cream that is also sold at Lunardis markets.
The ice cream parlor has been here forever, and has a lot of character. Prices are
very reasonable. Seriously. Baskin Robins is a total rip-​off compared to Sweet Retreat.
Employees are typically pleasant high school kids. Good service.
Place can get crowded at times. Union middle school kids tend to over-​run the store around 3pm. On weekend nights, a short line can take FOREVER cause everyone seems to order a complicated shake. What’s wrong with a single scoop? It is really quite delicious. Ice cream is so rich there is no need for add-​ins!

Very friendly staff, delicious ice cream and frozen yogurt! Feeling lucky to live near this place :)

This place has been here for years and is really a hidden gem. They have treat ice cream and have very reasonable prices. The flavors change so you never get bored and now they have fresh frozen yogurt that can be mixed with your choice of fruit!
Plenty of close parking, benches outside, and funky ice cream parlor flair.

So you can have your choice of ice cream cones, sundaes, shakes, etc, or frozen yogurt. I sided with the froyo that day cause the idea of blending in the toppings was appealing. You start with the base plain tart, then you can have them mix in whatever fruit, candies, or flavors you want, then watch it get made right before your eyes! Each topping you blend in costs another $ 1 on top of the base sized price. The small is substantial and is a healthy over the top (literally) serving in a cup.
I went with the junior mint + oreo blend, and it was only alright. The junior mints blended in the cold temperature messed with its consistency and made it too chewy, and those flavors just didn’t mix well with the tart. Boo. my lady got the chocolate cappuccino froyo and, same thing, didn’t go well with the tart plain flavor base.
Recommendation: if you get the froyo, mix it with the fruit flavors or toppings that you believe would actually mix well with the tart. It’d be great if they offered different base froyo flavors, but I suppose that would take away from the simplicity of it all. Overall, not too impressed, but I’m sure you can’t go wrong with ice cream.

This place is way over priced (cost me $ 10 for frozen yogurt), hardly any seating inside (place is very small), and they don’t take any credit cards or atm cards.

Crazy psychedelic murals on the wall here. Lots of character to start. Old school place that seems to have been around forever. Small Outside area where school kids hang. Cup of pistachio and coconut-​pineapple hit the spot. I think i certainly got my sugar fix for the day!

Update:
Went in there a few times since our last review and they’ve been much better experiences.
Old review:
Well we went in there today for the first time in a while, and it was not a great experience. There were 6 – 7 people in front of us, and ONE employee working. He was also very slow moving in general. He said he’d be right with us, and we’re patient people and understand the oddly timed rush, so we said sure no problem.
15 minutes later we are still standing around waiting to order. The lady in front of us orders then walks away when he tries to ask her a question about it. Then instead of moving onto us, or getting her attention, he proceeds to answer the phone that had just started ringing.
Um, excuse me, we’re here already, waiting to give you money for a few minutes now. Honestly we just walked out after that because we had other things to do. We were trying to pop in real quick for a small scoop of ice cream, we don’t have a half hour to wait…

Great homemade ice cream with quality ingredients. Bit of a drive from our home base but totally worth it for the best tasting ice cream or sundae-​lots of Flavors/​choices!

Finding this hidden gem has been wonderful! The gentleman that runs this shop is so nice. There are young girls that work there and they are always super nice. When he shop is busy after the schools let out they keep up with the mini rush. The ice cream is so yummy. My kids love to run in and look at all the flavors. Sometimes they ask for a taste sample. The sample is a large spoonful. They salsa make really yummy milkshakes from their flavors. You can buy tubs of ice cream to take home!

Neighborhood ice cream shop. The ice cream is good and the portions are plentiful. The only downside is that they seem consistently understaffed. For a small business I can understand keeping staff at a minimum, it just means that if you are in a hurry this might not be the best place to go.
But who wants to eat ice cream in a hurry right? I want to take my time, sit down on one of the patio tables or benches out front, and savor the creamy deliciousness.

Love this cute ice cream parlor. Lot of flavor choices and the guy working there was friendly. When I went there I thought they were the same as the other ice cream parlor by the same name near Blossom Hill (same style of menu) but the prices here were a little higher and portions a little smaller than the other joint.

I wasn’t too sure about going to Sweet Retreat because the ads and reviews were for Frozen Yogurt. I’m not against frozen yogurt but it’s not my favorite thing. I’d much rather have real ice cream. With that said, we did notice that Sweet Retreat offered ice cream as well so we decided to give them a try. Upon arriving, I was surprised to see so many different types of ice cream. They had odd labeling and being too afraid to ask, I simply tried one of their flavors. As I was tasting the banana ice cream, a woman in front of me walked by with her frozen yogurt and it looked so good, I couldn’t help but wonder what types of flavors were offered. It wasn’t listed anywhere on the board. I presume the owner saw my dismay and asked if he could help me. I asked what kind of flavors of frozen yogurt they offered. He said that he could make me any flavor I wanted because they made the frozen yogurt to order. There was no pre made, artificially flavored stuff in his store. He started rattling off all of the different kinds made only with fresh ingredients that he pointed to in the freezer case — banana, raspberry, blackberry, lemon, peach, blueberry, snickers, just name it and he’d make it. I chose blackberry. He scooped out some frozen plain yogurt and added some fresh blackberries. In just a minute, he handed me a beautifully tall, purple swirl in a cup. It was awesome! I can’t wait to go back and try others. The yogurt was so rich, creamy and thick! I want a cone next time. I didn’t get one this time because usually soft serve is watery and melts almost immediately making the cone soggy before I can even get to it. No worries here! I’ll definitely be back. Why only four stars you ask? The store could’ve been a little cleaner. I didn’t feel that there was an issue with the ice cream but the surrounding areas needed a scrubbing.

The ice cream selection is excellent! The ice cream «taste» is excellent also! ;)
Service is very friendly, and they are very patient with indecisive children :)
The only down-​side is that it is cash or check only, so I had to run next door Ito Safeway to get some cash at their Wellsfargo. (Chase Bank is also right across the parking lot). Not a huge deal, so my 8 yr. daughter INSISTED I still give them a FIVE star review, because she LOVED her ice cream :)