I was roaming around the Grandin village area of Roanoke and found Pop's ice cream next to Gianni's…read morerestaurant. Perfect for dessert or late dinner.
Spoiler alert: I ended up getting 2 pints of ice cream for dinner. The price was pretty good, as far as ice cream goes. $8 per carton and that wasn't that bad actually. I arrived here around 5:30pm on a Thursday afternoon. I had just finished my late lunch at Gianni's restaurant next door and needed to find dinner before heading to my airbnb for the night. I didn't want to walk 0.25 miles from my Airbnb to Grandin Avenue later that night, so I just decided to have ice cream for dinner. It worked out very favorably for me actually. I probably spent about 20 minutes here. The ambiance was interesting and felt like a 60's diner. There wasn't much going on at the time, but it was good to be here to be shopping for ice cream. There was a large selection of ice cream that was scratched onto the board in the store. Plenty of flavors but I ended up getting Oreo and chocolate, which was quite heavenly. The restaurant itself was small but clean. Like a 60's diner that kept things true to form. The service was quick and simple while being typical and friendly. I definitely enjoyed and would recommend coming here if you enjoy authentic ice cream in the Roanoke area. For the most part though, the experience here was uneventful. It would be cool if my travels permit me to return here in the future. But for now, I was glad to have come here and experienced the ice cream. I enjoyed the chocolate more than the Oreo, but both were delicious and quite enjoyable. It put a smile on my face for sure.
The overall experience here at POP's ice cream in Grandin Village, Roanoke Virginia was very good and made my stomach happy. Although I could have eaten my ice cream at the restaurant, it was close to sunset and wanted to be at my Airbnb for the night before I get lost. It was cool to talk to the dude behind the counter for a couple of minutes before trying to decide what flavors I wanted that day. Just felt a little interesting there, the vibe and the ambiance being there on a random Thursday afternoon being a tourist. It wasn't a long experience here, since ice cream typically is a fast transaction. The flavors change regularly, since they write the flavors on a large chalk board and it seems like it's easy to change at any given time. I love the chocolate of course. Oops. I forgotten that they do have other offerings like actual food items, which I could have bought for dinner, but I was focused on the ice cream, which is very authentic and made in house everyday. If my future travels permit me to return to Roanoke, I will be back to sample other offerings here at Pop's and also try out other flavors of the authentic ice cream that the locals have raved for. Kind of feels like this place is popular with kids and people who love their ice cream. I just happened to come during the slower period, as March isn't usually the time of year to have ice cream in Virginia. For the most part though, my tastebuds wanted the chocolate ice cream for dessert and I was happy to have it on my short trip to Roanoke. Definitely recommended if you are passing through or vacationing in Roanoke, like how I was.
POP's Ice Cream and Soda shop is located at 1916 Memorial Ave SW in the Grandin Village district of Roanoke, Virginia. They accept major credit cards as well as cash. As far as parking goes, it is very limited. Your best bet is to find street parking where you can find it nearby in the residential areas and walk on over. It's a walkable neighborhood and doesn't seem like they get a lot of vehicular traffic on any given day. If you enjoy public transportation in the city of Roanoke, you can ride routes 65 or 71 and walk on over after getting off the bus. I got here by walking from the 3rd street bus station, which was 2 miles away. Way to build up that appetite, I guess. The prices here are good and competitive. Supporting local businesses is where it's at here. There's always uber and Lyft if you desire comfort and convenience at your fingertips. If you are here in Roanoke and want to enjoy delicious and authentic ice cream, consider coming over here and enjoy. There's also other things they can offer to enjoy too, but make sure you ask for a menu or else you will miss out on the other stuff Pop's has on their menu. You will not regret it I promise.
5.0 stars for the overall experience.
Support local!
A+