Fair service but ridiculous how expensive it is. Won't be going back anytime soon based on price.

The male staff maybe owner, became rude and unfriendly after I denied the rewards card. And said something to another worker in another language. Not Spanish. Not Asian. And $12 for the smallest size!? and the owner still expects a tip. Never going back. Will not recommend this place. Should've read the reviews before going. read more

Visited this Cold Stone 3 times in the past two weeks and each time has been delightful! Great portions, quick and friendly service, and there is plenty of space to sit down... but I always take it to go. I honestly cannot complain! Wish I knew their names to shout them out directly, but I value quick and easy service & they provide that! read more

I had the worst experience at the Cold Stone on San Marcos Boulevard. I waited five minutes with no one in sight, and when I finally rang the bell, the staff was disengaged and rude. They didn't explain sizes and never asked for my rewards points. I also didn't know that this was a franchise with different rules--only one cone size, and no mention of options. At the other Cold Stone in San Marcos as well I have choices, but here they never told me!!! As a single parent, I rely on rewards points, and this was a huge letdown. I asked for a refund, and they were dismissive. I'll never go back--horrible service. I also want to add that I was given the manager's phone number (760-613-1394) to follow up on this issue. I called and left a voicemail, but never received a call back. To make matters worse, their voicemail doesn't even have a proper greeting, which just shows a complete lack of professionalism. This is absolutely unacceptable. The management is clearly negligent, and the level of customer service reflects that. Shame on the owner for allowing this kind of operation to continue!!!!! read more

Haven't left a yelp review in forever but was extremely disappointed visiting this location last night after not having been to a Cold Stone in years. I received a BOGO reward in my email that was good until the end of the month, valid at Southern California locations. When I got to the store, I asked one of the employees about the reward to see if it was valid. They said it should be as long as it comes up with your phone number! So I go ahead and tell them which flavors and when it's time to ring it up, I give them my number and they say, "Ohhh, sorry, all I see is a $3 reward. Did you wanna use that one?" And they couldn't do anything about my BOGO, even though it hadn't expired yet, I was at a SoCal location and the BOGO was honestly the only reason I came to Cold Stone in the first place. At this point, they already scooped up the ice cream and didn't want to be an a**hole and not pay, so I did, and it was still $19 for two gotta love its after the $3 taken off...which is absolutely insane. And then when I ate the ice cream, I was extremely underwhelmed by the flavor for the price. I've learned my lesson and will never be returning to a Cold Stone again. Handles is literally across the street, people and tastes 10x better for less money. Don't waste your time. read more

We called to order an ice cream cake for my son's birthday party. They told us they would be open until 9:30 and to come by anytime before then to pick it up. When I arrived at 7:40, they were closed, gate down and locked up. Unacceptable read more

Came here on Friday 7/5/24 around 7pm. This is the second time we've been ripped off with sizing. I understand cutting costs but this is ridiculous especially as their prices are incredibly high in comparison to other boutique and chain ice creameries. I've been a Cold Stone customer for over 15 years, I'm not sure if this problem is just this location but I will not pay $11 for a Gotta Have It to have the cup not full as it's supposed to. This location is an embarrassment to the reputation of Cold Stone and I suggest the owner of this franchise revisit their trainings and/or staffing if they want security in revenue or staying open for business. read more

Cold Stone Creamery - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - San Marcos, California

They've added Plant-based Vegan/vegetarian ice cream! Two flavors: chocolate and strawberry sorbet. Both delicious, worth trying. Sadly no prepacked quarts not premade cakes made with it, these would need to be ordered three days in advance. But they were open till 9 o'clock on a Sunday night memorial day weekend, which was nice. Went to a cake dessert place and they already closed by 6:15pm, so we couldn't get a birthday dessert or a cake. read more

Long lines for a reason...great desserts, custom made for every order. Loved the apple pie ice cream bowl, wow! My son made his own creation but he'll pass on the caramel next time because it made his ice cream too sweet. Wonderful customer service and very patient customers that understand it takes time to make these amazing creations. read more

The ice cream here is good. The topping selection was also good. The service was solid. The ambiance was cool, epically that its combined with a Rubio's. Overall 4 stars. read more

Lots of hate for this location. I'm not sure why. They gave us samples. They filled our order correctly. Yes, the tables here could be cleaned more frequently but it is a shared food court and I'm not sure who is responsible for wiping the floors and tables down. The ice cream was just fine. It's not amazing but it doesn't need to be. read more

Cold Stone Creamery - Lotsa flavors. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Been going here for years. Usually great. The current crew stinks. They move like zombies. Here is the "Love it" size they gave me. Total disgrace. When she saw my reaction, she just turned away. read more

Cold Stone Creamery - This was supposed to be a "Love it". - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - San Marcos, California

came in on 12/06, an hour before they closed [at 9pm] and no one helped us for the longest time and when both employees came out they literally ignored us. read more

I don't know what the definition of a shake is at this location, but we basically got flavored milk. My husband asked the girl why it was so thin and asked her to remake it. She kind of had an attitude and claimed it's because the ice cream is soft. She did remake it and it was a bit thicker but still not really a shake. I didn't bother asking to get mine remade because the line behind us was getting long. Super annoying. read more

I've been here a few times, and I've got to say it's probably the best ice cream that I've ever had! I love their Cheesecake ice cream!! The best!! Also like the Coffee ice cream! I think whatever flavor you get will be good! Seriously!! Well guys, just go there. You won't be sorry you went there! Totally the best!! read more

Do not get a milkshake here. It's all milk, hardly any ice cream. Worst milkshake ever !!!! On a scale of 1-10 my milkshake was a weak 1...really read more

This review is for our counter service at the Stone Cold in San Marcos, CA. Was quite excited to notice a Stone Cold close while waiting to attend a movie at the nearby Regal Theater couple days ago. Waited at the counter almost 10 min without an employee at the counter to take an order. A previous customer mentioned a bell available on the counter which was rung a few times still without anyone showing up to take an order!! Finally left without ice cream, unbelievable bad service!! Again review is for bad service only!! read more

I normally sample a flavor before I commit. They didn't want to give out samples. Won't be coming here again. You should work on your reviews. You're at 3 stars read more

Went to cold stone last night at 9:27 and they told me they were taking anymore customers even though google says they close at 10. Either their hours of operations needs to be updated or they're closing the store early. Either way very bad customer service read more

I hadn't been to a Cold Stone shop for probably 10 years. Since now the froyo options are always present poor ole' ice cream has taken the back seat in my life. This shop is in a curious location it shares the space with like three or four other restaurants and has a "mall" food court feel. Of course they had the typical options and we're happy to provide complementary taste tests of whichever flavor one fancied. Staff was friendly and upbeat for, what I'm guessing was, a quiet Sunday. Clean enough. All in all this place provided what we went there to get, an ice cream cake for a birthday celebration. And if we need an ice cream cake again I'd go there. But as far as making a trip for ice cream it just doesn't have enough panache or awesomeness to draw me in, or make me crave it to go back for just a whim ice cream trip. read more

Cold Stone Creamery - These cones do look amazing! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - San Marcos, California

It was a last min split decision to get my mom's cake here for Mother's Day. This CS is located in the small food court in front of Edwards Theaters. Parking sucks, especially during the weekend. I walked in and there was a line. I decided on getting a small Cookies & Cream cake - $23, and still had to wait in line. I was concerned that the cake would melt in my hands. There were a couple of customers ahead of me when one of the employees asked whether the cake was all I needed to purchase. Luckily, she acknowledged me or else I'd be stuck behind another large party. I paid and left with cake in hand. Not sure how long the cake had been sitting in the freezer, but the Oreo cookies weren't crunchy and the layered cake was soggy. Disappointing, but Mom appreciated it! read more

Two items on my order were incorrect and i brought it back to get the correct order. The man ( young, 19, tall, curly hair) working the counter immediately argued with me about my order. He said yeah I made that order. I originally asked for cookie dough ice cream and dough for it, and he told me they were out of that so thats why he gave us peanut butter ice cream instead. If you are out of ice cream you can call my number on the order to ask what we want instead of guessing. My kid is ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS. He was extremely rude but asked me to wait a few minutes to fix the order. After 30 minutes, I approached the counter and this man refused to make eye contact with me for 5 more minutes. I was not in any way rude to this person. Another young lady came to "help". I asked for a manager, but she said there are none working. I reviewed what had happened, said I had waited another 20 minutes for the guy to make two cake batter, and when I saw he continued to make other people ice cream, i asked for my money back. She called the owner and said I'll get an email with a refund. I told her I can't believe how bad the service is. I asked if she had an email or someplace to complain, she said go to yelp. So here I am. We spent $51 dollars on ice cream plus a $10 tip. I come to you every single Friday. I wont be coming anymore. Also, they NEVER give us the topping we pay for with online orders. read more

Because of covid I had to do a pick up order. I get home to see that my Apple a La Cold Stone had peanut butter instead of caramel. It's a good thing I noticed before consuming it since I have a mild peanut allergy. I called the store to make them aware of the mistake and received attitude from the female employee. As she continued to claim that she didn't make it and didn't understand how it happened....She then hung up the phone without a word. Awesome customer service you all provide read more

Quick review: Great customer service. Super clean and sanitized area. Great flavors of ice cream to choose from. read more

I can pretty much concur with all of the other reviews for here. This place receives a star for the convenience in it's location to the movie theater, otherwise, it is NOT worth it to ever stop here. It's dirty. The staff is pretty rude. The ice cream is just about the only thing you'd come here for, and even then it never tastes as good as other Cold Stones, some how. It's way over priced, and because everyone is in this little strip after the movies, it's generally obnoxiously loud in there. Don't bother unless you're really craving something sweet and mostly edible. read more

The worst Cold Stone that I've ever been to. The girls were friendly, but just not good at their attention to detail. It is located in a food court-style area across the parking lot for a movie theater. I ordered the birthday cake remix and substituted cookie dough for the sprinkles. The ice cream was very soft when she scooped it out and very soupy when it finally got to me. I thought the reason for the COLD stone was to keep the ice cream from melting while they mixed in your stuff... Speaking of the stone. It was covered with ice. They don't take the time to clean/scrape it off. This led to ice crystals/chunks in my serving - not a good thing when you want creamy ice cream. The cookie dough tasted old, as well. We will never return to this location again. read more

2.75 stars Came here with my son while waiting for our movie show @ 1:45 PM at the Edward theater nearby. We ordered 2 small cups which was nearly 11 bucks. Nothing was special in ice cream's tastes at all. Customer service was just OK. There was no napkins nor water for customers. read more

To anyone that's reading this 5 stars to the customer service from the staff with a smile on their face for serving liquid ice cream as in soup like ice cream as in not frozen ice cream read more

We came very close to closing and the staff didn't act annoyed or bothered. We had a huge group and all ordered different things. The food court was empty and the tables were a little dirty by it was he end of the evening. This is a great desert spot! I love the flavor choices! read more

I am not usually one to leave a bad review, especially as a food service manager, but this location needs much better training and management. I walked in an hour before they closed and I immediately felt like I was intruding something. One of the employees sat on the counter the entire time I was in the store!!!! I came in to order one thing, and I was given something that wasn't even close to what I ordered. I would've been more understanding if it was busy or if they were preparing to close, but I was the only customer in there! Employees were extremely dismissive and rude, and they were not wearing proper hair constraints, which is a huge health code violation. I was hoping to walk away happy with this location as Cold Stone usually has great service, but this was quite the opposite. Extremely unprofessional location. read more

I used to come here a couple of years ago. I took my wife for the first time. $9 for a crappy ice cream cone. The sugar cone was rubbery not crunchy. And I asked them to add it in the ice cream and they refused. So I got it in a rubbery crappy cone. Last time I will ever pay $9 for a crap cone! read more

Cold stone used to be something AMAZING. Don't get me wrong it's still good, when you get someone who cares how they make your cup, but it's sort of lost its magic. They skimp on ad ins when they never used to before and the service is just so-so these days. I still will come here when I'm craving a little ice cream with some mix ins but I don't go out of my way to make a trip even though it's right down the street. Oh Cold Stone can't you bring back the good ol days? read more

This place is great, ice cream is delicious, staff is friendly. My only feedback? Change your POS system to allow to add a tip to credit card transactions! Your staff would appreciate allowing your customers the option to show their appreciation! read more

I used to visit frequently but haven't been for about 3-4 months. Visited today at 1.40pm... no-one behind the counter but I could hear noise in the kitchen. After hunting for a while, I found a bell to press for service... no response. Pressed three times - nothing. I politely called out Hello a couple of times... nothing (although the customers next door, at Rubio's heard me!). I gave up and went home. While I was waiting, I noticed the place is looking very sad and neglected now - cabinet doors actually hanging from the hinge. Not good... if that's out front, what do the bits we can't see look like?! Hygiene? Too bad, it used to be such a good, friendly place. The owner needs to pay attention here... read more

If there were an option for no stars that would be my choice. I went here and ordered 2 "Love It" sized ice creams for my boyfriend and I one night. So my boyfriend sits down and starts eating his and I wait for mine and finish paying. As I am walking towards our table I see my boyfriend's face in disgust. He proceeded to extract a long and thick black hair out of his Cookie Minster. This thing was colossal ! Ew ! So I went up to the counter -please note this is seconds after I signed my receipt-and let them know. At this point the boyfriend lost his appetite so I asked for a refund. I made it a point to ask the girl with the thick, long black hair. She said she was going to get her manager. So the manager comes over : M:How can I help you ? Me: My boyfriend had a huge hair in his ice cream M: Ok- well I can give him a new one Me: He really is not into eating anything right now as he lost his appetite. I literally JUST paid can you just give me my money back ? M: I can only give you another ice cream now. Me: Ok- so I cannot even get a credit- write my name down ...anything ? M:Ok I will write your name down. So I see him take a napkin...a freakin' napkin! and write my name down. whatever. Bear in mind everyone working there gave me the dirtiest looks especially the girl who's hair it was. So a couple weeks later I went back to steak my claim. MY NAME WAS NEVER WRITTEN IN THE BOOK ! Why ? Because the guy wrote it on a napkin and had no intentions of putting me in "the book". He just wanted to shut me up and get me out of there. The worst part is the person "helping me" for a lack of a better word was the infamous chick with the long black hair ! At that point I was so over Coldstone in general I just left. I went on the website and filled out a complaint and got no reply either. I hate to give bad reviews on companies but honestly ! The incredibly shedding woman that works at Coldstone is my problem how ? read more

The girl with the beauty mark on her face, had a nasty attitude. I came for ice cream, not an attitude. She seemed very unhappy as soon as I stepped in. She said "Do you know what you want?" in an aggressive way. Then yelled "SIZE" at me. I'm not sure if I didn't hear her the first time or not, just still not alright. When I asked if there was more of something, she seemed to have gotten upset again and just said, "yeah" and proceeded to add it to my ice cream. She rushed the pay process as well. read more

Just so you know, I like Cold Stone. Just not this one. I ordered my husband a cake for his birthday - he's not really into sweets and, therefore, normal cake, but he dies for Cold Stone's banana ice cream with fresh bananas, graham cracker, and heath bar. So I've started a tradition where I get him one for his birthday every year. I don't know whether I can continue that tradition. I bought the cake, specified my mix-ins, and asked them to make a simple "beachy" scene. Like, maybe blue frosting, graham crackers to look like sand, and a palm tree drawn with icing? Nothing crazy. The girl says no problem, so I pay ahead and wait for the big day. When I pick up the cake, it's bright blue. That's it, just bright blue. Ummm, not beachy. I tell the girl I had asked for a beach scene, and she told me that wasn't written on the slip, implying I'm lying. I convince her I'm not, so she calls the girl who took my order- she corroborates my story but admits she never wrote anything down. So, I'm told that, basically, I'm right but there's nothing anyone is going to do about it. The decorator is out for the day- can I come back? Actually, his birthday is TODAY. Additionally, I drove 25 minutes to get here - I'm not coming back. It was suggested that I find a dollar store and decorate it myself. The cake did not taste fresh to me - I gave them about two weeks notice, and it seems to me that they made the cake right after I ordered it. For instance, the bananas were completely frozen. I've ordered this cake before and did not have this problem, so I have to assume it was simply put in the freezer for too long. If you must buy this cake, as I may or may not next year, do not pay until you receive your cake. I made the mistake of paying ahead of time, and I bet if I hadn't I would have gotten a discount. As it was, I'm pissed I wasn't at least offered a coupon for a free scoop. read more

Complaint is about service since the ice crème is really good. Watched what I thought was a manager "Valerie" say to a long line of customers "we'll be with you in a moment" then disappear in the back for a long time leaving one very slow (possibly new since she didn't make our desert right) employee to deal with a line of increasingly impatient customers. When she did appear much later she was unfriendly to an older customer who admittedly wasn't nice to her either. He didn't like waiting in a long line for no apparent reason. Not handled well at all. I've been there several times and the service is often not good. Skip this location if you can and go to Encinitas instead..its better. read more

Usually love going to Cold Stone, but this location definitely lost a customer last night. I came in a half hour before close (8:30pm), the girls working acted as if it was a major inconvenience for them to have customers come in. One of them helped scoop, while the other stood by and gawked. I asked the one scooping how her night was going as an attempt to be friendly and she said "It's alright, but people love to come in right before close". Very disappointed in the customer service I received and will not be returning. read more

I've been to alot of Cold Stones but this location is pretty unique. It is located in a food court right by the Edwards movie theater. There's a Rubio's next door. So we always come here for dinner, ice cream and movie. The ice cream is always good and the service is great! I recommend this location. read more