It's an open secret that Mabel's has struggled to retain staff and that as a consequence the food has been exceedingly slow. Yesterday we had a much better experience. The burgers were good and the desserts were incredible, as they always are, but both came out relatively quickly and our server was friendly and helpful. At this point the prices are no worse, maybe even a little better, than burger and dessert spots elsewhere, and you get a lot more for that money. The best trip we've had there so far. read more

Heard a lot about this restaurant and had to try it out. Although they are known most for their burgers and their ice cream, I ended up getting a grilled chicken barbecue taco with a side of coleslaw and it was delicious! Great ambience. Very friendly service. Good prices. I went for lunch, so it was not very busy on a weekday, but I am willing to bet that it is the go to place on the weekends. Highly recommend! read more

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Shake it up with a crazy shake from Mabel's!! We popped in here after we saw a sign off the side of the road that said Craft Burgers Crazy Milkshakes ... just goes to show you that advertising works! In a strip mall with the Food Lion, this all American restaurant serves up some awesome burgers (and sandwiches)! My daughter chose the pimento burger serves on Texas toast & came with hot and crispy fries; hubby and I got the 1934 cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle on a brioche bun! These were some tasty, juicy burgers!! We also got the chocolate shake to share, a plain one but they do serve some out of this world fancy shakes with lots of toppings! The girl at the counter was super helpful and pleasant! Our food came quickly and we ordered it "to go" so we could sit outside on their patio! Everything was packed well and had all the utensils and condiments we could have wanted! The tables and sidewalk needed a bit of a tidy, but the indoor tables and restaurant was clean! Outside was also a Little Free Library filled with some current fiction which was a nice touch! We won't soon forget this cool little burger shop, and will keep it on our radar if we are in the Powhatan area!! read more

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The fancy ice cream is good and what you would expect. The service is soooo slow. Even with just a few costumers. The volume of the music is obnoxiously loud. I asked if they could turn it down just a bit and was told she couldn't. Expect to pay high prices for what you get. It's a 1 and done experience for sure. read more

Food is amazing. However, they don't seem to understand supply and demand. Every time we eat there, they are out of fried pickles. Makes me think they put it on the menu to attract customers. Burgers are awesome but 0-10 on the friend pickles is not an anomaly over the past year. read more

We have heard great things about Mabel's so decided to give it a try while we were in town. The highlights: the onion rings were crispy, the unique shakes all looked amazing (we didn't have any) and the server was so friendly. We ordered two burgers - I prefer a burger with pink but that was not an option. The burger was good but not something I'd drive 45 minutes for. I think the spotlight for Mabel's is the shakes - they had so many different options to choose from and from what I saw at another table, very decadent. Come here for a fun shake! read more

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Best ice cream in the state, no question! And, the superb service makes it taste even better! Please go out of your way to support this small business, so it will last and stick around for years to come! read more

I would love to leave a review for the food, but after being ignored by all staff for 25 minutes once we were seated (and they weren't busy). we left. I've been wanting to try Mabel's for a while but I guess it's not meant to be. Really disappointing. read more

Came in for Lunch and got the Grilled chicken lunch sandwich with fries. Food was good and waitress was very nice and helpful. Also for one of the Halloween specialty milkshakes read more

MABELS - Grilled chicken sandwich/fries - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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Food came out with the wrong sides. Check was brought to us without being asked for dessert which we did want. Waited atleast another 30 minutes before our server came by and asked if we were ready then said he would be right back. Never saw him again he kept walking by us and never came back again to take our dessert order. Eventually we got up after waiting an hour after finishing our lunch and went to the front counter to pay, the girl at the counter was no help. Went across the street to Starbucks just to get some kind of dessert. read more

Evezrything Millshakes are way overrated and expensive. Food is Mediocre. Service is always Horrible don't waste your time!

Overall everything here is "Meh". Temperature was way too cold, especially the restrooms. VERY slow to bring out food even though the burgers are pre-made restaurant supply frozen patties and there were only 3 tables filled. For what it is, the prices aren't great - not terrible but not great. Service was *terrible* - drinks left empty for 10+ minutes while 3 or more waitresses stood behind the counter giggling and laughing. Had to ask for everything a normal waiter would have brought or asked about. The place was filthy with flies everywhere and a bunch of staff that cares more about goofing off than doing their job. Food comes out cold or melted because they aren't paying attention. Looking back over 5 years of reviews ALL the same - clearly the owners don't care one iota about how poor their staff is. Do yourself a favor - skip this spot. read more

MABELS - Filthy baseboards - ew - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

First time in the new location. Might be the last. We really liked (and were frequent patrons of) the old location. It had a certain ambiance that was just so perfectly Powhatan. It was cozy, and was a comfortable place to be. This new place ain't that. It's all hard surfaces and bright lights and loud music. People who like that sort of thing will find it to be the sort of thing they like. But I'm not one of those people. And this is new: They don't have menus. Each guest is given a slip of paper with a QR code that one scans to download the menu. Nice, I guess. If you a) have a smartphone, and b) have service. I had no bars, so I asked for a menu and was told they had none. Didn't seem like this was as well thought out as it could have been. But let's talk about the elephant in the room: I'm just gonna come out and say it: The prices are way out of whack compared to other restaurants in the area. My burger was $13. My wife's chicken tenders were $13. The fried pickles were $8. Add on a small milkshake and a tip and that's $50 to get out the door. And let's be honest: That's at least 30 to 40% higher than other dining joints around town. The things we tried were tasty. My burger, albeit overcooked within an inch of its life, had enough fat in it that it was still juicy. The tenders were moist and the batter was first rate. At $9 or $10 they would have priced in the range of the local eateries. But at $13 they're way above the top end for what's advertised as a "burger and shake" joint. And what's going on with the fried pickles at $8? Five spears ain't $8 worth of pickles. Granted, they were tasty, hot outside and crispy inside. But they ought to be epic, because I ain't never paid that much for so few. And I honestly could not believe that they had a dozen or more shakes that averaged $16. And sundaes that averaged $18. I mean.... what's the play here? To become the place where the 1% in Powhatan meet to greet and eat? I think the prices need to be as high as they are so the owner can cover payroll. There were at least 15 (likely more) staff in the joint, serving about 6 tables. And God only knows how many more in the kitchen. And one final thing: They have a "Mabel's Guest" WiFi hotspot, but it's password protected. I asked one of the staff if I could have the password so I could download the menu (having zero bars on my phone in this location). After checking with management I was informed that "due to the pandemic" they couldn't give me the password. I don't even know how to respond to that. So... Three stars, and that's being generous. One star for the ambiance. One star for the prices. Four or five stars for the tastiness of the food. But this place could slide to 1 star or soar to 5 stars with very little effort. If they can't keep the quality where it is this will be a closed one-star restaurant very soon. And if they could make the prices more reasonable, and do something about the ambiance, it has the potential to be one of the only five-star restaurants in Powhatan county. read more

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Ok, this place showed some small-business chops! AC was broken (waiting on parts), hot water heater broken, short staffed, boiling water for dishes, enough to close most places down, but not Mabel's! We had (I understandably) a bit of a wait, but the staff was taking it in stride and all out ice creams were served without any melting happening (albeit in plastic cups to decrease load on the kitchen with no hot water). Can safely say these were probably some of the more expensive deserts I've had, but would definitely go back.... Well worth the extra pennies! read more

MABELS - Brookie - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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The restaurant was uncomfortably hot for August - probably 80 degrees. Service was lacking. Food mediocre and overpriced. The restaurant itself is filthy. Out of random food (who runs out of chicken tenders) Ignored by the waitress, never got drink refills even though we were there over an hour (we tried- she never came back after she brought our C grade food). 1 piece of bacon split in 2 for a bacon burger up charge. Condiments on the table were nasty. The floor was sticky and filmy. Flies in the bathroom. read more

MABELS - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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They were out of at least half their crazy milkshakes. The food was less than mediocre. After being seated and getting water, the waitress forgot we were there. I had to go to her and ask if someone was going to take our order. This was our first visit and will be our last. Very disappointed. read more

This restaurant is bright and open. The hostess was kind and accommodating. We were sat quickly. Our food was good. The sweets are the stars. We've had a sundae which was huge it had an ice cream sandwich in it. It was enough to share. We also had a shake that had a candy bar in it. I like my shakes a little thicker but it was delicious. Overall great place for dessert. read more

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The milkshake was highly overpriced for the "candies" (garbage) that they put into it. I was really hoping to get ice cream in the shake, but I got 60% whipped cream and 30% fat milk, with the obvious 10% being candy that tasted like it had been stored for months before opening, just like after Halloween. The fries came out on appealing. The sandwich was OK but for the price of everything and the experience and the time it's better that you find some thing more classy and refreshing somewhere that's at least three stars and I don't need to mention the service because it's hard to see, good service in a place that isn't busy but prep food at this quality. read more

We came here to eat once. It was fine. We just came back to try and just get ice cream and we're basically just ignored for 10 minutes. We left. read more

A friend told me about this place so I wanted to give it a try but living over a half hour away ment having to plan when to go. Their menu looks great but with not being able to sit to have a meal due to the shutdown ment my husband and I would just be sharing one of their well know shakes, I mean honestly that why we went there anyway. One thing I did like was a team of musicians playing near by to try to raise money for their family. They were not annoying, they were really good but our first experience when parking was watching one of the servers telling them to move. Luckily they didn't make them go far and the area they moved to was actually a better fit. We then walked up to the locked door and a server came out after seeing us looking at the taped up menu and we were given ordering instructions to call in our order or head online. We decided to share a mint-to-be for $14. My husband then tried to call in the order but no one answered even though we could see the like 10 people inside working. So I went online and after searching finally found the area for ordering online. I added the shake and to my surprise it was $3 more expensive. I wasn't happy about this but we made a special trip so I went to the check out area. Next it asked what time I wanted to pick up and the earliest was 1:15. We had arrived at noon and after all this it was now 12:30 so I asked one of the staff if it was really going to take 45 min for a shake because if so we where just going to leave. She told me she would let the others know we were waiting so it wouldn't be that long but we should drive around the parking lot and wait in line along the side of the building. We then explained we where on a motorcycle so that wouldn't work and she agreed to allow us to stand and wait. Finally I completed the order and we waited, and waited. I watched through the window as they prepaired the shake and let it sit on the counter finally receiving our order at 1pm. We took our shake over to the grass and started to dismantle so we could get to the shake before it melted as we knew it had already been sitting out. Too late. It was flavored milk. We just spent all that time and almost $20 for flavored milk. I was obviously not happy. I'm sure this craziness has had it effect on the business so we will probably give it another try after things are back to normal but I sure hope for a better experience. read more

MABELS - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

So you have heard about the milkshakes and they are no joke. But the service..... Went for my birthday lunch on Wednesday and got there about noon. No wait for a table, but plenty of wait to get a server. Someone finally came and Took drink order and left. Got drinks but she was not going to take our order, apparently someone else was supposed to serve us. About 12 minutes later the drink server came back and said she didn't know why our server had not come yet so she would take our order. My friend ordered a burger and asked for it well done. The waitress asked what he meant and said they can't cook it under. Clearly she hasn't been serving long. I ordered the BLT and my other friend ordered the fried chicken salad. It took over 30 minutes to get our food. Please note that we were now there for over an hour. There are only 9 or 10 tables total and they were not all full. Food was good. My BLT was great with the bacon cooked perfectly. The fried chicken on the salad was divine with great flavor and my friend said the burger was very good. We asked for a cup of ice and more napkins. They never came. Then we finally ordered our milkshakes. Again it took like 20 minutes for them to be served. We asked again for more napkins and never got them. The milkshakes were yummy. I got the Total Blackout and the brownies on that were A-MAZ-ING!!! These things are no joke. I should've skipped the BLT and just had the milkshake sundae. I couldn't eat for like 24 hours. Overall I was very impressed with the food but super unimpressed with the service. Seems to me they could cut down that long wait time on the weekends with better service. Hopefully the service catches up to the food over time (sooner than later) or. that will be the death of Mable's. read more

We visited on a Tuesday between lunch and dinner, so it wasn't very busy. However, the wait time to get our order was still pretty long -- about 25-30 minutes. The place is located in a strip mall, so it was easy to find and had plenty of parking. The service was nice enough, but the decor and design felt -- clinical? It didn't feel cozy.. it was like putting a bunch of tables and chairs in the middle of a Verizon storefront or something. We were blown away by the prices. It's all sandwiches and burgers, but they are $10-$15 each and my burger was too charred/burnt. None of us thought the food was worth the price. And to make matters worse, this is one of those places that has a PLATE SHARING FEE. I do not support charging people for deciding how to eat the food they purchase.. if people share a lot, try making smaller serving sizes! The plate sharing fee is likely going to hit those that can't afford two of these overpriced entrees or maybe the people that are unable to take leftovers with them, so decide to share to save waste. In any case, it's the restaurant's right to charge the fee, but it's the patron's right to choose to EAT SOMEWHERE ELSE. (My fav burger place is Burger Bach -- fresh, never frozen New Zealand grass fed beef with a side salad for about $13) When we finally ordered our crazy sundae, the Milky Way Galaxy, we didn't get the Milky Way candies that were supposed to be in the bowl and the whipped cream was falling off the side, so it didn't look much like the picture. Other than that, it just tasted like a big sundae that cost $17. And to read the reviews that echo the menu -- they will NOT change anything on the shakes or sundaes - not even for a food allergy. That's just a shame! IMHO, it's a place to stop once to experience a novelty giant dessert for kids, but we wouldn't eat lunch/dinner there and we won't be back. read more

Came here pre-COVID with my two friends. Each of us got a crazy shake. Very yummy and definitely picture worthy. I will say these shakes had way more whipped cream and less substance beneath than other establishments with similar shakes in the area for the same price. It was a fun experience, but I don't think I'd go again. My friend also go a burger, but it was pretty average. Check it out if you're in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way. read more

MABELS - Crazy shakes - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

Horrible service and food! We came in10 minutes before another party. They say the other party before us and sat us 15 minutes later. Service was incredibly slow and the sandwiches were tasteless. One of our orders came out 15 minutes after everyone was done eating. They had to go to the grocery store to get more milk. Then they forgot to serve it to the kids!!! Will never return!!!! read more

I live in Richmond and stumbled across this place looking for something to do with my daughter. So we decided to take the drive... and it was well worth it! Went in and was seated immediately, food didn't take long at all to come out. The staff was pleasant and everything was delicious and fairly priced. I highly recommend!! read more

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Looking for an escape during these covid times we decided to take a trip out to Powhatan for a little dessert. There was nothing little about this dessert or the burger. I was shocked and amazed at the size and presentation of the shake. I ordered the smokehouse burger and had to step back and admire it when it came out lol. I ordered it with two patties and I can definitely say I wasn't ready for all of that. It's definitely a knife and fork burger so be ready. I must admit if was one of the best tasting burgers I've had in a long time. I can see a return trip here in the future. Sometimes you have to reward your self and what better way than a tasty juicy burger and a huge milkshake. read more

MABELS - Idea cookie shake - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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My son took me there for my birthday and I totally loved it. Had to take my 2 grandkids there and they wanted to go back! I have been there 3 times in the last month. I plan on visiting again when my daughter comes down next month. read more

Used to be one of our favorites. They have really slipped unfortunately. Last time here was not good but we figured it was a bad day for them but today was even worse. Out of everything but water, don't have half of their menu and we kept it simple with burger and grilled cheese and they didn't have the normal bread either and then the burger came out wrong. Really bummed because this place used to be so worth the trip. Waiter wouldn't write down our order and the food came out wrong. Will be our last trip unfortunately read more

This was our first time here so because of restrictions I cant rate the normal experience. We sat outside under a tent where they have lots of picnic benches set up. All the food was really good. We had a tomato and cheese panini, the Lumberjack burger, macaroni, chicken strips and cheese burger. Their fries were awesome and everyone was happy with their meal. We all (2 adults and 3 kids) shared a crazy shake..yes, they are that big! The other 2 couples around us got different ones and they all looked amazing! We did go inside to use the restrooms and everything was clean. Staff were friendly and attentive. Would definitely go again when we are in the area! read more

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Burger was spot on. Chips were raw! Onion rings were way overpriced ( or portion was ridiculous)! Prices were high! Not going again. read more

Great place! Great service! Awesome sandwiches! Great for after a hike. Onion ring nicely fried and sweet. Chicken grilled to perfection. The pesto sauce. The White Cheddar Mac & Cheese is good. THE SHAKES ARE AMAZING... will definitely be back to try more! read more

MABELS - "Cookie Licious" Crazy Shake | Vanilla Frosted Rim, Cookie Crumbles, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich, & Whipped Cream. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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The burgers were awesome the fries stayed hot/warm the whole meal I would definitely recommend. Yum!!

Oh my! Oh my! I'm always looking for different places and experiences to introduce my grand boys to...this knocked it out the box 4sure. I'm always amazed that "the 16 and 12 years old" dudes still love hanging out with their 2ma and Auntie. The oldest gson is already planning "date night" when the weather gets warmer...what?? The 4 stars is for the distance, MABELS please open a shop closer to town. Oh yeah...the food and ice cream was delicious and well worth the 45 minutes wait read more

MABELS - Oreo Crazy Milkshakes - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

My family and I went to Mabel's recently for the first time. It was a cute restaurant. Loved the atmosphere of the whole place. We were seated right away. Our server came right over to take our drink order. Our server was very attentive the whole time! The menu had a good variety of choices! From food to ice cream! We ordered an appetizer, the appetizer sampler. It was very good. It was enough for the 3 of us, and if we had our other son it still would have been enough. Then it was time to order our main meal and it was a tough decision but I settled on the Copenhagen burger with fries. It was delicious! I asked for lettuce and tomato on the side and it came with it. It wasn't listed on the description. Mabel's is known for their crazy shakes and ice cream, so I ordered the chocolate sundae, my husband ordered the peanut butter sundae, and my son ordered a traditional milkshake cookies n cream flavored. It was very good, but I thought for the size of the sundaes we ordered the price of $12.49 was pretty steep. Overall it was very good and I will be a return customer! read more

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We had a wonderful experience at Mabel after about a year from our last visit. They revamped the menu and are focusing more on burgers and shakes. These are not ordinary shakes either, they are stacked about 15" tall with a slice of cake, candy, frosting, ice cream and whipped cream on top. As we waited for our food we saw some amazing vibrant creations at the other tables. My wife and I shared the "Peanut Butter Insanity ($15). It was delicious. My only note was that we would have preferred vanilla in the shake instead of chocolate. For dinner I had the Pioneer burger ($13) with grilled chicken instead of the beef patty and potato salad. The appearance was top notch and flavor delicious. My wife's got the French dip. She enjoyed her meal but had two comments: the homemade potato chips were uncooked and a bit soggy. The second was the sauce for the French dip needed more flavor or salt. I tried it and agree. I expect the pungent flavor of french onion soup broth when I dip my sandwich. We really enjoyed our dinner. Our server John was friendly and made sure to take good care of us. There was plenty of parking right outside in the gravel lot. My impression of the restaurant appearance was clean, quaint and well taken care of. My only note is that the prices were a bit high BUT when comparing what you receive they may be right in line with other restaurants. We will be back to try some more of those crazy shake creations! read more

MABELS - The pioneer grill chicken sandwich - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Powhatan, Virginia

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One waitress on her phone and the other in no rush to make orders... We thought the shakes were something local and fun to do every time guests came to visit and for celebrations. We have had negative previous experiences incluring poor time management, very slow service, and witnessed many upset and confused customers being turned away when there are empty tables and an unnecessarily long wait time. After some time we decided to give them another try for a first birthday celebration with some out of town family. Again, many empty tables, long wait time, and all for some very expensive shakes. I'm all for paying and waiting for them if it's worth it, but not for almost 2 hours. We were told a wait time for 2 shakes, which was pushed and pushed until almost 2 hours later and we had to leave. SO...I'm trying to keep my 1 year old calm and walk over so he can see the shakes being made (the whole table was ready to just leave) and I see our 4 shakes finally getting started. 2 girls back there. 1 on her phone the whole time and the other moving slowww. I've worked in food service and I know slow is not the goal! I hope the owner sees the reviews and makes staff changes or don't ever go to Mable's if you're short on time!! read more

Extremely overpriced menu especially their shakes, their food is quite average and they don't have great customer service, but it is rarely busy there. read more

Management should really take a more hand on approach with the staff. It's being ran by a bunch of children who seem to only want to hang out & gossip with each other. Ask for drink refills from 3 different waitresses before actually getting it... wait for food is long, ac seems to be broken it's abnormally hot inside & uncomfortable(so it'd be nice to at least have cold drinks) very frustrating first experience, food was okay - very sloppy & difficult to eat. Over all unimpressed, it's a VERY expensive meal that is far from worth it when you see the way you're serviced. Sonic is cheaper & I expect them to be rude so there's that. Also our $17 shake was melted by the time it got to our table. Watched it sit there for a solid 20 min & we ordered it immediately after we got our food since we figured it would be ANOTHER long wait. read more

I'm sorry but this place is terribly overrated, with a 60-90 minute wait time to boot. No reservations. No menus. No beer or alcohol. Once seated, we waited about 15-20 minutes for our sodas. Kids and I ordered burgers and the crazy shake flight. We had to keep asking for napkins and waiting for them. They would only give out ketchup & mustard packets for "sanitary reasons" but kids were trying within an inch of their lives to open the packets, only to have them squirt everywhere. Just put out the ketchup & mustard bottles, seriously. Service was a nightmare. And very very slow. And inexperienced. The burgers were good, but could I have gotten a tasty, juicier burger at Ruby Tuesdays? Definitely. Especially for $14. Shake flight came out. People, these shakes are basically 90% filled with vanilla milkshake, a few toppings thrown on, and a fun size candy bar squirting out the side. I would say these shakes lean more towards being eye candy for Instagram than actually tasty desserts. Despite 5 fans being on, inside it was sweltering with very very bright lights. Half the staff standing around twiddling their thumbs as I waited 10 minutes for napkins and mustard packets. Really really bad service. This place is very much ado about nothing. You're certainly not coming here for the food and if you came here for their monster shakes, take your picture, try it out, and then check your box. Mabels is one big gimmick. read more

I went to Mabels with my brothers when I read about the food and ice cream they had there. A few post calling it the "Best in Powathan". First service was VERY slow and we weren't even provided napkins. The waitress kept disappearing and I would say below average service. The food below average as well, all three meals tasted off. BLT- very salty, Reuben- Greasy, Chicken salad- no taste. We all had homemade chips- average taste. All three ordered shakes, which are OVER PRiCEd and tasteless. I ordered the strawberry and there was no strawberry taste. The only thing that this place is HiGH Priced for below average service and food. Not with the drive or time time to go out there. read more