Great food and ice cream. Great ambience. Amazing servers. At Zaharakos you go back in time to a soda shop experience you only read about or see in old fashioned movies. This is a family favorite every time we are in Columbus. read more

Not a long review but hopefully informative. Food was okay ice cream was very good milkshakes tasted like burnt rubber though. Server was kind and building was pretty. Good place for family. read more

One thing to remember about this place is that you're probably visiting here more for the experience than anything else. The food is fine, but nothing special, and I thought it was reasonably priced. But the reason I stopped by was to see the mechanical music machines. Most of them are out of order, but they're still gorgeous. And there was at least one which worked, because it played "God Save the King"/"My Country ''tis of Thee" during my meal. That part was worth the visit. Along with the music, there's also a good collection of old soda fountains. Obviously not for everyone, but if you're interested in late 19th century to early 20th century machines, it's an interesting stop. read more

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We were very disappointed with our experience at Zaharakos. Our girls' softball team stopped by after a long day at the ballpark looking forward to getting dinner and ice cream. Unfortunately, we were refused service, even though another girls' softball team had just been served before we arrived. We understand that restaurants can become busy and sometimes have limitations, but it was frustrating to see one team accommodated while ours was turned away. The inconsistency left our players, parents, and coaches feeling unwelcome. It's a beautiful restaurant with a great reputation, which made the experience even more disappointing. We had been looking forward to visiting, but based on how our group was treated, we'll be choosing other places to support in the future. read more

Busy day, no problem waiting for a table. After we were seated a waitress came to take our order. We ordered lunch and a chocolate malt. Surprised the waitress didn't know what a malt was. After explaining it we got the malt. 33 minutes later we got our lunch. My chicken sandwich was the toughest bird I've ever had. After fighting with it for 1/4 of the breast I gave up on it. But wanting ice cream more than lunch I was ready for dessert. After receiving our lunch we didn't see the waitress again until she brought the check. We told her we'd like to order some ice cream for dessert. She said, "Fine, but it will be 30 minutes before we get it." Asking why, we were told the line outside was long and they had to wait on all of them before they would get our ice cream. Needless to say, we decided not to stay an additional half hour for ice cream. Having brought a friend visiting from out of state and driving down from Indy, the experience has left a bitter taste for all the bragging we did for the Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor. read more

My 5 Takeaways (in under 60 seconds) Location: Ideally located in a historic building along Washington Street in downtown Columbus, IN.   Vibe: Top tier. If you love history, vintage, and class, this is your spot. The moment you walk in, you feel like you've stepped back to simpler times.   Service: Great customer service. The staff is professional and friendly. The servers check on you often and make sure your visit is enjoyable.   Food: We went for desserts, and they did not disappoint. Huge servings that leave you full! Made with flavorful ingredients that complement your taste buds.   Quick Tip: I recommend the Split with a Twist... AMAZING! Also, they have daily specials (listed on their website) that are worth checking out. read more

Zaharakos - Ice Cream Float and Banana Split - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

If you like history this place is awesome they still have soda fountains from when they first opened The food and ice cream are great but because it's locally owned in a small area they don't have much servers and service could sometimes be slow, so don't visit when you're in a hurry We had I had the GOM sandwich which is a sloppy Joe like sandwich with their twist, it was just so delicious, make sure to make room for desserts Place is like an old diner but a little modern very nice and cozy and they have a little museum in the back read more

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Always a good time. The building is like stepping back in time. The staff is friendly and efficient. The little museum of soda fountains is truly interesting. Come for an old fashioned float or banana split. read more

This place is SO cute!! It is so beautiful inside. The server was very kind and the ice cream was exceptional! Love it. Very cute place for a date night! read more

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We had the worst experience at this place yesterday. The waitress was rude! We ordered our ice cream in a bowl so it did not spill all over the table she rudely informed us as she served our table "They won't serve it that way"! We are paying for it! She said "I put a bowl under it so it won't spill on the table" Really? read more

Zagarakos was just ok to me. I think you go more for the old school feel. We went during the week at lunch time and didn't have to wait. I would go again for ice cream, but probably not lunch. read more

The atmosphere is cute, but the food was not very good. My husband and I split the sloppy Joe's sandwich with fries and it was OK. I was hoping for better. I had the chocolate ice cream with peanut butter sauce and it was just not very tasty. The chocolate didn't taste like much of anything. My husband agreed that his ice cream was bland. I ordered a soda and it was flat. The waitress thought something might be wrong with their machine. I then ordered the soda where they can mix it to make it taste like Dr Pepper and it was not much better. read more

Just expected more of an experience. Ambiance just fell flat. Too many kids and parents not controlling them. Portions where huge. Our server brought us water took our order. Food was delivered by someone else. We saw our server again when she brought the bill. I think been there done that fits for here. No reason to ever go back. read more

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So disappointed. Drove 2 hours to check this place out, so looking forward to your banana split. Hardly anyone there yet a line waiting. Taking this off my places to check out in the future. Ended up at Papa's Grill and had a great lunch. The place meets expectation of stepping back in time. I will never know beyond your door what other ambiances I could have encountered. read more

No visit to Columbus, IN is complete without a stop at Zahatako's. This old-timey ice cream shop has been in town for many, many years and there are many ousters and booklets to read telling the history of the shop. There are displays of antique pharmacy items. And the fantastic marble countertop is still in use for the ice cream confection makers. The one scoop sundae is way more than one scoop! The ice cream is quite yummy and the surroundings are great to explore. I LOVE core cream with a capitol LOVE. My chocolate and vanilla, chocolate and marshmallow sauce special of the day was too sweet. My DH ordered the same thing g and enjoyed it. Too much marshmallow, too sweet for me. Even I'm surprised by that!! So, I helped my daughter eat her chocolate chip mint ice cream. ( ok, she barely ate any and I had the vast majority of it) SIL had coffee ice cream with hot fudge and you her daughter had Oreo and hot fudge. All pronounced delish! It was best to walk around and see the collection of old time music machines and wooden gingerbread decor. A must- visit place! read more

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This is a very cute and fun ice cream shop, restaurant, and museum. The employees working here all seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs and are quick with service. I have not tried the food but the ice cream is good. We got a malt milkshake with raspberry chocolate chip ice cream and mixed in butterfinger and an ice cream float with vanilla and root beer. The flavors blended together really well in the malt and the float was flavorful. It was fun to have ice cream in a shop that has been in business for 125 years. read more

Zaharakos - Root beer float and raspberry chocolate chip malt. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

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I had high expectations for this old fashioned ice cream parlor. The decor takes you back in time, with high wood paneled walls, soda fountain, and period light fixtures that reminds you of your childhood days. Our group of 10 were seated after a few minutes wait. Liz was our waitress and she was clearly working her tail off. Our drink orders were taken 15 minutes in and food orders 10 minutes after that. My friend and I shared the Gom sandwich, which was a unique specialty item, because we wanted to save room for ice cream. The sandwich was a very thin layer of sloppy Joe on Texas toast and while it was tasty, it was mostly bread. The fresh cut fries were lukewarm. Our food came out at different intervals, which I give a pass to because of our group size. Suddenly in what was already a very noisy room, the theme song from The Sting came blaring out from the player piano. We had to pause our conversation until it ended. The whipped cream was missing from my hot fudge sundae. I think our waitress did her best but there was a lack of detail in food prep. Take note of automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more, and a 3% surcharge for credit card payments. In the room next door there is an interesting collection of old soda fountains that deserves a look. read more

Seating slow but awesome ice cream. Many choices of flavors. Cups, waffle cones. Also some gigantic ice cream concoctions.

Extremely disappointing and unacceptable experience Yesterday, I came here with my Korean friend, her 2.5-year-old daughter, and my 17-month-old son, hoping to enjoy a simple dinner and ice cream together. What we experienced instead was over two hours of confusion, waiting, and complete disrespect. We arrived at 5:00 PM and were told the wait would be 35 minutes. We waited outside, then inside, watching our spot on the app, and ended up waiting nearly an hour. While inside, an Indian family told us they had already been waiting 1.5 hours and still had not been seated even though their number was 0 in the list. Then, at 6:00 PM, staff suddenly told us that food service had already ended -- something that was never mentioned when we joined the waitlist. I was fasting and had been waiting the entire time for dinner. We finally left to eat somewhere else, completely exhausted and disappointed, but later decided to return around 7:00 PM just to at least try the famous ice cream. There was no line and the place was not busy, yet it took 20 minutes just to take our order, and then we waited over 40 minutes without receiving a single item. I added photos (taken around 7:40) to show the place was clearly not crowded. By 8:00 PM, we were the only table left in the seating area (others who came later than us were already served and left). Our children were restless, bored, and overwhelmed. When my friend gently spoke to the manager about everything we had gone through, she responded rudely, said there was nothing she could do, and even angrily walked over to my son and grabbed a Christmas ornament near him. After more than two hours total, we left --frustrated and sad-- without receiving anything but disrespect. This was not just poor service. It felt deeply unfair and humiliating. Watching how differently we were treated from others, we honestly could not ignore the feeling that race may have influenced how our situation was handled. They seriously need to learn basic business management and customer service. This experience was far below even the most basic expectations. We will never return, and I strongly warn families -- especially those with young children -- to avoid this place. read more

Zaharakos - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

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"Charming" doesn't do this place justice. It's full name is Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum, and those are the elements in which they shine. They have early 20th century memorabilia such as an organ that automatically plays at the top of each hour and old school soda fountains. It turns dessert into 'an experience' for adults and kids alike. The ice cream is, well, creamy in the vein of a soft serve. But it's actually served by the scoop which creates a wonderful texture while enjoying your flavor of choice. They also have a warm food menu that I didn't try. I can only imagine that the lower reviews for Zaharakos revolve around that because the "Ice Cream Parlor and Museum" are phenomenal. read more

Zaharakos - Double scoop (left) and single scoop Sundae (pistachio) - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

Ice cream was good. Rebecca is the GOAT. Come is tasty. Waffle cone machine was broken. Cheese curds were cheesy.

I found out after our unsuccessful visit that Zaharakos has now updated their reservation program. I really appreciate their efforts. I am anxious to try and visit again with our grandchildren so they can see what a special place this really is. read more

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This place has literally the worst service. Despite there being hardly anyone at the restaurant, we were told there would be an hour wait. So we decided to get my niece one scoop of ice cream instead. There were 3 people working behind the bar, and this simple task took almost 30 minutes before we asked for a refund. These are some of the most incompetent workers I've ever seen. I watched them spend like 10 minutes making a single scoop of ice cream w/ topping for another customer. Never again. read more

Disappointingly, we did not have a great experience today at Zaharakos. While the building itself is quaint & the ice cream is very good, the service and atmosphere did not live up to the hype. We waited almost an hour and a half to be seated. We did eat lunch elsewhere and took a stroll around Columbus to kill time. We were told the long wait had to do with only one waitstaff working the floor. Carry-out guests were being quoted over 30 minutes just for ice cream to-go. Once we were seated, it took 30 minutes to receive our fountain drink. And then over 30 more minutes to get the ice cream itself. We were there at the restaurant for 1.5 hour for two sundaes and a fountain drink. We drove from Indy. We were so looking forward to exploring a new spot. Unfortunately, they seemed to not have a good system in place for being a 100+ year-old business. I hope they can figure it out, because the ice cream was truly delicious and the location is wonderful. read more

The ice cream was the bomb. I liked the serves was also the bomb and the staff are vary nice

Server was great attentive and knew the menu. Food was delicious I had the avacado grilled cheese with tomato ! Hubby had the chicken tenders with fries. We passed on the ice cream but it looks yummy Enjoyed the history of the restaurant and ambience read more

We love this historic ice cream parlor! Unique ambience with a 50 foot back bar and original wood paneling, soda fountains,etc. Service has always been excellent. Savory menu items are ok, but the ice cream desserts are divine. Also don't miss sodas from historic soda fountain. I loved the Green River flavor. Always worth a stop if you are traveling I65 in Indiana. read more

Zaharakos - Entrance area - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

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It has been quite a few years since we were here so an updated review is in order. When you approach from outside you can hear the Christmas music playing and when you walk in it's like a winter wonderland all decorated up for Christmas. We were seated right away and got the menu. Seemed to me like the selections are not the variety they were in the past. So my wife chose the fish sandwich and I chose the pork tenderloin sandwich. The sides were fries and chips. I thought the chips would be homemade, but they were just broken pieces of bag potato chips. The fries were good, however they were over salted which overpowered the flavor. The fish was over fried. The tenderloin was good, but it was very dry. I would rate the food as fair. The service was very below standard. The ice cream sundae's were a real treat and absolutely delicious. If you visit, take time to see all the memorabilia especially the old time dispensers. What a treat. read more

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Great lunch food and ice cream in a fun environment. Only drawback is parking in the area, which was difficult to find for people who aren't local. read more

Love the atmosphere. The homeade waffle cones are amazing. We really enjoyed the museum portion on the side of the restaurant

Let's start with the good........the ice cream was wonderful. Hot fudge brownie with 2 scoops was big enough for 3 and, even then, we couldn't finish it. Now, the bad part... the food was yucky. I had avocado toast, but the challenge was finding the avocado - just enough to color the Texas toast green, but nothing more. And the tomato was sliced paper-thin. So basically, it was Texas toast. The grilled cheese was the same...all bread and little to no cheese. I recommend eating elsewhere and just going for dessert. read more

It was our first visit here and stopped by based off of recommendations from folks who used to live in Columbus. The food was okay, the ice cream was great! I recommend just going for dessert. The Eclipse Brownie sundae did not dissappoint! I understand why it is loved by the locals as it is "old-timey". Our waitress stopped by our table a few times, but half the time we talked to her she said "sorry, I wasn't listening" because she was dialed in on her headset communicating with the other staff whie standing at our table. It is mostly kids working there, but it was still challenging to know when was the right time to talk. Note: Sheeeeshhh I nearly lost my hearing sitting by the torture device they call an organ. The hostess sat us right next to it as it was playing and I had to literally shout requesting to be moved to literally anywhere else. There are definitely lots of screaming children on a Friday evening, so if you are DINKs like us, you may want to avoid. read more

Zaharakos - Beer and wine - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana

First time we've patronized this establishment. We drove from Indy. Very beautiful atmosphere, very turn of the century decor. Wire backed chairs and tables reminiscent of a 1900's Soda Shoppe. The ice cream is made in house and delicious. Many flavors to choose from with various flavored sauces. Fairly simple menu. Even though it was 2:30pm on a weekday and only a handful of diners in the restaurant, lots of empty tables we had a 15 minute wait for a table. I expect they had limited staff. I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger & wife a Chef's salad. French fries were good but my burger was cold and lacked any seasoning. My wife's Chef's salad was packed with onions and not much in the way of meat included and was the size of a house salad not, the size a real Chef's salad is. So..it's a pretty restaurant, good ice cream but food not so much. I would give this restaurant another chance however, because such a simple thing as seasoning a hamburger while cooking it isn't a standard thing or putting together a classic Chef's Salad is not part of their SOP, I doubt the other dishes would be much better and I'm not willing to pay the price and drive the miles to find out. We won't be returning. read more

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Another bad time! I live within walking distance, and I love the ice cream; so I keep returning only to be constantly disappointed. Tonight, the girl doing ice cream was crying, and I watched 2 tables get up and leave because the place was chaos. My tenderloin was good. I wanted ice cream but did not want to wait anymore so I paid the sandwich and left disappointed again. This place could be so much better! Ps....clean all of the mirrors behind the counter; they look bad. read more

Very nicely decorated for Christmas and Delicious Peppermint ice cream! I was a little disappointed that they had already stopped making Waffle cones an hour before they closed. That would have made the ice cream even better. read more

This place is a must stop! On a cute street downtown with lots of parking. Inside, you feel transported back decades! The old school vibes and architecture of the building are so cool!! Now let's talk ice cream! I got the brownie Sunday with strawberry ice cream and OMG so so good! First off, it was HUGE! The strawberry ice cream was perfectly smooth and creamy and all natural. The hot fudge was super fudgey .... Alllll the things you want! The cool vibes of the old soda machines and old school games was super cool. Definitely recommend! read more

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Great service great atmosphere great food. Highly recommend The Root Beer Floats were amazing read more

Zaharakos is a family favorite for us! We love to play at the Commons and then head over for lunch and/or ice cream! It's so quaint and a cool experience. My 5 yo's current favorite is the old fashioned root beer float - it's delicious! BUT If you have toddlers and they happen to like the same flavor of ice cream, I would suggest splitting it as they do not have kids sizes. One scoop is very big! We've been many times, but we went to Zahakaros at Christmas last year for the first time and quickly decided that this is a new family tradition! It was so charming and a special memory for everyone. All of their ice cream is fantastic, but the peppermint reigns supreme! We love Zaharakos and will continue to come back! read more

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It was like stepping back in time. The food and atmosphere were absolutely wonderful!

Brownie sundae was fantastic! I added nuts. There was plenty of fudge and the brownie was soft and chewy. read more

Zaharakos - Brownie sundae with nuts - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Columbus, Indiana