Below Zero (Condado)

• 1106 Ashford Avenue
• San Juan, PR 00907
• (787) 230-0057
• Website
• Menu

We didn’t plan on getting dessert after dinner but sometimes it’s just too tempting.

We had just finished up with dinner our last night in San Juan.  A few doors down we spotted a rolled ice cream place.  We actually debated about whether we wanted it or not…mostly because we were so stuffed from dinner.

Eventually we did come to the conclusion that we needed to stop.

Below Zero appears to be a chain of rolled ice cream shops in Puerto Rico.  The one we stumbled upon is in the Condado sub-barrio of San Juan on Ashford Avenue near Avenida Magdelena.  It’s a very time space that’s marked by a very bright sign above the front door.

I’m not exaggerating when I say tiny.  The shop is a very long, narrow hallway with tables on one side and the order counter in the back.  There were only a few other people in the shop but it felt very, very claustrophobic.

The small menu is on the wall.  We both found one that sounded good and squeezed our way to the cash register.

Each one of the orders is made by hand one by one.  The whole idea is really cool.  The cream mixture is put on a super cold table, mixed with the mixings, spread out really thin, and rolled up once it freezes.

I got the creation called Mr. Oreos because, damnit, I like ice cream and Oreos.  In addition to the cookies, I added whipped cream and chocolate sauce to top it.  Rolled ice cream is so delicious.  The only other time we’ve had it was on our trip to Milwaukee a couple of years ago.  It’s such a rich, delicious ice cream and an interesting presentation in rolled form.

J got the one called I Love PR.  The ice cream was mixed with bananas and Nutella.  She had also asked for whipped cream and carmel but I didn’t realize that.  She went to sit outside because it was getting tight in the shop.  There was a shift change just as hers was being made so it got overlooked.  She decided not to go back in and get the toppings because the ice cream was good on it’s own.

The two ice creams cost us a little over $10.

Below Zero is a delicious little (very little) ice cream shop along this busy stretch of road in Condado.  We weren’t planning on stopping for ice cream but the lure of rolled ice cream was just too much to pass up.