Heladeria Lares

This is the only ice crew shop that I will ever rate 5 stars. It is exceptional! The dozens of flavors available every day rotate often, and they range from the usual chocolate and vanilla flavors to the coolest flavors and ingredients found in any ice cream shop anywhere! Some of the ingredients can be found only in Puerto Rico… you need to try these! Samples are delicious and free upon request. Fabulous! Don’t let the super-​long line that is the norm here discourage you from waiting. Service is very fast and friendly. You need to visit the BEST ice cream shop in the island! Try the avocado and garlic flavors, they are amazing! My personal favorite, though, is the corn flavored ice cream. It is heaven in a cup, or a cone… whichever tickles your fancy! :0)

Unilocal’s address is incorrect. We followed it and got horribly lost. The correct address is Calle Vilella #10. As reported, it’s closed, but if you’ve already made the trip, there’s another ice cream shop a few doors down called Heladerìa de Grito, which has some of the same unusual flavors, bit no bacalao (salt cod).

FAMOUS PLACE in Puerto Rico for ICe Cream! IT HAS CRAZIEST FLAVORS! been here a long time! I love this place I wasn’t as daring to try the odd flavors but still the classic vanilla strawberry ice cream was delicious!

I first heard about this place when I watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. It was definitely a place I wanted to go to because I’m in Puerto Rico often either on vacation or visiting my husband’s friends. It was a fun trip going higher and higher up the hills and even more exciting trying to spot or find the location. I wish that I could give 2 ratings for this place because the flavors are interesting and amazing — definitely something you’ll never find in any other ice cream shop. I give the taste/​unique flavors a 5 star. I give the customer service a 1 star. Maybe because Bizarre Foods was a TV Show and the owners were in the shop at that time — they made it seem like this place had amazing and friendly customer service. However, after sampling 2 different flavors — I asked to try another one — the clerk told me in a rude way that it was my last sample and I was only limited to 2. Which I was absolutely appalled by because I’m pretty sure when you enter an ice cream shop with unique flavors you want to sample at least the crazy flavors you will never have anywhere else. I also saw her give more than 2 samples to a few people ahead of me. I was shocked because this is not the Puerto Rican hospitality that I am used to. When my husband came in the shop he was able to try multiple flavors not just 2. He is Puerto Rican and speaks the language fluently. I’m not sure if it’s because I was not a local or if she was being lazy but I was pretty upset. My husband confronted her about it and she had nothing to say. The owners need to hire more customer friendly people or at least have a manager there on a daily basis. I will not be coming back to this ice cream shop — not even for the unique flavors. And this was when the owner was still alive back in January.

Small humble place with the capacity of making you travel in flavors throw the nature. Is a nice ice cream with special flavors made for the adventurer. It worth traveling to Lares from any place in Puerto Rico.

Just a heads-​up to current/​future travelers right now — we got here and found the door pad-​locked shut. A local told us the owner’s father died, so they’re indefinitely closed at the moment. Bummer.

We stopped in Lares to check this place out and the owner had died a few days before… sad. The ice cream shop is closed until further notice according to their facebook page. I feel weird writing a review without having had their ice cream but want to put the word out in case other Unilocalers try to go out of their way to check it out.

I came here after marvelling at Window Cave (Cueva Ventana, much more impressive than the Rio Camuy caverns), and my new German friend, who has been my off-​and-​on travel companion on this trip (those Germans are so friendly and outgoing, but let me not digress!), made the observation that my propensity to ask for directions in Puerto Rico using the destination’s actual Spanish name, rather than something in English (e.g. asking a police officer about the «Heladeria Lares» rather than «the ice cream place in Lares» — especially since I pronounced it in such a great Spanish accent) exposed me to the risk of receiving a detailed response in Spanish, which I would not understand due to my virtually non-​existent proficiency in that beautiful language. After a few wrong turns, I realized that this place was actually pretty easy to find after all. It is right in the middle of all the action in the bustling town center of Lares.
They truly have exotic flavors of ice cream, and since it is around Christmas time, they have the coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog) flavor as well. You can taste a couple of flavors before you decide what you want. After tasting the Ajo (garlic), Bacalao (cod fish) and arroz con habichuelas (rice and stewed beans) flavors, I decided to get some that were less exotic, but still somewhat unique to Puerto Rico. So I had the guayaba (guava), guama (ice cream bean), arroz con dulce (rice pudding), maize (corn) and Caribbean cherry flavors (I know that’s 5 flavors, but did I ever deny being crazy?). All of them were delicious, except that I found the Caribbean cherry to be a little too tart for my liking.
My friend and I agreed that while the flavors were great, the quality of the ice cream was not the best. There were icicles in my ice cream, which really took away from the creaminess and my enjoyment of it.

Although there are unusual flavors (I had sesame and my partner had peanut), it is not worth the detour if you actually want good ice cream. It tasted more like frozen milk with a hint of flavor. It was popular, so maybe we just got the wrong flavors… oh well.

Where else in the world can you get garlic or corn flavored ice cream?! This place reminds me of NYC’s Chinatown ice cream factory but with a boricua twist. Rice and beans.
They only allow you to try two samples so choose wisely!
I went with corn and was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. It had a slight sweet corn after taste and it had sprinkled cinnamon on top.
I tried the garlic which was pretty unique but damn your breathe would be stinky if you ate a lot.
Overall, very fun/​unique experience!

Like so many others, I was brought here by Bizarre Foods, although the Unilocal GPS coordinates were several miles off (should have learned my lesson, this was the third time on this trip that Unilocal sent us to the wrong place). Having seen the TV program, I was expecting a cheerful family (with a very pretty daughter) manning the ice cream tubs, grinning as you were offered samples to try. Instead there was a grumpy woman whom I dared not ask any sample from. So we ordered safely — chocolate, strawberry cheesecake and the like. The ice cream was ice cream, no better or worse than any other we’ve had in PR. Overall, not sure this was worth the detour, nightmare parking around Lares town square and lack of anything of interest in Lares itself.

Like Baskin Robbin’s and their 31 flavors, but crazier. Where else can you try «arroz con habichuelas» flavor ice cream? NO WHERE.
(That is RICE AND BEAN STEW flavored ice cream, for all those who may not be not familiar).
We settled on coffee flavored ice cream, but not before trying some of the crazy flavors. Definitely a must when in or around Lares.

Ice-​cream in most imaginable flavors. Locally-​owned. A gem. If you are in the Arecibo area and/​or visiting the Camuy Caves, this is a must.

If you’re in the area you have to try this place! Lonely Planet recommended eating here after visiting the Camuy Caverns and that is exactly what we did. There are so many flavors that it’s hard to decide what to order (especially if you’re not fluent in Spanish and need to look up half the names).
Staff has limited English skills, but not like you need to have a conversation to order ice cream. also this place was very crowded when we came on a Sunday afternoon so score one for being popular with the locals.
The pistachio ice cream was the best flavor at our table. Dulce de leche was a close runner up, in my opinion. Braver souls may venture a try of their odder flavored ice cream… like cod fish. *shudder*

They have the most interesting of flavors here! The rice pudding had chunks of rice inside it, and the carrot icecream definitely tasted like carrot.
The only caveat is that the wait is kinda long, since the line goes out the door and stretches along the side of a street where cars would drive up right next to you.
Even though they were super busy, they were willing to give out samples for us to try. They didn’t force a limit on us, which was nice… I mean, you HAVE to try some of the more exotic flavors since you made that trip out there already. Might as well. Haha, so we went.
It’s also located right next to an open lot area where other locals set up their tents to sell things and there were musical bands playing there. Located in a quaint spot, though the business itself is kinda tiny on the inside.

Looking for a 8 mile detour after the CAMUY CAVES? Heladeria de Lares is definitely worth a trip!
ARROZ CON HABICHUELAS ice cream?! Amazingly weird but good! From other blogs and websites, two is the max number of tries for samples, but I was able to score a couple more. Ended up getting COQUITO and BISCCOCHO ALMENDRADO.
Other flavors include, Ginger, Casserole, Carrot, Pumpkin, Peanut Butter, Strawberry Cheesecake, Pistachio, Corn, Coconut, Strawberry, among the many of the top of my head.
For your GPS, Type in ‘Calle Vilella’ in Lares, you’ll find it eventually as a few of the roads are only one way.

So I heard that this place has been on TV, but only after I got there. My dad had previously been there and decided that we should visit after a failed attempt at going to the Camuy Caves. The drive from the caves is about 20 minutes. Some of the flavors in this place are insane! Who would’ve thought to make some of these foods into ice cream?! Rice & beans? Codfish (Bacalao)??? [ralph] No thanks! So I did what any brave soldier would do… I got chocolate and cookies & cream… oh yeah… and it was good. The cost was $ 3.50 for two fairly large scoops in a cup.

As past reviewers have mentioned, this is a GREAT place for a quick drop by if you’re en route to the Cavernas de Camuy.
And, yes. I only know about this place from Andrew Zimmern as well haha. But it is TOTALLY worth the experience.
This place seems to be packed at all hours but there’s about 5 — 6 helpful spanish-​speaking ladies behind the counter that really get things moving.
My entourage and I were able to try as many samples as we wanted despite hearing and reading that they only let you sample two flavors. So if you get the same opportunity as I did, sample some of the really odd and quirky stuff! Obviously, NONE of us got an actual scoop of Bacalao (cod fish) but it was fun to sample it and watch each others reactions.
Between my little group and I we got:
Arroz con Habichuela — «Rice and Beans». looked like it. tasted like it and even had little pieces of beans in it haha.
Almond Cake — Forgot the actual name in spanish but it was one of the best we had.
Arroz con Dulce — «Rice with Sugar/​Sweet» This was also a really good one.
Pistachio — Very good, had pieces of actual nuts in it.
Platano Dulce — «Sweet Plantain» Not my personal favorite, but some people really did enjoy it and had a very nice texture.
Queso con Fresa — «Cheese with Strawberry» This was so creamy and tasteful!
Queso Blanco — «White Cheese» Super creamy, but I think its better suited for avid cheese lovers.
If you’re not the adventurous type they do also have the «normal» ice cream flavors: Orange, Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla, Cookies n Cream, etc.
Its definitely worth the trip because everyday that you’re there they have over 30 or so flavors and each time its usually a different set. So something a past Unilocaler might have tried and enjoyed might not be there, so don’t be afraid to live a little and get creative! :)
Its also pretty cheap, around $ 3.00! I got a «medium» sized cup and I was able to mix two scoops together: Café and Arroz con Dulce. It was a perfect marriage between the two!

Part of the culinary adventures piece of my recent trip to Puerto Rico. I highly recommend anyone visiting PR make this a stop. It’s a local place with plenty of local flavor in both ice cream and ambiance. They have standard flavors like chocolate, pistachio and strawberry and more tropical ones, like guava and parcha (passion fruit), but what makes this place stand out are flavors like bacalao (cod fish), arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans) and breadfruit.
I opted for slightly unusual with plantano dulce (sweet plaintain) and queso y fresa (cheese and strawberry). The flavors did not disappoint. The plantano dulce had a slightly grainy texture from the starchy fruit, but a deliciously delicate sweet flavor. The queso y fresa was creamy and fruity. The queso was along the lines of cream cheese or a cheesecake flavor with a swirl of strawberry preserve or compote. I also snagged a bite of M’s rice and beans which tasted like rice and beans. Not surprisingly, since I don’t like beans, I did not like the texture or flavor, but I had to try it. I was however envious of the maize (corn) pick which both M & R got. It was super tasty, bringing out the natural sweetness of corn balanced with a touch of warm cinnamon.
The texture of the ice cream is lighter than American ice cream or even gelato, but this actually works for them. Given the climate of the Island, I can’t imagine super heavy, rich ice cream being very good for the belly or waistline. Overall a fantastic spot and despite the small mountain location that requires a bit of a drive from most tourist destinations, I’ll be back.

They got a flavor for everyone here. Located in a small town in the hills on the drive to the Camey caves, Lares is a perfect stop for perfect scoop or two of unique ice cream. You won’t find a place like this any where else in the world. From the traditional flavors like strawberry and vanilla, to the unusual ones, they got it all. I ended up trying… swordfish, rum, rice&beans, garlic, carrot, avocado but ended up getting my childhood favorite pistachio. This really is a great experience if you are an ice cream lover. They have a great town square, with church and stores to wonder around while you are licking your cone. Enjoy.