SA Pops

Key lime pie Popsicle is delicious, I want to try them all! The people behind the counter were really sweet too

This place actually makes me kind of sad. The popsicles are awesome – the Mexican chocolate and pistachio are great (if you like pistachio, that is). What makes me sad is that the woman (obviously, the matriarch) is so kind, and she really cares about the business – yesterday she even gave me a discount for being a returning customer. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I almost wasn’t one.
The first time my son and I went to this place, I called ahead and asked about the closing time. The guy told me 6 p.m. My son and I arrived about 4 p.m. and there was someone in the store, but the door was locked. He and I lurked around outside, looking in, and the guy inside continued to ignore us. After about 5 minutes, my very disappointed son and I returned to our car. At that point, the guy inside came out and asked us if we wanted something. By that time, my son was just focused on getting some gummy bears at Central Market, so we said we’d come back another time.
The next weekend we went by, and the place was open. My son and I got popsicles, and he LOVED it. So, I asked the guy (the same one who had ignored us the week before) until when would he be opened, because I wanted to take my son to the nearby playground and then pick up some more popsicles to take home with us. The guy said he would definitely be there until at least 6. We got back to the store around 4:30 and there was a note on the door that said the guy would be back around 5:30. My son started to cry. I swore to my neighbor that night that I would never go back.
This week, despite my reservations, I went back because my kid liked the damn popsicles. Fortunately for me, the female owner was there and she was incredibly kind and she told me how important repeat customers are for their business because they have basically no foot traffic. That little shopping center is pretty dead, so she’s right. Anyway, I bought around 8 popsicles and took them home and my kid loves them. But I will never take him there again, because the risk of being disappointed is too high. If I’m in the area and they’re open, I will get some, but I would never subject my kid to that guy’s crappy treatment again.
The place makes me sad because it’s obvious that this is the woman’s business, but the employee (whom I think is her son) doesn’t give a crap about whether it succeeds or not. Maybe he feels it’s beneath him; maybe he can make more money some other way – but this lovely woman owner does not deserve this kind of treatment and neither do her customers.

The Mexican Chocolate and Roasted Banana are fantastic! We’ll be going back, and I want to try the Pistachio next time :)

I dream about the pistachio paleta rolled in chocolate and chopped pistachios. THE perfect sweet and savory treat! The seasonal blood orange sorbet was incredible, too. The cookies are pretty tasty.
The place itself is simple and no frills. I have friends who complain about the unfriendly service; I find it to be hit or miss but what do I care if you’re serving up one of my fav treats in town?!

A nice find in San Antonio. Tried 3 different flavors in 2 days. Go for the roasted banana, pecan, and Mexican chocolate. Don’t forget to get a cookie as well!

Best of the best. I’m here at least once a week. The Horchata shaved ice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a dream. Mamacita making everything is also fantastic.

Couldn’t find horchata at ANY Mexican restaurant and came here to be pleasantly surprised with an horchata raspados. Absolutely delicious.

Great ice cream & snow cone spot. Sweet lady serving & generous portions. Vanilla & chocolate were outstanding. Pineapple snow cone was very refreshing!

SA Pops is a delightful dessert shop nearby Breckenridge Park, located in a little strip mall with a good amount of parking (especially because there are like only three businesses there). It’s a perfect stop before or after spending the day at the park, but there’s also a good amount of seating inside and outside, should you choose to lounge about and enjoy your treats.
I had the rice pudding pop, and I really wish I could have it in non-​paletas form as well. It was rich, creamy, with the perfect amount of cinnamon, and the pieces of rice actually translate quite well into ice cream form and remain chewy – giving this paletas some textural interest, too. Yes, because I look for textural interest in my paletas, apparently.
Each pop is $ 3, but each is hand made with love by the wonderfully kind owner lady with some darn good quality ingredients. Overwhelmed? She’s happy to give you suggestions on flavors, and doesn’t mind explaining each one in case you have no idea what «arroz con leche» is.
SA Pops also has other frozen treats, should you have an existential crisis on what to do with your life once you try every single flavor of paletas. They also sell the pops in batches, so you can bring home the happiness to share, or just serially enjoy by yourself while laying on the couch on a summer’s (or winter’s) day.

I wish I could give this place 10 stars! I bought a pint of grapefruit sorbet, and it’s truly a divine frozen nectar from heaven above! Talk about the perfect refreshing dessert for a sultry summer day. Their sorbet is very light in texture. I’ve never had a sorbet quite like this. Now, my mission is to try everything on the menu!
As an added bonus, the owners are terribly nice! They are very kind, and ensure to speak genuinely to each and every customer. This is what San Antonio small business is all about!

Excellent atmosphere and fun, delicious treats. The paletas are amazing and pretty satisfying, even if you only order one (they’re so good you’ll probably want at least two). The ice cream is just ridiculously good as well. The shaved ice/​ice cream combo is probably the best bang for your buck.
Overall this is the best dessert place I have ever tried in America, and do whatever it takes to stop by.

The BEST place in San Antonio to get «nieve», (ice cream in spanish). These guys make everything & 100% natural. Even better. Love love LOVE this place. Will definitely be coming back very soon.

Would come here at least weekly if we lived in San Antonio. Came with a group of friends and everyone loved what they got and were all happy to try this place. Big fan of the pineapple sorbet! Best deal: small shaved ice with vanilla ice cream on top — $ 3, enough for two people.
Gimme all them paletas.

Some San Antonio evenings the only conceivable dinner is one that is frozen. SA pops has something sure to please even the pickiest member of your family. The shaved ice is so soft and shaved so finely it manages to hold on to every drop of flavoring, unlike other shaved ices where you find yourself digging through the plain ice on top to get to the sugary liquid bottom.
The sorbets are delish and the homemade La Paletas– yum! Made with only fruit, filtered water and organic sugar. Beat the heat and have dessert for dinner!

Handcrafted paletas using all natural flavors. Filtered water based prickly pear, cucumber, coconut, watermelon, etc. Or cream based options. The mama running the store is so sweet and helpful. Bring a cooler and stock up the freezer.

I love this place! My family and I found it (via Unilocal) one day when my grandma called us and told us she wanted to go get a snow cone. I’ve been back twice since!
The lemon lime snow cone is to die for! Cherry is also great. I’m so excited to try all of the flavors. This place has sweet workers that are always nice and the environment is so home-​y, it’s lovely AND it’s pretty cheap, what more could you ask for?

If you haven’t tried this place yet, shame on you! Ha! This is a family owned and operated business. Marina, is the paleta makers mother and she is so delightful. They have various flavors. My favorite is banana. They have seating outside and free wi-​fi! She said they will be adding Italian shaved ice and gelato to the menu soon!!! I can’t wait!!!

I love patronizing locally-​owned businesses and SA Pops has been recommended to me by a friend, so when I stumbled upon this little gem today I had to stop in! Holy sweet tooth: paletas, ice cream, and shaved ice galore! The poor man behind the counter answered all of the questions and was patient with my wavering decisions. I wanted to try ALL the flavors! My tamarind shaved ice hit the spot and the Mexican chocolate paleta was a surprisingly tasty little treat.
Oh, you bet my bottom dollar I’ll be back to try more of the inventory!
My only complaint is the décor is a little drab for such a fun spot! Put some oomph in the place and bright colors to match your wares!

Great place that is true to its roots and yet ventures out on their shoulders. In short, I really like that this place builds upon traditional Mexican and Mexican-​American desserts. After eating here I really got why the big sign outside says the products are artisan, they really are.
We tried a number of the paletas and we liked them all. I wouldn’t call them paletas, per se, rather some hybrid of paleta and creamsicle (at least in the case of the coconut one) or somewhere between popsicle and true paleta. But, oh it works. My daughter got one of the ice cream sandwiches and it was pretty awesome too.
I’ll be back for the shaved ice, which apparently is New Orleans style. I may even bump it up a star later, but I need to explore their offerings more before I do this.
All in all, a great family run place with creative takes on traditional Mexican desserts. Good stuff.

My love of popsicles probably dates back to when I had my appendix taken out at age four. Unlimited popsicles was the silver lining to being confined to a hospital bed for several days. So I was excited to see a banner with a popsicle on it pop up (okay, bad pun) in my neighborhood.
I visited SA Pops for the first time today, after having a quick lunch at Joseph’s next door, and while it wasn’t easy to talk myself out of a chocolate cupcake from Joseph’s, I’m glad I went with the popsicle on a warm day like today. This is a really cute little place with very friendly service, and the word needs to get out about them. We all need to do our best to eat more paletas.
They had a great selection of paletas: piña colada, honey dew, cantaloupe, spicy watermelon, blackberry, and many others. I tried the piña colada, and it tasted creamy and fresh. Especially after a long, tedious meeting at work.
And…right in the middle of the counter is a giant ice shaver. I can’t wait to try whatever they make with THAT.
They may be cash only right now – I didn’t notice a credit card reader – so come prepared. The owner thanked us for dropping in (she could tell we were first-​timers) and gave us cards and flyers, since they’re pretty new and want to bring in more business. SA Pops is close to the zoo, Brackenridge Park, Sunken Gardens, and the whole St. Mary’s strip. If you’re hitting any of those hot spots, I recommend stopping in for something frozen and refreshing and very San Antonio-​esque.
I also plan to ask the owner whether they cater, because I’d love to have some fresh paletas at a backyard BBQ. I’d like to see them do even more daring things with the flavors, post their daily specials on social media, have a loyalty card that rewards me with mucho free popsicles, and partner with other businesses in the area to do events.