Samba Swirl

Unfortunately, I’ve lost all love for Samba Swirl and it’s because they have decided to make their own frozen yogurt from scratch. And while that sounded awesome to me when I first heard the news, the problem is that their homemade froyo is sour. It’s lost the creamy — almost soft serve ice cream — taste and has now become a yogurt shop which offers the same soury tasting yogurt as all the other shops.
I tried their homemade chocolate about five weeks ago and the first thing I noticed was that the consistency and color were different than what it used to be. Due to this, I inquired as to why it looked different (and also tasted different) and that is when I was informed of the switch-​a-​roo to homemade yogurt. The employee told me that they were «still working on the recipe but should have it down within a week or so.» Well, five weeks later and I’ve returned and the chocolate tastes exactly as it did on that fateful day five weeks ago and I’m not pleased.
Additionally, I’m tired of the rotating flavors. I just want chocolate and vanilla which are two flavors that should be on the rotation everyday, just as they would be in the US, considering this shop was founded by owners who fell in love with froyo in the US.
I’m very, very sad about my fallout with Samba Swirl. Single tear.

This place offers sorbet like froyo with a large selection of toppings. For a creamier froyo, there’s FRAE on the other side of Camden Passage.
It’s self serve so that’s always fun. It reminded me of a candy store.

great place! just create your own frozen yogurt with whatever toppings and whatever size — exactly the way you like it!

I love this place! Samba Swirl is a cool little frozen yoghurt shop opposite Islington Green, Angel.
It’s completely self-​service but friendly staff are always on hand to help and encourage you to samples of any (and all) of the six individual flavours on offer each day. Flavours change daily, a full list can be found on their twitter page and my favourite include pistachio, peanut butter and white chocolate (in combination or individually hehe).
Fro-​yo is charged by weight but the price is capped at just over £6 so you can go crazy loading your choice of flavours with various sweet or fruity toppings and sauces (up to £12 worth!) without worrying about the price.
I’d be doing London an injustice if I didn’t mention the absolutely brilliant customer service we received from a staff member called Ben (thank you Ben!) at the Angel store who was ridiculously busy but still found time for all our numerous and detailed questions with a smile as well as that of the other 6 or so curious customers in store at the time.
I’d be doing London an injustice if I didn’t say that received brilliant customer service from a staff member called Ben at the Angel store who was ridiculously busy but still found time for all our detailed questions as well as giving individual attention and service with a smile to the 6 other people in the store at the time.
There’s only a few seats inside but the green is just opposite the store and is lovely on a sunny day. You can also take your frozen yoghurt home in a polystyrene container that keeps it well frozen for at least 45 minutes or so. Don’t worry if it melts a little. It freezes and re-​freezes well at home. Enjoy!

I like the vibe here, especially the exterior design, as it’s punchy and funky.
The concept is great, compared to their other four-​letter competitors, as you pick up what you want. However, I find the price quite expensive, and sometimes the ice cream is not as cold as it should be, and melts fast, while you are still in the shop. Finally, some ice-​cream flavours are better elsewhere (i.e. Green Tea…)

why is this place so fxxxxxing good??? best frozen yoghurt i’ve found! i can’t believe its fat free, tastes better than most leading ice cream brands!!! this time i simply had the salted caramel on its own… what a great decision!

I’m a big fan of the self serving option at froyo places, and in that respect Samba Swirl was a great change from all the other froyo places I’ve been in London. The only thing they’re sort of lacking in is a wide range of toppings, but given that it is self service I’ll forgive them for that. Yay for samba swirl!

Almost completely self-​service! Samba Swirl are a frozen yoghurt vendor in Angel, small place, only a few seats available inside but then there is Islington Green just over the road, a lovely place to sit and have a snack.
Offering 4 – 5 different flavours of fro-​yo, you operate the dispensers yourself putting in as much or as little (or as many!) of your desired flavour (s!) as you wish then you decide on your toppings. At a second service station a cornucopia of fruits, nuts and sweet things await your distribution. Again, as much or little (or many!) of the abundant choices available are allowed. Whether scooping with a small shovel or twisting a handle to release the goods all over the fro-​yo, cover it as you will then all that’s left is to do is pay. Your pot of wonder is then weighed and a cost is issued depending on this weight — all of the serving pots are a standard size. Large.
You pay, take a coloured spoon and be on your way. Marvellous. Also, it’s surprisingly cheap. I’ve filled and stacked my pots previously and paid less than I have in places like Pinkberry and Frae. What’s more, it tastes really good. Damn good in fact!
I’m enjoying Samba Swirl so much that I’m now wondering if the professors in Cern are wasting their time seeking out this Higgs Boson particle when there are greater mysteries to solve. Forget the universe, how does Samba Swirl do it! Then again, it may be best not to know, like magicians not giving away their secrets. Apart from the shit ones. And then they’re out of work ‘cos everyone knows how they do it.
I digress. Fact is, Samba Swirl is well worth a visit. Or several.
TTFN
Ian

Yummo! Frozen yogurt on tap! Literally!
I like this concept, you take a tub, then move around the different taps with flavours of frozen yogurt and dispense what you like into your tub.
There is also a section with different toppings such as chocolate bits, sprinkles etc.
AND they have yummy sauces to pour on top!
Once you have all you want, you take it to the counter and get it weighed.
It’s just like Pic N Mix but for yogurt!
Recommend!

Even though it was a blustery day in January, I was tempted to try it.
As other reviewers have noted, you just take one of the paper tubs and add whatever flavours you want from the machines followed by toppings and then weigh and pay. I liked this system since it gives me total control over what I am having. a bit more of this, a bit less of that.
There were only a few flavours available, maybe due to low traffic in January perhaps, but it was enough for me. I squeezed in some berry (blueberry, I think), the red velvet one which is chocolate flavour and samba tart (wasn’t sure what that would be like).
The toppings were nicely presented with chopped up crunchy bars (in neat little blocks rather than just smashed to pieces) and other similar chocolate based crunchy toppings, some neatly cut up rolled wafers, chopped nuts and some fruit toppings also.
Clean and funky bright interior and friendly staff.
The taste was good. Not too sweet an slightly tart which was good and the toppings worked well. All in all, pretty good I thought.

So after reading reviews, I was really hoping that I was going to have trouble choosing flavors, especially when red velvet was mentioned… However, sadly, that was not the case. It was a cold day, so I was the only brave soul with a frozen treat on the brain. I popped in and stood there for awhile, taking it all in, looking at all my options, trying to figure it all out. I get the gist of the whole thing, but just to get some help would have been nice.
It wasn’t until I actually asked the lady, «What happens now?» And she said, «Put whatever you want in your cup and we weigh it.» Oh. Thanks. I was also looking forward to sampling the flavors (as was also suggested in other reviews), which I’ll be honest that day… I only remember Peanut Butter because the rest were nothing special, but that was not an option. So I went with the Peanut Butter and thought some chocolate sauce or chocolate pieces would be a nice addition. When I got to the counter so she could weigh it, they had fudge and white chocolate sauces in a warmer! That would’ve been helpful to know!
I sat in the corner, staring out the window, eating my froyo, wishing I had played my cards better. The peanut butter froyo was ok, but it could have had a little bit of a stronger flavor. If you don’t go overboard, it is relatively inexpensive, and it isn’t very far from the Angel Tube Station. I’d go back and hopefully find more tantalizing flavours and maybe more helpful, friendly staff.

The first week this place was open, I went three times. Yes, I have a problem, but I’m working through it.
The flavours change daily which means if I am craving their peanut butter swirl, I can’t be certain they can hook me up, but there is always something else (like white chocolate macadamia) begging to be eaten so that it’s impossible to peek in to see what they have «on tap» and leave empty handed.
My only qualm is that this stuff melts crazy fast. I live five minutes away and when I walk through my front door I have a sweet yogurt soup. Still tasty, don’t get me wrong, but slightly annoying. Then again, you can tell how upset I was by my repeat-​repeat-​repeat business.

Why hello delicious self-​serve froyo — welcome to the neighbourhood!
Dave’s comparison to a sweet shop is spot on — a delicious, delicious frozen treat sweet shop with a wonderful array of choices of both frozen yogurt and toppings. (As a textbook grazer, selection is usually a star-​increasing quality in my book.)
The flavours today were red velvet, chocolate, lemon, cheesecake, thin mint and tart. Once you made that impossible decision, (by having a bit of each) you turned around to face the toppings area that would give Willy Wonka a run for his money. Liquid toppings like butterscotch, honey, toffee, carmel, chocolate, raspberry as well as solid toppings ranging from the healthier fruits, nuts and seeds to marshmallows, chocolate bars, gummy bears, yogurt raisins, cookies, smarties… they even had Jelly Bellies. Yes. Yes they did.
If you’re looking for something healthy to indulge in, head to Planet Organic up the street. Then come here for dessert!

Samba Swirl is the latest addition to the fast growing frozen yogurt scene in Islington.
I liked the wide selection of yogurts — everything from Cookies N Crème to Flamingo Mint. All in you can select from a dozen or so flavours of yogurt and then have access to 30 or so types of toppings (mostly candies). This is a self-​serve pay by weight shop — so if you are like me you can mix and match yogurts and go heavy on the toppings.
Compared to Frae up the road, Samba Swirl has a wider array of flavours and toppings, but seems more like a candy shop than a healthy snack.