I was excited to try this place since all the other ice cream I’ve had in the Sarasota area has been delicious. This place totally missed the mark on every level. The inside is old and looks like it needs a good cleaning. Older gentleman working behind the counter served me promptly (we were the only customers) but was not friendly. The ice cream itself did not taste fresh, it had that freezer burn taste. $7.50 for 1 scoop in a waffle cup is totally outrageous considering it didn’t even taste good. Not one redeeming aspect, total waste of money and would not return.

Great for Gelato and ice cream. Great service.

I was enjoying it until I found 2 different strands of hair in my ice cream… I was almost completely finished with my scoop when I found a long white hair and then a little further down found a short black hair. Absolutely disgusting.

Great Ice cream! Lots of different flavors it was hard to decide which one to pick. It was too good I forgot to take a picture so I could add it to the review!

We always go to Settimis and wanted to give this place a try couple months ago. Unfortunately, we didnt enjoy neither the ice cream or the ambiance. Ice cream literally melted in our hands in seconds! Yes- it is an ice cream and it melts, but not as soon as you order. It was a terrible mess. The indoor space is so limited, so you have to eat outdoors, but their outdoor space is nothing really. It is like you are just sitting in the parking lot. They dont have the best service either. They really have to revamp this place to stay in business.

Outstanding ice cream! Fantastic staff! Decent priced! Definitely will be a regular stop ;)

Best prices, lots of choices, went 2 nights in a row! Not a far walk from shuttle

Awesome ice cream, had many times and is buttery and creamy.

This place has definitely fallen off a bit it’s called a creamery yet has little cream in their ice cream. It nearly 70 degrees out and soon as you walked out the ice cream was almost gone. I know they’ve been around awhile just wish they would keep the quality up.

To us this is quite literally a hidden gem in St. Armands. There are a few places to get some ice cream within the shopping circle, but this is tucked away down a side street. We knew we were going to come here atleast once this trip but wanted to try one of the other ones (who had a line out of the front door). That changed our minds so on the second night in a row we came here again. We didnt regret our decision. The ice cream is really good.

So outdated and the guy behind the counter IS ODD, and rude ~ at best . ice cream is bland .

We chose Big Olaf’s ice cream while on our vacation to St Armands Circle / Lido Beach. Make sure you bring cash, and that’s the only payment method accepted. This is a small family owned business. There was one gentleman working and when my husband asked where his help (workers/other employees) were, he said he is not able to afford the $15/hr minimum wage (not sure if it’s in place already or going to be soon in FL...?) so he’s running the show himself. He doesn’t come off as super friendly, but I am not needing much customer service while ordering ice cream so didn’t bother me too much. raspberry white choc was a fav of mine. We’d prefer to support the small shop ice cream places that are less expensive and not chain operations.

Been coming to St Armands for 20 years. Gave this place another chance. Same rude man as before just with an even worse attitude now. Go somewhere else that appreciates your business. Looks like he hates life and gives out small scoops. Go back to watching basketball.

Love the ice cream here

Super nice, amazing ice cream, and locally owned!

Ice cream is good but staff is not very friendly. They only accept cash which we do not carry often.

Very good ice cream 🍦

Love the different flavors and the prices are good 👍too!

Best-kept secret of St Armands! This shop is cash-only, serves delicious icecream and is located around the corner from all hustle and bustle. There is some outdoor seating too. Highly recommend!

Not too friendly of service, ice cream good

This man is so rude and does not appreciate his customers. He starts out by saying what do you want making you feel like youre interrupting him. He then hands you your very soft ice cream that wont stay in the cone, its so soft and by the time you get outside the whole thing falls. I can only hope he has to clean it up. never ever would I go there again.

Let me break it down for you. I am from a small town in Middle TN. I am currently on vacation here in Sarasota. My family and I stopped into this establishment on our way back to the hotel after dinner. The young man that got our ice cream didnt even bother to pay half attention to our order, never asked us how many scoops, and the only time he spoke to me was when he let me know how much money I needed to give him. We sit outside to enjoy our ice cream, and another family goes into the place after us. We can hear them laughing and cutting up with the server from our seat outside, they come out still speaking with the guy. What was the difference in our two families, some may ask? I came in in shorts and a tee shirt, this guy after me, dressed in fancier clothes and had a well together family. I wonder if the server knew that my small business raked in about 10000 dollars last week, if he would have treated my family a little better. The ice cream was subpar as well.

We love this place.

While very good ice cream, THIS Olaf isnt nearly as good as the one in Siesta Key. It didnt seem to have as many flavors, the furnishings (including chairs) are old/banged up, it doesnt take anything other than CASH, and the washroom was BAD (my girlfriend used other, more colourful language). That being said, it is good ice cream. Others in the chain are much better.

The brownie sunday was so good. 🍨

Great ice cream very delicious. Wish they would also expect cards. Cash only place.

Homemade ice cream...pricey though..but very good

PHENOMENAL ICE CREAM!Small but cute place, with snacks, ice cream, and great staff.The owner is also quite nice!

My absolute favorite place to get ice cream on the circle. Supplies a supreme quality of ice cream, with fantastic unbeatable prices. Although the shop needs a bit of cleaning up, like extreme cleaning up. With a face lift this location could be stealing all the competitors foot traffic easily. Regardless, I will always go here for my favorite ice cream on the circle!

An authentic ice cream parlor.

Great service, location, and variety of flavors. Unfortunately the ice cream isn’t very good. It has a gritty texture. Kilwins and Tyler’s are both considerably better.

Delicious! A lot of variety of ice cream and service was great!

Way better than the ice cream place across the street

Great icecream for kids

Been coming here for 30 years and it’s still the best ice cream on the circle!

I’m here all of the time, it reminds me of back home in Ohio of the small town Ice Cream places... welcoming, good ice cream, and good talks

Older gentleman behind the counter was rude

This is a favorite ice cream spot. Ive been coming here for 30 plus years and it hasnt changed and thats what I love. Its old school... the ice cream is good and price is much less than other ice cream shops on the circle.

Amazing place to get some great and affordable ice cream. Since located in the Armand circle after you get dinner you should really stop by there and get some great ice cream.

Olafs is our go to place when we are here. Bigger serving sizes at a cheaper price(1/2)...of the competition. He also gives back to his community, will always be our icecream of choice and should be yours too. You will not be disappointed.

Good icecream. Highly recommend the trashcan flavor!

I’ve cream is delish!

Very quaint place with Very friendly staff. and great ice cream!

Old school to the max. Its preserved from decades back. They dont even take cards lol. But the ice cream was awesome!

We love this place. The ice cream is the best. I’ve been going here since I was a kid. We moved away and come back every year. This trip we got confused and went to the wrong toad on st Armand’s and finally got there right after closing. The owner had the lights out but he still let us in and served us and told us to take our time. Love!

Hidden gem . Great ice cream

Great Taste ice cream and the place is clean

Love the ice cream and so do my grandkids! Nice servings. A little out of the way but better parking!

Great coffee and my friends loved the treats. The decor is amusing too! Staff was fun and friendly.

Great local ice cream parlor. We love supporting locals.

Great ice cream and less than half the prices of the shops that are right on the main strip. Great service too!

Amazing ice cream. Fantastic worker. Make sure to take time to read the posters on the wall!

Excellent ice cream from this local classic. I had a delicious rum raisin while admiring the collection of storm track maps pasted on the walls.

Hasnt changed in years. Friendly staff and good prices. Interesting appearance throughout.

Great big scoops of icecream with lots of flavors to choose from! Bring cash... no credit cards.

Its been there for a million years its fine. Its old Florida

Great coffee and my friends loved the treats. The decor is amusing too!

Great ice cream. RUDE employee.

Sub -par ice cream. Disappointing. Not clean, & server didn’t know what flavors they have. And server was watching college football!

Cash only but absolutely delicious. I also love the serving options they provide.

RUDE!!!! Unbelievable. We walked in here in a perfectly wonderful mood, on a beautiful evening, hoping to get ice cream for dessert after a nice birthday dinner. We hadn’t been to Big Olaf before, so we decided to give it a try. Big mistake, apparently. We asked how much a small cup is. The Latino guy behind the counter uttered (in a very condescending tone) “it’s clearly written right where you can see it” without actually turning and indicating where we should look. Flabbergasted, we immediately lost our interest in supporting this business and walked out, because I don’t appreciate being talked to like a child when I’m a 40 year old man being served by someone half my age, nor should someone receive that kind of treatment on their birthday. I wasn’t about to cause a scene and ruin the night... especially since my complaint would obviously be lost on someone with so little regard for respect and decency. So, naturally, I decided to retort online where it is most effective. First of all, we were not even in there twenty seconds before we were insulted. Second, there’s so much going on behind the counter, it’s sort of unclear where to look. Between the three of us, we saw some cups labeled with sizes and scoops... but not the price. And third, we were asked what we wanted before we actually found the price, so it stands to reason that our natural response was to ask for the cost upfront. But regardless of where the information is on display, consider that maybe it’s hard for some people to see. What if someone comes in who has forgotten their glasses? Do they deserve that kind of treatment? It’s literally your job to answer that question without the unwarranted snark. You have like two responsibilities: you give me ice cream and a price... and I pay you. That’s how the transaction works. As a business owner myself, I was horrified for whoever employs this man. I would never allow someone like that to represent my business. We are three upstanding citizens who came in wearing pretty formal attire after a pretty formal dinner; we remarked that the ice cream looked delicious and asked a single question — so talking down to us like we should be grateful to be in your establishment is absolutely appalling. Any decent and polite business would happily show their cups and sizes to a potential customer and gladly tell you the price. Because guess what?! THERE ARE FOUR OTHER ICE CREAM PLACES ON THE BLOCK! As such, we gladly took our business to Settimi’s Gelato and then to Ben & Jerry’s where the staff were so gracious and pleasant, and engaged in friendly conversation with us on such a lovely evening. We will NEVER return to Big Olaf and can not recommend it purely based on the attitude.

Loved the ice cream! Can’t wait to go back

Sub-par ice cream in a cluttered and unclean environment. The service is pretty unwelcoming too.

Best ice cream in town, for the best price. Highly recommend

Best ice cream on the circle. Not to mention its $2.50 less expensive than the candy store chain. Highly recommend it!

Always a great snack or before dinner treat!

I love the ice cream it is simply the best in sarasota the #1 ice cream shop on st.armands friendlist staff youll ever meetWere off the beach alittle bit and if the wind is just right you dont smell it anywayshout out to lex 🌭🍦

On decor alone 5star, service next & ohhhhh, the best ice cream in the area.

Best ice cream shop around. Love this little spot

What a great place, missinf florida right now!

Xx Great place to enjoy the best ice cream.

Of all the Big Olafs this may be the one that needs the most TLC, could be cleaner

Do not tske debit or credit cards. Need I say more. Bypass it.

Delicious ice cream at the right price.

We get ice cream here everytime we end up in St Armands Circle.

Run by a local and absolutely delicious.

Great ice cream, friendly staff and awesome location

Love the ice cream!! Cash only though

Found the best amaretto ice cream here

By far the best ice cream in the circle!!! Excellent service and buy!

Great little Ice Cream shop!

Great ice cream

Great homemade ice cream

RUDE employee!

Best on the circle hands-down!! cash only!

Cash only, so be prepared! We loved the ice cream but would skip the slushy next time.

Pretty good ice cream.

Great Ice Cream!

Came for the cream, dank shakes, brownie sundaes A1, Slide for 20%-50% off.

Just the basics, the awesome basics.

Pretty good ice cream

Best Ice cream in Florida

Delicious waffle cones...

Amazing ice cream

Best ice cream!

Good ice cream!

Great ice cream RUDE employee

Nice cones

They accept only cash

Excellent ice creams, very creamy and with a very homemade taste. They are also the cheapest in St. Armands Circle. The owner is on the premises and is a very kind person.You just have to keep in mind that the only means of payment is cash and perhaps that is a drawback for foreign tourists.I recommend it.