Hovermale’s Taste Best

Banana Split was BOMB! Cash only here!

Excellent little «shack», the ice cream and shakes are truly made the old fashion way with time, care and great taste. I’m personally not too fond of the food but the chocolate malt and ice cream are for sure the winners here. You can only pay with cash so keep that in mind.

Gotta love this gem — born and raised in Fort Washington and so much has changed in the area– and not necessarily for the better but this place keeps it real and makes you reminisce when it was a good, clean, safe place to be. They have kept true to themselves and have sold out– although I understand they have been offered many times! Love the authentic soft serve ice cream– a local fav!

I’ve eaten here every summer since I was a kid, it has hardly changed at all! Just consistently perfect! Have the BBQ sandwich, and wash it down with a real Chocolate malt!

Best soft serve ice cream, bar none! Kohr’s Brothers at the beach is good but this is the best. Been going here since high school (Hovermale’s and the ABC Drive In were the hot spots back then!) Still try to stop by whenever I can. Yum Yum!

Finding normal softserve that isnt DIY, add 97 toppings and pay by the oz. is not easy. Randomly found this place via Unilocal.Ice cream was fine but they DONT HAVE SPRINKLES!!! which was a huge let down. My boyfriend got the upside down banana split, which came in a blue solo cup. It was an interesting presentation, but the whipped cream tasted hommade.

Fond childhood memories. There used to be an ABC Drive-​In Theater a few miles up Indian Head Highway. We used to stop at Hovermales before the drive-​in (a way to keep us kids quieter). My mother used to be a bit frightened of the place because just a hundred feet or so was/​is a bar. Back then it was a honky tonk bar with live music and lots of drinking (and rumors of fighting)! But it was safe then and it’s safe now.
Anyhow, stick with the cone, imo. It’s the best.
Also, be aware that this is opened seasonally. So don’t stop by in January then come here and write a bad review because it wasn’t open. And don’t be appalled at its appearance. This place isn’t some national franchise that tries to look and feel like an old fashioned ice cream stand: it IS an old fashioned ice cream stand.
I’m checking «yes» on bike parking because whenever I visited relatives who lived off Oxon Hill Road, we used to ride our bikes over and «park» them next to us on the curb.

I had their banana split. The presentation was fantastic, and it tasted great as well.

Yassssss honey, yassssss. So I’ve had this spot bookmarked for quite some time but just never had the opportunity to go. Well I guess I should mention that I’ve passed this place on many occasions but the time was just never quite «right» for ice cream. I’m pretty tough on myself and eating sweets. I’m just weird like that considering I’m a gym rat, lol.
Anyway, the juncture was finally right. It was a warm, Spring day and I was driving nearby and my inner-​voice said, «The time is nigh.» I inhaled deeply and purged forward, lol. So after all this waiting, I definitely wanted the largest, dipped cone available. Ahhhh no au contraire grasshopper. I was informed they are only able to dip the small cones. My hopes and dreams were ripped in half, stepped on and burned at that very, precise moment. I was soooo disappointed. However my body was cheering; how dare I slave away countless daily calories only to savor the sweetness of soft-​serve creamy deliciousness!
Lol, that large cone just wasn’t meant to be! I instead opted for the small vanilla dipped cone. It was good, but you know how you’ve waited sooo long for something and it just wasn’t quite what you envisioned. Yea, well that’s exactly how I felt.
Anyway, the little venue is old but cute, enclosed in a chain length fence. They also have one of those windows where they have to open it manually to accept your money and again to hand you your items. Geeez… is the ice cream that good??? Lol.
I’d definitely recommend and give this place another visit.

Not sure what all the hoopla is about this place. I’ve lived in the area 17 years and will drive to old town VA to Pops Ice Cream when I need a ice cream fix. The half smokes are tasty as well as the chili dogs. The ice cream is just OK. I think it’s a bit overpriced and a hassle as they only accept cash.

A gem in Ft Washington — The soft serve is great! I’ve been coming here for years. A mixed cone or strawberry sundae are my usual fare. The creamy taste reminds me of the wonderful soft serve found in Ocean City.

For those who are from out of town, this is where the locals go when we need that sweet tooth fix. Hovermales has been around for a long time and many people, including myself, can remember coming here since we were kids.
My recommendations:
You can always go for the classic mixed cone to keep it simple. The banana split is good too. My personal favorite is the hand dip cone.
If you’re a little hungry and need something more savory, you can’t go wrong with a half smoke.
**Cash Only**

Yummy. Yum. Yum.
So happy that they are back open for the season!
Always on point and the young people inside are always extra friendly.
Make sure to bring cash as they don’t accept credit cards. I was reminded of that tonight. So, I drive across the street. Pumped my gas at the Shell gas station. Went inside to the atm. Got a news paper and a coke for later.
Must remember. Cash only!
I got my medium sundae to go with a lid.
My sundae was still delicious after driving 6 miles to my home.
Yum. Yum. Yum.

Hovermales is a landmark! I enjoyed going there as a child — having ice cream, watching Dad drive a bucket of balls. What a great place. My grandfather and great uncle built that place.

I’ve been wanting to try Hovermale’s Taste Best for a while. We were in the area and decided to make a ‘dessert’ stop, so I was pretty excited! This place has been around since ’54, and they’re pretty popular with the locals — a lot of families were there, getting frozen treats in the evening. The menu offers items such as sandwiches (hot dogs, chili dogs, cheese dogs, half smokes, and shredded beef bbq), soft serve items made with vanilla, sundaes, and toppings varieties (such as chocolate, pineapple, cherry, marshmallow, hot fudge, strawberry, and butterscotch). I had the Strawberry Shortcake, which contained big slices of pound cake, vanilla soft serve, strawberries, and optional whipped cream. My husband had a small vanilla soft serve in a cone, and we also had a cherry milkshake (comes in one size) to share. My husband thought the soft serve itself was just okay; I enjoyed my Strawberry Shortcake, as I thought it was pretty convenient that it came in a cup; the pound cake itself was more on the dry end, but I liked the fact that there was an abundance of the macerated sliced strawberries. The cherry milkshake, which I heard was pretty popular, was more on the forgettable side — there were little bits of maraschino cherries, but it didn’t taste like a ‘cherry’ shake — it was more like vanilla shake with bits of maraschino. The staff here are nice and friendly. I would like to try out their chili dogs (that seems to be pretty popular) as well as their ‘upside down’ version of their banana split sundae (in a cup). Located right off of Indian Head Highway, they also have a small lot to park your car. If you want to check them out, hurry up, as ¹⁰⁄₂₆^th is the last day of the year!
+closes for the season on ¹⁰⁄₂₆^th
+cash only

Love Love Love this ice cream spot. Not many people know of it. Definitely a hidden gem!
The ice cream is soft and creamy. They serve it in cups or cones.
Not only do they have ice cream, but milkshakes, hotdogs, etc.
If you are in the Ft. Washington area… You have to swing by and try them out! :)

They have excellent customer service and are very patient with you !!! The ice cream is reasonable prices which keeps me going back.

Great soft serve ice cream next to an über cheap driving range in the middle of nowhere in Fort Washington by National Harbor and It’s every bit worth the drive.
The large cone is huge by the way, the heaping tower of ice cream is three times the length of the cone supporting it, but if I am driving all the way out here this fat kid is getting a freaking large cone. The cherry milkshakes are so darn good with real cherries!!!
Seriously the creamiest soft serve ever. Cash only, and worth the lactose intolerance stomach pains I will be experiencing later.
Don’t forget they are closed all winter so get yours now!

If the strange name doesn’t catch your attention, maybe the old-​fashioned ice cream shack in the intimidating gated parking lot will! This is a timeless, one-​of-​a-​kind sort of place — hand-​painted signs, limited and quirky menu, cash only, seasonal (this year, we heard that they will close on ¹⁰⁄₂₇). Pick your poison: sausages, soft-​serve, or sodas? Order and pay at a tiny window, and eat in your car or standing around in the parking lot (there’s no seating). As a bonus, the driving range next door was covered in adorable grazing deer when we went at dusk.
The soft-​serve is really unique in texture — I’ve never had ice cream this light and fluffy! It almost seemed whipped. We just got plain chocolate, but I’d love to return and try their sundaes and upside down banana splits. Mmmm. I wish we had custard shacks like they have in the Midwest, but this is almost as good!

Pretty amazing soft serve. Definitely a neighborhood gem hidden from the masses of the DMV area!
Small parking lot, walk to window and no seating or anything, but good prices and the creamiest, smoothest, amazing tasting soft serve ever.
I usually don’t do the whole soft serve thing for fear of the thousands of calories and fats (yea I’m a froyo girl), but THIS— So. Worth. It.
I don’t care if you live 45 minutes away, if you haven’t had this soft serve, don’t tell me you know the best soft serve place around.