Sugar ‘N Spice

First time visiting Balboa island and stopped here to try the banana split. So yummy! The servers were nice and patient. The scoops of ice cream were vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate with pineapple, strawberry, and chocolate syrup. I asked for them to hold the pineapple syrup because I’m not a fan, and they did. We also got crushed almonds on top.
Perfect to share! There are several benches in the sidewalk we were able to sit down and enjoy the ice cream.
They have signs that say «don’t feed the pigeons» and I’m so glad people follow directions and don’t feed them, because they are disease carrying pests and crap everywhere.
Price was ok. Parking is limited to just street.
Whenever I’m on this island, I shall make it a habit to return.
Nothing special but you have got to have ice cream in order to fully enjoy a nice sunny day!

I first had frozen bananas while traveling through Central America, and never saw them again after I came back to the U.S., so I was thrilled to find frozen bananas on Balboa Island. I do need to point out that the frozen bananas are not exactly frozen; they are more like cold bananas. The frozen bananas I have had before were truly frozen, like banana popsicles. Frozen or cold, they are still pretty good. There are lots of toppings to choose from, including rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, nuts, crushed Oreos, etc.
1 star off: I do think they should be renamed «cold» bananas so as not to be misleading!

Wanted a frozen chocolate banana so decided on this place since Dad’s seemed kinda odd.
WAIT: No wait, just go straight up to the window and order.
FOOD: The frozen banana is $ 3.25 and dipped in chocolate but you can add whatever toppings you want. Since I like mine plain, I got just the banana dipped in chocolate. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because the chocolate is not very thick, I like my chocolate dipped bananas to have a thick casing of chocolate and this was paper thin. In addition, I wish they had a dark chocolate option.
Overall a little disappointed, the banana was kinda small and the chocolate not up to par.

Best soft serve ever!!! I love the ice cream. Have been eating the cones since I was a little kid!!!

I was surprised at how good the chocolate banana was.
I definitely recommend anyone trying this place.
This place gets five stars from me!

I love it! It’s not an impressive, elaborate, desert… But it’s simple, tasty and inexpensive. I took a friend from out of town and she loved it. It’s a great alternative for ice cream! A must do in Balboa.

The best chocolate dipped bananas ever.
Their chocolate dipped cheesecake is also the bomb!
I tried something new today (single soft serve in a waffle cone) and I even added sliced bananas as a topping! It was pretty big for being a single serve and was really good.

The balboa bar and the frozen tiramisu were both very BIG and super sweet!
After the not so good experience at Dad’s down the street, we decided to continue our sugar rush at this place. My frozen tiramisu was first dipped in liquid chocolate then immediately dipped in all sorts of toppings, my favorite almond pieces. It was HUGE and I could only eat a quarter of it before I was sugared out.
I started to see stars after that. The prices were definitely expensive, more reasonable than Dad’s. Parking was hard to find on a Friday night.

We waited about 10 minutes on a Saturday for a frozen banana and ice cream. Usually when you see a line of people waiting for food it’s a good sign, and it was definitely true here! I got a frozen banana. I’ve had many frozen bananas before, and each time they come hard frozen in a plastic bag. This was a fresh banana that was frozen, it wasn’t rock hard. I got mine with rainbow sprinkles. I LOOOVE rainbow sprinkles, and this is weird but I can tell when the sprinkles a place uses are old or cheap. These were fresh, premium rainbow sprinkles. The kind that are soft. Ugh it was so good.
My husband got a scoop of almond pistachio ice cream, and that sort of thing usually doesn’t float my boat at all, but I tried it and it was heavenly.
Just so everyone reading this knows, there is a huge banana stand war going on in Balboa. I wish I would have known this, and I would have gone down the street to the competition, Dad’s Donut and Bakery. These two rival banana stands have been feuding for DECADES which is the most hilarious thing in the world to me and I wish I would have done some more investigating. They both claim to have invented the frozen banana. Next time I will try a banana from both.

Best frozen bananas in town!!!
Seriously, the perfect treat on a hot summer day.
Frozen banana, dipped in chocolate, rolled in sprinkles. Talk about food goals. See the glorious pictures if you don’t believe me.

The frozen bananas here are off the hook. I got the small with almonds and chocolate sprinkles and it was tasty. Definitely go for the larger sizes though, there isn’t a huge difference but the small was a little smaller than I was looking for.

Any visit to Balboa Island and Newport Beach requires a stop here! Their delicious frozen bananas are somewhat guilt-​free especially since it’s a nutritious banana and their chocolate dip is not too sweet. The perfect combo IMO is just to add roasted almonds — heavenly! Life is really wonderful :)

The BEST ice cream treat everrr!
+the Balboa bar is freshly dipped vanilla ice cream in chocolate & toppings of choice!
+my favorite topping is the toffee!
+many delicious toppings to chose from, with no limit!
+vanilla ice cream is so deliciously fresh, creamy & rich in flavor!
+they also dip banana or ice cream cone
+service is prompt, clean, & courteous
+prices are fair, huge ice cream bar with toppings of choice for $ 3.75
–wish they had a sugar & spice ice cream shop around every corner, or at least on the Newport Beach Boardwalk!
+if you are craving ice cream, always come here!!!

Very cute dessert stand! The manager helped us out and he was very kind and helpful. The Frozen bananas taste great and it comes with two toppings. I got just Oreo and it was great!

«There is always money in the banana stand.»
George Bluth Sr. was right. The money here at Sugar n Spice IS the frozen bananas. So yummy especially with the toppings. Long line but it goes by quickly.
Mr. Manager would be very proud.

First thing we saw when we arrived at our vacation destination of balboa was this little banana shop, and had to stop in! Seeing as this is the original, it was the right choice. delicious!

$ 3.25 for a frozen medium banana dipped with chocolate & crushed almonds located in Balboa Island? Yes, please! I will take two!
I don’t know who was here first, but competition is fierce! Prices are affordable for everyone considering the location of this place.

This place is great! I love coming here when we come here to vacation with the family. The only thing I would change is that they had more variety of stuff to dip your banana in. But other than that it’s a great place to take the kids or someone who has never tried a frozen banana

How could I go to Balboa Island and not have one of the famed chocolate covered bananas?!!
Two stands next to each other, this one looked better and had a longer line so I came here.
Tons of different toppings, I went with everything, natch.
They have 4 different sizes from small to XL, I went with the small and it was big enough fr a light and tasty treat on the go.
Super fresh and made to order, great chocolate coating, all around a must do if you are in the area!

It’s one of those places that has a crazy line and people in the area always recommend. But… when you finally get your treat, you’re left wondering what the fuss was all about.
Was it good? The Balboa Bar was okay. The chocolate didn’t have much taste and neither did the vanilla bar itself. If it wasn’t for the toppings, there wouldn’t be much to taste. I have to admit though, the rainbow sherbet was a hit and the chocolate covered cheesecake looks like something I’m going to have to come back for.
Parking is a lottery if you hoping to park on the street. This place is cash only too so be prepared.