Gifford’s Ice Cream & Candy Co.

Good– Happy hour special $ 2 small cone.
Bad– The ice cream wasn’t that special. It tasted like candy, but wasn’t very creamy, smooth, or soft. It almost felt like I was eating supermarket ice cream. The flavors were alright and were very standard. The atmosphere was average.

I used to go to Gifford’s in Silver Spring and Bethesda in the 50s. I almost always had peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream. They’re still making this flavor with the original recipes. Complete nostalgia. I have to keep from veering toward the store, especially on Mondays ($ 3 sundaes).

Get their Peanut Butter Cookies N’ Cream. GET IT! It’s like crack, people. ‘NUFF SAID!

If you happen to be in Rockville Town Center and not next to the movie theater and you crave some ice cream, you could do worse. The ice cream is good — not a ton of flavors, but certainly something for everyone. We have been here several times and are usually satisfied. The last time they were out of hot fudge which is totally inexcusable; it is like the sandwich shop that is out of mayo or mustard.

i’ve had the black raspberry and the caramel toffee. pretty good. didn’t blow me away or anything. i’d eat here if it happened to be nearby, but i wouldn’t go out of my way to get ice cream here.

The quality of the ice cream here is pretty good. But I find that many of the flavors are more subtle than I’d prefer. For example, I can hardly taste the peach in the peach ice cream. They have one flavor that is really great if they have it («cherry blossom» it’s called, though no blossoms really in it! But I guess it’s called that in honor of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in DC.)
This used to be a big chain, then shrank to a single store, got taken over by new owners, and now it’s a bigger chain than ever, though the first Giffords I ever knew of, in Silver Spring, became a daycare center and to my knowledge they have not returned to downtown Silver Spring. The two locations I patronize are this one in the Rockville Town Center and the one at Friendship Heights across the street from the Metro. But, as is usual for stores in any sort of a chain, what applies to one really applies to any store in the chain.

Yes, $ 3.75 for a small scoop of ice cream is somewhat pricey. But $ 3 for an ice cream sundae? Sign me up! Luckily, Gifford’s has Sundae Mondays, during which a sundae (any large scoop of ice cream, any sauce, nuts and whipped cream) is only $ 3 a piece. After enjoying dinner at La Canela, my friends and I stopped in here for some dairy goodness. There were 4 friendly people behind the counter just waiting to help the next customer who walked in. We were in and out quite quickly, and enjoyed our sundaes, although we all bemoaned the fact that they were a bit cheap with the hot fudge. But, really, what can one expect for 3 bucks nowadays?

The peach ice cream and coffee ice cream are delicious! It’s a bit over-​priced ($ 3.75 for a small scoop) and the layout doesn’t really make sense (the cashier is on the other side of the counter from the ice cream), but I still like it!
Gifford’s in the new Rockville Town Center is a great place to kill time before a movie or to stop by before going to Ten Thousand Villages across the way! ;)

It’s expensive, there’s often a line of people there whenever I want ice cream (nights or weekends when its hot), and there are always flavors missing — they can’t keep them in stock. For instance, my mother in law mentioned that she liked this dulce de leche flavor but it wasn’t there. So I went back (six to seven times over the weeks) and it is never there. Perhaps it was a limited edition ice cream?

this place is hella expensive for a scoop of ice cream.
i understand the world is in some recession and i can deal with a few bucks being spent here and there on unnecessary things but i paid almost $ 10 for my ice cream!!!
jesus.
i think i’ll wait on the corner for the ice cream truck to roll around my way.

Ice Cream and Candy. YAY!
What more do you have to say about a place that has ice cream and candy? Well, as long as it’s good, right?
Well the ice cream here is definitely good and fresh! I really like the flavor choices here and the variety. I tasted the coconut and pistachio ice creams, but I had the peanut butter cookie flavor, since I am a peanut butter nut.
The regular serving size here is very generous as the other reviewers say and at a good price for ice cream compared to other places. So be careful when you are getting dessert after your dinner, it might be a huge dessert. A small serving should be good enough for you. When you order your ice cream, you have options of a cup, cake cone or a sugar cone. If you want a waffle cone or any of their special cookie cones (oreo, etc) that will cost 1.50 extra. Actually you can only get a regular size with a waffle cone.
Just a minor thing about the waffle cone. It tasted different to me, I don’t know what it is, maybe it was a little too sweet or something, but I wasn’t much of a fan of it. I prefer the waffle bowls at Cold Stone.

Wow that was the best ice cream I’ve had in a long time and I used to buy 3 pints of Ben and Jerry’s every week on the way home from work — not any more.
B&J has steadily sucked more and more since they sold out to Unilever — think Breyer’s.
Gifford’s Vanilla was like whoa! That was awesome. Can’t wait to go back to try their Swiss chocolate.