Austin Froyo Reviews

 

Fro-yo girl here. Now that I covered the froyo history of Austin in the previous post, I want to share my Austin froyo reviews. I went to three places for froyo. Each was quite different, so it was a good sampling of Austin froyo. TCBY is part the old-school froyo franchise and counter-serve. Yo So Cool was part of the wave of self-serve froyo shops that opened in Austin starting in 2008. And Aba is a chef-driven restaurant that serves Greek froyo for dessert.

TCBY, 303 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

This TCBY was across the street from UT Austin. The current owner has owned the shop for 27 years. It’s been open for 37 years. The signs might be from 30 years ago. It has a drive-thru!

This location had eight soft serve froyo flavors a day, hard-scoop froyo, shakes, malts, shivers, sundaes, banana splits, parfaits, and smoothies.

Soft serve prices: Small ($4.49), Medium ($5.49), Lage ($6.49). Toppings are extra. I noticed the fruit was not fresh. It looked defrosted and syrupy. The dry toppings were typical – nuts, chocolate chips, candy, etc. A few toppings bins were empty. There were fewer toppings than usual.

Small Greek honey vanilla: The froyo was too soft and melted quickly. The owner should have known this. The flavor was okay. I could barely taste any honey. It did taste like yogurt and was creamy (but too soft).

3 out of 5 stars.

Yo So Cool, 1201 Barbara Jordan Blvd #1290

I made the long trek out to Mueller to try Yo So Cool, which opened in 2010. The froyo and toppings are self-serve. There are 12 flavors a day and toppings for $0.70/oz. I spotted sample cups at the toppings bar. The sign said take one cup. I didn’t see the price on any signs. They serve YoCream froyo out of Taylor twin twist machines. It’s a typical self-serve froyo shop.

The fruit looked fresh. Toppings included fruit, popping boba, whipped cream, cheesecake, nuts, cookie dough, chocolate chips, candy, mochi, brownies, cookies, cereal, etc. In addition to froyo, YSC has smoothies, root beer floats, and clear parfait cups. I also spotted waffle bowls.

My froyo was too icy and too soft.

3 out of 5 stars.

Aba, 1011 S Congress Ave, Bldg 2, Suite 180

I’ve been eyeing Aba since it first opened in Chicago because it serves froyo. Fortunately, Aba opened in Austin in 2020. It’s a hip Mediterranean restaurant with a full bar, dark dining room, and a multi-level terrace. The menu includes hummus, spreads, cold mezze, hot mezze, raw items, seafood, kebabs, and desserts (yes, frozen Greek yogurt).

Frozen Greek yogurt, lemon meringue topping ($10.95): SO GOOD…not too sweet, very smooth, creamy but not heavy, a bit sour, tasted like yogurt. The texture was something special. Loved the tangy lemon sauce too. This was superior froyo. I’m sure it’s the BEST FROYO IN AUSTIN.

5 out of 5 stars.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

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