Big Olaf's Ice Cream

The ice cream here is pretty standard (they use Dreyer's), nothin special nor extraordinary about it, but what seduced me to go into this place was the smell of fresh waffles from a couple stores away. I got the Big Olaf with one scoop of chocolate ice cream and one scoop of birthday cake ice cream in a waffle cone topped with whipped cream, crushed nuts, and a cherry. The waffle cone was hot and crispy, freshly made right from the oven, and the ice cream meshed really well with everything. It was the perfect snack right after grabbing some fish and chips on the pier.

Service was friendly. Will definitely be back the next time we're in Catalina. Oh, and it's cash only.

Long line, someone said it's the best ice cream on the island. It's basically Dryer's ice cream in a variety of flavors (not quite 31). Is it like saying a particular AM/PM is the best because it had the best Coca-Cola?

I got in line with the island crowd and bought two generic cones... When I got back to the beach, the wife asked why I didn't go across the street you where she bought an ice cream...It was hot, a vacation day and my son wanted Olaf's. He saw it earlier and thought it was special.

Olaf's doesn't come close to the quality and taste of Ice Cream Lab in DTLA Little Tokyo.

Big Olaf's a solid enough ice cream joint. Prices are certainly right, and while the ice cream is just your standard Dreyer's, it is still a treat on a hot summer day.

Just be warned that this place is cash only, there's no ATM, and there's usually a line out the shop.

If you're on the lookout for the best ice cream on Catalina Island, look no further! We have been twice now, on both of our visits to the island, and I always get the olaf, which is your choice of ice cream, 1 topping choice, topped with chopped peanuts, whipped cream and a cherry, oh AND a waffle cone....HELLOOOO, cheat day! It's a pretty good deal, you get all of that for less than $5 and it is HUGE. I opted for the cookies and cream ice cream and marshmallow topping. YUM!

I know I'm on a island but this place is so GROSS, as in DIRTY , and no one cares . I brought it to the girls attention that there was dried OLD food in the counter. She was ok. Nasty just nasty.

Super tasty ice cream shop with ginormous waffle cones. Be prepared to lick your hand while you finish one of those bad boys. It's good stuff!

Big Olaf's is a fixture in Avalon. They serve Dryer's Ice Cream but have a large variety of flavors as well as shakes, floats and sundaes.

There is usually a line but they move fast since it's a cash only business. The servers are nice and you can try new flavors.

I have been coming to Olaf's for decades and we always ask when we get off the boat, "Do you want a Big Olaf's?" And the answer is always a YES!

Big olaf's, open for 40 years on the Catalina Island and a staple to all tourists was shut down and ran out of business by Scoops, a chain ice cream restaurant. Very sad to see a business that was so important to the community here on the island shut down because of a corporate business. My family has
been vacationing on catalina island every year for over 15-20 years and are heartbroken.

For our 3 days trip, I went here twice.

There's nothing better than taking my sun tanning ass to grab something cold. They have over 30 different flavors of Dryer's ice cream. My personal favorite is Spumoni. It's hard to find an ice cream shop that carries spumoni. I couldn't pass it up. They also make their own waffle cones here. I liked it but it did have an awfully strong scent of vanilla... almost offensive. It's good though. If you get any of the olaf, you can add whip cream, nuts, sprinkles, a cherry on top, and chocolate syrup. Yum!

The girls work were awesome. I don't know how they keep up with the high volume of people. This is definitely my favorite ice cream shop on the entire island.

My whole weekend in Catalina I smelled the sweet smell of waffle cones and I saw people walking around with ice cream in massive waffle cones, so my friend and I stopped by before we left the island. Nothing really memorable, they sell Dryer's ice cream, I would have been more impressed if was their own brand... My ice cream cone was $6!!! lol

Not worth it.