The Rinka in Larne

The Rinka reminds me of my youth. It feels like an old fashioned ice cream shop with cafe and has the advantage of being a shop with all the supplies you would need as well as a sizeable toy section. Visiting with kids meant this...

Fantastic spot ! Gorgeous ice cream so much to choose from you will defiantly have to pay more than one visit !!! and really friendly staff

Ningún viaje a las visitas, a la familia, o de vacaciones sería completa sin un viaje a La Rinka. Llueva o truene que pueden resistir la plétora de sabores, el único problema es resistir la tentación para más de uno. También lo hacen para llevar y tener una tienda de juguetes y tienda.

A wonderful selection of ice creams at very reasonable prices. Very pleasant staff and all this in a fabulous looking 50s coffee shop - if you are of that generation a must see and if you are younger, visit and see what you are missing.

the rinka is very famous for its ice cream people come from near and far for it ,you usually have to queue up to get some it is so popular ,their is also a place to buy milk bread and anything else you may need their is seating inside and out ,lovely on a good day to sit out side and enjoy a 99 lol worth a visit .Sadie robinson.

Este es un buen lugar para parar a tomar un café, helados, juguetes, general compras y recuerdos. Incluso hacer un bebé venga, así que su hijo de dos años no termine con más helado en su rostro que en su boca. Siempre popular, usted puede tener que hacer cola.

Lovely place for icecream and a cuppa. Not a great choice of hot food but icecream makes up for that! :-)

Don't miss the Rinkha's famous home-made ice cream if you are in the area - Islandmagee or the Gobbins. A very welcome refreshment after the Gobbins cliff path walk!

A real must in any weather in particular the rum and raisin! This ice cream is so lovely and creamy and this from someone who is not a big ice cream fan.

Habiendo sido en Roma este es el más cercano a helado italiano que he probado en Irlanda. Como un amante de chocolate helado de chocolate nada allí es precioso. Personal muy amable y servicial. Si te gusta el helado y están en la zona de probarlo.

Called in to sample the ice cream as it was recommended by our tour guide at the Gobbins. Fab selection of flavours available. I went for nutella which was delicious!

Great choice of ice cream and you can eat inside at tables or take out. Very popular on Sundays and holidays so there can be a queue, therefore pick a quiet time.

Stopped here on the way back from the Gobbins. Interesting shop sells a wide variety of goods. We went to sample the delicious ice-cream. I recommend the Belgian chocolate my husband had the raspberry ruffle. Many interestingly tasty flavours to choose.

Llamado a la Rinka Festivo en Lunes a conseguir helado para mis hijos y el hombre más malhumorado en el planeta - sólo puede asumir que es el gerente/propietario ya que no llevaba el uniforme. Él glowered consistentemente en mis hijos y y otro grupo de niños sentados en la mesa de al lado y vigilaba el área como un comandante. Realmente arruinó nuestra experiencia! Alguien debe señalar a él que es un juguete y heladería y es inevitable que se visitan en tiempo para acostumbrarse a los niños!

La Rinka es un Co. La tradición de Antrim. No sé exactamente el tiempo que ha estado en el negocio, pero sin duda más de 50 años. El helado viene en una variedad de sabores. Prefiero la vieja usanza con una vainilla flake. El original 99. Me lleva a mi infancia.

The Rinkha is possibly the best ice cream in the world and I'll be back to sample more! we got a recommendation from the gobbins visitor centre and dear god I'm glad we didn't just pass it by! Delicious!

Bring the two grand children here for icecream when weather is good. So many flavours to choose from - working my way through them lol. The kids love getting the tubs and coloured plastic spoons. The old time photos on the wall are very interesting. Good atmosphere.

This is a remarkable place! It's a former dancehall-turned-shop in the middle (almost) of nowhere on the country road from Ballycarry to the Gobbins coastal path. Yet it was packed, and not by any means with walkers. They were all there for one thing - excellent ice cream. And they're not wrong. Locally produced (the woman who makes it gave us directions to where we were going) in a bewildering array of flavours. Fab!

I am a regular ice cream customer and I can't understand why the young ice cream servers are so miserable. Training required in smiling! Ice cream is great though.

I have gone to The Rinkha since I was a child. Each time I come home I try to get down for a vanilla choc dip cone - much nicer than other makes of ice team

We love the raspberry ruffle and poorbear with lashings of chocolate sauce. Always lovely service great staff.

Always worth a visit for ice cream and usually a wee dander round Browns Bay. Never been disappointed by any flavours I've tried. Can't wait to get back for more yummy ice cream!

I took the dog a long walk at Brown's Bay. I know the Island very well as I lived here and just beside my old house is the Rinkha. The Rinkha is a funny place - it is nostalgic, dark, fascinating, tempting and on my last visit in April I noticed that they now have a new coffee shop. I just wonder what the attraction is sometimes but it certainly gets the crowds. The car park was packed, the shop was packed and there was a long queue for the icecream but, boy, was it worth it. I hadn't had the raspberry ripple waffle icecream before and just the thought of it makes my mouth water. It was enormous - I actually felt very full after it and would think twice about it in future. I was glad I had walked so far with the dog as I had a good excuse.The Rinka not only does icecream. They have a children's toy club for Christmas and people come from far and wide to buy their toys (as far as I know that's still going). They also have lots of nostalgic sweeties like puff candy, rock and the like. Definitely an old favourite with me and the crowds illustrate how much of an attraction the Rinkha has become. This goes back a long time because I know people much older than me who used to go to the Rinkha when it was a dance hall. I'm sure it was great crack. Islandmageee and it's people are just incredible - I used to call it holiday village because even though you go to work every day you feel as if you are going on holiday when you come home - it's a lovely place to live and visit. Hope you enjoy it.

We stopped on our way back from The Gobbins Walk ready for a treat and that is exactly what we got The raspberry ruffle flavour is to die for,

We stopped on way back from The Gobbins Walk ready for a treat and we were not disappointed I had the raspberry ruffle it was out of this worldlavour an

Love this ice cream so much! You just have to try it to appreciate how good it is. With so many flavours your biggest problem will be making a choice and remember it's a popular spot so be prepared to queue!

Our trip to the Rinkha was on the recmmendation of an ice-cream buff, and so we were not surprised to find that he was right (again) and the ice-cream was excellent.We arrived cold and wet after a walk along the nearby coast, and the coffee was quite good too. I dont want to find a fault with this quaint shop, but if you are going to put up a sign telling us how often the toilets are checked, please expect us to read it and worry that once every 2 days might not be quite enough in this busy little restaurant. And for some, a supply of paper might be nice. Not me - I had an emergency stash. I pity the next guy!However, I will be back, if I ever find myself back on Islandmagee.

We had coffee and the kids had ice-cream, lovely atmosphere, the old photos are an especially nice touch.

I was here today, icecream was lovely as usual.. but the staff member could have been more friendly...Service with a smile and a thank you would have made it a lot nicer.

I was here today, icecream was lovely as usual.. but the staff member could have been more friendly...Service with a smile and a thank you would have made it a much nicer visit..

This place is awesome to come and get ice cream on a warm day! It's a bit of a trek just for ice cream if you're coming from Larne but it's worth it! Best ice cream around!

Very good. It has very good icecream and very good Carmel squares. The only problem is that it in the middle of nowhere.

Regular visitor - just a friendly, quirky spot for me to visit with my grand-daughter... Or any reason really - I think working there must be really nice.

Grabbed three take-away tubs of their ice cream for a Christmas treat. Each little tub handily gives two people a dessert. Tonight we had the pistachio. Very nice. The Rinkha make their own ice cream, and have done for decades, it's famous. They do a huge range of flavours, some you won't see elsewhere.

I remember going to the place from a very small child with my grandparents. Its the famous rinka and has great ice cream :)

This cafe is part of a famous ice cream parlour it on Islandmagee a perfect end point after a day on the beach or a walk along the newly opened Gobbins path

... and a chance to do some xmas shopping to boot! Theres a great stock of toys at the back of the shop. Love the nostalgic photo gallery... looks like the Rhinka has had quite a life before becoming a mace corner store!

We stopped here for coffee /ice cream after our visit to the Gobbins. A very fun place to relax and the ice cream was delicious.

This is a must visit if you are in the area. The Rinka home made ice cream is legendary. If you haven't tasted their ice cream then you haven't lived.

Friendly service and the best ice cream selection I have seen outside Italy. The Raspberry Ripple was lush!!

A friend took me here last week. What a lovely place! In the middle of nowhere , see photo, people come from miles around for the ice cream. The staff were very polite, and could not do enough for us. We had a nice pot of tea for 2 and relaxed on the sofa before heading back to work. Wonderful . (Thanks Roy)

A very welcome coffee tea and buns after our long walk at the Gobbins. The shop that has everything for everyone

I have been visiting the rhinka for toys, ice cream and sweets for the last 40 years or so since I was knee high to a grasshopper and old billy hawkins ran the place.nowadays it is mainly the ice cream that I visit for and the odd bag of sweets.memories of staring longingly at the scalextric cars in the display case, hoping that my aunt would buy me one to add to the 200 set I had got for xmas resurface every time I visit.nowadays william is in charge and seems to be running a fairly tight ship.anyway, the original vanilla ice cream is fantastic, best around I would think,and if in the area would highly recommend buying a cone or two.good staff in here too.

We called in to stock up on sausage rolls and Danish pastries before setting off on a grand tour of Islandmagee. When you get to the north end, you see, you can have a picnic either at the picturesque Portmuck Harbour, or the vast beach at Brown's Bay. The food was tasty, we were able to get tubes of brown and tomato sauce to go with it. While we were still at The Rinkha someone was tempted and bought a little tub of their home-made ice cream. It is famous. Many people go back outside to eat it in their cars. I have no idea why. We sat and enjoyed a few bites in their seating area inside. The walls are decorated with pictures of the venue’s days as a dance hall in decades past. Service here is always with a smile.

They make so many flavours of ice cream, from their own recipes, I had a tub, but you can get different sizes of cones and tubs. We sat in the seating area to eat it. I also bought some sausage rolls and Danish pastries for a picnic later on. Everything was very good, as it always is.

We stopped off here after visiting The Gobbins. It's like stepping back in time and has an old world charm. The real (made by them, I believe) ice cream is wonderful with a good range of flavours and different types of cone. The shop assistants are friendly and were able to sit inside and look at old photos and posters of The Rinkha, whilst we ate.I think they may serve drinks and snacks but I'm not sure.The back half of the premise is now a convenience store and 'seaside' shop, which was once the dance floor and stage.

This Rinka is a real taste of history. An old dance hall which is evidenced by a photo gallery in its coffee shop with a floor that was the original dance floor from the show band days. Top rate cream in an old world setting.

My friends got some coffee and I sampled some Ice Cream. They seemed to enjoy their coffee and I sure enjoyed my Ice Cream. It's a little out of the way for me but defiantly when out for a drive we'll pop back in here. I remember how it used to be filled with toys when i was younger, but now its just a Mace with Ice Cream.

The car park here is so big that our entire rambling party could park here as a base, and still leave plenty of room. Off we went to explore the progress of work on the famous Gobbins cliff path. That opens in about a weeks' time. It is a good long walk from here, but tourist busses will take visitors to it from the new community centre.After our walk we returned to the Rinkha, which stays open quite late in the evening in summertime. They have quite a few visitors at 9pm in August. There is a seating area inside, and more seats outside. Many patrons seem to prefer to grab an ice cream and sit in their car our front, eating it. They make their own ice cream here, it is very good. They offer a huge range, like mango and pineapple, bubblegum, and strawberry cheesecake. I had a small tub of coffee and walnuts. Good stuff. Three small tubs like mine cost less than five pounds - I was surprised. The staff were wonderfully cheerful. We liked the Glenn Miller-type big band music that was playing. This place was a famous dance hall for decades.

This used to be a place to go dancing on a Sat night. It is now a very good supermarket and sells delicious icecream and lovely Irish bread

This is a little Sunday treat for many people ice cream for kids, adults have coffee or tea with a little desert (Then they Get Ice Cream Ha Ha! ), Staff are very pleasant and most helpful even though they are often very busy. A little shop at rear selling Toys, Hardware and groceries' just nice to walk round and buy some nick nacks. Around the walls hang Pictures and posters from the past when it had a specially designed dance hall attached and the coffee shop floor has the old dance floor. So with The Gobbins Whitehead and Portmuck harbour near by there's plenty of walk and viewing to work of the ice cream. A visit most worth while.

I loved the old world charm , good service and tasty desserts. Ice-cream treats to tempt everyone. Outside seating for warm days and every day there is a special available. Opening hours are good and on holidays, ie Halloween the place is decorated. There are tourist leaflets that suggest places to visit. A lovely place to visit.

Come here all the time and is so expensive i wouldnt come again, owner was rude to my children and it was costly visit

The Rinkha is a place I've went since childhood. It has changed a bit over the years of course, but is still a place where it is good to stop for ice cream and some hot sausage rolls when on our way to Browns Bay on a fishing trip. A place with many happy memories. Do drop in when in Islandmagee. You'll love the ice cream.

Great wee shop. Very courteous and helpful staff. Their ice cream is well worth calling in for. Just the place to stop after a long bike ride.

If you're near Larne, Carrickfergus, or Whitehead, and you want ice-cream then this is for you. It's all made on the premises and is absolutely delicious. Highly recommended!

It was such a sunny day we thought we'd go for an adventure around Islandmagee. We could not find the Viking burial ground, but we did find the Rinkha. I really wanted some of their legendary ice cream. It has been home-made here to their own recipes for decades. They said all the toilets were out of order. I bought some Danish pastries to go. I had two scoops of coffee and walnut, and raspberry ripple in a paper cup. It was very nice, and the service there is very good. I had an Americano and it was very nice. They have travel brochures and tourist information on the local area.

Out for a wee Sunday jaunt in the car and decided to look for this place again as he had heard great reviews about it from work mates, but we couldnt find it the last time and we didnt know its name till we browsed through the new National Trust book. It's definately up there with Morellis and Mauds. I had the three scoop tub with Honey Chocolate, fudge and honeycomb and they were delicious. It was around half four when we called in, I think it said they are open till eight at night.Had our ice-creams in the seated area, then had a wee browse through the Lego section at the back of the shop after, then headed for Carrickfergus. Great wee spot, will call back again to try the coffe shop, or maybe just another ice-cream.

I've been here many times while visiting "the island". Islandmagee is crammed with treasures like the Gobbins Path, Ballylumford Dolmen and the spectacular beach at Brown's Bay.I come here for a snack, or ice cream. Their ice cream is unique, made here, for decades. I often get the mango flavour, and I'll also include a uselessly out-of-focus photo of a tub of their Belgian chocolate flavour. It's great stuff. For food they do specials like stew, and I've grabbed packets of sandwiches here. It's a great diner, but also a full-on grocery store if you need provisions for your island excursion, a newspaper, calender, or even a chess set. Tons of free car parking outside. This place is historically interesting. I'll upload a not-very-topical newspaper advert from 31 May 1945 when the place was a dance hall. They have photos and posters in the dining area from the days when Glenn Miller-type show bands would play here.I should explain that "islandmagee" is not an island, but a peninsula. Fantastic for bird watching, also.

I was in for a cup of coffee and an ice cream. They make their own ice cream, they have made it for years to their own recipes, it is famous. We like to come here regularly. My friends had a scone between them.

great place to stop off for an ice cream or coffee. Added benefit is well stocked shop with excellent selection of goods from hardware to toys.

This brought back memories of my youth when I went dancing at the Rinkha. I thought the way the place is decorated with all the old posters and pictures of the bands that used to play there, with everyone dressed up in their finery, was very good. We danced to Jim Reeves' Welcome to My World. The actual hall is just the same, its been kept in its original layout, and it is very impressive. Today it is being used partly for a coffee place and a shop with Lego. Their selection of ice cream was very good, I had mango sorbet. It was lovely, plus a very nice Americano cup of coffee.

Stopped at the shop to get a drink, only to find a wee coffee shop. Lovely coffee and tray bake , but also lovely cakes. But there was more a divine ice cream parlour with lots of flavours of home made icecream . The ones we tried were delicious . Hidden gem

The ice cream is too expensive ! Who would wanna pay that much when Mauds is down the road and is half the price, staff are very nice , and we felt welcome but the prices of the toys,ice cream and the tea and coffee are seriously high! There is a recession and people are finding it hard to pay that much for that

Called in today. Had a cup of tea. Liked it. Of course they do all sorts of other food, coffee and their own famous ice cream, but today I was in a rush. I do love their wall covered in posters and photos from decades gone by when the place was a dance hall. Today it's a big shop + cafe. So off I went to look for Lego. The staff are very good, very helpful.

I had a cappuccino and cherry scone here recently, see photo. My friend had a tea whilst we looked at the array of memorabilia on the walls showing the history of the Rinka, as pictured, as a dance hall. Halloween decorations added to the coffee area and I enjoyed my visit with the friendly staff. I must bring my children back to look at the Lego. There is plenty to see and the ice cream which I had there in the past is lovely.

The rinkha is brilliant! I really love stopping here on the way back from Portmuck. I always have tea and a fruit scone and they are delicious. The Rinkha has modernised but this hasn't spoilt it. The shop/grocery part is great and sells everything and the staff are usually really friendly.

Really nice restaurant food is nice but the icecream is beautiful love it yum yum So if your passing give it a try you'll be back and back annnnnnnnnnn bacccccccc for more then some my favourite strawberry cheesecake oh Im drooling Staff not very friendly or helpful maybe they think there's going to be none for them lol Tough get a smile

I am a well travelled ice cream lover and have had many a great ice creams, from different countries, in my travels. I would rate The Rinka ice cream as up there with the best. I don't have a favourite flavour, as I love them all! The presentation is awesome! I travel 30 miles round trip regularly for my fix and it's well worth it.The only downside, I believe, is the friendliness of the staff who all appear very grumpy.Last weekend the queue was huge, meandering around the shop. I noticed customers who picked up items while in the queue, as did I, got hollered at by the Man serving at the first till, which is to be used for everything except ice cream. ( You cannot pay for everything together at the ice cream counter) I felt guilty when I was shouted at across the shop to come over to pay, at this hostile Mans till.The young staff serving ice cream never smile and appear as if they really don't want to be there. They chat with each other and not to the customers.What's not to love about ice cream!!Fantastic ice cream, terrible atmosphere.

Fantastic, homemade ice cream - perfect for a trip up the Glens, or on the way back... An old-school community store, and lovely new cafe!

This review's title is the name of one of the desserts they serve...The whole Islandmagee peninsula is crammed with sights and this is a great starting point, or evening stop afterwards. It does coffee, and there was stew on when I last called, but is most famous for its ice cream.They have a BIG selection of flavours available, this place has been famous for serving it to day-trippers since 1921. This is NO store chain - they make it on-site, from their own distinctive recipes. They do those ice cream / drink combinations. I’ll include a photo of a menu.There’s a very interesting spread of photos on the wall next to your tables showing the place in decades gone by. It was often a dance hall, playing host to travelling bands of musicians. American GIs were among the many who were flocking to The Rinkha for a dance. Their Autumn/Winter opening times are Monday to Saturday 8am - 8pm, Sunday 9am - 9pm.

This is a very popular spot for day trippers and holiday makers, I had a great time eating their ice cream this summer. It is famous also for dances in their big hall years ago, people came from miles around. New now is a coffee shop inside. Its right on a big corner as you drive into Islandmagee, which is full of great beaches, harbours, walks and other attractions. Don't miss it!