Zavaroni's Restaurant in Argyll & Bute

It's closed down... Has been for some months. Different type of place now.

The absolute best ice cream! Of course, everyone is a fan of ice cream, but this surpasses all! Absolutely a must try if you ever visit the Isle of Bute - extremely reasonable pricing and the *best* quality & taste. I personally recommend trying their standard vanilla flavour + the raspberry (?) sauce on top as this is genuinely my favourite ice cream in the world, but of course all their flavours are great regardless. I believe they make the ice cream themselves via a milk-based recipe, its very light and refreshing, perfect for any occasion. The staff are friendly, the chippy-chips they serve are decent, though I can’t comment too much on anything else they serve since I haven’t tried much else myself! Their cafe is normally busy when we visit so I’d say that’s a good sign, their ice cream’s standard has been very consistent as well during our countless visits. I’d never hop on the ferry to leave Bute without having a Zavaroni’s ice cream!

A pleasant cafe , nothing fancy but good food and a pleasant staff. I call in when on the island annually for business. I recommend it to others looking for a quick meal.

Really really good ice cream, so delicious! Perfekt for a short break even on rainy days- 10/10! We will definitely come again (:

Ordered a special fish supper … can’t see anything special about it , hardlany chips and a tiny fish charged £8.00 , seagulls had most of it

amazing place, would 100% come back, i would give it 10/5 if i could. ice cream is top tier and the service was amazing

Very Good Service And Good Food , I Feel As if These Other People Are Overreacting , 5/5 coming again

Best place EVER and I mean it you’ll never get better ice cream ever in your live trust me go to 20 argyle street

Great to see this place open again. Great service, and the food was great.

Having visited this establishment every time I am over on the island, I was disappointed in the decline of customer service , the speed in getting the food and the fact that I had ordered a dish which came with a sauce - to be served the sauce 10 mins after my food was brought out therefore I had to eat cold food and apart from a slight apology - this was not good enough. One of our group had asked for a soft egg in their breakfast to be given something you could bounce off the walls . Won’t be back . Chips are lovely though , please work on improving the issues

My Dad lives up stairs I have been going since I was wee love it , sadly the last time there was no ice cream

Dreadful. Ice cream ,pretty tasteless ,in polystyrene cups. Worst cafe toilets I've seen. Avoid.

Not very friendly service. Small portions of fish and chips at large portion prices. Also very greasy and unpleasant

Mediocre food and service, avoid unless you want to end up feeling disappointed and still hungry. You will also end up smelling like a chip shop upon leaving

Traditional Italian Cafe, good food and great value!

Visited Zavaronies grotty chip shop as it was the only one open. £3.00 for a small bag of chips that were revolting. Shocking!

Disappointing to say the least. Had a fish supper which was average at best,whilst waiting for our food the man and woman behind the counter were having a "domestic" with the woman effing and blinding, incredibly unprofessional,there's a time and a place for that sort of thing and it's not when you have paying customers in your establishment,we eat our food quickly and left.

This is the place to go for excellent locally made ice cream

Good service and decent grub. The milkshakes were also tasty. We had scampi and chips as fish wasn't available, but it was still okay.

Clean, food fresh beautifully presented. Good service.

Bought chips from here made to order. Probably the worst chips I've had in years. Really disappointed. Never again.

Had a fish supper at the "fish" and chicken bar - never again The general condition of this establishment disgrace – possibly the most run down shop I have been in – and this one is serving “food”. Fish supper £7.50 – expected 2 fillets [or on thick one] at this price but was served one thin portion floating in oil. Made the mistake of requesting salt – got enough on the supper to thaw the roads in winter, The quality and quantity of the food matches the establishment itself – abysmal. Put most of it in the bin rather than poison the seagulls – even they would find it too salty! Made the mistake of going in – don’t do the same!! The place is a disgrace and embarrassment to Scotland

I visited Rothesay in August to cycle and wanted a coffee. This place has an Italian name, they must have good coffee.... How wrong I was to expect that. I ordered an Espresso and it was REALLY poor, espresso served in a little polystyrene ice-cream type tub, flat, tasteless, no crema : - one of the worst coffees i've ever tasted (and I've tasted a lot of coffee including bad ones). I'll NEVER Ever, Ever drink coffee from here again

Terrible customer service and average ice cream. The woman serving was rude to me and rude to the customer before me. This is doubly disappointing after we’d been recommended this cafe by the steward in the winter gardens as “the best ice cream on the island”… Certainly wouldn’t recommend. Also wasn’t covid safe.

good wee traditional cafe, nice ice cream and brilliant rolls on square sausage.Friendly staff and good atmosphere.

Visited this cafe on a day trip from Dunoon and never experienced such bad customer service. My husband stood in the queue waiting to buy an ice cream for myself and the lady who served him was very rude to the customers both in front...

Rothesay is synonymous with Zavaroni's Cafe and their world famous ice cream, a fine menu is offered to suit everyone. Easy access and friendly staff, this cafe has a seaside feel and been there for generations. On street parking available.

Visited Zavaronis on Albert Place today, experienced the most disgusting behaviour and attitude from the female member of staff, I'm sure it is the manager. Had she spoken to us in the manner which she spoke to her other customers and staff we would have...

Nice food and very well priced!!

Worst fish and chips, I have ever had rank rotten, cooked in burnt oil, black bits all over it , place should be shut down . Robbing ppl of their cash . No stars

Nice clean pleasant cafe which makes you welcome.Good food and nice place.Always go in when I visit rothesay.

What a bizarre experience we had at this cafe. Seems we’re not the first to have this treatment - see earlier review this month. Walked in, wearing mask. Place was empty. We had motorcycle gear and crash helmets so chose a slightly bigger table. The...

The best ice cream i have ever tasted

Loved it, excellent service and good value for money 💷.

Zavaroni's served so slowly that a queue was formed outside , presumably to make them look good. 2 cafes, the central one more expensive. The western one fewer flavours. We tried chocolate and lemon. Neither tasted of either and were disgusting, including the consistency

Shocking customer service! The owner being very rude, while fleecing you £3.80 for a soggy, greasy roll and chips!! If you look at the other reviews on here, customer service is clearly not a strong point of the owner! A mask for the owner? Don't...

During our 2 week stay in Bute we had battered haggis and scampi & chips from the takeaway branch, and ice-cream from the cafe. The haggis was excellent, crispy and a generous portion. The scampi was also excellent and we ate this overlooking the bay,...

How do you get one star from a takeaway coffee? Shocking customer service! The owner being rude to another customer. The coffee I had when I went to drink it had milk clearly on the turn! Disgusting! If you look at the other reviews on...

Can honestly say the worst chippy I have ever had in Scotland. Fish and chips ridiculously small portion for £7.50. Had about 10 chips in them! We got 4 suppers so 30pound for this too is not on. The chips were speckly with black bits...

What can I say.....World class ice cream? The premises need a face lift and there was a dreadful smell coming from within. Would not rush back..

I don't want to sound miserable, but, went in for ice cream for the kids. Whilst waiting to be served there was a question regarding price by another customer. So, I checked the price list, ordered to be told the cost was seven ninety. I queried it saying, its only 7 pound. NO, two medium cones, one kids cone, same size and scoop as medium!! And an oyster. OK, he said, seven eighty!! Must point out 30p difference between kids and medium cone, should have been seven sixty. The seller said I didn't ask for kids cones, even after pointing to two toddlers and saying cones for these two. Thought it was obvious. Check the menu, be precise in ordering and check your change. Two customers in a row, no coincidence. Suppose they have been shut for a while and Need to make it up. Be aware

Food was OK. Nice friendly staff Only 3 stars because we have had better

Came here for a family visit and ordered a round of ice creams - decent standard but very over priced for the size (considering we are used to capital city prices) but didn’t really mind this at first. Came back later after a walk to...

Standard food but they couldn't tell me what allergens were present in their food which raises alarm bells

On a day trip to Rothesay & definitely looking to enjoy an ice cream. Highly recommend the delicious ice cream sold here. The top hat was especially yummy 😋

Only popped in for a cone, nice ice cream pleasant service and reasonably priced, quite a popular shop.

Delicious chips. Quick service. Fantastic ice cream! Very tasty!

very nice ice cream, friendly staff, reasonable prices. would recommend.

Great, friendly and obliging service. Fine simple, substantial food. Great for traditional ice creams; knicker-bocker glories, and the likes.

Excellent. Quick service. Friendly helpful staff.

Wasn't in the cafe but have been before and it's a great wee place for a light bite, Maggie and Rick are lovely people, and Zavaronis ice cream is the best in the world!🥰 always make you welcome.

Ice cream is superb, service good, friendly staff.

Ice cream was nice. The hygiene standards however are appalling, even under normal circumstances we expect some form of hand washing/sanitation or glove wearing before handling the cone but the person who served us first sorted the their glasses,then touched their hair. Surely during a pandemic the business shud have got the memo about extra hygiene measures!!! Not acceptable!

Excellent food and great friendly service..... Will be visiting again

Very fair prices and food is pretty decent to. Nothing bad to say if I'm honest.

Staff could not have been more helpful for our group, food was quick and very tasty.

Refreshing ice cream and reasonably priced but the coffee is a miss! Lovely staff, definitely check out the ice cream if you’re there.

Yummy snacks and coffees and of course ice cream. ❤️

Basic, delicious food, great service, spotlessly clean

Food was made fresh there and then and was enjoyable

If you're expecting some great Italian ice cream made to a secret recipe passed down through the generations, then forget it. The ice cream is only average at best. At £3.40 for a double scoop cone it's very poor value. We were charged an additional...

Imagine this a delicious milk ice cream cone topped with a snowball (chocolate cover mallow with coconut sprinkles) tastes sublime. Good value too. When you are in Rothesay you have to go to Zavaronis!

Best icecream in Scotland. Don't miss it..

As the title says, the best ice cream in different flavours. Friendly staff and also they do a great cup of coffee.

As usual, Romano and Lorena were their efficient selves, so glad they are open again.

Ice cream delicious . Only thing they didn't' have for the kids was bubblegum flavoured sauce topping !! Seemingly all nine year olds want it !!!

Owner must have ripped us off as £11 for 4 scoops of ice cream seemed way too much. Price seemed to change depending on who was saying it and woman seemed very confused when putting it in the till. Pretty convinced he hiked the price up when he heard our English accents. Apparently advertised prices are only for vanilla and every other flavour costs more... I would say avoid here and instead go out to Kingarth Hotel where food was great, staff amazing and ice cream there was a fraction of the price for a sundae with sauce and waffles.

Take away only Sandwich and coffee while waiting for ferry. Coffee was excellent however cheese and pickle sandwich rather uninspiring - cheese was like pre packed processed slices. Could be so much better with hand cut bread rather than standard sliced bread.

Lovely fish tea and lovely service and not to expansive staff very friendly and make you welcome place clean and tidy

I go over to the island as often as possible and always go in for a vanilla ice-cream, no matter the month or weather. I often buy a litre tub to bring back to the mainland. Really missing the Ice-cream during the Corona lockdown ☹️

Friendliest of welcomes. Water for the dog. Good food and very reasonable price. Cosy, welcoming, full of friendly locals.

Excellent customer service, every single time. The staff are all lovely, welcoming and very attentive. The selection is great, the food is fresh, the chips are de-lish! The ice-cream,, well it's in a league of it's own. I highly recommend this place 👍

Loved this little place! The staff were lovely and the waiter kept the kids and adults entertained with amazing magic tricks!(we are still trying to figure out how he did them) food was fantastic milkshakes were amazing and we loved how they have tried to keep everything original! Definitely worth a visit and we hope to return soon!

Used to go wee Davies but he stopped serving chips due to people complaining about him (jealousy) so tried here and never had worse chips it was like half potatos deep fried eurghhh

Looked so good, we had to have some fish and chips as a take away. Cooked fresh and very tasty. Obviously very popular as there was a queue on a Sunday afternoon.

Lovely ice cream. Girl very nice too, who served me. I’m going to buy another tomorrow. Only problem it closes at 5 pm and their carry out down the road, is not very nice. My fish and chips had been left in heater too long,...

Used to be able to get a good burger there last year but this year the burgers were horrible

My regular coffee whilst working away, one every morning and one every evening. There is such a thing as bad coffee, not here though, cracking cup of coffee with a view as well.

Amazing ice-cream. Quick service with attentive staff. Also different day great breakfast

Food was freshly cooked and excellent (fish meal) and included bread and butter and a cup of tea. Fast service and pleasant but I had asked to swap the included tea for coffee which was fine but I was then charged for the coffee at...

Good place for a snack... The rainbow ice cream is not tasty...

If you're looking for a old fashioned seaside caff this is the place to go

What's better than ice cream on a warm day by the seaside? Myself and a few friends headed to Zavaroni's after a Sunday afternoon event, before one pal had to hop on the ferry back to the mainland. A range of ice-creams were bought -...

My wife and I were passing by when we were hit by the lovely smell of fish and chips coming from the cafe. We went in and had two fish teas , which were delicious , accompanied by mugs of tea and bread and butter....

Came here as a kid, and even as someone who lives and works in Cambridge and London, and eaten at some of the best restaurants there, this little gem still gets 5 stars for authenticity, history, atmosphere and a warm welcome, food is lovely fresh...

We attended at lunch time and had a lovely meal. Some of our party were sitting in for cooked breakfast while others were taking out with bacon rolls and burger rolls. Rolls were soft and fresh. Everything was cooked perfectly. Busy little place even if...

A visit to taste zavarone icecream is a must when in rothsey. Great family tradition vanilla is the only way too go. Need no other

Great friendly staff and service

Lovely cafe friendly obliging staff food great will certainly return next time we’re in Rothesay for weekend

Came off the ferry and my friend and I were in need of a coffee. This seemed ideal as it was small but clean. Coffee was very good and reasonable price. However when more people came in it became very cramped and very difficult to...

What can I say? This place is a Rothesay institution, and a must for any visitor to the island. I had a fish supper and it was the best one I've had in years....my only small grumble was that it was in breadcrumbs rather than...

Got to go for a top hat!!!! Cone with a snowball stuck on top

The food is basic but good and inexpensive

Ice cream as usual the VERY BEST Brilliant nice to see Zavaroni name still to the fore. Enjoyed my chat over old times.Regards to the family Tommy Robertson (Bob Robertsons son The palace cinema

We came here whilst on holiday, took the ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay for the day. Ordered a fish tea. Mine and my sisters fish was tasteless, although my mum said hers was delicious so we must have got bad ones. Apart from the...

Nice place for to have brekkie or lunch very pleasant staff.

We had cakes and drinks here, but were amazed by the amount of ice cream being sold as take aways. I was confused by milky liquids kept being poured into somewhere!! The penny eventually dropped and we bought the best ever, freshly made ice cream...

We got an oyster and a single nougat, both with vanilla ice cream and both were good! Not that sweet though. We enjoyed eating them. It’s a must try especially for tourists like me.

Lovely place to eat with kids! 😊

Great food best chips in Rothesay lovely family business.