Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe

Bowie, United States

3.7

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 301-464-6777
Website:
www.simplepleasuresicecafe.vpweb.com
Address:
8519 Chestnut Ave, Bowie, MD, 20715
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.1 miBowie State
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Good for Working
No

Today

Today –
Local time (Bowie) 13:20 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday 12:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Friday 12:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Welcome to Simple Pleasures! Voted the best homemade ice cream by the Bowie Blade and Washington Post. Simple Pleasures Ice Café manufactures homemade ice cream daily on the premises and serves delicious cakes, pies, and pastries. Soups, sandwiches, and salads are served daily in their café. Gourmet tea and coffee are also available. If you are looking for a place to take a date, meet friends, host a meeting or tea party. Look no farther we create memories with our special services.

While you’re here for a bite to eat you can also peruse their antique shops that are located on the upper level. There you can find antiques, furniture, collectibles, jewelry, decorative candles, glass, Polish pottery, handmade afghans, and other great home accent items .

You are guaranteed a treat when you stop into Simple Pleasures! Great Eats and Great Shopping all wrapped up into one.

History

Established in 2000.

Simple Pleasures Ice Café is a family owned business serving the Maryland, Virginia, and District Columbia metropolitan area for over eleven years. The present establishment opened in October 2000 that evolved from a previous ice cream business in Florida in 1992 that featured mobile ice cream carts. The dining-​in and carry-​out restaurant was conceptualized after Terri and Rodney moved to Northwest Germany with their family. Terri and Rodney worked in an ice cream café and learned how to prepare European ice cream recipes and sundaes.

Simple Pleasures Ice Café is an old fashioned ice cream and dessert parlor that offers a variety of delicious homemade ice cream flavors, Italian Ice, sherbets, sugar free ice cream, gourmet coffees and teas, gourmet cakes and pies, soups, salads, and sandwiches.

Our mission is to provide our customers with the highest quality homemade ice cream, desserts, and other menu items, in a comfortable, relaxing environment, and to deliver exceptional service

Meet the Business Owner

Rodney and Terri R.

Business Owner

Simple Pleasures Ice Café is a family owned and operated homemade ice cream retailer. We have been handcrafting delicious homemade ice cream and other frozen confections in Bowie, Maryland for thirteen years. Our business conceptualized after operating mobile ice cream cart units in Florida and living in Europe for ten years, enjoying some of the best ice cream and desserts. Embracing the European confectionary culture, our family decided to bring these sweet delights to the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Since we have been in business we have received enthusiastic reviews from the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, PG Suite, Gazette-​Star, Bowie Blade-​News, and other renowned food connoisseurs for having one of the best homemade ice cream confections.

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20 reviews of Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Bowie, MD
I have been an an again off again customer of this place. I have been a customer when located of glenn dale rd and laurel bowie rd. When at those locations… LOVED IT. IT wasn’t until arrived at the present location that I became so disappointed. I am a fan of 2 particular favorites… banana and rum raisin. For years now, I have never even seen banana being offered anymore and I remember distinctly asking about the flavor and the owner I believe telling me… it takes so long to make one of the ones she dislikes making. Hmmmm, but this is a homemade ice cream shop??? At one point in time I absolutely had plenty of selection, now I’m lucky to have 4 flavors out… and don’t think you’ll find vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc… but some funky mixed up flavors… you should ALWAYS have regular flavors. I came one time with my husvabd, because honestly I spoke highly of this place, so he was excited to come. We both got cookies and cream ice cream… ICE is right. We ended up getting ice milk on a cone… it wasn’t good at all. Honestly I’d hate to give up on this place being family black owned business and 1st one time great customer service and food but for now I’d stick with baskin robbins up the street.
Place rating: 2
Gambrills, MD
A little bait and switch going on here. I arrived with my mouth tuned for some Jambalaya or even some chicken and waffles but left just as hungry as when I arrived. Parking is available in the rear of the establishment and you have to walk around to the entrance. One of the workers saw me parking in the back and graciously told me he’d assist me when I got in. A wee bit of a maze when you enter as seating is very close and you can tell that those that were dining there are regulars. I shimmy my way to the back of the business and I ask for a menu. She points to the wall and I see a variety of ice cream selections and a case with an assortment of yummy ice creams behind me. I asked what are the food choices today and specifically mentioned the jambalaya (as seen on Unilocal) and I am told that my options are crepes or waffles. Internally, I said «dafuk»? Here it is I’m borderline hangry and I’m being offered crepes and waffles. I politely told them that I had a preference for a meal of non breakfast like items and begrudgingly headed back to my car to regroup and devise a plan to feed me.
Had I been in an ice cream mood, this would have been fine. I didn’t dine so I won’t be harsh but even w/​me calling and no one answering; although someone called me back and hung up without identifying themselves; it’s inconvenient to customers when you stray from your traditional menu.
Place rating: 4
Bowie, MD
New to the area and my wife found this place little lunch time gem in old town Bowie. I was wondering why I kept seeing daytime charges to the credit card. So she took me there and I really enjoyed it. While our food was prepared NY scratch, we roamed the place checking out the great antiques. Food was prepared fresh and the presentation is magnificent. Old time flava with old time style
Place rating: 4
Laurel, MD
Lemon Custard: A pronounced lemon 0il flavor which gives the lemony kick in the cream without the acidity of lemon juice. I’m a big fan of this.
Vanilla: Specks of real quality vanilla seeds in a smooth clean flavored ice-​cream. The owner said that some folks are not used to the real thing after having eaten fake vanilla for years. But I prefer true vanilla that gives a slight heady flavor and aroma that match the smooth pure cream.
Stracciatella: Ice-​cream that has been laced with hazelnut essence and speckled with shards of imported Italian dark chocolate. A taste of Italia and it is just Divino.
Rum Raisin: Real boozy without knocking you down, studded with plump rum-​soaked raisins. I can’t get enough of this but I have to drive home at some point.
Dark Chocolate: This gets as dark as it gets with the use of quality dark chocolate that gives me that satisfactory sweet bitterness from the high cocoa butter content. This is a definite mood enhancer if you need something to perk you up with.
Strawberry Rhubarb: This is a classic combination of sweet and slight tartness that I am fond of. The fruitiness of the strawberries still shine though the rich cream.
Fruit Sorbets — rich with pure fruitiness without the artificial flavors found in the commercial brands. Not too sweet also.
Obviously, everyone has their unique taste for flavors, and these are just samples of the wonderful offerings. The flavors do change according to seasonal fruits and the creative whim of the owner, like Guinness or Chai — yumm!
To read rest of review and view photos, check out my blog at Wongeats.
Place rating: 2
Harrisburg, PA
Passing through from Annapolis to DC and was craving some good ice cream. I hopped on Unilocal and was steered in the direction of Simple Pleasures.
The kids behind the counter were very kind and friendly, but the owner (I guess she’s the owner) acted like I was a houseguest who dropped by without calling first.
First time I’ve ever been mean-​mugged buying an ice cream cone.
The ice cream itself was unremarkable.
Place rating: 1
Bowie, MD
Still nothing pleasurable about eating here. I might suggest the owners go work for the DMV. They’ll fit in fine there.
Place rating: 4
Springfield, MA
4 stars for the friedmdly attitude of the staff. Ice cream was not all that though it tasted like a store bought ice cream .I do like the concept of a small intimate ice cream shop but they need to do better with the ice cream flavors
Place rating: 2
Seal Beach, CA
With such high Unilocal ratings, I expected a great ice cream. First of all the selection was limited to only about 8 choices. Then it tasted like ice cream from the grocery store. Super friendly staff, but I was disappointed with what I thought was a regular ice cream cone.
Place rating: 5
Bowie, MD
Love, love, love this place!!! My husband and I eat here at least once a week! The 2014 small business award is well deserved! Not only does Simple Pleasures have amazing homemade ice cream, but the food is delicious as well! There is always a rotation of ice cream flavors! Rajah makes the most amazing pastries that are impossible to leave behind! Make sure to keep track of menu changes as there are periodically special menus on the weekends (Mardi Gras, BBQ, Philly, Grilled Cheese, etc). Having said all of that, the Russells make it feel like home and make everyone feel like family!
Place rating: 5
Bowie, MD
Always a pleasure to visit Simple Pleasures! It’s obvious that the owners love what they do. Every time I visit I witness repeat customers getting hugs from the owners on their way in and out. That alone speaks volumes of the atmosphere. Do not be swayed by others who say different, perhaps their attitude, not the owners is the problem. Simple Pleasures is a great hometown shop!
Place rating: 1
Williamsburg, VA
It pains me to write this review.
I wanted to like Simple Pleasures. SCRATCH THAT. I wanted to love Simple Pleasures.
The food is delicious. It’s less than 15 minutes away from my home and the atmosphere is quite lovely.
The service, however is AWFUL.
I’ve never felt so unwelcome at a restaurant. The first time — I ignored it. The second time I thought –well everyone has an off day.
And so on and so forth.
I couldn’t ignore the bad attitude the final time. It was Mother’s Day and I wanted to have a nice brunch. I called ahead and asked if they were open. I even wished Teri a Happy Mother’s Day. Fifteen minutes later I showed up. We were a party of two.
First words out of my mouth: Good morning!
First words out of her mouth: Do you have reservations?
She didn’t welcome me back. She didn’t say Happy Mother’s Day. All she said was, «We’ll set the table.» She never once mentioned needing reservations over the phone. The patio area was empty. There were even empty tables inside.
We were seated outside and our waitress was nice.
Almost an hour later, Teri brings out our food. We complimented her and told her the dishes looked amazing. She said nothing. Didn’t apologize for the wait. Didn’t ask
If we needed anything. Didn’t ask if I was a new mother. I was so disappointed.
We told our waitress we were upset. She looked shocked. We were certain Teri would come out and talk to us. She never did.
As a local business owner Teri should be concerned. Had we been treated well, we’d be regulars. We’ve all had busy days at work, but as people serving the community you have to put the stress aside and be kind to those who want to support your business.
Place rating: 5
Bowie, MD
I love Simple Pleasures. It’s our family’s favorite ice cream parlor, but it is so much more. The ice cream is very good especially if you venture to the more unusual flavors such Stracciatella, Lemon Drop, or Banna Pudding. If you have a chance definitely attend one of their monthly special events breakfast or dinner. During the fall and winter these occur quite frequently on weekends. During the busy summer months the special event dinners only happen once a month or so. I have attended several of these events and have never been disapporinted the food is always excellent
For the Mediterranean day special meal for lunch (around 12:30). I had the lamb chops — they were incredible. I have also dined at Simple Pleasures for the Philly Weekend meal, St. Patrick’s Day (try the Guineess Ice Cream if you like beer and feeling adventurous), the Fish Fry, and several others which I can’t recall the name or theme at the monemt.
They also have lunch most days and the food is good on those days. The dining room is small and intimate. The tables are tiny so dine with folks your comfortable with. Simple Pleasure is located in old town Bowie and is reminiscent of a bed and breakfast. If you are looking for a non-​chain ice cream shop with a friendly staff in a family run bussiness, you owe it to yourself to check out Simple Pleasures.
Place rating: 3
Glen Burnie, MD
Good ice cream — check.
Clean and visually pleasing décor — check
Good service — maybe. This should be a no doubter from a small shop like this but after leaving I felt like I was bothering them to give me some ice cream instead of having a good customer service experience. Since I’ve only been here once I can say that maybe this was an off day for then.
Also, it is hard to find this place because it shares the space with an antique store and the antique store has a much larger sign and presence.
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
Small town ice cream shop in Old Town Bowie that is located in a house. Good service (a couple owns the shop), good ice cream. I got the mango sorbet. It was a good serving size. The house is full of antiques, candles, and photographs that are for sale.
Support local businesses.
Place rating: 5
Columbia, MD
This was definitely the best lunch I’ve had in Bowie, and the ice cream was amazing! The sandwiches come on delicious bread with a side of homemade potato salad and veggie chips. It is a family business and the owners are very nice. Adorable atmosphere and wi-​fi is available as well. Definitely check this place out and support an awesome local business!
Place rating: 5
Odenton, MD
This place is full of simple pleasures. From the independent photography and artwork to the rooms full of antique furniture and jewelry upstairs, there is plenty to see and shop for before you actually do any eating here. We visited this place today with a
coupon, and was able to sample some of their treats first hand. Everything was freshly prepared from the flatbread with tomatoes olive oil salami and sliced mozzarella to the homemade spinach and mushroom (bacon) quiche.
We also sampled the different ice cream flavors before my 3 year old decided on the Caramel Walnut. While being all natural, ORGANIC, and made in house, it was beautifully presented, smooth and creamy, with delightful notes of vanilla and something else I couldn’t really decipher. Point is, it was good. As in my daughter lost all sense of decorum holding the spoon in the air, and allowing the ice cream to slip off the spoon and into her mouth good.
I would also like to note that while the food and atmosphere are nice, I am proud of the fact that this is a fine example of a black owned and operated business. They apparently take great pride in whatever they do here.
P. s. Nice sized portions and nothing I saw over $ 10
Place rating: 4
Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, MD
Food tasted fresh and delicious. Quality ingredients. Perfect portions for lunch. Lemon custard was delightful. Charming atmosphere. Don’t miss out on perusing the antiques upstairs.
Place rating: 4
Greenbelt, MD
Delicious, lots of character, and very friendly.
we loved the flatbread pizza.
There were about 10 flavors of homemade ice cream to choose from. Ice cream is very, very soft and creamy.
Place rating: 5
Bowie, MD
Simple Pleasure has been in Bowie for many years. If your friends and family think Bowie is boring and has nothing great, take them here they’ll change their minds.
The great thing about this place is that it is located in a home so it feels very cozy and welcoming. The owners are very nice and encourage you to sample various flavors of ice cream. I had a single scoop of one called Stracciatella, (a very complex name just to pronounce), it was such a wonderful flavor it’s hard to find something like it. The closest thing to describe it to is a type of vanilla without all the vanilla. The cups were these nostalgic glass ice cream cups giving this place even more of a homey old styled ice cream shop.
Simple Pleasure also sells lunch and dinner foods, jams, soy candles, children’s books, and tea sets. There is a lot to discover here besides food so walk right in, the owners are very welcoming and helpful.
I know I’m going to bring my friends here who think there is nothing great about Bowie.
Place rating: 5
Glenn Dale, MD
I think I found a new favorite place!
This place has been around for awhile and recently moved into a funky old house in Old Bowie in the Antiques Row section. There is this cool 6 foot tall (I think) ice cream sundae out front and the interior is like coming into someone’s home.
The tables and food are toward the back of the house and it’s really a great place with a fantastic atmosphere.
The menu isn’t huge but it doesn’t have to be. What they make it made well from great fresh ingredients and tastes delicious. Of course, their claim to fame is their gourmet ice cream which they make themselves. I love it! The cakes and other goodies are mouth watering.
If you have a few minutes to hang out and enjoy some good, wholesome food in a laid back atmosphere this place needs to go to the top of your list.