Loard’s of Concord

Happy birthday, dear Hunny, happy birthday to you! After I kissed her for a very long time, I said «um– how old are you now?» She answered «21» with a grin. So now I guess she’s Forever 21, just as I’m Forever 29.
And what is the great dream of every typical housewife? (Well, besides a divorce.) Ice cream! And after I’d asked many times where she wanted to go for her birthday, she finally mentioned that new ice cream place in downtown Concord. She meant Loard’s. Well, we’d been to the Loard’s in Orinda before and we all loved it, so off to Todos Santos Plaza we went.
The Concord outlet is actually smaller than the Orinda outlet, go figure. Not as much character, either. But it’s still a clean, well lighted place for sweets, and that includes the candy that they sell. TVs mounted from the baby blue walls, so you don’t need to miss the game. Staff is friendly. They laughed when I asked for garlic ice cream. And if you’d rather take it outside, there are a few tables just outside the door and the plaza across the street.
And what does every typical housewife consider better than ice cream? Chocolate ice cream! In the Hunny’s case, rocky road. I had maple walnut, the girl had ube. She said that ube tastes like fruit punch; I’ll take her word for it. It looks like you don’t get much for a single scoop, but as I ate it, I saw that it is a good-​sized scoop. And boy, was it good, «100% delicious» (the girl’s words). More expensive than the Baskin-​Robbins just down the way, but you get better ice cream here. Praise the Loard’s.
Concord gets hot in the summer, so on those days, if you just want a quick ice cream fix for not much money, there’s Baskin Robbins. If you want the good stuff, go to Loard’s.

«Let me be your ruler, RULER
You can call me The Gold Chain Foodie!
And baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule.
Let me be your « Unilocal Fantasy»!
Well if you don’t like Lorde, how about.
«Kumbiya My Lord, Kumbiya! No?
Ok Ok why am I throwing in all these references you may be asking yourself, and what does it have to do with «Ice Cream» well the answer is ABSOLUTLY NOTHING! ha! but I though that my little play on words would be kinda fun. Lorde, Lord, and now Loard’s Ice Cream. This location sits in Todos Santos Plaza Concord which is starting to gain quite the following as of late. But stiff competitors are near, You do have «Cream», «31 Flavors aka Baskin Robbins», and Share Tea very close by, and a hop skip and jump away you have Bobaloca and Quickly near by. This day was pretty windy and cold, but I needed something to cool me off after watching that disaster of a Golden State Warriors game and after a quick Ennie Minnie Minnie Mo! I had to give it up to my. Loard and Savior and come in and get a couple scoops. Here is my review and impression of Loard’s Ice Cream Parlor Concord.
5÷22÷16
I had just left Vinnies after watching that Middle School Basketball game between the Warriors and OKC, I wasn’t of course too happy about the results. I needed to cool off, and what better way to cool down after a few drinks (Drinks warm you up!) than to have some ice cream. I had pulled out my phone and hit the « Unilocal» app and was headed to my bookmarks to check into Baskin Robbins when I seen that I had bookmarked «Cream» and «Loard’s» and to be honest with you… I had almost forgotten that I bookmarked «Loard’s» so for me I got torn for a min and then did my little «deciding factor» move and «Loard’s» it was.
Service ⁵⁄₅
Cleanliness ⁵⁄₅
Ice Cream ⁵⁄₅
The place was very inviting and bright, the brightness of the place almost was like that white light that some people say not to follow during a near death experience. Well good thing this wasn’t one of those cases and I followed the light inside to see what they had to offer. First off, I like the set up of this place, it really felt like a modern ice cream parlor. They had a tv, some other goodies outside of the ice cream. Some seating, indoor and outdoor and even macarons.
The funny part about me wanting Ice Cream is the fact that i’m «Lactose Intolerant» But I must say something are worth the «BG’s» luckly after this visit that didn’t happen and I lucked out. But maybe me not eating Ice Cream in almost a year in a half contributed to that luck too. Anyway I heard that this place has gems on the menu that sometimes you may not see again on the menu or they may be seasonal. I browsed for a brief moment, and has my first taste of pistachio ice cream (Which was delicious btw) but wasn’t what I ended up settling with. On this visit I wanted something with caramel and fruity but not on the citrus or berry side of things. So I went with a Double Scoop ($ 4.75) of Banana and Caramel Toffee Ribbon.
The Banana Ice Cream was… everything I hoped and expected it to be. Nothing I hate more than eating something you hope to have a real taste and you have that artificial flavoring. This ice cream tasted like I just peeled a banana. It was sweet but not overly sweet in the good way. To be honest it also almost tasted like eating a good piece of banana nut bread mmm. The Caramel Toffee Ribbon was awesome as well. The Ice Cream had the toffee taste to it, kinda like an Werthers Original, and the caramel was nice and buttery and sweet, also everything I hoped it to be indeed!
Will I go back?
Oh Yea!, Loard’s have a fan in me indeed, but just in case I will besure to carry some lactade tablets with me just in case. The BG’s are no joke and I’m not talking about the singing group either… Bee Gee’s
In Conclusion, Loard’s is set up in a nice location, Todos Santos is like the spot to be when in downtown concord. I’m sure this place is going to make a killing during the summer being the type of establishment it is. It would be simple to compare this place to «Baskin Robbins» or «Cream». But to me all these places are in a league of their own like Marvel and DC, the only thing they have in common are «Ice Cream». So I say come here expecting a different experence. As always, «Yelp» your own experience and try not to have too many samples before you get your scoops!

Just stopped there for the second time. It’s like an old time ice cream parlor meets the present day. Banana splits, real handmade milkshakes etc. What a great atmosphere! The ice cream is out of this world and the staff is so friendly.

I’ve always loved Loard’s Ice Creamery. So far they are the only place that sells black raspberry as a flavor.

As someone who is of a slightly heavy persuasion, I love sweet foods. Ice Cream is always at the top of my sweet list. Before this place came into the square, I went to Baskin Robbins exclusively. My coworker «Sprinkles» turned me onto Loard’s, and I have not looked back since.
I have never had a bad cup of ice cream. I have never had a bad cone of ice cream. Their competition that opened up across the street called Cream has nothing on Loard’s. Their ice cream has no flavor. Loards is super creamy and full of flavor. Cream’s cookies are rock hard for their sandwiches. Loards does not have this problem.
If my budget and waist line could handle it, I would be here every day. I can give no higher praise than that.
Keep on keeping my days sweet Loard’s!!!

The ice cream tastes great, and the inside is bright and inviting. There’s the four stars. Minus three for the employees actively eating pizza behind the counter, drinking soda taken straight from the case. Maybe their boss lets them drink the soda for sale, I don’t know, but it looked a little sloppy to be eating behind the counter. What really got me, though, and the reason I won’t go back, is when a new group came in, the one guy sets his plate of pizza down on the counter where they make sundaes, DOES NOT WASH HIS HANDS, and proceeds to serve samples to the customers. Seriously, dude? I know what it’s like to work in food service, Sunday night, no management, you order some food to make the shift go by faster, etc etc. Eat your food out front, who cares if you look a little unprofessional, really? I kind of roll my eyes at that behavior and leave it at that but seeing you eating greasy pizza with your hands then dipping down into the ice cream tubs with a two-​inch plastic spoon makes me jump onto Unilocal to write a bad review. Too bad, I was looking forward to summertime treats here. Looks like we’ll be hitting up Baskin Robbins or CREAM from now on.

Love every flavor I have tried here. They are GENEROUS with their scoops. A kid scoop is actually a single scoop and a regular scoop is actually 2 scoops! The ice cream is so soft and creamy (I only like milk-​based ice cream, not a fan of fruity flavors). The décor is gorgeous, and the owner is in there most of the time. She is so friendly and has put her heart and soul into this place. She gave my pitty a dog biscuit when she saw us hanging out outside, and even brought him out a bowl of water. She informed me that she sometimes makes dog-​friendly frozen desserts on Saturdays in the summer time! I like the ice-​cream here better than CREAM, it’s softer and creamier.

I know about Loard’s bc of the Orinda location. Loved it. Saw that this location in Concord opened and was excited to check it out…
On my first visit, no greeting and the employees looked depressed.
2^nd and 3^rd visit, no greeting.
This last visit, I went in to order a coffee and toffee almond shake, but 2 girls in bunny ears (customers? Friends? Visiting employees?) were giggling to the guy behind the case and a girl greeted me with a «yes, funny bunny ears.» The male employee slumped over the ice cream case waving another pair of bunny ears in their faces. I looked at several cases and the menu as they continued… they did not make an effort to properly acknowledge a customer. So i left.
These «kids» do not need a job, fire them. The kids in CREAM are younger, but have excellent customers service versus the older ones here at Concord Loard’s.

Really good ice cream served here. I tried a sample of something called Ube. I liked the sample and that is what I ordered,
Turns out that Ube is a purple yam the gal working there told me this.
Yummy yum yums.

This is my favorite spot to come to for a sundae they have homemade whip cream and a bunch of different flavors from banana to ube, sherbert and pralines etc. The portions they serve are a good amount and the caramel or fudge you order overloads the cups. I highly recommend trying the ice cream here it’s so soft and my favorite would have to be the banana flavor one I get it everytime. Theirs about 3 tables inside the place and 3 small tables outside for their customers. A lot of candy and goodies are sold at this place too and the customer service is always friendly and inviting. In the very back they sell cartons of ice cream flavors that you can take home. You can never go wrong with the vanilla it’s so soft. So I definitely give this place 5 stars, try it out if you ever pass through the Concord downtown area!

I was a little disappointed that CREAM wasn’t open yet. But I really wanted some ice cream so Unilocal brought me to this cute little store.
Service:
I was a little disappointed when I found out that I was ignored being served in the right order. It was my first time here, so I stood in line (or where I thought the line started). But later I found out that there was no line and it was just first come first served, but I was served last (even though I am positive I came before the huge family that was served before me).
Ice Cream:
They had so many choices, I felt like a kid in a candy store. But I went with my favorite single scoop of Coffee in a waffle cone. The coffee had great flavor and actually tasted like coffee! (some places just think that sugar and mocha flavoring will do).
Overall:
Highly recommended!

I was concerned to see two different ice cream shops in one area. I wondered how could any shop combat against Baskin Robbins. But I figured it could do well! There’s a ShareTea and soon to be a CREAM coming in so obviously these four can coexist.
I went into this particular Loard’s in the afternoon. It was a slow day it seems. There was only me and five others. I learned that there aren’t any sugar free options because the ice cream are made the old fashioned way.
There are many choices in flavors for a sweet tooth like me. I was pleased to see they had Ube. The Filipino pride rose up for that, haha. They even had halo-​halo. Now the original is better, but it tasted okay.
I decided on the combination of Cookies N Cream and Double Dutch. I decided to have it paired with a waffle con. To my wonderful surprise, the woman who was helping me clarified the way they do scoops. A double scoop meant two schools of each. That’s a bit much for me. So I took the regular one scoop of each. Saved a couple of change there!
The woman who helped me was knowledgable about all the ice cream, and even with the extra stuff the establishment sold such as candy, sofa, cookies, etc.
Let me tell you that the Cookies N Cream tasted fantastic. The Double Dutch was a gift that just kept giving.
Definitely would come here again. Fantastic!

We love this place so much. We double date here frequently. The staff knows us well now and they have competitions to make our sundaes. They have butter brickle (a rarely seen classic) and peppermint; the kind with the pink candies usually only seen during Christmas. I have yet to taste a flavor I don’t like. The toppings are outstanding. Fudge, marshmallow, even peanut butter! They also have flavored whipped cream. I recommend the chocolate and the caramel.
The owner is a sweet lady who except for being a Steele fan is wonderful!

Ice cream!!!
There are so many flavors to try. The ube was great; it had a sweet taste with a good texture. The chocolate chips in mocha chip were the tear-​dropped shaped chips that are nice and crunchy and the mocha had a strong coffee taste. The mint chip was pretty good and the black raspberry marble was fruity and creamy.
There are seats inside and out of the ice cream parlor and a couple of TV screens. The portions they serve are generous and the quality of the ice cream is better than other ice cream chains.

Dessert spots in Concord are fairly limited, so I was excited to try this place out with the good reviews and 4.5 stars currently.
While the service is excellent and friendly, the ice cream itself is pretty average. They offer a good amount of flavors including sherbets and sorbets. Tried the ube and it was decent, but it wasn’t anything different than what you could buy in a grocery store (think Dreyer’s). On top of that, the ice cream wasn’t cold enough and started to melt pretty quick.
If you are looking for ice cream that blows your mind, this isn’t it. However, If you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth, Loard’s will do the trick.

I have been here a handful of times and can attest to the fact that there portions are generous, there ice cream is delicious and the customer service is great.
They have all kinds of flavors ranging from mango, to ube, to the more traditional cookies and cream. They will always offer you a sample in case you are undecided or looking to try something out of the ordinary. They also sell their ice cream in pints for those that are looking for a treat at home.
Other options on the menu include sundaes, milkshakes, etc.
The only complaint I have is that there is that seating is limited on the inside, but they do have a few tables outside and of course they are situated within the confines of Todos Santos where there are plenty of benches and seating surrounding the park.
I really really hope this place can survive winter. Maybe they can develop some kind of ice cream hot chocolate or winter-​friendly dessert options, since I would hate to see them go.
Stay around Loard’s. Concord needs you!

Oh mah goodness! Todos Santos has another ice cream place. Baskin Robins watch out because Loard’s is getting attention.
I will admit that having Loard’s will attract people. It has what Baskin Robbins does not have… television. They have two televisions that are set on two different channels. They also have candies, Naked Drinks, and Snapples.
Is Loard’s good for business? I believe so. Baskin Robins should thank them because now both businesses will be crowded and not just one.
Can both Baskin Robins and Loard’s do well for Todos Santos? YES!

I was happy to discover that Loards has opened on Todos Santos Plaza. Now it will be easier to indulge in my favorite black raspberry ice cream. They have other interesting flavors, too.
However, I am not ready to give more than three stars. First, I asked if they made sodas. That is an item I have seen at other Loards, but it was not on their menu. The young counter person first clarified what a soda was … not a float or freeze. She then informed me she could not make one because they didn’t have soda water. Oh well … I didn’t need the calories.
I settled for a scoop of ice cream in a cup. It was very soft, more like pudding than ice cream. On a hot day it quickly melted.
It seems like there are still some kinks to work out at this site.

Must try. Great addition to downtown concord. They have outside seating for when the weather is CA perfect. Lots of nearby restaurants to try, there’s a
Movie theatre a block away, great dessert after a
Movie/​low key date night.

I have heard of Loard’s for quite some time now, so I was absolutely pleased when I saw that there was one under construction in Todos Santos Plaza. Fast forward to today and they’re finally open!
I walked in and the space is on the small side, with two counters with two seats, and two small tables inside. There are also two small tables in the front. With a faint smell of fresh paint still lingering in the air, we proceeded to the ice cream selections. And what selections they have! With about 40 flavors, they beat Baskin Robbins easily. They won my heart immediately when I saw that among their scrumptious flavors were mango, ube, and caramel cashew. These were the flavors of my childhood!!!
The flavors I tried were lemon chiffon and caramel cashew. It came up to $ 4.75 for two generous scoops. The ice cream was creamy and just so decadently delicious. The lemon chiffon was refreshing, and the caramel cashew was not cloyingly sweet and did not skimp on the cashew. I can’t wait to go back to try their other flavors.
Since it is National Ice Cream Day today, and it is quite a hot day to boot, it was busy. It was a bit chaotic but the staff were very friendly and tried to help out visitors as quickly as possible. It is not their fault, however, that the guests want to sample everything.
Good ice cream at a good price served with friendly service, I am sure to stop by Loard’s often. Welcome to Concord! Here’s to a long friendship ahead of us.