Bonaventura Gelato Lounge

gelato here is BOOOOOMB. I got a regular size cup with three flavors: Nutella white chocolate, tiramisu, and cookie blast (??)! I was devouring into every single bite of each flavor and dreaming in ice cream heaven. my bf got a cone with strawberry cheesecake flavor with cherries which he described as delicious and I could tell he very much enjoyed it! love the décor as well.
only thing is I wish the cashier/​ice cream barista lady was more cheerful about her job! I’d love to work in Manhattan beach.
other than that no complaints!!!

I think this is as close as it can get to a true Italian Gelato. We have been ripped off by various Italian restaurants that serve «gelato» but they are just ice cream. This place serves what is close to the ones we ate in Italy which is a sorbe-​like ice cream. We had the individual gelato which was great. Also, we had the chocolate cookie sandwiched gelatos which were also great. Had the gelato filled Cannoli which I enjoyed a lot. I cannot wait to try what they advertise as the «Gala-​Dough» which is a donut sanditch ! Must go place for a Gelato!!!

People working here were so nice even that we wanted to try almost every flavor, and ice creams are sooooo good, love this place

First dessert stop after dinner. Nice little small spot good amount of choices of gelato. The worker mentioned they make their gelato at their Marina Del Rey location and they transport them to this location. Sampled a few and ended up getting the strawberry chocolate chip which wasn’t bad at all. Really no seating here there were two tables and a kiddie table with kiddie sized chairs. Overall not a bad place.

Went there on a weekday afternoon. Pretty quiet. Nice little gelato shop. Shop was clean, Bathroom was acceptable. The hand sanatizer was empty.
Service: The woman working there was very pleasant. She was quite knowledgeable of the various flavors and options they had, which was great because a lot of the flavors they have are unusual and need a bit of description. Also gave ma sample of the ones I was asking about to try them.
Food: Gelato was really very good, with LOTS of flavors that were pretty different/​unique.
Prices: Not outrageous prices for Manhattan Beach, but a bit on the high side for the quantity, but somewhat made up for with the service level and creativity in the food options.
Overall: Go for the unique flavors and experience (great for a afternoon stroll or date with your significant other)… but spendy enough I’d try not to make a habit of the place.

Got the bun ice cream, so good! Variety of flavor and they’re rich in flavor :) the prices aren’t too bad either.

Great place to stop along Manhatten Beach. Exotic flavors. .It is the «Cool spot» to stop in the heat… Really enjoyed myself.

Incredible gelato. I’ve always avoided gelato because I had never had a good experience.
This place has changed my life. I actually went to the one in the Marina, so this is just speaking to the quality of the gelato at this company.
I had Greek yogurt + honey gelato and a scoop of lavender honey gelato. Perfection from beginning to end. Slightly magical. Not joke.
Next time I won’t put it in a waffle cone because it did take away from the fullness of the favors.
Go go go.

**FANTASTIC GELATO AND SPAGHETTI EIS IN MANHATTAN BEACH**
Ideal post-​brunch spot.
GOOD TO KNOW
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— Gelato made fresh everyday onsite
— Quality Italian ingredients and local organic fruits
— Rotation of flavors on a daily basis
— Carry DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE, FAT-​FREE and SUGAR-​FREE flavors
PARKING
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Garage or street.
AMBIANCE
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Friendly, colorful gelato shop.
Limited seating inside and there is a bench outside.
GELATO
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RASPBERRY MASCARPONE
Velvety and not too sweet. A great flavor for those not wanting chocolate.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
SPAGHETTI EIS
A spaghetti-​looking sundae is popular in Germany.
And here it is: vanilla gelato, topped with homemade, fresh strawberry sauce and white chocolate sprinkles was different and delicious. Basically a vanilla gelato with strawberry sauce on top.
RATING: ⁴⁄₅
Super sweet German owners who love and care about their business.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you’re cruising in Manhattan Beach.

First time here today and the selection was great. Service was great and guess what? The gelato was awesome. I got the dark chocolate and it’s so much «healthier» than traditional ice cream. I got the large cup but they fill it up so much I’ll get a medium next time.

I’m so sorry. I totally don’t get it.
I wanted to buy one of their donut-​gelato sandwiches but the guy working there couldn’t even suggest flavors. Shoot, he didn’t even know the flavors that were listed on the big sign next to the line. It was a disaster from the beginning.
Then, the concoction itself? After $ 6, I was SO disappointed. Not worth $ 6 and the gelato was just «eh.»

One of the best gelato ice cream I’ve had! Best to have it on a hot sunny summer day! Came with my friends and we each had a regular cup (2 scoops) before we head to the beach. And you know what? We came back for another round of gelato ice cream after a day out on the beach. It’s never enough, we can have it all day!
Tried Dark Chocolate and Forest Berries Sorbet. The combination is perfect! Dark chocolate is so rich and thick, strawberry berries is sweet and refreshing. When you eat bother together, the two different ice cream goes really well together!
Tried Strawberry Cheesecake and Strawberry Chocolate Chip. Strawberry cheesecake is creamy and thick, strawberry chocolate chip has a pretty interesting flavor, sweet refreshing with pieces of chocolate chips that makes you craves for more.
Would recommend you to check this place out if you’ve never been here before. They have a wide selection of Italian gelato and sorbet that is made fresh onsite everyday.
Tips:
Gelato Size
~ Kids (1 – 2 flavors) @$ 4.25
~ Regular (2 – 3 flavors) @5.25
~ Large (1 – 4 flavors) @$ 6.25

Not a bad spot I mean how can you go wrong with gelato. Flavors were great… but not holy cow best gelato ever. the place is small but seats are available.
Service needs work and my reason for 3 stars… Insisting to everybody that walks through the door that you are only allowed two samples is more on the negative side and I think a more friendly way to go about doing this would increase the repeat customers and not having them go a short walk away to a very busy ice cream shop on the same block. We are not kids here to fill up on free samples.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while. Especially the spaghetti ice cream but the machine broke so just stuck to the basic. Great flavors and choices made up for it tho. The banana/​cotton candy was my favorite. I also loved the brownie one they have. I will say the customer service slacks big time. Don’t assume bc I come in asking to try a sample that I’m gonna just take the sample and not buy anything. And then give me attitude till you see I am buying.
Not the way to do business. Also forgot to add the chocolate cannoli was one of the best I’ve had. with ice cream in it.

Love it! The best gelato and sorbet ice cream ever!!! This place was so good that my friend made me come here before dinner and after dinner. The server even remembered my friend! Hands down the best gelato in town or in LA. Don’t forget to add the waffle for an amazing experience.
A single scoop will be $ 4.25. Not a bit single scoop but still very good and and flavorful. The gelato made here is less milk, fat, and sugar. Made fresh everyday with real and fresh ingredient. The gelato is so smooth and doesn’t taste too rich. I love it way better than ice cream. My fav is the sugar free cappuccino and dark chocolate sorbet. Not too sweet and it was just perfect!
This place does get packed in the summer but they are worth the wait. There are sitting area inside and outside! Perfect to stop by on a nice hot day! Enjoy and have a great summer!!!

Now I love me some gelato, but this was not my favorite.
For one the portions are teeny tiny and pricey.
Don’t even think about getting a small, it’s not worth the wait.
Speaking of that, it took forever and the line was not even that long.
They do have a huge variety of flavors that were both standard and unique and while they were tasty, they were all a bit watery and way too soft for my liking.
My son had a scoop of the smurf one and while he did like it, even he said it was small.
Too many great options in the area, this was not my fav.

Yummmm gelato especially on a warm summer day after biking along the coast.
Located near the Manhattan Beach pier.
So many flavors to fulfill your craving.
Cup sizes I feel are small for the price but with the dense, rich flavors it was enough.

Gelato was good, but service awful. Guy with gauges taken out (flappy earlobes) with facial hair and a golfhat served us and was rather rude. When i asked for a sample he said «you only get two» and gave me one. he was just talking to the curly-​haired coworker the whole time, and did not go out of his way to say hello and the «thank you have a nice night» was almost sarcastic. He shouldn’t be working there if he’d rather just chat it up with the chick, do that after work man. Repeatedly touching his coworker, we felt rude to interrupt him and ask for what we wanted. Also the time we went in was right now at 8:45 on a monday night.
Update: Thanks for the kind words Stephanie, it is much appreciated. Since the visit I ran into the guy in the parking lot at Ralphs and he noticed me and called myself a my girlfriend «fags» and then got «Kenya» his coworker from that night and said «hey i found the fags who left a review on Unilocal.» On the phone. Very unprofessional and rude as hell to be honest. When we went back to confront him he looked around nervous and skated off.

Oh my freakin goodness. I’m pretty sure I’ve passed this place a millions times and never noticed it. My BF loves ice cream and we wanted to take a study break and walk the beach a bit so we Unilocal’d places in Manhattan. Originally we were gonna go to the Creamery nearby, but after looking at pics for Bonaventura we decided to go here instead!
SO GLAD WE DID. What swayed us (me lol) was the GelaDough omgg. gelato in a donut with choice of spread. I got the glaze donut with coffee spread and KIT KAT GELATO. My BF got the Stracitella (ok I know that is completely wrong but I hope you get it!) with coffee poured over it and that was good too. I also tried the Bananas Foster gelato which was amazing as well.
We spent about $ 11 for the two of us, but you can just get a scoop, don’t have to get fancy haha. The girl behind the counter was super helpful because we had no idea what we were trying to order lol. We’ll be back!

A gelato place just a couple blocks away from the beach? Hmm… well you know I love it already from just that fact alone.
I got to try Bonaventura Gelato Lounge one beautiful beach day and was in awe the moment i walked in. This place is not your ordinary gelato place. They have all kinds of goodies from macarons to cannolis to crème brûlée. In addition to offering traditional gelato scoops, they have gelato spaghetti, geladough (fried dough filled with gelato), cannolis filled with gelato, macaron gelato sandwiches and gelato popsicles. They can even make fun gelato plates such as a Pinocchio shaped gelato.
I love the outside of the box thinking that this place has in terms of their offerings. It is this creativity that makes them stand out from the other gelato shop.
When I came here, I tried a mini heart shaped gelato popsicle. It was gelato filled popsicle that was coated in white chocolate and covered in pink heats. It was super cute and yummy. It was a nice treat for a sunny day in Manhattan Beach! It was $ 3.50.
Though my heart shaped gelato popsicle was neat looking and tasty, I think next time I’m going to try a traditional gelato cup because i was little envious of my friend’s delicious overflowing cup filled with three types of gelato. Hehe. On the other hand, I’m tempted to also try one of their macaron gelato ice cream sandwiches. Hmm… it sounds like another beach day and gelato stop is in the works! ;)