I went to the “best” ice cream shop in Birmingham and one thing is now ruined forever

A little girl is clearing a table at La-Pop when I arrive on a Saturday afternoon after a big workout. I’m in Edgbaston, near Five Ways Island, and the promise of “the best” ice cream in Birmingham (not my words, but the words of countless critics before me) lures me into the shop I’ve walked past several times without going in.

The store is absolutely adorable, split in two with limited seating in both sections as well as in the front, like a cute Italian gelateria. Giant model popsicles in various stages of being eaten are sticking out of wall-mounted stands and they’re illuminating a table at which a father is telling his two daughters to take their feet off the chairs.

Unlike other ice cream shops I’ve lived in, laughed at, and loved—including this 90-year-old ice cream shop I love—La-Pop’s counter isn’t filled with giant tubs of colorful cream waiting to be scooped into cones. Here you can order chocolate-dipped cheesecakes on sticks, dipped strawberries, milkshakes, mocktails, and the very thing they’re famous for: their signature popsicles.

Read more: Visited 90-year-old ice cream shop near Birmingham with queues down the street

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It’s a do-it-yourself situation, I learn, as I agonize over each individual choice. Gelato popsicles are on display in flavors like golden caramel, strawberry, banoffee, mango, mint, bubblegum, hazelnut, pistachio, coconut, coffee…the list goes on, and that’s without mentioning the ice cream popsicles. I choose the strawberry ice cream.

Then I had to choose which chocolate I wanted it to be dipped in. Immaculate vats of colorful, melted liquid are shiny and glistening, with milk, white, and dark options, as well as strawberry, orange, and matcha chocolate too. I panic and double the strawberry, anxious not to ruin everything with a bad decision.

The dip is deliberate and careful and I watch as the frozen gelato is dipped onto the La-Pop lollipop stick. I wonder why the guy serving is taking so long, but I’ll find out later. He suggests I add white chocolate chips as well and who am I to say no to such a brilliant suggestion? Ask him to drizzle it on.

Next, I have to select my three toppings, and again, the options are hard to choose from. Mixed chopped walnuts, pistachios and pecans, crushed Oreos, Lotus Biscoff, rainbow crunchies and bubblegum, and hundreds and thousands are up for grabs, but I go for lemon meringue pieces, a little coconut, and some crushed Kit-Kat that get sprinkled on the chocolate before it sets.

My custom pop is served to me in a beautiful little cardboard envelope that has more of their really fun and vibrant branding on it. It looks like a picture from a menu. There are no sticky finger stains, no cracks, nothing. It’s extraordinarily perfect.

I order an iced caramel coffee and pay £8.25 (that’s £4.50 for the covered lollipop and £3.75 for the coffee) before taking a seat at the back of the shop, out of the way.

I admire the vivid fuchsia wallpaper decorated with even more lollipops, and they left the back door open to let the fresh air (or at least the fresh Five Ways Island air) in. The details in the decor remind me of a child’s playhouse, with plants, pink and yellow scalloped borders, and a small fake window.

Forget what you know about how a Magnum breaks when you bite into it. This lollipop is something else.

That careful, slow dip? It was on purpose. So much chocolate coats the gelato that it cracks, but it doesn’t give up without a fight. When you finally get the upper hand, the coating is smooth, melts easily on your tongue, and tastes like high-quality chocolate—and there’s a lot of it for your money.

The strawberry gelato is gorgeous, tasting like fresh strawberries but without any chunks or seeds, which is good if “chunks” are something that can ruin a perfectly good ice cream for your kids (or you, for that matter). The shell is so thick that I actually have to audibly slurp and stick my tongue in there to get to the ice cream, which makes for a terrifying sight. You’ll have to take my word for it. Luckily, no one is sitting near me to witness it all happening.

The toppings were a great choice, given how smooth and rich both the chocolate and the ice cream are. I love the combination of textures. While I do get a little drop when I bite into them, there are just the right amount of chunks, placed at just the right time, to cement most of them in place.

The iced coffee was fine, not particularly remarkable, though it did the job perfectly. I find myself increasingly reaching for coffees so strong and caffeinated lately that they subsequently ruin the rest of my day, these are worth it for the impact.

I’m almost never at Five Ways during La-Pop’s opening hours (2pm-10pm Monday-Friday and 1pm-10pm on weekends) and I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. They’ve ruined Magnums for me now, irreparably. But if they were on my doorstep I’d be working on every possible combination, so maybe it’s better that they aren’t!

La-Pop is located at 38 Islington Row Middleway, Edgbaston, B15 1LD. We visited at random, unannounced, and all food and drink was paid for by the reporter.