Serendipity 3

10/4/2016

Ever since I can ever imagine, I've always wanted to go to New York and visit Serendipity 3 for their famous frozen hot chocolate. I've read about it in books, and seen it in movies. It was an absolute MUST while I visited.

My girlfriends and I went our second day in NY, and it was one of my favorite activities. We took the subway there on a Thursday afternoon around 3:00 PM, and it wasn't crowded at all. It was a 7-10 minute walk from subway. Once we got there, it was something out of Alice and Wonderland! So many quirky, cute decorations everywhere. It's a kid's fairytale restaurant. We were even told that Kanye West and his daughter North West were there three days before us.

They require that each guest spends AT LEAST $10 per person, so don't come if you don't plan on spending any money. We each ordered the Frozen Mochaccino at $13, which was their classic frozen hot chocolate with coffee. This dessert is worthy of the hype! It was BEYOND delicious, wish I had one right now. It's huge and topped with a ton of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

I will most definitely come to Serendipity 3 every time I visit NY, and maybe next time I'll try their food. Although the frozen hot chocolate is triple the price of a Starbucks drink it is well worth the price tag!

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  Frrrozen Mochaccinos

  Frrrozen Mochaccinos

9/27/2016

This place is really cute! The frozen hot chocolates are amazing.

I ordered the frozen macchino. Indulge in the chocolatey delicious goodness.

Seriously just come here it is worth every penny. Also I believe there is a minimum charge of 8 for credit cards.

9/23/2016

• 3 check-ins

Along my travels through life, I've heard adjectives like "legendary", "famed" and "cute" being casually thrown around by today's idiot. The same words are frequently used to describe the slime covered rats nest known as Serendipity; a dirty little place conjuring some of the most over hyped desserts this city has ever seen. But allow me to document my unique experience.

Upon entering, I was instantly wedged between the colossal ass of some overweight mom and her four rhinoceros offspring. I had to somehow wiggle my way out and push through the cramped pathway to the front desk; a kid resembling McClovin from Superbad was perched at the helm. When he told me I had to endure a 50 minute wait, I looked behind him and said, "there's nobody here". He leaned in, grinning like Pee Wee Herman in a theater; whispering salaciously into my ear drum, "but if you gave me a little something..." *lisp*

I glared into his beedy retinas; part of me wanted to backfist his face like Schwarzenegger did to Bill Paxton in True Lies but instead, I just decided to turn back and become engulfed by the mom's warm inflatable flesh; mumbling quietly to myself as I waited to be called on.

But I had to take a leak eventually, so I pushed forward again with my forearm. I felt it get absorbed by this woman's loose back fat so many times already, I almost enjoyed it. Once I made it to the men's room, I exited New York and checked into a Mississippi swamp. The toilet overflowed when I pulled the chain dangling from the ceiling; it was shooting all over the place like a broken fire hydrant, causing immediate blindness. Before I could make it out, I heard the doorknob rustling like Michael Meyers was thirsting for carnage. Whoever it was practically ripped it off the hinge in a panicky rage, screaming he had to take a volcanic dump. A premonition of imminent disaster...

As I ran out and he ran in, I heard the current take him. I knew we lost another solider as his yelping cries slowly turned into gurgling moans; the swamp waters entering his mortal lungs. I thought about turning back but my name was called and a muffin topped bus boy hurried me upstairs to a table. I sat alone quietly, reflecting on the tragic turn of events that occurred prior. It was hard to concentrate.

I looked around and did some people watching as my world slowly caved in. A hog from Switzerland tried to make chatter, but I just looked at her round face and hanging potato neck in disbelief. She was drinking/eating a frozen hot chocolate which looked like it came from a colostomy bag. She sipped it so hard and fast she almost choked to death. I glanced back at the menu and pointed towards what I read to be a "Bi Sensual Burger".

Before I could ponder the name of it, a hunch backed waiter came galavanting through the dining area. I told him to deliver the Bi Sensual; a chili burger with onions basically. He came back an hour later with the most horrific looking meal I've ever seen. The chili was lukewarm and grizzly, the onion was soggy and potent. The meat was so well done it shattered all of my teeth; so I began to cry uncontrollably, occasionally glancing back at the Swiss hog slurping her ice cream.

The meddling hunchback came thumping around again like some outcast from the jurassic period and handed me a bill. He sympathetically asked, "Whats Wrong?!". All I could manage to say was, "Not like this.....". The hog began laughing and bleeding mascara all over her puffy neck; I looked at both of them again, got up and walked slowly down the stairs...

On the way out, I noticed monkey beanie babies and toys all over the shelves giving me a sinister vibe; it felt like an appropriate conclusion to a horror film.

....My dentist quoted me at 1000$ per tooth...

8/13/2016

The line to get in this place is extremely long but I don't know why...it really isn't anything special at all. Food was okay, took a very long time to come out which is understandable because they are extremely busy.

Staff was not friendly or accommodating in any way. Sometimes when your waiter isn't around, you ask someone from the staff to help you and most times they do. Here, if you just say "excuse me" they say "your waiter is coming"  and walk away...but I just wanted silverware to eat my food that you brought without it...

The salmon came out basically raw and when we asked for it to be cooked a bit more our waiter got really mad...:/
Still took it back but his attitude was pretty shitty as was the rest of the staff.

anyway, a bit pricey and overrated in my own personal opinion. Probably won't be back.

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  House salad

  House salad
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  Salmon

  Salmon
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  Shrimp Fettuccini

  Shrimp Fettuccini
• See all photos from Amanda A. for Serendipity 3

9/1/2016

• 1 check-in

I took my man to serendipity because we love that film that shared the same name. My man is leaving for China on the next day. We always want to check out this spot but we do not have enough time.

We ordered two frozen hot choco, which were huge. We did not even finish one chocolate. So I suggest you guys to Oder one ice-cream and then share with your love. We also had chicken nacho, which was okay.

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• See all photos from Spencer L. for Serendipity 3

9/15/2016

Tourist trap.
Frozen Hot Chocolate was good, but the whipped cream was from a can and if I'm paying $10.95 I think at the very least, real whipped cream should be used.
Meat loaf was VERY filling and the portions were huge, I had to take half of it home with me for later.
I dunno, the John Cusack movie really popularized the place but what that means is that unless you want to hang out with tourists from Iowa with chubby knees and speak in really loud voices, I'd say there are better places to go have a New York moment.

7/7/2016

One of the biggest tourist food spots in NYC.

Make a reservation to save the headache of having to wait. They get really busy and lines are all day.

They have a good amount of seating inside but it is really tight. The decor is nice and very fancy.

Service was good. Menu has basic food but is super touristy overpriced.

Cheddarburger w/ Sauteed Onions - $16.95 + $2 - Nothing special burger. It was good but does not warrant the price.

Frrrozen Hot Mint Chocolate - $11.50 - Like drinking a thin mint. Tasty and great dessert to share.

Worth a try once, but I would never crave this.

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  Outside

  Outside
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  Frrrozen Hot Mint Chocolate - $11.50

  Frrrozen Hot Mint Chocolate - $11.50

9/2/2016

• 1 check-in

I was fairly surprised at how much I enjoyed myself here.  We waited about 30 minutes to get in, it wasn't the worst.  They do have a minimum order per person so something to keep in mind if you think someone's not eating a sundae, well think again.  Anyways, we ended up with the famouse frozen hot chocolate and the Forbidden Broadway Sundae.  The frozen hot chocolate was pretty impressive looking.  It tasted mostly like cheap hot cocao mix/milk chocolate, but it was still really enjoyable, especially considering all the summer heat.  I really enjoyed the Forbidden Broadway Sundae, mostly the cake.  It was a rich, but not over the top sweet by any means.  Though the rest of the sundae attributed to that.  But I do enjoy a rich, moist chocolate cake.  And keep in mind, sharing is caring, these sundaes are huge and more than enough to share.

7/11/2016

• 1 check-in

Cane here on a spontaneous date night with my BF. It was a Friday night and I got out of work. It was a nice surprise to get picked up instead of taking that horrid train back home.

Anyway, we got here and the line wasn't out the door like the last time I was there. It was a 20 min wait. So we left and hit up Dylan's down the block. We got back in time for them to call us to be seated. Great timing!  

We were seated upstairs next to the iconic fireplace like in the movie "Serendipity". It was nice. We had a fantastic server. He was older and really knew everything. Not only was he friendly, he was informative, attentive, funny and energetic.

This is what we ordered:
- App - nacho topped with cheese and jalapeños
- side salads
- meatloaf with mushrooms and mash
- burger w american cheese and bacon
- dessert - frozen hot chocolate, if course

Everything was fantastic!  During dessert, the server insisted that he take a picture if us because of where we were sitting. He showed us a still from the movie "Serendipity" and said it would be a great pic. So we did lol.

Also, to top that night off, Executive Chef Alex Guarnaschelli was dining right behind me!!!!  As she stood up and left, she and I locked eyes, but I didnt want to be one of those people who freak out when they see a celebrity. So i kept my cool and smiled and waved. Huge fan, and been to her restaurants.

I do recommend coming here at least once to say you've been there.  Definitely try the frozen hot chocolate

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  More wall stuff

  More wall stuff
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  Narrow Waiting area

  Narrow Waiting area
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  Entrance wall

  Entrance wall
• See all photos from Cat D. for Serendipity 3

6/16/2016

• 1 check-in

For all those Serendipity movie lovers, this is a must visit spot when in New York.

We stopped by after an early dinner around 7. There was maybe a 30 minute wait, which ended up being much shorter than expected. We didn't get seated at the Serendipity table, unfortunately (the wait for that is pretty outrageous) but it was still a cool experience ordering the famous frozen hot chocolate.

There is a $10 minimum per person, so we ordered a $15 frozen hot chocolate and I ordered a Caffe Tiffany, because, well, why the hell not?

SERVICE:
The host and our server treated us very kindly and took good care of us, although they were sometimes a little scarce. Regardless, we did get everything we needed and they were all very nice. However, service was a tad slow. I guess they assumed since we weren't ordering real food (just dessert) that there was no need to rush.

DRINKS:
Frozen Hot Chocolate - overpriced but the dessert is enormous. It's literally just a large whip cream coated chocolate milkshake/ice cream. Nothing special in particular.
Caffe Tiffany - literally just espresso, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. The description made it sound fancier, but nope. I'm not sure how many shots of espresso they poured in the drink coined the same name as me, but I was up pretty late that night.

It's a pricey dessert but a price to pay for a special experience. Although the drinks weren't anything special, I can't say I regret enjoying a beverage or two in this unique venue.

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  Outside

  Outside
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  Caffe Tiffany with Tiff H.

  Caffe Tiffany with Tiff H.
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  Frozen Hot Chocolate

  Frozen Hot Chocolate
• See all photos from Tiff H. for Serendipity 3

9/9/2016

• 2 check-ins

Good company, good food, nice location, price not bad, all food is fresh, waiting time, under a hour. You want fast food, 2mins or less, fresh food, under an hour.
Take a girl on date, best place in town, she will love it.
Frozen hot chocolate to die for.

6/12/2016

• 1 check-in

Serendipity is in the 'sweetest' part of Manhattan where Dylan's Candy Shop, Sprinkles, and the outside cupcake ATM are located. I've heard about the hour waits, but somehow we waited only 10 minutes on a Friday night. Luck?

We ordered the 2 best desserts- Frozen hot chocolate and Coward's size Banana Split (I do not know who in their right minds would order the regular size). Frozen hot chocolate was basically chocolate water with crushed ice. I do not recommend. The banana split on the other hand, I would totally recommend. It's a sugar mountain with 3 flavors of ice cream- chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, banana nuts, chocolate powder, glazed with chocolate syrup and finished with whip cream and a cherry on top, and a banana somewhere inside.

Expect the your life expectancy to drop several years. Too sweet, and WAY too much especially for a coward's size. The restrooms are rather interesting with a pulldown flush handle in midair. Note $9 minimum order per person.

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  Coward's Banana Split

  Coward's Banana Split
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  Frozen hot chocolate and coward's banana split

  Frozen hot chocolate and coward's banana split
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9/4/2016

• 1 check-in

After reading plenty of bad reviews from wait times to get a table to wait times to sit on toilet bowl - I had to try this one for myself - with gift card in hand.

Only waited 5 minutes - after putting our name on the list for a table for 4 and told we had to wait 40 mins - and we sat at a table for 6. This must have been our lucky day.

Once seated it did take a while for a waiter to come over and take our order. He was friendly but seemed stressed - maybe overworked as I believe the place is understaffed. He did find time to come around several times after our food came.

Orders:
Turkey sandwich with Munster cheese, avocado,  alfalfa sprouts, tomato, and Russian dressing on pumpernickel raisin bread.  4.5 out of 5 stars.

French toast on Chollah bread. Typical French toast but the crust was very dry and the whip cream was sugarless and tasteless. Only one of us said the whipped cream was fine - not for the other 3
3.5 out of 5 stars - if you push aside the whipped cream.

Hotdog with chilli cheese and bacon and beans. This was a very tasty dish.   4 out of 5 stars.

Cheeseburger - medium/well. A little dry, but tasted fine when eaten with pickle, moist lettuce and plenty of ketchup. 3 out of 5 stars.

We topped it off with the signature drink - Frozen hot chocolate - the kids loved it.

The line for the ladies room backed up at times. Single use bathroom. The staff was attentive enough to have the women use the empty/available men's bathroom.

Being a native New Yorker, I try to stay away from the tourist eateries, but since someone had given us a gift card we had to try it. Otherwise I would have stayed away - especially after reading the negative reviews. But was surprised it wasn't really as bad as the reviews - wait time, food, service was pretty good on the day we went. I guess we went on a good day.

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  Signature drink - frozen hot chocolate

  Signature drink - frozen hot chocolate
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  Turkey sandwich Munster avocado,alfalfa sprouts, tomato, Russian dressing on pumpernickel raisin bread

  Turkey sandwich Munster avocado,alfalfa sprouts, tomato, Russian dressing on pumpernickel raisin bread
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  French toast on Challah bread

  French toast on Challah bread
• See all photos from James M. for Serendipity 3

9/8/2016

• 1 check-in

What a treat it was to dine at the famous Serendipity on our trip to New York. The place really is..what's the word..whimsical? Yeah whimsical. The decor is very interesting..I particularly appreciated the Andy Warhol doll hanging over the table where he used to sit when he frequented Serendipity back in the day.
The food here was pretty good..I would have to say the only downside to our experience was that it took almost an hour for it to get to us. Don't get me wrong it was cool as hell to just hang out there for that hour..we were just really hungry having only had train food earlier in the day. They were very apologetic about it and it was really not that big a deal overall.
I had the blue cheese burger..it had aLOT of blue cheese on it..it was quite enjoyable.
Now the big treat there obviously is the frozen hot chocolate, let me tell you, it was amazing. It's just as good as it looks..possibly even better. If you read some of the negative reviews on here even they can't say anything bad about this dessert. I also need to note that our fantastic waiter got this to us in no exaggeration one minute after we ordered it..which made up for the late dinner.
I would recommend this place to anyone visiting the city. I would suggest making reservations tho because if you don't you could be waiting for a long time to get in.

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  Frozen Hot Chocolate

  Frozen Hot Chocolate
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• See all photos from Andrew B. for Serendipity 3

6/21/2016

• 1 check-in

I absolutely love Serendipity!

It has been a while since being here. Luckily we went at 4pm so the wait wasn't too bad, I think 30-40 minutes. We ordered the frozen hot chocolate, fries, and a scoop of pistachio ice cream. So their speciality is the frozen hot chocolate, and this was my first time trying this drink but to me it just tasted watery... I wasn't very impressed with it. But I LOVE the fries! Also I asked them if I could get one scoop of pistachio ice cream and they made a special one for me. I paid $4.50 and it was huge!!! It was 3x the normal size of a one-scoop sundae! The pistachio ice cream was sooo tasty, yummy!

Love the desserts here. The only thing that weirds me out about the place is the weird tacky decor! My first time being upstairs there was this CREEPY mirror and weird disco ball in the corner of the room. Also downstairs there was this weird chair on the ceiling that reminded me of the Ring, ughhhh creepy! Not a big fan of the decor lol. And I wouldn't go back for the frozen hot chocolate, but will be back for other things here!

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  Really creepy chair that reminds me of the Ring!!

  Really creepy chair that reminds me of the Ring!!
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  Weird decor

  Weird decor
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  Upstairs

  Upstairs
• See all photos from Amber T. for Serendipity 3

8/17/2016

• 1 check-in

I have been wanting to visit this place for a long time, well at least since the movie Serendipity came out in 2001.  Finally made it here August 17, 2016.  Location is obviously old and a little run down but we had to have the experience.  

We walked in and requested a table for 5 and were told it was a 30 minute wait. We patiently waited.  During the wait I had to go to the restroom..... Read below for that experience! During my wait for the restroom I saw two different parties walk up to the host and get seated right away (parties of 4). I couldn't go up or I would of lost my place in line. So i texted my party and had them go ask and when they did... They were seated right away.

Restroom line was ridiculous since there is only 1 stall. Had to stand around in the middle of the dining area where other patrons are eating. Upon entering I was taken away by the horrendous smell that lingered in there... A mix of NY sewer and something dead!!!  If you are claustrophobic, don't come in here. There was barely enough room for my bottom and my small wallet! For a place so popular you should really improve the facilities.

Server was nice and friendly and made suggestions.  We all ordered something different and enjoyed the conversation while we waited.

Once our desserts arrived we were all excited to dig in. But first lets take a selfie of our dessert ... See pic!  All was good, but highly over rated and overpriced.  Here was nothing special about our dessert.

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  Frozen hot chocolate, Root beer float, Apple pie, Oreo shake and a Scoop of ice cream

  Frozen hot chocolate, Root beer float, Apple pie, Oreo shake and a Scoop of ice cream
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  Not so HUMBLE...... You can't come in and NOT order something. $8.50 per person charge, so you might as well eat or drink.

  Not so HUMBLE...... You can't come in and NOT order something. $8.50 per person charge, so you might as well eat or drink.
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  Us enjoying desserts at Serendipity III!

  Us enjoying desserts at Serendipity III!
• See all photos from Lydia R. for Serendipity 3

7/31/2016

Price Minimum - you have to spend $8.50 a person, so don't think you'll be able to share just one dessert!  They enforce this, have signs at the entry, list it on the menu, and we even heard the waiter explain it to a few tables nearby who were expecting to split desserts like normal people.

Atmosphere - no where as cute as the setting in the movie.  I was so excited to visit but I was extremely disappointed; hopefully it's significantly better around the holidays than in July.

Wait - not worth the 45 minute wait to get sat, then the slow service once seated!

Food - we both got sick from the Chocolate Blackout Cake + Strawberries & Cream!  They looked great for a photo, but they were comprised of some of the lowest quality whipped cream and chocolate cake I've ever had!

Drinks - nothing alcoholic, but the peppermint tea was good.

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  Chocolate Blackout Cake + Strawberries & Cream!

  Chocolate Blackout Cake + Strawberries & Cream!

8/28/2016

Don't believe the hype and get tricked into coming here. The ridiculous wait times are not worth the food waiting inside. This is just an overpriced/over- hyped hole in the wall.

Frozen Hot Chocolate was just disappointing. Don't order it. The menu says "Fresh Whipped Cream" but they use sugarless miracle whip. Why sugarless???? It's like eating candle wax. There is no way fresh whipped cream will be so dense and waxy.  Here is how to make the frozen Hot Chocolate at home: Buy any hot chocolate mix add it to some milk and ice and blend it in a blender. I can assure you that it'll taste better than the crap they served us.  Just avoid it.

Don't bother with the food. There are dozens of other restaurants within a three block radius that will give you better food for half the price.

The building is old. For a place that handles so many people per day you would think they would invest some money upgrading the bathroom. It can only handle ONE person at a time. There is a 10 min wait to use the bathroom. Look at the photos. It's small, hot and dirty. If you are one of those who judge a restaurant by the cleanliness of their restrooms (you should be) this place will get a big fat F for their cleanliness. Also no hot water in the bathroom.

I would never come here again and I will never recommend this place to travelers. Save your money.

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  Look at the floor, over flowing garbage and the ancient toilet bowl.

  Look at the floor, over flowing garbage and the ancient toilet bowl.
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  That's the stream of cold water when you open the hot water faucet to its max...no hot water. Atleast give us more cold water.

  That's the stream of cold water when you open the hot water faucet to its max...no hot water. Atleast give us more cold water.
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  frozen Hot chocolate. more like a soupy chocolate water with a dollop of sugarless whipped cream from tub. Frozen Hot disappointment.

  frozen Hot chocolate. more like a soupy chocolate water with a dollop of sugarless whipped cream from tub. Frozen Hot disappointment.

9/17/2016

Yes.  get the frozen hot chocolate.  Do not gag on the prices.  Just do it.  Overload on more chocolate flavor and mass quantities of sugar than should be legal.  But hey... you only live once.

Actually had a burger at the second location in Vegas which was serviceable.  They do have a huge menu of foods and killer deserts.  Both literally and figuratively ,  so go big or go home.

Coma time...

6/29/2016

• 1 check-in

Not only does Serendipity have one of the most elegant interior design I have ever seen for a desert shop, but the displays of all the trinkets and items by the front really creates a sweet vintage feel that welcomes me home. I would definitely recommend people to come here for a sight seeing experience.

I came here on a Friday night and I was able to get a seat within 10 minutes even though the waitress said there would be at least a 15 to 20 minute wait. Boy was I lucky because the line started to get longer after I put my name down. When I was led up to the second floor, there were so many seats open. Even after around 10 minutes, many of the seats were still empty but the wait line keeps getting longer and longer. I heard that this is a tactic many restaurants and shops use to lure customers in, by giving the appearance that the place is overflowing with customers. However, it's not a very nice for customers to have to wait so long.

I ordered the best 2 recommended desert: Frozen Hot Chocolate and Banana Split. I got the Coward Banana Split which is considered to be a smaller size, and it was huge! I tried to finish this with my boyfriend but we couldn't even finish half of it. I can't imagine how big the regular size would be. I would definitely order this again. The Frozen Hot Chocolate was a frozen hot mess. Like many reviewers who complained about this, this desert was watered down. And not to exaggerate, but I really felt that I could taste the separation between water and chocolate. I wouldn't recommend it.

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• See all photos from Emily W. for Serendipity 3