The popsicle arrives dipped in chocolate, rolled in toppings, and handed to you in a little gold-lined box, and somehow it barely drips the whole time you eat it. That is your first clue that the spot hiding in plain sight at Mizner Park is not a regular ice cream shop. Cielito Artisan Pops hand-makes small-batch paletas with real fruit, and the case holds more than 46 flavors at a time, on a menu that rotates with the seasons. In the middle of a 561 July, when the heat is the whole story, it might be the best cool-down you find all summer.
You have probably walked past it a hundred times on the way to dinner or a movie. It opened its Mizner Park location in the summer of 2020, an offshoot of the original Wynwood shop, and it has quietly become a reason to stick around after the sun goes down, especially with the case open until midnight on weekends.
What You're Getting Into
Walk in and the first thing you see is a refrigerated case lined with popsicles in every color, dozens of them, arranged like a paint set. Cielito makes them by hand in small batches with handpicked fresh fruit, and skips the preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors. The menu rotates with the season, so the July lineup is not the December lineup, and with more than 46 flavors going at once there is always something you have not tried.
The fun is in the range. On any given visit the case might hold tamarind, hibiscus flower, and a salted caramel studded with crushed pretzels, sitting a few inches from fresh watermelon, key lime pie, and a dulce de leche packed with homemade brownie chunks. The fruit and sorbet pops lean bright and clean; the cream-based ones lean rich. Once you pick, you can take it plain or have it dipped in white or dark chocolate and loaded with toppings, at which point a simple pop turns into a small dessert project. It comes to you in that gold-lined box, which is a big part of why the whole thing ends up on everyone's phone before the first bite.
They keep it inclusive, too. There are dog-friendly pops for the pup, sweetened with honey instead of sugar, and vegan and dairy-free options in the fruit and sorbet line. If someone in your group is somehow anti-popsicle, there is coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to round it out.
The Insider Move
Two moves. First, on your first visit, taste at least one pop plain before you dip it, so you actually get the flavor Cielito built; you can always jazz up the next one. Second, each pop's menu description tells you whether they recommend dipping it, and the dulce de leche with brownie chunks is one they say to get dipped, so trust them on that. The base pops are the affordable part; the chocolate dip, the toppings, and the six or twelve pop gift boxes are what add up, so treat it like a treat rather than a habit. Park in the Mizner Park garage, which is free and covered, a small mercy in July. And save it for after dinner on a Friday or Saturday, when the case stays open until midnight.
What People Are Saying
Reviewers tend to arrive skeptical about the price and leave won over. One Tripadvisor visitor put it plainly: the pops are "expensive but everything is high quality." People single out the key lime pie and the raspberry-kiwi fruit ice, keep coming back to the gold-box presentation, and note that the flavor holds up so well the pop barely drips. The one recurring knock is the Mizner Park pricing, and the recurring verdict is that it is worth it anyway.
A Little Background
Cielito is a family operation. Sindy Posso, an architect who grew up in Colombia in a family of bakers, started it in Wynwood in 2017 using decades-old recipes from her grandmother, and she still runs it with her husband Ivan. The idea was simple: a popsicle could be handmade, high-end, and a little bit of an art project. The Mizner Park shop opened in the summer of 2020 and has been Boca's most photogenic way to cool down ever since.
Address: 430 Plaza Real, Mizner Park, Boca Raton, FL 33432
Phone: (305) 676-2665
Hours: Daily from noon; to 11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri-Sat
Price Range: Base pops are the affordable part; the chocolate dip, toppings, and 6- or 12-pop gift boxes add up
Parking: Free covered garage at Mizner Park
Good to Know: MK kosher certified; vegan, dairy-free, and dog-friendly options
Try First: Taste one plain first, then get the dulce de leche with brownie chunks dipped in chocolate
Website: cielitoartisanpops.com
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