I went to Birmingham’s ‘best’ ice cream shop and one thing is now ruined forever

A little girl is wiping down a table in La-Pop when I arrive on Saturday afternoon following a big workout. I’m in Edgbaston, just off Five Ways island, and the promise of Birmingham’s ‘best’ ice cream (not my words, the words of countless reviewers before me) lures me into the shop I’ve driven past loads of times without going in.

The shop is absolutely lovely, split in two with limited seating in both sections as well as out the front like some cute Italian gelateria. Giant model ice lollies in various stages of being eaten form the wall light sconces and they’re illuminating a table on which a dad is telling his two little girls to get their feet off the chairs.

Unlike other ice creams shops I have lived, laughed and loved in – including this 90-year-old parlour that I adore – the counter at La-Pop isn’t full of giant tubs of colourful creams waiting to be scooped on to cones. Here you can order cheesecakes on sticks dipped in chocolate, dipped strawberries, milkshakes, mocktails and the very thing they’re famous for: their famous pops.

Read more: I visited the 90-year-old ice cream parlour near Birmingham with queues down the street

Sign up for the Brum Food Club free weekly newsletter for updates on what’s happening in the city’s food and drink scene.

It’s a build-your-own situation, I learn, as I agonise over every individual choice. Laid out are gelato lollies in flavours like caramel gold, strawberry, banoffee, mango, mint, bubblegum, hazelnut, pistachio, coconut, coffee… the list goes on, and that is not to mention the sorbet lollies. I choose the strawberry gelato.

Then, I had to choose what chocolate I wanted it dipped in. Pristine vats of colourful, molten liquid are glossy and gleaming, with milk, white and dark options as well as strawberry chocolate, orange and matcha chocolate too. I panic and double up on the strawberry, keen not to ruin it with poor decision making.

The dip is deliberate and careful and I watch as the frozen gelato is dunked to the La-Pop lolly stick. I’m wondering why the guy serving is taking so long, but I’d find out later. He suggests I have drizzles of white chocolate too and who am I to say no to such a brilliant suggestion? Get it drizzled.

Next up, I have to select my three toppings and again, the options are hard to choose between. Mixed chopped nuts, pistachio and pecan, crushed Oreo, Lotus Biscoff, rainbow and bubblegum crunches and hundreds and thousands are in the running but I go for lemon meringue pieces, some coconut and some crushed Kit-Kat which are sprinkled on the chocolate before it sets hard.

My personalised pop is served to me on a pretty little card sleeve that has more of their really fun and vibrant branding. It looks like a picture from a menu. There are no sticky finger smudges, no cracks, nothing. It’s extraordinarily perfect.

I order a caramel iced coffee and pay my £8.25 (that’s £4.50 for the dipped and topped lolly and £3.75 for the coffee) before sitting up at the back of the shop, out of the way.

I admire the vivid fuchsia wallpaper decorated with yet more lollies and they’ve got the back door open to let the fresh air (or, however fresh Five Ways island air is, anyway) in. The details in the decor remind me of a children’s play house, with plants, scalloped edging in pink and yellow and a little fake window.

Forget what you know about how a Magnum cracks as you bite into it. This lolly is something else.

That careful, slow dip? It was by design. So much chocolate coats the gelato that it does crack, but it’s not giving up without a fight. When you’ve finally got the upper hand, the coating is smooth, melts easily on your tongue and tastes like high quality chocolate and there’s loads of it for your money.

The strawberry gelato is beautiful, tasting of fresh strawberries but without any of the chunks and seeds, good if ‘bits’ are something that can ruin a perfectly good ice cream for your kids (or yourself, for that matter). The shell is so powerful that I really have to audibly slurp and get my tongue all up in there to get to the ice cream, which makes for terrible viewing. You’ll have to just take my word for it. Luckily no one is sitting near me to witness it all going down.

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 get a bit of fall-out as I bite, there’s just the right amount of bits, tipped on at the right time, to cement most of them in place.

The iced coffee was fine, not particularly remarkable though it absolutely did the job. I find myself searching more and more for coffees so strong and caffinated these days that they subsequently ruin the rest of my day, they’re worth it for the hit.

I’m hardly ever up at Five Ways during La-Pop’s opening times (from 2pm until 10pm Monday to Friday and from 1pm until 10pm on weekends) and I can’t decide if that’s a good or a bad thing. They’ve ruined Magnums for me now, irreparably. But if they were on my doorstep, I’d be working my way through every possible combination so perhaps it’s best that it’s not!

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