We ordered a kids chicken strips and a basket of fries. While we waited patiently with our number (12), other guests arrived and placed their orders. After noticing that people who ordered after us had finished their entire meals, I went up to the management and asked what happened to our order. I was then told that it was because I ordered chicken strips that it took over forty minutes to make such a simple order. Keep in mind that a family with four children who came in after us had already gotten their fries and were halfway done with their ice cream. Another table that had two gentlemen who also ordered after us had finished their cheeseburgers. I have been a professional in the short order cooking business for over twelve years in the past, and I know for a fact it does not take that long to make chicken fingers (even if they were made from scratch and not frozen). I usually buy the gift certificates every Black Friday, but that will never happen again. I will never return to this establishment. Please feel free to reach out to me to buy my unused $30 gift certificates at half price, but be warned---this place is poorly managed, understaffed, and desperate for a line cook who can manage a couple deep-frier orders in a timely manner. Although I prefer to support local businesses, there are far better alternatives in town, like Culver's and Gene's. So ends about twenty years of patronage and many good family memories. read more

Review Visit: June 10th, 2015 Carl's Ice Cream.... Home of the Creepy Ice Cream Cone. Those eyes. Those ice cream eyes still haunt me to this day. They will never leave my memory. Nor will the decent ice cream served here. During one of my many trips to explore Bloomington-Normal, I decided to start trying out the ice cream shacks in the dual city. Twin cities. Hyphenated names. Whatever you want to call them. I used some Google-fu to look up places to grab the sugary snack and Carl's was one of the first results. My girlfriend at the time said that it was good enough for her, so we punched the address in to the GPS and headed that way. Upon pulling up, I was startled by the feeling that I was being watched. After getting out of the car, I had to look around and see what was causing that feeling. It was then that I locked eyes with Carl. The incredibly creepy ice cream cone on a pole that is staring down on you. Trying to ignore that, we shuffled to the front of the building and looked over the menu. Looking at their current online menu to help refresh my memory, I am surprised to see them offering only ice cream and ice cream-style treats. Most ice cream shacks offer not only a ton of different frozen dessert items but also a multitude of food items as well. Not Carl's. They just have ice cream and ice cream-related products. We eventually figured out what we wanted and placed an order. I remember getting my usual (peanut butter malt/blizzard/shake) and being just slightly disappointed in the flavor and lack of a wow-factor. Not but a year later, we ended back here by some stroke of luck and I got a cone of ice cream. It was mutli-colored (as seen below) and I remember enjoying that more than I did with my 2015 choice. Back to 2015, I remember us standing our and enjoying the nice snack after a long day of exploring. I just couldn't help but feel that Carl, the ice cream mascot, was looking down on us. Like a chef watching a VIP eating their signature meal to see their reaction. All in all though, the place was pretty good. More-so the second time around. The second trip would've scored a 4.75/5. I am still surprised they don't offer non-ice cream options, but maybe The Carl doesn't allow them to serve anything but ice cream. There is a second location in Normal, Illinois. They seem to have a 'muffler-man' statue that was repurposed in to a man holding ice cream. I have yet to visit that place but hopefully his stare is less soul-piercing than Carl, the Ice Cream Cone's. read more

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Love Carl's! My fave is the "Almond Joy" - coconut ice cream packed with almonds and chocolate. But all their "hard ice creams" are good and they have lots of flavors. They also have the soft serve, sundaes, and other novelties you'd expect. There's something for every family member and the prices are reasonable. The servers have always been nice and fast, even with a crowd there. read more

So I was at the place, my family and there's a girl that was like 15 years old or older and she was taking my order. She didn't give me what I wanted to cause I wanted a strawberry shortcake popsicle but she gave me something else that was very different from what I wanted to order And she got mad she get mad when I ask her that was my order and that's why I give it one star review read more

We both had medium sundaes with two scoops of ice cream -- Peanut butter Cup and Moose Tracks; Hot Fudge and Peanut butter Sauce. Reasonably priced. Two young women/older teens served us and were exceptionally kind and helpful. Neighborhood seems a little worn out but the ice cream was good and everyone friendly. read more

delicious, nostalgic, so many choices for being made in house! A new must stop every time I stop into town. read more

Carl's Ice Cream Factory - this is actually a single scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough :) - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

best restaurant I have ever been to. Cookie Monster ice cream is unbelievable. Burger and fries were pretty incredible too. As a college student i will now be a regular at this fantabulous establishment, hats off to the owner of Carls Ice Cream. read more

On the surface, their new location on West College is quite cute and seems clean. Appearances can be deceiving. If I could give them NEGATIVE 5 stars I would! First, the ice cream area is clearly disorganized during busy rushes and simply cannot handle the orders in a timely or accurate manner. I know this because I was standing in line with 25 or so of my new friends for over 15 minutes. I had plenty of time to observe what was going on behind the counter. The soft serve ice cream machine was on the fritz and the vanilla was the consistency of shaving cream. They said they would 'probably' have it fixed in 5 days or so. How do you run an ice cream business when your #1 ice cream isn't working properly for 5 days? They have hard, hand-scooped vanilla (which costs more than the soft serve) as the alternative to people wanting soft serve vanilla. Convenient way to make a buck I'd say! There is no division of duties between people filling ice cream orders and those punching the register buttons and handling the money. The same people who are punching the dirty register keys and handling the icky, germy money are then handling the cones, etc. and making the items for the customer - without washing their hands first. A BIG, no no that the health department should be looking into. A HUGE turnoff for me! As I was standing at the counter, I overheard rude comments from a grumpy employee working the drive up window talking badly about the customer in the car to another employee. The conversation actually included the suggestion of spitting in this customer's food! Lastly, one customer was handed his cone, which he licked and then gave back to the girl at the counter telling her it was the wrong flavor. She said, no problem and then proceeded to put the cone into the freezer to later be made into the ' Wonder Bar' . OMG!!!!!!!! Apparently, the Wonder Bar is a concoction of leftovers and mistake orders. Not sure if she even knew the customer licked it or not but anything handled by a customer should be tossed out! Can anyone say hepatitis? Or influenza? Or common cold? EEEWWWW SUPER GROOOOOSSSSSSS!!!!! I will never darken the doorstep of this disgusting place again! read more

Ok, I admit it. I am a skillet cookie freak. Carls does not have the skillet but they have the next best thing. I was just down in Bloomington not long ago and a friend told me to try the cookie. I was never big on Carls ice cream liek some people are but I thought I would try it. I think my toes began to tingle and my heart skipped a beat. If it was possible to love a cookie, I loved the skillet cookie wanna be-better than. It was super rich but I enjoyed every bite. My friend was shocked I ate it all but all I could say is "When you're in love man" LOL. Trust me, if you ever get down Bloomington/Normal way, stop in at the one on College. You will not regret it. read more

Carl's is my favorite place to go for ice cream in Bloomington-Normal. Weekly flavors are always good, but I seem to constantly miss my favorites by a few days. I always ask for eyes.. if you're lucky, you can get more than two. P.S. Carl's is way better than Gene's. read more

Great Ice cream. Nice little neighborhood ice cream shop with lots of variety and good quality. The only complaint is that the prices are a bit high. But we were visiting from out of town and it was a treat. read more

I ordered a special chunky shake. It was not special. Hardly chunky and no where near a shake. 0/10 do not recommend.

I love Carl's ice cream, especially the hard pack butter pecan and mud pie flavors. The no sugar added butter pecan is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, the service at this location is terrible. They make you feel like they are doing you a favor by waiting on you. There seems to be a very bad attitude by at least one employee who seems to be in charge. When I asked about the discount when it is raining, she indicated she could not see it from inside, therefore, it was not raining. When I invited her to come outside and check or look at the windshields of the cars pulled up, she said no and there would be no discount. It took the observations of the two other employees to convince her that the windshields were indeed covered with rain. I will not be back this summer. Hopefully, this employee will find other gainful employment next summer so a trip to Carl's is once again a pleasant experience. read more

Carl's ice cream is so thick & rich but not so much that it makes you thirsty. I looove it. I always get a double scoop of whatever I'm feeling on a waffle cone. Their classics are great- strawberry and cookies & cream being my favorite. And the best part of Carl's is that it's SO CHEAP! For $10, we got ice cream for three!!!!!!! Beat that, Ben & Jerry's, BR, Coldstones, Maggie Moo's and all the other chains! But obviously the downside is Carl's is in Bloomington :( read more

FANTASTIC ice cream! Prices a little steep (since when does it run like 3 bucks for one scoop in a waffle cone?) but well worth it. Love the cookies & cream. read more

The Cookies and Cream is fantastic. Creamy with the right amount of oreos.... lots of them! Worth the drive to the new location for a place to sit inside. read more

Excellent - all the way around. Convenient for west Bloomington, but worth even an hour's drive. Weekly ice cream flavors - favorite is raspberry. Otherwise, chocolate bananas and green river soda top my list. Long lines in the summer, not much parking. Not as thick of ice cream as Gene's, but still tons of flavors and combinations. read more

Overall I like the feeling of the place . This was my first time having their ice cream not bad. I feel like I gotten to much Carmel though. It is a long wait to in the drive thru . I have to try if your new to the area. read more

Super great place to go with friends...just great to have a good local ice cream place in town...and now with their 2nd location....open year round! read more

Amazing ice cream! They have hard, soft, and frozen yogurt. My fav is caramel walnut in the hard ice cream. Hubby likes chocolate malts and they're always rich and super thick. We used to always try to go when they opened on March 1, but now we can enjoy it year round. :) I haven't tried their food at the new location, but the one time I got a hot dog at the west side store, it wasn't that great - more like what A&W serves and I'm used to Chicago dogs. read more

Was really disappointed. At 5:00 on a Saturday afternoon you should have more than one person working. People were leaving. I had the "homemade" hard ice cream, salted carmel and peanut butter cup. Both were sorely lacking in flavor. They both had ice crystals as if they weren't stored properly. My son had a lemonade shake up and couldn't drink it. He proclaimed it the worst he's ever had. He also had an Italian beef and said it was very dry may with way too much juice dumped on it. He declared that he won't be going back. I won't be either. read more

My kids love Carl's Ice Cream Factory! This is a great stop on the way home from the park or disk golf. The food is a bit old-school greasy for my taste but I haven't fully explored the menu. We go there for the ice cream anyway. The service and selection is great. They have free Wifi and an atmosphere that reminds me of similar shops that we had when I was a kid. They put "eyes" on the kids ice cream which my boys got nuts for... read more

Very friendly staff, quick service. Big ice cream portions for your $$$. My wife got the turtle sundae (definitely didn't skimp on the chocolate, carmel our nuts). I had the Heath Chunky Shake (a blizzard for those DQ lovers out there) could've used a little more Heath for my liking but what can I say I like excessive amounts of candy when I indulge my sweet tooth. I'll just be sure to order a double helping of topping next time. We will definitely be back. read more

I just love this place. I had a dream cycle ice cream. I grew up here coming with my grandparents. What a treat to enjoy old memories and make new ones. Great place for families. read more

Their ice cream is amazing and they are very friendly there i enjoy it sooo much but ill be moving this summer so ill definitely miss it.

DANGER! AVOID! If I could give it ZERO STARS, I WOULD! We saw COCKROACHES on the floor and witnessed an EMPLOYEE SPIT ON ICE CREAM, then HAND IT to a customer in the drive-thru. The ice cream tastes so-so. Maybe check out Gene's instead. We've been there too and have always loved their service as well as their ice cream. read more

I was at Carl's on June 18th and incredibly disappointed in the quality of the chocolate milkshakes I ordered. It was like drinking chocolate milk when I had requested extra thick. I know they were busy but that was no excuse for how poorly the three shakes I ordered were made. I've always been a loyal customer of Carl's, even driving across town for their ice cream. And I pass many ice cream shops to get there. I will never make the trip again. read more

I love the hard ice cream at this place! They always have such a great variety, and their cones are never stale! They give you large scoops and are super friendly. If you haven't checked this place out, you should! read more

I love Carl's-it has great ice cream and also so much to choose from. I am so happy they have the location in Normal open year round now.