Growing up in nearby Northfield, the Dairy Queen on Lake Avenue was one of those wonderfully simple places that felt like part of the fabric of childhood. The Blizzards are delicious, but what I love most now is the nostalgia: summer evenings, familiar surroundings, and the uncomplicated thrill of getting ice cream. Decades later, it still brings me right back, and I'm grateful it's still there. read more

Grumpy teenagers who couldn't hate their jobs more. It was comical how moody they were. The treats were careless. No thanks

Great place I love DQ they have a lot in the back so off the street it looks deceiving - great ice cream spot read more

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Small biscoff blizzard filled halfway way. Banana split blizzard lacked strawberries pineapple. The boys were angry and were more concerned talking to each other than helping customers. I've been coming here for 50 years and this is a new trend this year as I've been served this way each time I come. read more

We love DQ and the ownership and staff here are nice enough. But something is definitely wrong with their ice cream machine. It is not cold enough. Order a Blizzard and you'll be eating Blizzard soup half way through. I just ordered a dipped cone today and the ice cream was melting all over me and through the shell after just a few bites. Total waste of money. I had to throw away most of the cone to prevent a complete mess. We'll be going to the location on Dundee from now on. Can't come here any longer. read more

Great ice cream filled my hunger through the roof. Creamy delicious whimsical amazing yummy cold great ness .

Chocolate blizzard with snickers is all I go here for and it's always hitting the spot for this craving. Service is fine. Not a place to sit, but you can eat in your car. read more

Knocking this down a bit. They are somewhat slow and I wish they would charge for items first and then get them ready. It's kind of a mess to give your order, then get out of the way for others to give their orders, then have to fight your way back to pay whilst potentially holding more than one item yet having to balance your stuff to pay. It's just not very efficient at all. Also, how is it that the doors opening inward is not a safety code violation? When I tried to leave today I had to ask people to move to even get the door open because it opens inward. It's just far too small a place to have a door that opens into the shop. read more

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Was there 2 weeks ago I got the same things that day and again today. First visit was $8.00 & change. Got the same things today. It was $12.94! None of the 3 people handling the ice cream did not wear gloves handling the ice cream cones and the money. One of the ice cream cones was sloppy hanging over the side. The older woman just looked at me and said you got extra. I said it was hanging over the side. Went in the car. Yep it fell over on my husbands pants. I will never go there again! read more

Pros: Good service. Standard DQ ice cream you know and love. Cons: Lines of pompous locals who will shove and cut ahead of you because little Hayden is getting bored in the backseat of the Suburban which is jutting out a little too much, blocking cars from making complete laps around the stand. If you walk here, high chance of getting hit by a car on Lake. But the ice cream is worth getting shanked by New Trier Nancy. read more

The ice cream tastes great but the smell of the place is terrible! As a customer, it immediately makes me feel like the place is not well kept and then I question if it's safe to eat there. It's a shame because I enjoy their ice cream, but I always have to send someone else in the store because I can't handle the stench. It smells like rotten milk. I'm very surprised this hasn't been mentioned in another review. read more

This little shop is the next closest location since the one I grew up going to in Evanston closed. I have fond memories from my childhood, so I am happy this one is here! It's mostly kids that work here and they are always friendly and accommodating. It's a tiny space that they converted to accommodate folks during COVID-19. You drive up to one side of the building to place your order, drive around and pay/pick up on the other side. They've consistently had a line since March and we continue to come! read more

Food was great. Chocolate malt. Owner talked about history of f that location. Very friendly. Great place now. Great place when I was in high school for lunch read more

Just good old fashion soft serve ice cream. Plain and simple. Plenty of parking the back. Every time I walk in I feel like I'm a kid again. read more

Dairy Queen - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Wilmette, Illinois

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The food? The just ice cream was alright. I've had better. The cup was handed to me dirty, like dripping gross. Like the three teenagers standing around doing nothing could have actually wiped it off before it being handed to me? 2 of them were on their phones, the restaurant looked dirty. Overall I won't eat here again. Wasted 6$ at a place that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in months. Super disappointed. read more

I previously enjoyed stopping for ice cream at this Dairy Queen until on a recent visit I found this offensive and misleading anti-minimum wage sign posted in their front window and lost my appetite. Everyone other than the owner who works there appears under 18, and the county minimum wage doesn't apply. So it looks to me like they're just raising prices because they can, and that they're using it as an excuse to bash benefits to other workers. Letter that they posted: "To our Valued Customers: Recently the Village of Wilmette increased the minimum wage from $8.25 to $11.00 per hour. Wages are the largest expense we have, and this is over a 30% increase. We cannot just raise the wages for the employees who make minimum wage because that would not be fair to the employees who have worked hard and earned their pay raises. You will notice that we have increased our prices for this reason. Thank you for your continued patronage. Dairy Queen of Wilmette" read more

Long wait. Tasteless vanilla ice cream. Expensive: $5.29 for a medium, dipped sugar cone.

Dairy Queen O' Dairy Queen. This little store had always been at this place, serving people with their delicious ice cream. Something that I always ponder about this place is how great their business must be with all the people booming when they're in season. They're closed during the winter season and reopens when the spring/summer season is on deck. Am I complaining about this? Not really, because it's certainly a very reasonable management tactic. While this place served and still does serve great-tasting ice cream, their recent experiences haven't been so great. This place is usually packed, especially during the hot & humid summer days in the area. They have a "C" looking parking lot where people can park in the back. Not too spacious but not their fault since it's a small place. I hate to say it, but this place can be a hit or a miss. I'm not talking about the flavor because as far as I've had them, it always tasted great, consistently, even when their customer service is extremely subpar. I only have dipped/non-dipped cones and blizzards at this place because their non-dairy items seem almost nonexistent although it's still on the menu. But cones are my go-to items. So this place has 3 sizes for their cones. Small, medium, and large. Not too surprising right? Well, the funny thing is, sometimes a small can come out as big as a medium, and sometimes a medium as small as a small. The ordered portion and the actual size received aren't very consistent. I'm not super picky with portion most of the time, but this place for some reason experiences frequent portion control issues. I don't know if each employee is asked to have their own idea of a portion or not, but I always wonder if I'm going to get the right portion whenever I visit this place. If the portion is right, great! If smaller, well, not so great. Getting a "bigger portion" is a very rare occasion, and I only mentioned this to be fair that it did technically happen, just not as many since the instances are fewer than my fingers can count. My number of visits to this place isn't few, so I'm not some person pointing something out after an instance or two of not my liking. One thing really annoying is that this place makes it very clear that they don't like it when asked to fix the portion. When the cone comes out much smaller than it should be, and even when the management/owner sees the item, they don't try to fix it unless specifically asked to. They try to be professional with their words, but their facial expressions don't reflect that. Maybe they get called out a lot and aren't happy with it. Who knows. Not only that, this place is expensive for what you get. Three small cones, no dipping, and the total will come out very close to $10. At least they take cards. While tasty, it certainly isn't reasonable pricing at all. They taste great, I give them that, but for their poor service skills and pricing, I can't talk pleasantly about this place. The cone on the left is the "fixed" state. It originally was as high as where the swirl starts. The one on the right is the correct small size. 1 star for their taste and 1 star for serving ice cream in the area for a long time. Bon appetit. read more

Dairy Queen - Two small cones were ordered. One is done correctly and one is after being asked to fix it. Can you guess which is which? - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Wilmette, Illinois

Best ice cream ever perfect service and very short lines,amazing cookie jar, Oreo blizzard and brownie batter blizzard

GOOD ICE CREAM YET THEY TREAT STAFF POORLY. The manager under-fills ice cream, and tells the young employees to do it also. Small location, and the line is out the door. The staff is under 18 and works incredibly hard. The owners/managers don't value that at all. read more

Good ole soft serve ice cream. How can you go wrong? Gets packed up they are always quick, and very helpful. I wouldnt recommend ordering food here but the ice cream is the draw!! Blizzards and mini blizzards are awesome. I also like the chocolate dippped in chocolate coating. Good summer stop. read more

There were 3 teenagers working when we stopped by this past Saturday late afternoon. The first employee ignored us while making small talk with someone else at the register who had already received their order. He eventually stopped to tell us to go to the other register where another employee was just standing around. He acted like it was a major inconvenience for us to order something from him. We were able to place our order and, while paying, the other employee mixed our shake. It was awful. He did not mix it well and used way too much syrup. It seems like they need supervision, management, or accountability. read more

It was 95 degrees yesterday and I've been craving a Blizzard for weeks now, so my friend and I went. The two staff members there were super nice and chill, and even though there isn't any seating inside (or outside, which is a bit odd), we parked ourselves on a window ledge for a bit and that was sufficient. No complaints. When the mood strikes for another Blizzard, I'll be back. read more

I'm a little surprised by all the extremely negative reviews. A lot of complaints about the staff but I've been going to this DQ for years and while yes it's mostly high school kids, I've never had a problem and they've always given me whatever ordered and it's been good quality. Yes, the parking's kinda a pain since the lot is very small and stuck behind the building, but just park in the lot next to it, there's a strip mall right there. At the end of the day though, DQ is wonderfully delicious. I absolutely love their blizzards (and despite what another reviewer said, their blizzard machine is very good). DQ makes wonderfully delicious frozen treats, that's the bottom line. I always go with cookie dough blizzard and generally add an extra ingredient and it's a good amount of both cookie dough and whatever else. My one complaint, and the one thing holding it back from 5 stars is that it closes for so much of the year. It's cold outside, I get that, but that doesn't mean people aren't still going to hop over for ice cream or blizzards. Closing at Thanksgiving and then staying closed until like spring break is frustrating as all hell because there's no other DQ around and I want my blizzards! read more

It is just not what I remember as a kid growing up in the area- The product is just so so...The soft serve is bland. There are better options now, then say when I was a kid in the 60's and would spend way to much time at this DQ. What's with the parking lot next door- don't park there or they will boot your car? What a bunch of nasty neighbors, I am sure they could work something out if they wanted, after all the business to the west is closed in the evening, what's up with the booting of cars? read more

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Beyond disorganized and brutally slow. Only go if you have at least an hour to spend standing in line.

This location is incredibly busy, at almost all hours of the operating day. In an effort to operate in a way that is safe for its staff and patrons, this location currently offers drive thru service. Essentially, you drive up to one door, place an order and then drive around to the other side where you pick-up and pay for your order. This location continues to accept walk-ups however the balance between taking drive-up orders and walk-up orders is non-existent. If you decide to walk up during peak hours (after school and in the evening), be prepared for an experience that is dehumanizing. My assumption is the owner and staff take note of when a customer walks up and then in the interest of fairness, take X amount of drive-up orders before tending to the walk-up order. Considering that there is only one order "window," this is fair. However, the process itself can be entirely dehumanizing because the owner (who is almost always there) does *not* acknowledge the walk-up order in any shape or form. There is no greeting, eye contact or "Ill be with you after I take a few drive-up orders." The entire process was frustrating and my children picked up on the embarrassment after waiting 10+ minutes before anyone looked over at us. This location is wildly popular and the young staff do the best that they can. That said, it would have cost the owner a few extra seconds to acknowledge the walk-ups (there were three while I was there) and helped us feel seen and cared for. I contemplated walking off (the pair behind me did) but the thought of children leaving in tears in front of a parade of cars was an equally upsetting situation. My advice: skip this location altogether and opt for a different business to satisfy your ice cream cravings. There are other locally owned ice cream shops in neighboring Glenview and Northbrook that could use your support. If this place is the only option because of convenience (location) or otherwise, my advice is to opt for the makeshift drive-thru. read more

Great spot for the blizzard love watching them flip it before they give it to you. Always puts a smile on my face and the staff is very professional and friendly. Very happy customer! Very quick to serve and very organized. read more

If you want food. Never go here. If you want ice cream. Then go crazy. But never try the hot dogs.

I love ice cream and especially milkshakes. I have tried many shakes from Dairy Queen and they are ok, but I absolutely love the Hot Fudge Shake. Those are amazing, they taste like chocolate milkshakes with very high quality shakes. I really enjoyed this and if you go to DQ you must get this shake read more

A perfect little stop when you're on the way home from Trader Joe's with a bunch of healthy snacks and drinks in your car. The guy let me add Kit Kat to my banana cream pie! I think you can do that already but I still got super excited. Banana cream pie and crunchy wafer chocolate. Mmm. It was pretty difficult to settle on a flavor though. Oh, and I will try to be the first customer of 2010 (11am, January 1 - just TRY and beat me to it) so I can get my picture taken and put on their wall and remembered forever (well, for the year at least). I wonder if I win a special prize. read more

I grew up eating Dairy Queen. My parents live 5 min away so we used to come here all the time during the summers to get ice cream. My friends and I used to ride our bikes and get the blizzards, good memories!! This is a very small dairy queen and across the street from a Shell. The parking is absolutely horrible but most people park next door at a medical building. I would say about 10 people can fit inside! What I love besides the ice cream is the FOOD! The hamburgers are sooooooooooooo good and tastes great with Jays chips. Man, good memories! There is a closer location on Southport, so def take a trip! read more

This is a local hot spot for families and younger children. Despite its small physical size, it is gracious in its attention to customer service. The parking lot is rather small and it does not help that it is located right off of a busy street. I was served by a boy who couldn't have been older than 13, and he was so respectful, attentive and professional. It is not a fancy ice creamery by any means, but it gets the job done and done well. read more

I don't usually review massive chain franchises (you pretty much know what you'll get from them by the name!), but this Dairy Queen has always been special to me. This old-fashioned Dairy Queen is a charming little hole-in-the-wall that only opens during the summer. I used to drool in anticipation of my delicious DQ Blizzard all winter as a teenager. This DQ is a little shack with just enough room for you to wait in line for your ice cream. Who needs tables when you can eat on your car!? On any summer evening you'll see the parking lot full of kids eating with their parents and teens on awkward dates. I'm sure this spot is a source of North Shore nostalgia for more people than me. After getting hooked on the Wilmette location no other generic Dairy Queen location can quite compare! read more

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's all about the simple things in life? Last night we were determined to visit an ice cream shop we'd never been to before. Our plans led to Homer's in Wilmette, but with two squirmy impatient boys in the back seat and a mom who was impatient with the impatients, we decided that we had no patience to stand in a super long line and run the risk of not having a table inside (away from mosquitoes). My trusty Yelp app led me to the next spot in the area and we headed to a good old fashioned ice cream shop staple - DQ! We nabbed one of the two parking spaces out front and got in a less long line and made our way to the counter. Darn they were out of Reeses, so I couldn't order the peanut butter cup Blizzard, but I opted for a small (which was pretty big) Snickers Blizzard instead. Each of the boys got chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, and my hubby got a vanilla scoop. Why vanilla with so many options? I just don't get it! What I loved about this stop. It's old and there are no frills here... not even designated seating outside. Just a bunch of super nice families hanging out, which reminded me of being a kid all over again. Friendly accommodating staff, and I happened to spot a Starbucks right next door when you need a warm up after a cold bite. Family of four for under $13. Good old fashioned family fun. Classic DQ ice cream goodness like I remember. Mental note: Next time find out what that s'mores ice cream thingy is... the picture on the poster looked really good! read more

There are two huge issues with this dairy queen. One is the prices they charge. I could be wrong, but I believe this might be the world's most expensive dairy queen. It is well over $2 for a small cone. WHAT?!?! The second is the experience of actually consuming your ice cream. There is no where to go after you made your purchase. The area immediately in front of the store is devoted to two parking spaces. The area to the sides of the store are ingress and egress alleyways for an additional 1/2 dozen parking spaces in the back. This dairy queen is post war suburbia at its worst. It assumes that the patron would not want to actually sit down on a warm day and enjoy their ice cream on an outside table. Instead their proposed customer's journey is to sell ice cream and then shuffle the consumer back into their metal oven on wheels as fast as possible. Do yourself a favor and find a more peaceful spot to enjoy ice cream on a warm North Shore day. This is not the place. read more

Ah yes the Wilmette Dairy Queen. Gotta love soft serve! Your friends work there and you go there because there's nothing else to do. (as a highschooler). Its pretty much just a shack and gets mighty crowded. Parking is horrible, actually its dangerous. Park in a neighboring lot and save yourself the trouble. read more

Ahh DQ... You bring me back to my childhood. I grew up less than a block from this DQ. I'd walk over in the heat of the summer to get my tasty treat. I did that walk again on a recent visit back. From the outside, it's the same little shack that's been standing there since I can remember. It is still cramped on the inside, especially when it gets busy. The menus have been updated but they still have the "local treats" section that looks like the menu I remember. This DQ's soft serve is the best! I know it's all the same but the ice cream from this location just tastes better! I could really go for a hot fudge sundae right now... or a chocolate dipped cone... yum! A few notes... There isn't any seating offered. It's a take it and go kind of place. Parking is absolutely terrible... There are three parking spaces out front and a few more behind the building. The prices are on par with all the other DQ's. Not the cheapest frozen treats but worth it. read more

Not a pleasant DQ experience. A logistical nightmare - waited 30 minutes for a cone. No place to sit & traffic-filled ambiance. Cars in makeshift drive thru line were backed up on to busy Lake ave creating huge safety hazard. cars who'd been waiting patiently in line were cut in line by pedestrians. Ice cream was already melting by the time we made it from order window to pickup window. Yikes. I know they're doing their best but the experience took the laid back fun & enjoyment out of "summer ice cream night". Hopefully management can work out the kinks so we can try again later this summer or next. Until then - Graeters, Culver's & Homers. read more

I have nothing but praise for this place. It's always well staffed for the busy hours. I only wish that they were open year-round. Sometimes I crave a good cherry-dipped cone in the dead of winter. read more

Dairy Queen - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Wilmette, Illinois