Cold Stone Creamery

I don't know why I'm so out of the loop with what's going on in Lincoln Park, but just like a restaurant across the street from here, I have NEVER heard of this place. I used to hang out in this area for three years straight for dance class and grad school and just totally overlooked it.

It was founded in 1988, and I have no clue when it came to Chicago though so maybe I didn't. I just had a sweet tooth after leaving Blue Sushi across the street (and didn't realize they had a dessert menu). I could not care less about cake, donuts or pie, but I can demolish ice cream and/or candy like nobody's business. The problem is, as a second-round vegan, it's tough for me to find nondairy desserts.

I poked my head in here 99.9% sure they were going to say everything was dairy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had a new Silk chocolate almond milk ice cream. I wish I caught the lady's name that was there today because she was so bubbly and friendly. When I stared at her in confusion after she asked me did I want "Like it, Love It or Gotta Have It," I realized this order was about to be involved.

I like the way that the employees mix your toppings around in the ice cream instead of dumping them on top where you end up eating them way too fast. A family member stopped to take my pic while I tasted a spoonful, and I guess I looked extra happy because I caught the lady behind the counter smile as big as I did. Happiness is contagious.

Anyway, love the place. Love my almond milk frozen dessert. There's only one table to sit at and someone was there, so I flopped down on a nearby bench and enjoyed my birthday sweet!

Great ice cream, and better service from the wonderful kids working! Will definitely revisit again

This store is absolutely filthy from the ceilings to the floor. It's gross! It is months and months of grime and filth. They need to close down for a week and deep clean. I honestly don't know how the health department allows them to operate like that! This is where you make food....making a purchase here is telling them it's ok to be filthy.

Cold Stone is always a happy place for ice cream, and this location isn't an exception to that rule. Unfortunately, the store is small, cramped, and probably gets more online orders than it can handle.

The best part of Cold Stone is being able to choose a base flavor, then add in additional toppings/ingredients, which a staff will mash and mix up. In a cramped space, that means there's a limited number of employees at a limited number of mixing stations, working on orders that take time to put together. Long story short, expect a wait.

The ice cream itself is deeeelicious! Love "The Founders" signature creation. Sweet cream, brownie, pecan, chocolate syrup, caramel.. Just wow.

Sanitation is extremely lacking. Servers don't wear gloves but touch everything. Very limited dairy-free options (1 flavor... Chocolate made with almond milk, and it's chalky tasting. There are so many potential customers who can't eat dairy, and many dairy-free options in the marketplace now. It's a huge miss to not have more offerings). I try this place once each summer to see if it's gotten better, but it just gets worse each time. It's really unfortunate because it's in a great location.

It was the night of fourth of july and the line was long I get they were busy, but these two workers who were i'm guessing around 16-17, kept goofing off with eachother and the guys behind me who ordered after me got their ice cream & shake before I did. They took forever to get my shake, so I ended up leaving because I was missing the fireworks. One of the workers name was Niko or something. The worst workers ever will not be back for a while.

Excellent ice cream. We had purchased a ice cream cake for a graduation party. We were able to custom build it with the ice cream and ingredients that we wanted. The cake was very good. Nothing but great reviews for everyone at the party. The owner was a very nice guy how went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. Will definitely go back form or cakes or just ice cream. Thank you cold stone.

Purchased an ice cream cake for graduation.  Man, that was good.  When placing my order the person taking my order suggested adding waffle cone into the mix and my goodness, the cake almost became the center of attention.  Delicious!! Thank you so much!

Gross!! Smelled horrible and was so dirty. Saw a review that said the place smelled like a toilet. Completely agree.

It's a spectacular place of business and we have all kinds of tasty favoring ice cream. So come try it out.. come on come back on ice cream cakes and more.