Woody's Ice Cream — Restaurant in Fairfax

I recently tried Woody's for the first time based on many favorable reviews. Growing up in Lancaster County, PA where top shelf homemade ice cream places are a dime a dozen, I can say Woody's is fine - not exceptional but not poor.

While twelve ice cream flavors may sound sufficient, most hand-dipped (hard) homemade ice cream shops tend to have at least double that. Once you have your staples: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint choc chip, cookie dough, and cookies and cream, with just twelve flavors you're only left with an additional 6 from which to choose.

As far as the ice cream itself, my wife and I shared the Mint Choc Chip, Bananas and Cream, and Raspberry Choc Chip in a banana split w/ hot fudge. It was certainly delicious, but the ice cream itself was nothing extraordinary. Again, nothing wrong with it but certainly better options (especially outside the NoVA area) exist. Gelati Celesti in Richmond, Lapp Valley Farms in New Holland, PA; Greco's in Lititz, PA, and Fox Meadows in Ephrata, PA are all examples of exceptional ice cream establishments. For a unique ice cream delight in NoVA, consider the Nice Cream Factory in Arlington, where they make your ice cream to order by using liquid nitrogen. It's great fun for adults and children alike.

While we did not try the waffle cones, it appeared that Woody's purchases these from somewhere and does not make them on site (they had cases of pre-made ones sitting on a rack). This is in contrast to all of the other places I mentioned that have the waffle cone makers in plain view of the customers. I'm a firm believer that fresher is better when it comes to almost any food item, waffle cones included.

Also, regarding another reviewer's comment that Woody's uses all natural ingredients and no food coloring or artificial flavors, the mint choc chip ice cream was green, which implies [to me at least] that food coloring was used. In comparison, all of the all-natural mint choc chip ice cream I've ever tried was white due to lack of food coloring (ie Turkey Hill's all natural mint choc chip, sold in most NoVA grocery stores).

Finally, as many other reviewers have mentioned, Woody's only takes cash. In contrast, 100% of the other ice cream places I've listed - even those run by the Amish - accept credit cards. In this day and age, especially in a tech hub such as Northern VA, there's no real excuse for not accepting electronic payments. I get the whole notion of not wanting to pay the 2% or so fee to a credit card processor, rent is super expensive in NoVA, wages paid to employees are probably higher due to cost of living, etc., but when everyone else inside and out of NoVA takes credit cards, perhaps you should too.

In summary, Woody's is an ok place to go for ice cream if you're near Fairfax. It's not going to blow you away, but it will almost certainly satisfy your craving for that beloved frozen treat. Just remember to...

A story book ice cream shop—complete with a perfect cherry on top. Every time I have gone to Woody’s, my experience is always the same; perfect service, and perfect ice cream.

Even when there became a new owner of the ice cream shop, it stayed the same, and maybe got even better. One thing I love about Woody’s is their multitude of ice cream flavors—35 all different, unique flavors, but nothing can top their chocolate and vanilla twist. Every time I go, I bring someone with me to try some of Woody’s ice cream and at this point, they all have different specific go-to flavors.

Another thing I absolutely love about Woody’s Ice Cream are their prices. I mean this is what makes it such a good place to go—a large cup for only $6.00, and their specialties range from $5–$10. Everything on their menu is affordable and cheap and nothing goes higher than $10.99, and that’s only if you want a quart of ice cream. Their prices are always amazing for the ice cream flavors and textures.

Every time you walk in the shop, you are greeted with a warm smile and cold ice cream. The workers at Woody’s Ice Cream are all somehow very kind, and understanding. One time when I went to Woody’s with my sister, they made a mistake her order, so just like that we got a new cone for her and didn’t have to pay extra. They always give you time to order and give you recommendations for what ice creams you should get.

I have recommended Woody’s Ice Cream to several of my friends and family members, and now that I’ve moved to another state I’m very sad we don’t have one here, but every time I go down to Virginia, I always make time to get Woody’s Ice Cream, and...

Now I’m a regular of this establishment so don’t take the 3 star rating as harsh. But somethings have to improve with how operationally this place is ran because it is one of the cornerstone establishments of the Fairfax business community. This is why I say that. I have waited to give a “grade” or “review” to Woody’s Ice Cream. Wanted to and have been able to observe their functionalities on several different occasions. Now this last occasion was the icing on the cake. It was a Monday evening with about 30 mins until closing. I noticed there were a lot of customers on the inside and outside patio waiting for their orders to be fulfilled. As evident by the over 20 tickets with more coming posted for fulfillment by the employee operating the cash register and taking orders. I placed my order and waited nearly 10 minutes before another employee told me they were now out of one flavor I ordered and asked if I was good with just having only one flavor instead of two. I said that was fine and continued to wait another 5 minutes. So after 15 minutes and an incorrect order later I left with my one flavor ice cream and an irritated sense about this shift of employees at Woody’s. Now I know this place gets busy but somethings can be alleviated from occurring. Granted it was the end to a holiday weekend but seriously 15 minutes plus to wait for soft serve ice cream. Some other customers waited nearly 20 minutes for their order. Product wise this place rocks it. But it has not met the mark operationally and logistically on...