Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant

Made reservations online… it was SUPER EASY and convenient to do. I STRONGLY suggest it because it can get CRAZY busy here at any given moment. The last time I went to Farrell’s was seriously in the 70’s when I was a kid. It was a place that you got to visit on special occasions (especially your birthday!) or when you got a good report card. I’m SO GLAD they’re back and EXACTLY as I remember!!! The menu is even more extensive than I remember. They have everything from appetizers, soups, salads, bowls of chili to hamburgers and a plethora of dessert options. I had the buffalo chicken w/​bleau cheese mac and cheese. I know it sounds gross, but it was OH SO YUMMY! My daughter had a pickle shot… YES they have pickle shots… and fried dill pickles with ranch. Both were SUPER tasty!!! We finished our meals with a clown sundae, a Gold Digger sundae and a «fake «mashed potatoes, meatloaf and peas for the kiddo. Everything tasted great… even the coffee was delicious! (Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I’m REALLY picky when it comes to coffee!) Our waiter was Kyle and other than the fact that he spilled our first pickle juice shot all over and it sprayed on my foot (It TOTALLY added to the fun and silly atmosphere of the place, so ABSOLUTELY NO WORRIES there) His manners impressed me GREATLY! I strongly recommend coming here, but only if you’re able to leave your «adult self «at the door and be a kid! You have to be able to order fun foods like a «Gastronomicaldelicatessenepicurean’s Delight, a Grilled Cheese Samich, or a Fancy Pants Fish and Chips. Come in… let your hair down and have some FUN!!! P. S. I saw a lot of daddy/​daughter dinner dates there. SO CUTE! (And a wonderful way to build some memories!)

My expectations going into Farrell’s was slightly high because I had heard great things about it from friends that suggested I should go if I’m ever in the Brea area. Given that it was a hot day and I happened to be around, a group of friends and I walked in and asked for a table, but the hostess said it was going to be a 45 minute wait. I would normally be fine with waiting, but I saw a bunch of empty tables and booths and nobody occupying them at all. There was not a whole lot of AC pumping through the building either, so that did not make the wait too enjoyable.
When we were finally seated, the service made sure we had menus and took our order promptly. After the waiting and all that, I have to say that they really do go out of the way to make sure that you have a great time. It’s a very family fun atmosphere, so lots of birthdays and special occasions are celebrated here frequently.
Their menu is definitely overwhelming. I have to try their food next time, but our only reason for coming in here was to escape the heat and cool down with some ice cream desserts. In their ice cream soda menu section, you’re able to customize what type of ice cream flavors you want in a mixture of cream soda. If you like chocolate soda, they will customize it anyway you like it. Everything came out promptly and we definitely enjoyed our time there.
Would I go back? Maybe if I was in the area and craving sweets, I would consider it. Otherwise, it’s definitely something to check out if you have a group of friends or have kids. Farrell’s is actually a pretty cool place!

I came back here recently to entertain some sweet little relatives of mine and my experience was even worse than the first time! Our server Colleen was cold, aloof, and seemed like she wasn’t excited about her job in the least. She seemed utterly annoyed when one of the kids in our party wanted to switch out his mac ‘n cheese… and when it came time to put in our order for clown sundaes (which automatically come with each kid’s meal), she didn’t even ask which flavor ice cream, sauce, toppings, etc. the kiddos wanted! Instead, she just assumed they wanted plain ice cream and didn’t even list the choices that are explicitly offered on the menu. When we asked her if it wasn’t too late to get something as simple as chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, she simply retorted, «Well it’s not dire if they already scooped out the ice cream, is it?» So much for customer service and a family experience, considering I thought Farrell’s was a kid-​friendly place… eek!!!
Oh, and the food was still subpar and overpriced. I personally think Disneyland food is way better and more justified than it is here, which speaks volumes. If gross food and meanness towards kids is attractive to you, then this is the place for you… otherwise, do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.

This is my first Unilocal review but i felt compelled to Unilocal after we celebrated my sons 4^th birthday at Farrells in Brea.
Leading up to the party i had a few phone calls with Farrell’s to make reservations, arrange food, etc… every single interaction was great. Every employee i spoke with on the phone or traded an email with had great energy and was very helpful. Thats a huge plus, its great to feel like the venue you are celebrating at cares about your celebration as much as you do:)
Our group was 30 people, lots of kids under 8 years old. Lots of kids running around for sure, Farrells is a great place for kids. The atmosphere is fun and just like i remember when i was a lil kid.
Our server managed our party, brought drinks made sure everyone had refills all the time, was very very attentive — Awesome Fun attitude from the whole staff!
We ordered a party package, a couple pizzas, pitchers of sodas, couple giant plates of fries, and a few adults ordered burgers. The party package came with a ZOO — 30 scoops of ice-​cream!
30 scoops is a lot, but i m a big fan of presentation. several staff members delivered the ZOO with such energy that all 15 – 20 lil kids where mesmerized by the show the staff put on. The birthday boy couldn’t believe what was happening, Farrells sang songs about him, ran the ice cream ZOO all around the restaurant and made sure the whole place knew it was his b-​day. it was awesome!
Several parents told me their next kids party would be at Farrells and it was one of the best kids parties they had been to.
Brea may not be convenient, i wish they had one in san diego or pasadena. But it was worth the drive to Brea and my family that drove from SD and Pasadena agree!
Thank you Farrells!

This place was brought to my attention by my co-​workers and in that conversation, my manager said she would bring us all here, especially knowing how much I love sweets and ice cream! They told me about all the singing and dancing and the great environment. So, my expectations were pretty high!
Today we walked in and were greeted by two very sweet ladies. The guys told them that it was a my birthday, which I mentioned that it was my Un-​Birthday, haha! They accepted it and gave me a birthday sticker. They sat us down even though there was still eight other people in our party that were yet to show. Our server Logan was a super nice guy. He got out drinks right away. I ordered a strawberry lemonade which was wonderful. When our entire party came, he got all our drinks and orders. I ordered a Buffalo Mac n Cheese (no bleu cheese, yuck!) with a Caesar salad. The food came out fairly quick. My mac n cheese was pretty good, nothing special. The Caesar Salad totally hit spot. THEN comes dessert, what I have been waiting for! Right when I sat down for dessert they pulled up the drum and started singing happy birthday to me. They had me stand up and do some salute, and totally got me red in the face. It was a very cool experience. So on to dessert, I heard of the ‘pig trough’, and of course since I’m a pig, I thought ‘what would be more suitable that that!!!’ So I got my pig trough, Jack style though! Chocolate ice cream with strawberry topping, Pistachio ice cream with pineapple topping, and mocha almond fudge ice cream with hot fudge topping. So this monster is two scoops of each ice cream flavor with the toppings, whipped cream, and bananas on the side and everyone around me is looking at me like ‘Jack. there is nooooo way you will finish this dessert on your own!!’ My ambition kicks in, I take the challenge, let the games begin! I started with the two scoops of mocha almond and down it… ok, now take a breather, and now to the pistachio… start downing and downing and finish the pistachio… take another breather… I realized I just downed four large scoops of ice creams with its toppings and feel overwhelmed but the heck with it, I’m going in the for the kill! I start eating the chocolate and I feel like my stomach is about to explode. I lost the challenge with one scoop of chocolate left on the plate. Soooooo disapointing! The pigs trough tasted really good. I was told they used Rite Aid/​Thrifty Ice cream, which if anyone has had thrifty ice cream, it seriously is the best.
The whole experience was awesome. The environment was great, the workers were totally upbeat, the food tasted good, the ice cream was awesome. If you haven’t been, go check it out. If you can go around the day time, its not that crowded and you get seated right away. I haven’t been there at night, so I have no clue how crazy it gets. Very cool spot though! I’ll be back for sure… hungry and ready to dominate that pig trough next time!

Decent food. decent service. Came here for over 10 years probably once every 1 – 2 years. The food has always been average, but the location is great. I always go for the ice cream and fries. Cant go wrong there! Garlic Fries are a must. So are their milkshakes. Service wise its ok.
Today I was over charged though and I wonder how often this happens? Something shady is going on here and management couldn’t figure what the real issue was?
Raising eyebrows

Disclaimer: Their milkshakes will likely bring all the boys to the yard.
I would have never believed I would ever get to walk into a Ferrell’s ice cream parlour ever again, since the one in my childhood hometown closed down about 25 years ago. At one point there was over a hundred Farrells’ in the United States. Even the original locations in Portland and Eugene, Oregon have been closed down for over a decade. Yet, here I am, after years and years since my last visit, being in a Farrell’s, same logo, same staff with the ragtime look all in tact.
Obviously, I had to get a chocolate milkshake for old times sake. You get half in a glass with a cherry on top, with the rest in a malt shake metal cup. It’s going to be sticky, its going to be a mess and you’ll probably get a brain freeze while you’re enjoying your shake, but its all well worth it. The rest of the food is nothing special, you’ll probably be equally happier at red robin. Really the best part of Farrell’s is its old-​time feel, nostalgia, and without a doubt its shakes!

This place is so much fun and my first time here. We came for my sons second birthday and all the bright colors and lights kept him entertained. All the birthday songs are super cute and the big drum makes it so much better. ALTHOUGH we had a burger that was supposed to be «medium cooked» and two bites into the burger it was practically Raw, so we returned the burger and asked for one that was cooked better… About 5 minutes later his burger comes back and he flipped the bun off to readjust the bacon and HE GOT THE SAME MEAT BACK! which left our whole table of 7 shocked. The same meat with the same two bites was giving back but it had a new bun so they kind of tricked him in thinking he got a newly grilled burger, but to our suspicion it was just nuked in the microwave.
MAX, one of the managers comes to our table to see how the new burger was and my boyfriend explained to him what had happened and he was also in shock and almost had no words for what had come out of his kitchen. So he gave our whole entire table free ice cream which turned out night around and if it wasn’t for my sons birthday the dinning experience probably would have turned out differently. But thanks to Max for comping our tables desserts and his upbeat attitude with all the songs he had to sing last night because it seemed like they never ended. Hopefully next time we can give 5 stars because that’s what it deserves (outside of the kitchen)

This place is pretty awesome!!! It’s located on the corner of the block. Parking is free. There’s parking in both structures, behind the Edward’s theater and near Ralph’s. Plenty of parking, though it can get crowded when it’s on the weekends and during peak hours.
Inside, the décor is very parlor type. The restaurant sign has lights all round it. Very easy to spot. I feel that it has a very olden style (50’s style type parlor you see in the movies). The waiters wears those ice cream parlor flat hats and uniform to go with it.
It’s like a great place to be a kid even if you’re an adult!
When you com in, they got a wall full of different candies that you can buy.
There’s plenty of seats to sit, I came when it was going to close in 30 minutes. It was still packed and lots of people on a Monday night. It’s very lively and loud. They would honk the horn or the bell when they were about to sing to the birthday person.
You can sit at a table or at the bar type seating. At the bar type seating, you can watch them make the various ice creams they have right in front of you through a glass. It’s pretty neat! They make it so very presentable.
Ordered the Banana Split:
It was good. Had vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream with a halved banana on the sides, topped with whip cream and a cherry. It tasted like a normal ice cream with real banana. Can’t complain.
I really like how the environment is very lively. The food presentation was superb with different variations of ice creams and toppings mixed. Seems like everyone is having a good time at Farrell’s. I mean, it is a place where you can satisfy your sweet tooth!

Farrell’s ice cream is so good! I’ve only been here 3 times, but my favorite flavor so far is Birthday Cake.
This place is an easy 5 stars, but not today. I ordered a double scoop from the takeout window and my total came out to $ 5.13. I paid with $ 10. I was handed my ice cream and I pocketed my change. It wasn’t til I got home and emptied my purse did I realize I was given incorrect change. Instead of $ 4.87, I was given $ 4.37. I’m only at a 50 cent loss and it was my fault for trusting the cashier and not checking my change. But a somewhat expensive and popular ice cream shop couldn’t give me correct change? Come on.

Trying out this gangster ice cream parlor that time warps you back to the wild wild west! (Tombstone) or something like that ha ha! Filled with childhood dreams of delicious sweets to rot ones teeth to hearts content! Watch out for the bald-​headed babies they like to creep and bite! Lol.
The employees are a delightfully happy bunch singing rhymes that rival that of the Beastie boys which, gives a charming charismatic heartbeat to entice one to delightful playfulness, giggles, and farts!
It’s great to see everyone having a good time it’s like Disneyland! Ha ha
Now I order the Ice cream Nachos. A waffle cone is used in place of the actual tortilla chips. The waffle cone pieces are used to dip into ones ice cream so good. Nice and crunchy! It comes with mint chip, chocolate malted crunch, and animal cookie ice cream. Topped with hot gooey fudge, Carmel, marshmallow fluffy clouds whipped cream mixed nuts, and a cherry .
You can with get 3 scopes or 4 I’m fat so I got four!!!
It was a pretty good mixture of flavors and I enjoyed it. I’m not gonna compare it to any other ice cream parlor as that would not be fair.
An enjoyable place for anyone looking for an entertaining experience
I will just say that I really enjoyed my experience here and I recommend it to anyone who wants to have an enjoyable time!

This is a noisy and festive venue for a birthday celebration. I joined my friend and his family in celebrating his 1yo’s birthday. Everyone had a grand time and the energy in the staff is amazing and overwhelming. Haha!
I had the banana royale. I’ve got to say the ice cream wasn’t all that remarkable. It’s unfortunate.
Highlight of the night was watching the baby eat ice cream for the first time. She seemed to enjoy it and made the far drive down worth every minute.

We were shocked to find a Farrell’s! We changed our dinner plans to eat at Farrell’s! The both of us hadn’t been to a Farrell’s in over 25 years. Many memories were brought back.
It was PERFECT! Kyle was our server and he was AMAZING! He sang a custom song for Gretchen. He was fast and always going the extra mile.
Please bring Farrell’s to Portland again! I love this place. The magic is back!

Always a crazy friendly atmosphere here. It’s a little bit over the top but that’s how it’s supposed to be. The birthday songs are outlandish but it is hilarious for sure.
The ice cream here is just boring to be honest. Nothing special at all in my opinion. The biggest insult is that the hot fudge… IS NOT HOT. Like its barely luke warm. Hot fudge is my favorite ice cream topping along with chopped nuts and they do a really good job of making it as Boring as possible.
Ya I mean other than that the ambiance of this place is nice and all. It has a retro vibe to it and the workers are all dressed in vintage clothes and one step in this parlor will transport you back to the 1900s.
That is what’s so great about Farrels! It’s the environment that brings people together but sadly the experience is incomplete due to the boring ice cream flavor and the poor technical aspect of the toppings. Hot fudge has to be hot.

Located in the heart of Brea, with always a line wrapped around the building, I was dying to try this place out. Came here on a random weekday around noon and the line wasn’t too bad of a wait. Once you get inside it felt like a circus with an intense pulse.
Anyways we ordered a bacon burger with a side of garlic fries, shoe string onion rings and the only thing great about this meal was the generous portions. The burger was just very average and not juicy at all. The fries were okay but nothing too special. We also tried their mint chocolate ice cream and there was really nothing too special about it.
Overall I wouldn’t go back and no way in hell would I ever wait in line to ever eat here.

Surprisingly disappointing ice cream!
The place looked good but the ice cream wasn’t special. It was mediocre at best.
I shared a triple scoop of coffee, mint chip, and chocolate malted crunch with fudge on top and whipped cream
The whipped cream was out of a can, which is pretty sad for a place that specializes in desserts.
The ice cream wasn’t bad but wasn’t good. Rite aid or trader joes has better ice cream at a cheaper price.
Won’t be back

I had mixed feelings after trying Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour for the first time. The reason why I never really had the inkling to ever try it was because I already knew this restaurant was geared towards kids and more towards a family celebration kind of thing — not really what I’m into right now haha.
That said, my friend wanted to try it and I thought it was about time to check it out. We decided to go to the Brea location because it was closest to the Bruxie’s.
We came around 2pm and were seated immediately. The guy taking our order was pretty kind and very quick to take our orders. The first thing I noticed about Farrell’s was that they put in a lot of effort into the atmosphere. First of all, the menus look like newspapers, the American theme is pretty interesting, and of course they do that happy birthday thing if it’s your birthday.
Of course my friend wanted to show us the «full experience» by lying that it was her birthday. Thank god I had the newspaper menu to hide my face. Anyway, I got a single scoop of coffee with some brownies since I was pretty full already.
Unfortunately, our orders took a bit too long to come out. Now usually I’m not a complainer for long delays in orders, but how long does it take to make ice cream? Anyway, our orders finally came out and it might be because I had really low expectations but I didn’t think my coffee ice cream was anything spectacular. It really just tasted like the kind you can get out of the store. At the Ghirardelli brownies actually didnt even taste like the brownies. Ironically best part was my friend’s «birthday celebration».
All in all, I’m glad I can finally say I’ve been to Farrell’s. I’d give this place a ²⁄₅ for the quality of food (though portions are huge), ⁴⁄₅ for overall atmosphere they try to put in, so I’ll settle with ³⁄₅.
Eat well and prosper!
–ß

After eating Bruxie’s with my friend, I wanted to go to Farrell’s because I wanted to try out their ice cream sundaes!
Went in and was kinda surprised because it was one of those restaurant types. I totally didn’t know before actually going in. Oh. Before I forget. This is located in Downtown brea: P. We were given a table (for two) and then we ordered something.
Gold rush– Chocolate and vanilla ice cream, peanuts, hot fudge, topped w/​w/​c, mixed nuts, and a cherry.
So the top is boring. Whipped cream and mixed nuts w/​cherry. Merp. You then go inside to the chocolate and vanilla ice cream, which took me a long time for me to get through: P Haha. I had just eaten at Bruxie’s and this was notttt a good idea but I wanted to try! They had nuts and hot fudge in the middle which was a great addition to the ice cream, but it was hard because of the fact that the ice cream was still on top: P You had to get the ice cream first cuz you didn’t want it to fall– plus it was melting on the sides as well! Ugh it’s so hard when you got no help: P
After getting through the most of it, I felt terrible. But the feeling during was good. Ice cream during the summer was awesome and delicious. If you can handle the sweetness and the ice cream and more ice cream and more ice cream and love and the lines and ice cream… just come here: P
Service was great because of the fact the server came by many times to check up on us and refill our water. (:
YAY FOR NO LINES~ LONG LIVE DESSERT.

I hadn’t been to Farrell’s since I was a kid, and I was so excited to come here with my son. This restaurant was just as much fun as it was when I was young. I loved sharing the experience with my own child, and I was surprised to find that the food was good here too!
We came here for a late lunch during the week so it was really quiet here. The wait staff seated us right away. My son ordered the kid’s Chickity Dippers, and I decided on the Barbecue Chicken Salad. We both really liked our meals, and my Barbecue Chicken Salad was one of the better salads that I’d had in a while.
The atmosphere was really fun here, and the service was great as well. The moment we were seated, the friendly employees asked if we were celebrating anything special. It was my birthday over the weekend so I got a birthday sticker. The waiter ask my son, «Do want us to sing Happy Birthday to your mom?» While I said no, he said yes. They sang Happy Birthday later with minimal embarrassment. It was fun, almost like being a kid again!
The reason we came here… the desserts! My son’s Clown Sundae was cute and delicious. I got a little birthday sundae too. It was just the right size, and it was yummy too. I don’t eat ice cream very often so I thought this was a nice birthday dessert.
My son has decided we’re celebrating each of my birthdays here from now on. We thought the food was really good, the sundaes were great, and the employees were wonderfully friendly and helpful here! It’ll be fun coming here to celebrate our birthdays!

My two friends, my baby, and I ONLY went for dessert, and it was my first visit. Everyone talks about this place, and I have had it bookmarked for quite some time. Finally, I was able to visit today!
ATMOSPHERE: The decorations are like an old school ice cream parlour. They have wood throughout the restaurant, as well as old pictures and red, white, and blue banners. They have lunch/​dinner (food) and desserts. The food is things like hot dogs and burgers and macaroni and cheese — so, American. It wasn’t busy when we were there, which I understand. It was a Thursday afternoon.
SERVICE: The hostess was busy when we walked in with something, but she sat us fairly quickly. Now, our server, who I believed was named Trinity, was fantastic! She was so helpful and so knowledgable. She was friendly and nice. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who visits this establishment. She brought everything out in a timely manner, and she was great at recommendations.
FOOD: Or in this case… DESSERTS: Great! I mean, how can you mess up ice cream? My baby and I split a hot fudge sundae without the almonds. My friends got a scoop of mango sorbet and a scoop of birthday cake ice cream with hot fudge.
OVERALL: I think it was a good first experience! I would definitely like to visit again during the evening when this place is loud and obnoxious like all the other reviews say. Oh, and I definitely have to try the food.