The Freeze

Good ice cream they definitely need to work on customer service and how orders are taken and prepared. Apparently people take the wrong orders constantly and then get yelled at in front of other customers. That’s what I was told after this happened to us last night.

A Crystal Lake institution. Two words: cheese fries! No one makes them better than the Freeze. Cooked to order and piping hot every time. The Blitz is another highlight — ice cream mixed with various candy or toppings. So many options, you cannot go wrong.

At first glance «The Freeze» seems like a nice old fashioned soft serve ice cream stand. Being new to the Crystal Lake area I thought this place has to be good! It looks like it has been there for decades but I am not really aware of its history? The old saying that looks can be deceiving certainly applies here! If you like this business I won’t try to sway you from patronizing it.
If you have never been to «The Freeze» … BEWARE of this place! The soft serve ice cream lacks the creaminess and flavor of a high quality. We go to Indiana Beach every summer and their soft serve is «night and day» better. Even McDonalds has better soft serve!
Next they serve sundaes in a cold cup. Hello! … there are things in the food service industry called sundae boats! But they must cost too much $$ in comparison to cold cups is my guess? They just throw everything in the cup with no rhyme or reason. There were 2 ingredients missing from the sundae that were listed on the menu. When I asked for my money back the older lady with missing teeth was very rude and said I did not ask for those ingredients. What? … they are listed on the menu! She refused a refund on the sundae and when I asked for the owner this older lady with missing teeth (manager) said the owner was in California. OK that is great … have a nice time in California! $ 6 dollars for a sorry looking sundae in a cold cup. I can live with a McDonalds sundae in a cup for a buck or two. But for $ 6 dollars I expect better!
Finally, there is a sign on the roof saying «World famous» cheese fries. They have to be decent, right? NOT! They are ordinary french fries in a cup (lol) and the cheese sauce (nothing special) is on the bottom of the cup. So you have to eat several fries without cheese to get toward the bottom of the cup.
In conclusion, I can honestly say I have never been treated this badly by any business and I am 45 years old. The older lady with missing teeth has to be the worst with regard to customer service that I’ve ever dealt with!
In my opinion, «The Freeze» is bottom of the barrel … as bad as it gets! … poor quality, overpriced and very bad customer service!

I can’t imagine what sort of person would not love The Freeze. Great ice-​cream — and to die for cheese fries. It’s a Crystal Lake staple — and everything I love about summertime!

They have a great variety of things to order. Not just ice cream. They have cheese fries too! They have cotton candy dips which look really cool because they are hot pink. It would be nice if there were more places to sit on.

Very good, almost always packed though. Be prepared to stand in a long line, especially if it is in the middle of summer. My favorite is the cone dipped in peanut butter. Get it with chocolate/​vanilla swirl ice cream! Good food, too. Nothing fancy, but perfect for a quick bite to eat on a summer night.

Drive a little further down the road and check out Dairy Mart in Huntley or the always amazing, Julie Ann’s. I can’t believe there is always a line at the Freeze. This is sub par ice cream and toppings for twice the price as other places and the kids that work there are always rude! I’ve given up on everything else they have so this time I tried a slush. What it turned out to be was more like Hawaiian Punch with some pieces of ground up ice than the snocone expierence I was hoping for. It was gross. I asked for more Ice and they couldn’t give me more, or my money back. Keep in mind this was the manager who was behind the counter for once. I just turned around and tossed it in the trash. Shame on them for lousy customer service and even lousier food. People stop giving this dump your money and make them improve. Ohhh and their cheese fries are atrocious.

Great service — super friendly and fast. Cheese fries are amazing! The cheese covers all of the fries in the cup instead of the typical top portion only. Cheddar nuggets are delicious. Banana split is made perfectly — looks and tastes amazing.

This is the ORIGINAL and the BEST!!!
Why would you go anywhere else?
I LOVE this place. GREAT food, GREAT ice cream and GREAT service!

Our kind of place. A delightful stop for a refreshing bit of ice cream. No frills, lots of chills. Another throw back to better times.
We look forward to our next visit.

So disappointed. Spent over $ 20 for three sundaes and only one was prepared to order. The first simply was a banana split with a traditional request of strawberry, chocolate ice cream… what did we get… three globs of vanilla. The second a banana royale with a traditional request of strawberry and chocolate ice cream… what did we get… two globs of vanilla. The turtle sundae came out perfect with one glob of vanilla ice cream. So if you love globs of vanilla ice cream … Go here. Loved the location near the lake and atmosphere thus the 2 stars. The line was too long to create a stink over vanilla globs.

The Freeze has a great atmosphere… feels like you are back in time at an old fashioned ice cream shop. Would be nice if they had some picnic tables or benches to sit on. Line is pretty much always out the door but moves fairly quickly. The dipped cones are awesome! I was less than impressed with my Blitz… hardly had any mix-​ins, felt like I was just eating plain ice cream… definitely can get better elsewhere for less as I feel it’s a little over priced.

Best cheese fries ever.
Place is an institution. Needs landmark status.

We ordered a barbecue beef and a double cheeseburger with everything on it the experience was second to none. I always seen this place is packed a new it was worth trying out so I did try it, and boy was I pleased.

As the other Unilocalers wrote, The Freeze has always been THE place to go for a treat in Crystal Lake, truly a gem! Family-​owned & operated, The Freeze has been around forever, and I had missed it when we moved away from CLk almost ten years ago.
On our drive up north on Memorial Day, my husband & I stopped in for the footlong Coney Dogs & their famous chocolate milkshakes (not ice cream today, ha!). They make the best Coney Dogs, the chili never too salty. Their cheese is what makes the Coney Dog, I think, but still good without. I must add, it’s better than Lafayette’s in Detroit! Really! And you don’t have to drive as far~ ^°^
You have to walk up to the window, there’s no drive-​thru nor much seating (plenty parking, tho), but totally worth the wait. The long lines, at anytime you visit during the summer months that they’re open, gotta tell you they’re doing something right. There may be 20 – 30 people waiting at one time, but the line moves fairly quickly, and you won’t wait more than 10 – 15 minutes.
In the meantime, you can enjoy reading the «menu» that’s plastered all over the walls in rainbow of colors to reflect their flavor spectrum! I don’t think I’ve ever finished reading their entire menu. :P
Servers are always smiling and the prices are very modest. When in Crystal Lake, The Freeze is a must stop, easily accessible on Northwest Hwy (Rt. 14), just north of new downtown CLk, up a mile or so from my favorite Japanese steakhouse & sushi restaurant, Kyoto!
Food/​Freeze: 5
Service: 5
Price: 5
Seating: 3 (car)
Final: 4.5

Just stopped there tonight and ordered two small Blitz’s with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (think Blizzard from DQ). We were shocked at the $ 5.39 price and extremely disappointed with the lack of Reese’s mixed in.
Not only are the probably the most expensive in town, but stingy with mixing toppings into their ice cream!

A crystal lake staple. Everyone in town has some sort of memory of the place. It’s a must stop on 4^th of July, or the cardboard cup regatta.

Love THE FREEZE. THE FREEZE is a great place to bring your family for a teat. THE FREEZE has a great selection. THE FREEZE is recommended. I will be comming back here soon. Excited

To quote Yogi Berra, «It’s so crowded nobody goes there anymore»
When I first moved to CL 3 years ago, LOVED The Freeze — small town icecream place you could walk up to and get good ice cream on a hot summer’s day — It still is, I suppose. and in a vaccum, I’d probably make this place 5 stars. but we discovered another place that does it better and cheaper… The Freeze isn’t bad — but service is a little pokey, and it’s a little more expensive than Dairy Mart in Huntley (but still not bad). I guess I’m not going to wait in a line usually 10 customers long, to wait 15 minutes, with nowhere to sit (benches on the side and retaining wall fill up fast) anymore when I can drive 10 minutes to Dairy Mart for someplace with more seats, better food, quicker service, and better prices.

Nice old fashioned ice cream place. A true local favorite. Stop in if you’re in the area and get a cone.