Carnival Barker’s Ice Creams

I have been eating the cookie butter ice cream from the start and it is always a winner! The Oak Cliff location is close to Bishop Arts so it is easy to get a sweet treat after running around. It is not your typical ice cream, but it is flavorful, natural and they serve a wide variety.

Overpriced and mediocre. The ice cream was rock hard and unimpressive. The employees and owner are rude. I’d rather go to marble slab.

Ice cream was just… okay. Nothing special. Steel City Pops across the street is cheaper and tastes much fresher.

After brunch with a couple of my gal pals on a Saturday morning — we were craving something sweet and decided to hit up Carnival Barker’s for some ice cream. It had to be around 12:30PM on a Saturday when we arrived. Even though they had only been open for an hour and a half that day — they already ran out of most of their flavors! I had the Banana Pudding — although the flavor was pretty good — the ice cream was frozen solid with a layer of freezer burn on the top. Thankfully, my spoon didn’t break trying to scoop some of it out. Kinda disappointing. Maybe I came on an off day. The little ice cream cup was cute though.

If I could put zero stars I would. Actually, no 1 star is adequate because the light whipped icecream texture was okay. Way over priced and pre packaged… I couldn’t even sample. Oak farms is way better and for $ 5 you can get a whole gallon of rich creamy icecream instead of a small pint of flavorless icecream… Well more like 1 cup of icecream.

Tried this place out cause I didn’t want a Popsicle from steel city pops. Ice cream didn’t seem fresh but was okay. The rice crispie Sammie you get no options just a scoop of vanilla in between some half chocolate rice crispie treat. Wasn’t bad but wasn’t spectacular as it could Be. Tons of potential.

I really wanted to love this place. I like that they make everything from scratch, but I have given the place two tries and just could not taste the appeal. I am hoping the new Oak Cliff location is better. I think it would be better to serve by the scoop rather than the pre-​made cups. I still have faith in y’all!
I tried the cookies’n’cream which had a layer of ice on the top of it. I waited for it to warm up a little, but the rest of the ice cream taste more icy than creamy which broke my spoon. I wanted to try again, so I went back for the Nutella. I could not taste the Nutella. It tasted more like frozen cream with a little flavor.
This is good if you like light on the flavor or if you want something to eat while you are chilling at the Truck Yard other than the food truck options. I would give their new location a try.

came here on a rainy day… they looked like they were closed, but they opened up and said to come on up to the blackboard.
they said they didnt have many flavors… they were right, they only had ones they had made the day before. the ice cream was rock hard. like it had been sitting in a too cold freezer for a month. i think it had good flavor… but again not sure, the texture just totaly turned me off b/​c it was so difficult to eat. it was like carving wood with a plastic spoon.
the rice krispy thing was interesting where they use that instead of cookies to make ice cream sandwiches.

Local made ice cream with plenty of quirky flavors to choose from, this place has it all! They even offer ice cream that is dog friendly :) Only complaint is that this little shop is attached to a dingy wanna be backyard bar. Gross. I’ll be back for the ice cream for sure!

Rude rude rude.
The lady at the front counter was so rude, she slamed the window closed on our face.
I was asking questions bc I have never been there before and she had such short and curt answers and looked very annoyed.
I liked my ice cream sandwich rice Krispy but it wasn’t worth the price and the rude lady at the front.

The ice cream was phenomenal. Enjoyed the no cones theme. Be sure to grab extra napkins. The ice cream is such a high quality you can taste the difference, your not paying for a generic food service ice cream like other places. Get off of Unilocal and go!

We have been looking for a good local place to get ice cream after our favorite place, Mel’s in Richardson, closed. So we found ourselves at the truck yard and saw Carnival Barkers so we decided to try it. The ice cream was great… the owner was a dick. That’s about the nicest thing I could say about him. After getting a barrage of nonsense about some high class ice cream culinary school we did end up trying the chocolate. Great first impression, I must say, and even though the ice cream was very good I don’t think I’ll be giving my money to a rude hipster ice cream snob with a phd in creamery.
Mel’s please come back to me!

The ice cream taste just as described. Whether if it’s banana or peanut butter, the snazzberry taste like snazzberry (flavor not actually available), they don’t get it wrong when it comes to taste.
The ice cream was taken into Truck Yard where it was paired with a beer of similar style. Beer and ice cream never tasted so good.
Bomb ice cream guys, get a cup.

Yes, the price is high, but the flavors seem awesome and the options are always changing. I ordered the Truman Capote, which is supposed to be banana and whiskey. Unfortunately, it tastes like like plain ol banana and I’m such a whiskey lover that I was a tad bit disappointed. I did also try one flavor that was kinda like butter pecan and that one was much better. I’m coming back to give this place another go. I do like how it’s always different.

Awesome area but okay ice cream.
I found out about Carnival Barkers about a year ago on Buzzfeed. It was one of the top ten places to go to for ice cream in the nation. Although I had this set in my mind, this review is probably still accurate for those who have been her before. Also, I’ve been here more than just once so trust me!
This place isn’t a walk-​in type deal. It’s basically a booth on the side of the truck yard. Great area for chilling with friends btw! But the service is super nice and they recommend many flavors to you if you’re indecisive. One of the major downsides is the flavor of their ice cream. Although it’s naturally made (according to them), the flavor is very verrry light. After eating it for a while, you start to ask yourself «Is this vanilla?» They basically need to add more of their flavoring ingredient (ex. Nutella ice cream needs to be richer). Overall, great atmosphere but below average flavor.

Really expensive no matter how its made. Nothing I tried was nearly as rich, flavorful & creamy as B & J’s any flavor. The rice crispy treat ice cream sandwich does no credit to the idea of it. Too thick to take a direct bite and just tasted like rice crispy treat, not enough flavor in the ice cream to compete with rice crispy“s, thats some bland ice cream. Try Tiff’s for some killer ice cream sandwiches. I Facebook conversed with owner/​ice cream chef, he did not take my kindly delivered constructive criticism well.

After being published on a Buzzfeed article about ice cream shops you need to visit before you die, I had to stop by to experience it for myself. I got the crunchy peanut butter and it was amazing! The ice cream was really creamy and not frozen at all (I mean it was solid but in a way where you wait 30 seconds and it’s perfect).
The owner was such a gem and extremely friendly and helpful. I love supporting local businesses and this one is a must visit. The flavors were unique and I thought it was fairly priced.
I would ABSOLUTELY come back here and recommend others to try it while hanging out at the truck yard.

Here I am, all stoked with my copy of D Magazine with their Best of Big D list. We went over to Carnival Barker immediately upon seeing that they won Best Ice Cream/​Gelato. I, too, am a part of the WTF-​Just-​Happened party on this board.
I thought $ 5 for an 8oz little thing was too much, especially since you can get a pint of Americone Dream for less. I tried the mocha (coffee ice cream with chocolate pieces) and the cookie butter (akin to gingerbread). My mocha was frozen and all ice. I don’t even believe there was cream involved. How do I know? I’m lactose intolerant. I sacrifice comfort for my love of ice cream. Upon eating it and waiting a couple of hours, I feel perfectly fine. The cookie butter was a bit creamier.
They get one star for having fun flavors. By fun I mean, there’s a Shiner Bock and something with Dr. Pepper — but that’s about it. In conclusion, they get one star for thinking up new flavors, but it doesn’t mean it’s good.
You think 1 star is harsh, but outside of 1 out of 2 ice creams being creamy — which is the least you can expect from an ICE CREAM SHOP — there is nothing else to redeem them. The cashier was too-​cool-​for-​school and the tubs were premade and kept individually wrapped, complete with an expiration date. Handmade or not, it’s not worthy of the Best Ice Cream award. I’m sure D is trying to promote local business, but if this is the best Dallas has to offer, that’s lamesauce.

Ok, Ok — I get the whole «eat local» thing but I just don’t like Carnival Barker’s. I’ve never found the ice cream particularly good, if anything it always seems overly frozen and icy.
The staff isn’t very friendly or helpful and it is like you have to know already what the scoop is (no pun intended) before getting the window to order. Sorry but I don’t know what all the weird ass ingredients are so I may need to ask a question, is that so bad?
It is overpriced, trying too hard but the one redeeming quality is is that they do try to be as local as possible which is cool. Plus, who doesn’t like a walk up window? I so want to like it here but… I just don’t.

I think I must be missing something here, because while I was super excited to make use of the other half of truck yard, which is quickly becoming a stomping ground of mine, I wasn’t at all blown away by Carnival Barker’s. Good ice cream? Sure, and some unique flavors, but between the price and presentation, why aren’t I putting my $ 5.00 towards blue bell?
Star 1: How was the service and atmosphere?
As I mentioned, this is the left half of Truck Yard, which is without question one of the hottest new spots in Dallas. That’s in and of itself cool especially when things are getting hot, and I can’t complain about the attitude or speed of the service. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
I didn’t take a picture, but $ 5 got me a decent sized portion of Mint Chocolate Cookies and Cream. Fair. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
I mean, meh. First and foremost, they make the ice cream and then package it in little styrofoam bowls. When you first open it up? It’s rock hard, so you’ve got to wait it off a bit to avoid breaking your plastic spoon. That whole process in and of itself takes away from what would otherwise be the classic freshly scooped experience, where the ice cream is quite a bit more ‘fluffy’ and in my opinion, more flavorful. Additionally, while it might have just been my selection, my unique titled Mint Chocolate Cookies and Cream, was no different than had I gotten a good scoop of both individual flavors together. Nothing special, and compared to the local kingpin Blue Bell, I wasn’t impressed. No Stars Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
Between Tiff’s Treats, Pokey O’s, Blue Bell, and that new ice cream food truck at Klyde Warren, Carnival Barker can’t yet hang in my opinion. No Star Granted.