Sidney Dairy Barn

This place is the bomb, and absolutely the kind of place that makes it worth searching around for the best local joints on a road trip. We spotted it on a hiking trip and made a stop on our way out, and it was flat-​out amazing, as you could probably guess based on the long lines stretching out at dusk. The service was incredibly efficient for such a tiny joint, and they had a good selection of flavors; but the food was the real attraction, amazing ice cream desserts made from that fresh country cream that you can taste the minute it hits your tongue. It’s also got 1970s prices, which makes the massive sugar rush all the more worthwhile.

Ice cream is good but the service could be improved. I rarely get what I actually order. A peanut butter cup tornado with chocolate ice cream isn’t that hard to understand or make. They just lack attention to detail. First they made me a m&m tornado with chocolate ice cream and when I told them it was supposed to be peanut butter cup, I got a peanut butter cup with vanilla ice cream. This didn’t happen just once either. My order is wrong more times than it is right! I’ll just start telling them to surprise me since I always am when I go here.

Little piece of heaven, the best ice cream shop near Champaign Urbana. Decent prices, superb taste; What else do you need on a hot summer day! This place is cash only, and sometimes you can smell cow dung. Other than that, this place serves far better ice cream than neighboring ice cream parlors (like Jarlings) of Champaign-​Urbana.

This is one of my favorite places to get ice cream in the CU area. It’s a bit of drive, but it is worth it. It’s about 10 minutes from the far side of Urbana. Getting there is really easy.
The atmosphere of the Dairy Barn is very kid friendly. There are many tables set up so that you can sit and enjoy the ice cream. When my friends and I went, the line was about a 20 minute wait, but it didn’t seem like any time at all. An older gentlemen, I presume the manager or owner, was giving out samples to the entire line. You could tell that he took pride in the product he made and was excited to share it with everyone.
The special that night was cappuccino ice cream. I added in cookie dough to make a «tornado» which is a blizzard like ice cream treat. It was so quite refreshing and was a nice treat on a humid night. The Dairy barn is a must go!

Our bike club comes here often year round for evening ice cream cycling excursions from Champaign-​Urbana. The staff is always VERY friendly and accommodating. The ice cream is tasty, although I do prefer the fattier taste of custard. All in all, a wonderful place to visit.

Local Dairy Barn that served your typical traditional American dairy products. The ice cream was itself was so rich that I could taste the milk. If you just simply want an ice cream or something simple, this is definitely a good place to go. But personally I see nothing too special about the place.
There’s ample amount of parking in their private lot, but expect there to always be full of locals populating the area. When in doubt, just make your own parking spot. I know I did

I LOVE the Dairy Barn. 20 minutes east of CU, this is the picture perfect small town ice cream place. Outdoor, order at the window and sit on the picnic tables under the festive outdoor lighting to enjoy your soft serve treats. Chocolate and vanilla always available, with a rotating special third flavor (I love mint week!). There are always special tornadoes (think blizzard) to match the flavor of the week. I also recommend the raspberry truffle tornado; raspberry flavored ice cream with magic shell-​like dipping chocolate mixed in. If you want a short journey and some awesome ice cream, go to Sidney Dairy Barn!
Update: I love Dairy Barn. It should have 5 stars. What’s my problem?

This is still the best soft serve I know, in the world.
My favorite flavors are mint and cherry. Their flavors are subtle, mild, and the cream is not overly sweet. Lately, the ice cream I’ve had at other ice cream establishments has been so sweet that it’s actually inspired this positive review. I once finished a quart of Sidney Dairy Barn ice cream, in an afternoon, by myself. At other places I’ll only have a small cup and I’ll feel sick and renounce ice cream for a month — how depressing.
I don’t know what else they do differently, but the milk is fresh and the flavors are right. It’s basically a stand in the middle of corn fields — at last that’s how I remember it — and they’re only open during the summer. I always go out of my way to come to Sidney Dairy Barn and it’s always a trip worth taking.
P. S. CASH or CHECK only.