Shelly’s Freeze

Yeah, I am a BIG FAN!
Went here for the first time in August of 2015, returned on Superbowl Sunday so my son and I could get gyros before going to a friend of his to watch the game.
In August when we went, it was my son’s first gyro, and my daughter’s first try of some. They are both hooked now, and see Shelly’s as the standard. The ones we had Super Bowl Sunday did not disappoint. Right size, just the right amount of sauce, GREAT PITA BREAD.
The hot dogs and hamburgers are solid.
The shakes are FIVE STAR! And though I have never had one of their other ice cream treats, it all looks wonderful, and the banana split we saw Sunday was so enticing that we almost stayed for one ourselves, but we were late for kickoff.
As far as corner dinner /​ice cream shoppe /​hot dog & gyro joints go, this one is a treat on Winona & Lincoln, and I suggest making a stop here, especially if you can stay and enjoy the ice cream treats.

Such disappointing service. We moved into the neighborhood in Spring 2015 and were happy to find this place a few blocks away. During the really hot days, I’d ride the Divvy bike from Western Brown Line to the bike station across from Shelly’s, and then stop in to get a small ice cream cone for the walk the rest of the way home — becoming a frequent customer.
One night in late August, a few friends and I walked to Shelly’s for a treat. There was a special on parfaits. I honestly had no idea what that was so I asked the man behind the counter and he said, «It’s a parfait. It’s ice cream!» So I figured I’d try something new. When I say him put strawberries on the ice cream, I immediately said, «Oh no, I can’t have strawberries, I’m allergic!» His response was, «Too bad, you ordered it.»
«Too bad, you ordered it.»
This was what he said to a frequently returning customer. And then he kept on making it! He could have stopped immediately, scraped the strawberries off and made adjustments. But no. He kept making it and then demanded we pay for it. Such horrible customer service.
Needless to say, I’ve never gone back and I never will. So disappointing.

Pretty good soft serve. Old school place with basic food items like hot dogs and gyros. I’ve only been there for the ice cream though. Cash only.

Yammy! One of the best and cheap fast food station. Excellent Hotdogs, Italian beef, Gyros, and Fries. Everyone loves the soft serve ice cream! very rich and creamy.
Highly recommended! The service is great too.

Quick service, and the soft-​serve tasted fine. However, the stale cone ruined the thing.

The reason I love gyros. I grew up in Lincoln Square and ate at Shelly’s Freeze often. It looks exactly the same from 25 years ago. I hope this place survives another 25 years. It is a neighborhood legend.

I live around the area and I pass by this place often. Today, curiosity got the best of me and honestly it’s a lot nicer than I thought inside. They have the standard Chicago fast food menu (gyros, hotdogs, fries, burgers, gyros, beef and pizza puffs) with an emphasis on ice cream. I got cheese fries and a gyro sandwich and it’s exactly what you think it is; decent, greasy, quick and easy — cash and carry!

Good place. I just moved to the neighborhood, and this place is exactly the kind of place I like having around.
The food is good for what it is. It’s general mom and pop cuisine. For those of us who like this kind of food, this place fits the bill. Except for the fact they don’t seem to have the perennial Pizza Puff. They don’t seem to cheap out too bad on things. A lot of places that serve chili cheese fries tend to drape on chili with no beans, or bean chili with no meat. This place had great chili cheese fries.
The Gyro is pretty solid. Was good, although felt the portion was a bit on the light side.
Seriously though, to attain all the crown jewels of a mom and pop greek stop… you need to have Pizza Puffs. =)
Now, a couple of caveats:
1. This is a cash only establishment. They have an ATM inside, but it’s a generic ATM, the type that will probably charge you $ 4.00 to withdraw money. This is a big negative for this place. It’s 2015, and a lot of people are getting out of the habit of carrying cash. Considering that GrubHub exists, and there are elevendy billion joints in Chicago that serve vienna beef and gyro… these folks need to seriously get themselves into the 21^st century.
2.While I have not lived here during the summer months yet, I can see this place getting quite busy. That said, I intend to review Shelly’s again in the mid summer months.

Good service but terrible food. Ordered the burger and it was so thin and had absolutely no flavor. I ended up throwing it away. It came out out to be like $ 4.50 for single cheeseburger.

I hear this place is good for ice cream.fine. but they sure don’t seem to care about anything else. Looks like a promising spot but it turns out they’re serving bad food with a matching attitude. To say the food is uninspired would b giving them too much credit. Owned and operated by a bunch of clowns as far as I can tell. They’re really missing out on an opportunity to have a cool little place here, but they just don’t seem to care. Neither should you, unless you’re really horny for some dirty ice cream.

I’d like to give it 0 stars but not an option, literally, maggots crawling on floor in dining area, and burgers served with moldy buns. Never think about this place unless you need to vomit.

Wow. Bad. Burger and fries ordered, fries raw, burger has more junk on it than burger. Throwing it away.

This place is great! I been coming there since I was little when my mom used to wash at the laundromat down the street. From the frozen bananas to the hot dogs, its all good. The fact that the same guy still works there makes it all better. You know the food hasn’t changed. Love this place and still come down once in a while when I’m craving the fries.

*CASH ONLY* There is an ATM. Great Chicago style hot dogs. Pretty good Philly Cheese but if you don’t tell them they put lettuce and tomato on it which is actually a Cheese Steak Hoagie. Still good but not the same, tell them onion, peppers and cheese and it comes out pretty good. They have good french fries, but nothing to write home about and eat them right away or they’re awful by the time you get home. Lots of different ice cream creations and relatively cheap soft serve cones. A few outdoor tables and a parking lot. Good for kids. I had a strawberry shake the other day and it was awesome! That’s about all I’ve had from Shelly’s so far, will update if I try their burgers but probably won’t. UPDATE: Tried a burger, not bad, not great.

I live right by this place it is literally in walking distance. I recommend their cheese fries they are delicious they also have good ice cream. They only accept cash that is the downfall.

Great place grab a quick, cheap bite. Ice cream is always a plus! CASH only FYI, but they have an ATM.
They have a wide variety of food that is terrible for you, but really good. Hot dog, fries, gyros ect…
Favorite is always the ice cream. I am picky about my soft serve ice cream and this is one of my favorite spots. Its nice in the summer when you can take your dog and sit outside in the sun!

Sprinkles! I love ‘em! (The rainbow kind please).
Shelly’s Freez has a sprinkle cone. So-​so vanilla soft serve (I mean, does anything really hold a candle to the Golden Arches’ soft serve?) covered in rainbow sprinkles. Yay! I don’t think the sprinkle cones are very popular though, because the rainbow tasted a little stale.
The dudes that work here are really sweet though. I’ll probably be back to stuff my face with gyros and MINI jumbo shrimp! Just no more sprinkles here.

I had a weird Philly-​steak from here. At first it looked gross with mayo, tomato, & lettuce. But the more I ate, the better it got. Honestly the last bite was delicious. Probably too much mayo, but I’m not the chef. Fries were decent.
Buddy had a gyro, said it was good. Problem was, I didn’t know this place was known for their ice cream. I think I’ll go back for a shake or sundae, and maybe bump these guys up a star.

«Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting burnt and gritty. Been down, isn’t it a pity, doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city…»
The Lovin’ Spoonful accurately expressed the way I felt one hot summer day in the far northside of Chicago. But Shelly’s Freez cooled me down quickly with their frozen soft-​serve, cold soft drinks and shady picnic tables with umbrellas. With that being said, Shelly’s Freez dishes up plenty of «lovin’ spoonfuls» (of ice cream) to quickly cool down anyone on a hot summers day.
Shelly’s is a no frills piece of Americana. Once a Tastee-​Freez, Shelly’s has been serving Lincoln Square ice cream since the 1960’s. Don’t expect gourmet gelato and wild boar dogs topped with foie gras and Gruyère here. This joint is «old school» and serves up classic soft-​serve sundaes, Chicago dogs and even Italian Beef and all for a nostalgic price too. A classic dog, great fries and a soft drink sets you back $ 4 and is made in a flash too.
If you’re hot and need a place for a quick cool down head over to Shelly’s Freez. With their great frozen soft serve, classic Chicago dogs, nostalgic prices and shady picnic tables, Shelly’s will definitely become an oasis in a «hot town, summer in the city…»

This review is going to be short but sweet (pun intended). Shelly’s has been around forever. I remember driving by here when I was a kid in the late 70’s.
It was a Monday night, I had a craving for some Soft serve, Ice cream and Shelly’s was the first place that came to mind. Shelly’s is a run down shack of a Ice Cream stand, they also serve your typical fast food items like Hot Dogs, Burgers and Italian Beefs. The structure looks old enough that a strong sneeze could knock it down.
The Soft serve was inexpensive and tasty, but I can’t really make a judgment until I stop by for some food, so I will update this review at a later time.