Dewar’s Ice Cream & Candy Shop

Remember to slow down when you come here. Enjoy the old time pace, and remarkable sundaes. Super Yummy, we always stop when we pass thru Bakersfield.

What’s not to love about Dewars? It’s a nice treat every once in a while, which is perfect for when I’m visiting the fam in B-​town. Ice cream is freshly made, everything is prepared right in front of you… a good, dessert spot. My only complaint is the wait time. But, that’s to be expected, right?

Dewar’s, I wasn’t that impressed with you.
It’s got an old fashioned ice cream shoppe feel to it. Sitting in the stools, my friends and I were assisted by a very sweet girl. She gave us samples of whatever we wanted. I settled for a scoop of the peppermint ice cream. While the scoop was very generous and the ice cream tasty, there was just nothing spectacular about it.
The flavors are rather standard, the prices are good, but there’s nothing too special to keep me comin’ back.

Everyone in Bakersfield is constantly talking about Dewars. I’ve lived here for 14 years and visited Dewars numerous times and, if their reputation is based on their ice cream, I just don’t get it.
First of all, let’s talk about their service. I met a friend who had been given a gift card. She sat for 10 minutes before I got there waiting for someone to come to the table and wait on her. When I got there, I noticed an old fashioned «take a number» set up just inside the front door and took a number. We never heard anyone calling out numbers or checking numbers. (We displayed ours visibly on the table top). After another 10 minutes of sitting there with no food in front of us, we finally managed to flag down a server to take our order.
We decided to split Grandpa Jim’s Banana Split which advertises itself as the banana split made for two, made with
«six scoops of ice cream, two vanilla, two strawberry and two chocolate, each one with your choice of topping — and finished with ground walnuts or almonds»
— copied directly from menu The menu had 6 toppings listed. The banana split is $ 13.95, but split in two was not unreasonable. My friend told the waiter «I guess we get all the toppings since there are six scoops and six toppings.» She left it up to him which toppings went on which flavors. The banana split arrived with the bill. The six scoops of ice cream are stacked on top of each other making a pyramid — 3 on the bottom, 2 in the middle, and 1 on top. The toppings appeared to be randomly dripped over the top without matching toppings to flavors of ice cream. There wasn’t a large amount of topping on the banana split. It was strange looking and difficult to eat if you’re trying to taste specific flavors of ice cream and specific toppings. In fact, we had a spirited discussion about whether either of us could taste any of the pineapple topping on it at all. We started eating and it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t fabulous, but it wasn’t bad. As we started eating, it began to tilt at a dangerous angle. You see, it is hard to get a spoonful of the scoop and topping on top without knocking the whole thing sideways. So we started eating from the bottom and middle layers and it tilted further because we were eating away at the foundation, slopping ice cream onto the table.
That’s when we noticed the bill on the table. We were charged $ 13.95 for the sundae and $ 1.00 each for 3 «sides of topping» Apparently, only 3 toppings come with your banana split, not all six, and we were being charged for the «extra toppings» — Interesting, since the banana split did not seem like it had «extra» topping on it, in fact, the application of toppings was pretty skimpy. Had they covered the split with 3 of the toppings then brought three containers of «extra toppings» we wouldn’t have felt so CHEATED, but they didn’t. They put the «normal» amount of toppings on, just half as much of each of the 6, which added up to the normal amounts of toppings — but for 3 dollars more than the advertised price.
Our server had not mentioned this when he took our order or when he delivered the ice cream, just quietly set the bill down on the table and left. We really felt we had been tricked. Not being able to find the original server, we decided to just leave and chalk it up to experience and NOT COME BACK EVER.
Well, Dewars has people bring their receipts up to the cash register to pay instead of allowing you to pay (the nonexistent server) at your table. There was nobody at the cash register. We waited a couple of minutes in full view of all the people behind the ice cream counter and finally went over to ask them if one of them would help us so we could leave. An apologetic worker shrugged and said that the cashier must have stepped away. More waiting, and starting to get grouchy and frustrated before someone finally wandered over to help us. THEN they couldn’t figure out how to process a gift card. It just about took an act of God to get us out of there.
I might come back to buy a box of their «chews» — salt water taffy which would be worth 4 stars on it’s own — but I don’t think I’ll ever be back for their overpriced average tasting ice cream and poor service. Honestly, the ice cream taste would score 2 stars, the service deserved no stars. My predilection towards the chews is the only thing keeping me from giving this a single star.
Dewars — you may be the «hometown favorite» but I think people come here based more on a memory of your past glory than on current performance.

i dont know whos running this place, but damn! service sucks here. the place is rowdy and completely unorganized. and the number system does not work here. i think they give blondes priority bc it took us a while to get service when clearly there were so many workers picking their nose.
the downtown location is great. this one, sucks. hope they step it up.

Not sure what others are complaining about in terms of service. I think the service was absolutely wonderful. I just came back from college after 4 years of being away and remembered this as a wonderful place to have ice cream. The employee there offered free sample candy to show us all the different flavors that have come out. He was quick on the service and gave my girlfriend and I more than could fit in the cup for the black and white, which was excellent. I told the employee that I was a liberty high alumni and he informed me of all the new things that have occurred as well as what has stayed the same.
Taking a bite into the ice cream made me wish I was back in bakersfield again (for just a second). The ice cream is much richer than most ice creams and has a taste unmatchable. This is probably the best ice cream I have ever had in my life. Couldn’t have expected more from them.

I’m dropping a star because… well, this place isn’t downtown. Service is ok here. I’ve never been offered extra toppings once I’ve dug half way through my giant sundae, yet downtown does.
All in all, location is nice, I can’t complain since it’s about 30 seconds from my house. It has outdoor seating but I hardly ever see people out there.
Ice cream is consistent at both locations, service is ok. Décor is cute. But for the real old fashioned soda shop feel, that you’ll find at the old location.

Love Dewar’s. Been a big fan of their ice cream and candies since I was a little kid. I do prefer the location on California Ave but that is mostly due to the charm and memories of from when I was a kid. I love just about everything that I have tried here. I must admit I’ve probably only ever had a handful of different ice cream concoctions here because I keep wanting the same thing over and over… the George’s Special. George’s Special is a vanilla milkshake with a generous squirt of chocolate syrup, banana and crushed walnuts all mixed to a thick, barely able to suck up in a straw, delectable milkshake.
I do often come here to buy some of their famous candies for gifts around Christmas time. I have family members out of town who love and expect to get these from me every year now. They are very expensive though.
The only reason I only gave this Dewar’s four stars is because they do hire high schoolers who should be on antidepressants. Not really friendly or happy to be there. They are all more interested in flirting with one another. Understandable, but annoying.

I agree with previous reviews that the service is horrible. This place is a mile and a half from our house and we don’t even try to go there anymore, we’d rather drive 5 – 10 miles away to other local ice cream places. Even if it’s not packed, the service is extremely slow. They have this system where you take a ticket when you walk in, and you wait for your number to be called. However, half the time they aren’t using this system and you just have to sit and wait and wait, until someone comes up to take your order. This always happens, and almost always there are people who walked in after us that will get served first. The prices are OK, but you can get more bang for your buck elsewhere.
The ice cream is good, but you can get better ice cream from local places in town (Rosemary’s, Moo Creamery). The peppermint ice cream and the chews are amazing, so maybe if you just walk in to grab a box and pay, it will be worth the visit. If you do go, order the George’s special (a shake with walnuts and banana).

I would have given them a 5 star rating but the staff is young and not very customer friendly. It’s not that they are rude they just don’t seem to know what they are doing nor have any direction from a manager. The Ice Cream is still the best in town.

This place is a gem in Bako. Personally, I always get the Georgia Special, which is delicious (walnuts, vanilla ice cream, bananas, and fudge all blended up into a shake). Generally, this place is packed at night, so be prepared to wait.

These reviews are always tough for me — decent food paired with bad service. How bad? Let’s see…
The staff members here are mostly high school kids with «bite me» written all over their faces. They’re not mean spirited or hostile however, they’re really good at ignoring you while wallowing in teenage angst. These kids make me want to find a time machine, travel back a decade, go to the mall, locate my teenage self, and beat the living piss out of her. I don’t think teenagers in a herd offer the best customer service.
I had the orange sherbet and thought it was extremely average. It wasn’t light and melt in your mouth nor was it a dense gelato. I made the mistake of adding a melted chocolate to the sherbet — that makes it bitter and renders the the entire thing inedible. Bf ordered the black and white, which is vanilla and chocolate ice cream mixed with marshmallows and chocolate syrup. This offering was super rich, indulgent, and way too much sugar to handle in one sitting. Him and I should’ve shared one black and white — it was rich enough to satisfy the both of us.
If I’m really craving tooth decaying rich sweetness, I’ll get a black and white to go. Dining in the shop is a meh experience at best.

Their homemade taffy is better than their ice cream…

I crave a Dewar’s trip when I am visiting friends and fam in Bako!
I will never vary from this order: a Black and White with ice milk and almonds, served in a to go cup. I eat it in thirds and end up savoring it for as long as possible!
We’ve even gone to Dewar’s solely for «lunch.»
The only issue I have with Dewar’s is that the servers are so young and they all need to be in a laundry commercial. I realize you are dishing up and serving ice cream, but how is it possible to get that dirty doing it?

Dewars has been my favorite ice cream spot since I was a kid. My dad used to take us to the shop on Eye Street. My boyfriend came into town with me for the weekend and we went to the shop on Hageman. He agrees that Dewars is the best there is! My favorite will always be the peppermint stick. Perfect for the holidays!

2 things. Taffy and ice milk. Their peanut butter and almond taffy are my favorite and their peppermint ice milk is just out-​of-​this-​world refreshing.

I’ve been itching to try this place for the longest time based on the feedback from my staff in Bakersfield.
Having tried Handel’s in my neck of the woods, DeWar’s needed to bring their A game… and it did not.
I came in on a Sunday to get some ice cream for a staff get-​together. Once I stepped in, there was a ticket machine. I told the cashier what I wanted and she was nice enough to direct me to a bunch of pre-​packaged gallons. I had hoped to try some flavor’s and make a choice and have them pack some fresh for me.
Oh well. I scanned the flavors and decided to give them a try. It took a little bit to find someone to help and give me some samples.
I think I sampled several flavors including chocolate, triple chocolate, rocky road, and strawberry. The one thing I noticed was that they all had a similar texture to them — light and airy. I’m used to more firmness and depth to my ice cream. I settled on the triple chocolate and rocky road, but wasn’t super enthusiastic about either.
In speaking with the staff, they indicated that the original location (not this one) was better. They also stated that it tended to be more about the nostalgia than the actually location.
Just my two pence.

Wish I could give 3 ½ stars instead. The reason being is Dewar’s used to be a little better. And if you’re like me and you have to make a pilgrimage to Dewar’s whenever you’re visiting family in Btown/​Bako, you know what I’m talking about.
Remember when the peanut brittle and peppermint ice milk had chunks and not chips of candy in each flavor? I do.
Come on Dewar’s! Why did you start being stingy with your ingredients? Was it because you opened this second shop? It certainly wasn’t because you were losing business. I said ICE MILK for crying out loud! Who makes ice milk any more? It’s heavenly! Don’t you know you never ever mess with a good thing? Why fix it if it ain’t broke?
Buying a pound of Dewar’s chews is a must. They are better than any taffy product I have ever tried. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Don’t get your ice cream on a cone, Dewar’s cones are horrible. I think they went for a cheap product.
Dewar’s is still worth a visit if you ever find yourself by one of their shops.

I kindly disagree with Mark S. I love this place, I love this place hard.
I’ve been to Bakeo a totally of 3 times for the BF’s family visits. EVERY TIME I piss and moan until he takes me to Dewras. We went on Mothers Day which just happened to be the same day that they were written up in the local paper. As you could guess it was packed. Matter a fact when we got a ticket the counter said 99 and we were number 32. Needless to say we went for a walk. The line did go by pretty fast but in the end I received a scoop of vanilla ice cream with hot fugde under a scoop of chocotate topped with marshmallow fluff.
Let me digress of the marshmallow for a second.
If you have never had it. Get it. Its quite possibly the best ice cream topping ever created. Me? I’ve always thought it was some wierd thing that ppl eat. i’m not a big marshmallow fan myself. Now I come here simply to have the marshmallow on top of something.
:sigh: I want some right now!

The candy is amazing, the ice cream is smoothe and creamy, the recipes are fun, and there is a great atmosphere here.
Unfortunately, the service is rather shabby. High school students are generally employed here, so the wait can be long. Also, they seem to chit-​chat a bit much, and don’t care about socialising with customers. The counters can also be sticky, like they haven’t been cleaned in hours. Yick.
But overall, this is a nice place to go for dessert after a date at RJ’s (or Taco Bell if you’re cheap).