Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot

Clifton, United States

4.1

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 703-830-7898
Website:
www.petersonsdepot.com
Address:
7150 Main St, Clifton, VA, 20124
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Wi-Fi
No

Today

Today 11:00 am – 8:30 pm
Open now
Local time (Clifton) 4:33 PM Saturday, May 31, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 8:30 pm

Description

Specialties

Voted best ice cream shop in Northern Virginia, 2008, 2011 by Northern Virginia Magazine.

Follow us on Facebook for Special Offers and weather related change in hours. Our weather policy is to close with a steady rain or if it gets too cold. If there is any question about being open, please call the shop or visit us on Facebook (Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot) for up to date information.

We proudly serve Premium Soft Serve Ice Cream with a vast array of toppings, Hot Dogs with special additions (including our signature «Sloppy Dog Sauce»), Carolina BBQ, and Fantastic Fries. Our fries are made right here, not bought frozen from a food vendor and we believe they are the best in the area.

History

Established in 2007.

The Peterson family loves ice cream and one day stumbled upon the recipe for the finest ice cream they had ever tasted. They realized that there was good ice cream (but not this good) and thought it was a shame that the stores were always located in a strip mall where they had to eat in an asphalt parking lot. Tom and Jean, parents of our three first employees, longed for a place they could enjoy their ice cream in a pleasant atmosphere. Living in the beautiful historic town of Clifton, having the perfect spot on Main Street, and possessing a secret recipe, they put the three together and knew they had a formula for success and so it began… Ice Cream wasn’t our only endeavor as we conceptualized about what we could do to offer our town fun, family dining with a «come as you are» feeling. A year after the Ice Cream Depot opened we added the «Dog Pound» serving the Mid-Atlantic’s most unique and exceptional hot dog with our signature «sloppy dog sauce».

Meet the Business Owner

Tom and Jean P.

Business Owner

Both natives of Northern Virginia, Tom grew up in Springfield, attended Lee High School, taught school at Laurel Ridge Elementary and then Robinson High School where he also coached varsity baseball for 23 years and basketball for 18 years. He retired from teaching in 2008 but still enjoys substitute teaching. Jean grew up in Fairfax and attended Fairfax High School and has been a practicing dental hygienist for 23 years in North Arlington. We have been surrounded by kids professionally and personally and have found it rewarding and energizing. Knowing our talent and passion is working with children, we believe we’ve created a family-​friendly business where kids rule.

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20 reviews of Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot

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Place rating: 1
Washington, DC
Out on the road and had a yen for ice cream and Peterson’s was highly rated. Disappointing. First off, my husband and I both had two scoops of different flavors in a cup: He — White Russian and a chocolate malted flavor, Me — White Russian and Peanut Butter/​Marshmallow. Neither of us could taste a difference between the two flavors. Both were sweet, creamy and bland. The ice cream still might have made a decent base for a sundae (with syrup and lots of toppings), but more problematic is that the ice cream appears to have been made with a heavy base of thickening agent (gelatin maybe?) that coated the inside of our mouths and left a slightly unpleasant aftertaste. Not good ice cream. I felt the need to brush my teeth when I got home.
Place rating: 4
Burke, VA
Great local, family-​run IC joint. It’s a Clifton experience. Don’t be deterred by the lines, it’s part of the fun.
Place rating: 5
Centreville, VA
Wonderful family owned business! Great homemade ice cream! It gets busy after 6 so be prepared to wait. Worth it!
Place rating: 4
Reston, VA
I am by no means an ice cream person but I had a scoop of the key lime pie and now I’m hooked!
Place rating: 4
Huntingtown, MD
This review is for the ice cream they also serve hot dogs in various ways that sound really good. The ice cream is very creamy and tastes very good, I was looking forward to the butterscotch ice cream but they didn’t have any on this trip.
Place rating: 5
Vienna, VA
ICE CREAM LOVERS UNITE.
Creamy. Smooth. Chilling. Sweet deliciousness.
^Some adjectives for the ice cream found at Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot.
My friend said he was «wowed» by the ice cream here in a matter of two bites, and took me here the other day for me to try the ice cream! I have to say, the ice cream here really does taste homemade.
I got the Vanilla Bliss, which was described as, «Made from the finest vanilla beans in the world, ‘bourbon’» — You see and taste the actual vanilla beans in the ice cream. Simple — but great.
My friend got the Café Marcus, which was their coffee flavoured ice cream. Now that ice cream was absolutely delicious. If you’re a coffee addict like me, consider it. You can also see and taste the grinded up coffee beans left in the scoop of ice cream. The flavour was neither too sweet nor too bitter, seriously one of the best coffee ice creams I’ve ever had *^*
Their scoops are QUITE generous — I got a kid’s scoop, but as you can see in the picture, it wasn’t that small (hey, more ice cream the better c:). They have so many other things on their menu, from shakes/​malts to a variety of unique hot dogs — so this place seems like a good lunch spot too!
I know I’ll definitely be back to try other items on their menu! (I really want to try their Secret Recipe ice cream flavour…). Overall, some seriously tasty #TreatYoSelf goodies.
Place rating: 4
Fairfax, VA
Solid ice cream place, I got brownie bear and it was good. Home made ice cream and a cool spot to visit in Clifton. Try it out!
Place rating: 5
Lorton, VA
I came here yesterday and their ice cream is beyond amazing! They have a great selection of flavors and toppings. I got the cotton candy with sprinkles on a cone. At first glance, I didn’t think the ice cream would be that good it just looked like a pink ball on a McDonald’s ice cream cone. But I was wrong; their ice cream is so creamy and rich it’s way better than any cold stone or baskin robins I’ve been to. They have cute lights that they’ve hung up along the way to the ice cream stand and they have some outdoor seating. The only issue is that their lines are too long. I waited over 20 minutes but it was definitely worth it.
Place rating: 5
Virginia Beach, VA
Stop reading the review and just drive here. The coffee ice cream is probably the best coffee ice cream I’ve ever had! I use to go to the dairy farm near where I grew up to buy fresh, creamy ice cream, but moved away and I’m so happy I finally am able to go somewhere that is comparable if not better than that!
Place rating: 5
Fairfax, VA
Everything is amazing and the staff makes me feel at home. I’m a huge fan of their salted caramel anything and their chocolate malts with extra malts! Yummmm
Place rating: 5
Fairfax, VA
If you have a sweet tooth, Peterson’s should be added to your bucket list! I in particular, do not like sweets too much, so I got the coffee flavored ice cream in a cup, and my boyfriend got the almond joy flavored one also in a cup. They go by scoops, and since I wasn’t too hungry, I thought a scoop would suffice. Boy was I wrong, because one scoop was HUGE. This one scoop was probably a little over the size of a baseball.
Needless to say, I didn’t get to finish my ice cream because I got too full. For the coffee lovers out there, I would recommend this flavor because of the grinded up coffee beans left in there and how it wasn’t overly sweet. The almond joy one my date had was sweeter, but tasted a bit like pecan flavored ice cream. He also didn’t finish his because like I said before, one scoop alone was so much!
Another thing I loved about the place was its exterior design. When you first enter, there’s sort of like this fenced ‘corridor’ with vines and signs to give off this «romantic backyard» feel. Behind the ice cream building is a fanned area with tables, benches, potted plants, Christmas tree lights, and they leave out cold water for you in case you get thirsty! The place was beautiful, affordable, and a cute little date spot!
Place rating: 5
Centreville, VA
Nothing like finding a mom and pop ice cream shop! My wife and i stumbled across this place, and have made it a point to stop back anytime we are in Clifton.
The ice cream they use seems more of the custard variety… Including their hard ice creams. We have yet to have anything we didn’t like.
Be sure to try to secret recipe, any of their shakes, etc
Place rating: 5
Alexandria, VA
It was my first time ever going to Clifton, and my friend recommended this place for some ice cream and other summery foods (hot dogs, nachos, fries, etc.)
They have separated menus for each type of food, and there are tons of options for toppings/​flavors! They’re all handwritten which adds to the homey/​old-​fashioned feel of the place. I was debating between hard or soft serve ice cream, and ended up going with a coffee flavored ice cream. Even though it was «hard», it was still really creamy and the coffee flavor was on point! There were really small specks of coffee bean throughout the ice cream which was really yummy.
I can’t really comment on portion size because they accidentally gave me 2 scoops instead of a kid’s scoop, but judging from my friends’ orders it seems like a good amount of ice cream for the price!
I would definitely come back if I was in the area; there’s lots of seating in the back with different games like Connect 4 and checkers. It’s a good place to stop by with friends in the summer!
Place rating: 4
Clifton, VA
Great ice cream, the restaurant is ok. Their fries are not as good as I had hoped, My burger wasn’t as juicy nor did the ingredients taste fresh. However the prices are fair their brownie special is delicious and I loved every bite! The out door seating was convenient and comfortable. Great place to try if you haven’t yet!
Place rating: 1
Fairfax, VA
Well, this review is Cliftonite Blasphamy, but we really didn’t have a very good experience today.
We ordered an English toffee shake and a cake batter shake. They both tasted like pure vanilla, and that, is in fact what we got: Pure vanilla. No flavoring, no nothing. Apparently, someone couldn’t be bothered?
It wasn’t at all crowded or busy today, no lines. And, there were 3 adults working, along with a new young guy taking orders.
I guess it wouldn’t bother me normally, but today we got the distinct impression that customers were not of any importance, whatsoever. Seriously, we just took our vanilla shakes and walked away. Clearly no one gave a «hoot» about the customers today.
So like I said… Petersen’s is an institution here in Clifton. We normally love going there… it is a big treat. But, i sure hope that this isn’t the trend for the upcoming summer?
Place rating: 4
Clifton, VA
I love their ice-​cream!!! I love the atmosphere of Clifton Old Town, and Peterson’s backyard with it’s lights and picnic tables. Good post-​dinner date spot!
I went on a busy Saturday summer night. So there was a long line, and by the time I got my ice-​cream it was a quarter melted. I am not particularly a fan of ice cream soup. Maybe if I went at a better time, I would have given it 5 stars. But the part that was not melted tasted great, and it was a huge portion. I also loved that it was not heavy ice cream, but more like soft serve! I got a banana-​split, with rainbow sprinkles and fudge and I KILLED IT!
I’m a fan! This maybe my new favorite ice-​cream spot! I’m so lucky I live nearby!
Place rating: 4
Burke, VA
This small biz has been on my radar and we had a chance to try them out last weekend. There was a giant list of Shake flavors and I selected the strawberry banana. It was very tasty and large. The line was pretty long and people seemed to know the ordering process. I’m looking forward to trying many other flavors.
Place rating: 3
Burke, VA
Walked by this place MANY times but never had an urge for ice cream. After reading some fellow Unilocalie reviews, I was dying to try them! It was a nice Sat afternoon, perfect for ice cream and walking around Old Town Clifton. The line was long so it must be worth it. The menu (s) were overwhelming. fries, hotdogs, shakes, but where was the ice cream flavor menu… OOPS, did I read that right… SOFT SERVE… I was bummed. I thought I would be searching for 30+ flavors. wrong venue. Window service was great, hubby loved his shake, and some day I may try the fries. I opted for a kiddie sundae, flavor vanilla with a butterscotch topping and nuts, whip cream and cherry. The cost $ 4.75. I’m not a fan of the ‘soft serve’ but if I was, then I’m sure it would rate up there in the 5 star bracket.
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
Peterson’s is in the adorable Old Town Clifton. It really doesn’t get more picturesque than this little shop, and I never thought I’d say that about an Ice Cream Depot!
All the flavor combinations and toppings you could want or imagine and then some. To top it off they offer dog-​friendly sizes and are outdoors so my sweet little canine companion can come along. She has learned to get excited when we say to her, «Wanna go to Peterson’s??» because she knows that means one thing– DELICIOUS ice cream! I only wish they had real ice cream rather than just soft serve.
Place rating: 5
Sterling, VA
Had to go back again for some different menu items, and this time I went for a mint chocolate shake and a Big Dog. I should have also tried some of the fries, but I didn’t think I could finish it all in one go if I did.
The shake was awesome — smooth and minty with a hint of chocolate flavor. I didn’t see any actual chocolate bits, so I’m guessing it was a malted shake. Still, it was delicious and old-​school.
The Big Dog was a success as well. It comes with the original Depot Dog (their take on a hot dog but with some spiciness thrown in), diced onion, house chili, melted cheese, mustard, and house sauce. The potato bun it sits on is substantial and not flimsy. Loved the combination of flavors, and the chili wakes up the whole experience.