Tom's Ice Cream Bowl

Unlucky you if you drive by Zanesville on the Interstate and don't find Tom's Ice Cream Bowl. It's not easy to find, but it is worth the effort. It's where the locals go, and I can sure see why. Even though I flew a state-of-the-art jet into Zanesville, I really appreciate Tom's 1940s atmosphere. Yes, it has been there that long. Not much has changed, except for the waitstaff, fortunately. The young ladies who took care of us are excellent. I had the toasted tuna salad sandwich with home-cut French fries. This was an authentic tuna salad sandwich, just like Mom used to make. No skimping on anything at Tom's. I topped it off with the two-scoop hot fudge sundae. They don't have whipped cream, only marshmallow cream, which I'd never heard of, but what an experience.

I had heard many things about Tom's. I like the nostalgia, but I'll admit user friendliness is not great here. We arrived on a Saturday evening. It was packed. We did not intend to get a table, just a cone to go, so we waited, and waited, finally a waitress told us to go to the counter to be served for take-out. I went to the counter then was told by a different waitress that I was in the wrong area, and I needed to move. Once I finally made it to the counter to order, the young gentleman was very efficient. Good portion sizes here, and a good variety of flavors. As said above, I do like the nostalgia, but it does appear that TOM's is showing its age. A good cleaning inside, a bit of maintenance outside, and a better flow or at least signage telling you where takeout orders go is needed. would go back if in the area but would not make a special trip.

We made the trip from Columbus just to go to Tom's for lunch and ice cream. My hubby ordered the patty melt with fries and I ordered the turkey club with fries. You order sandwiches and burgers a la carte, which was different. My turkey club was over $7 and the fries were over $4, so around $12 altogether. My sandwich had literally one slice of deli turkey and hard broken up pieces of bacon (take a look at my pic of the turkey club and try to find the slice of turkey. LOL!). I also got about 1/2 the fries my hubby did. So yeah I was unimpressed with the food, to say the least. My hubby really enjoyed his patty melt and fries, but felt bad that I got screwed with my sandwich and fries. I said it was fine because it left more room for ice cream. But I don't know if I'll get food there again. The server wasn't in the best mood either, and was kinda snappy when I wanted to keep a menu to look at their extensive ice cream offerings. After we were done eating, we ordered ice cream. My hubby got an orange float with vanilla ice cream and I got a hot fudge sundae with cashews. My sundae was amazing, just like last time. Seriously the best hot fudge sundae you can get! The cashews are a must! The orange float wasn't the best. My hubby watched them make it, and they used lemon lime soda and then put orange syrup in it, so it was kind of flat and tasted of lemon lime. He enjoyed the ice cream in it though. I got some chocolates and cashews on the way out, and the young man that helped us was great. We will definitely keep making trips there just for the amazing ice cream and cashews!

The food is great, the service is quick, and the restaurant is clean and awesome. If you're in town, give them a try!

One of our friends who grew up in the area is always bragging about Tom's Ice Cream Bowl and now we understand why. The place is right out of the past, old diner exterior and interior. The folks working here are super friendly and attentive. When we got there just after 1130, seating was immediate. Once the moon time hit, people started filling up the place. They do have outside seating so if the insides are packed, try grabbing a picnic table outside? Food was delicious. From the prime rib sliders to the yummy ice cream. The black and white sundae was no joke. We got butter pecan and had no complaints. It's like a trip back in time. So if you're ever in the Zanesville area, stop by and give this place a try. Supporting local.

I'm originally from Zanesville and whenever I go back I try to visit either Adornetto's or Tom's. The latter has some of the best ice cream I've ever had. They have a menu of some savory favorites from burgers and sandwiches to chicken and noodles and some fried sides and then the main attraction of some mainstay flavors and some seasonal rotations. They're known for their candy counter and soup bowl sized sundaes. Today I stopped by and got the caramel chocolate brownie three scoop with Oreos and hot fudge and was in heaven. The service is top notch and friendly and the dining room is that of a neighborhood diner. My only complaint is that the bathrooms are small and sometimes dirty and that they'd benefit from some outdoor space in nice weather but that's a small complaint.

Tom's serves bar style food mostly. I ordered a burger and my wife ordered a chicken salad sandwich. My burger was slightly above average. My wife didn't particularly like her sandwich, as it had egg in it, which was a surprise. We also ordered ice cream. I ordered their cheesecake ice cream. It was pretty average. My wife ordered a toffee ice cream, which was pretty good. Overall, this place is worth checking out.

Service excellentAtmosphere coolFood comes out fast Taste okayPrices kinda high Gotta give it a try

The food was really good, so is the ice cream. The place is clean and tidy, with a good show at the ice cream counter. There are also many options for lunch, dinner and dessert. The not so good...Last visit my ice cream had some crystallized chunks in it. Also it's a "Tom's" thing that they serve large amounts of ice cream in a tiny bowl. So if you get a sundae, most of the toppings end up on the plate below. I also felt the lead waitress rubbed some of the customers the wrong way, with two customers leaving after she spoke to them. All in all a good place to go!

Wonderful food, fun atmosphere. Thank you so much for all of your help during the holiday season