I was on a road trip in Virginia, visiting the Prince William County Fair. In the mood for some ice cream, I did a quick web search for nearby places. The place that looked the most interesting was Nathan’s Dairy Bar, just a few miles away in Manassas. When I got there, Nathan’s had a long line. But it was worth the wait.

Nathan’s Dairy Bar was founded by Manassas local David Hutton in 2001. It is named after his son. The Dairy Bar quickly became a local favorite. And it has won several awards. In 2024, it won Northern Virginian magazines NoVA Wars: Ice Cream Edition. And in 2025, it made the Yelp Top 100 places for ice cream. Nathan’s is also active in the community: supporting nursing homes, placing animals in homes, and sponsoring cancer research. Senior citizens get free ice cream when they visit.

The Menu

While Nathan’s is known for their soft serve, they also have hand scoop. Additionally, they have Shaved Ice, Floats, sundaes (Specialty Sundaes), and Specials (Banana Split, Waffle Nachos, Cowpie, and several kinds of cakes).

They had a much greater range of soft serve flavors than I was expecting. There is Vanilla, Chocolate, and Twist (vanilla and chocolate). But they also have Mocha Cappuccino – by itself or with vanilla in a Twist. Several fruit flavors are on the menu; Green Apple interested me the most. In total, there are 13 types of soft serve.

There are also 11 hand scooped flavors, all quite unique. Highlights are: Cookie Monster (Vanilla with cookies and cookie dough), Banana Nut Bread, Bessy’s Bakery (Brownie Batter ice cream with cookie dough), and Payday (salted caramel ice cream with peanuts). There is even a dairy free option call Strawberry Dole Whip.

My Choice

While all the flavors looked fantastic, I wanted to get what Nathan’s is famous for: their soft serve. But I did not want to get a flavor the covered up the taste of the ice cream. And I also wanted something more exciting then vanilla. I compromised. I got a Honey Sundae. It has a good amount of soft serve, with honey poured on top.

The base is excellent. It is smooth and creamy without being overly sweet. The honey complemented it well – providing a bit of extra sweetness without overpowering the ice cream. There were also graham crackers mixed in, but not very well. Most of the graham was at the bottom. Had I noticed that earlier, I would have mixed it more. Regardless, the graham crackers provide a contrasting crunch and are a good addition to the sundae.

Atmosphere

As I mentioned earlier, Nathan’s had a long line. And the length did not diminish the whole time I was there. But the line moved quickly. In about 15 minutes, I placed my order. A few minutes later I had my ice cream.

Nathan’s is a traditional ice cream stand. As such, there is no indoor seating. However, there is plenty of outside table space. Everybody was friendly and the spirit was festive. I can see why Nathan’s Dairy Bar has been a local favorite for 25 years.