diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.spec.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.spec.ts
index 9224692b44665..2c1be315cf6c7 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.spec.ts
@@ -124,4 +124,42 @@ describe('StatusBarEntryUtility', () => {
         expect((iconArr[3] as LabelIcon).name).equals('icon3');
     });
 
+    it('should strip nothing from an empty string', () => {
+        text = '';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal(text);
+    });
+
+    it('should strip nothing from an string containing no icons', () => {
+        // Deliberate double space to verify not concatenating these words
+        text = 'foo  bar';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal(text);
+    });
+
+    it("should strip a medial '$(icon)' from a string", () => {
+        text = 'foo $(icon) bar';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal('foo bar');
+    });
+
+    it("should strip a terminal '$(icon)' from a string", () => {
+        // Deliberate double space to verify not concatenating these words
+        text = 'foo  bar $(icon)';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal('foo  bar');
+    });
+
+    it("should strip an initial '$(icon)' from a string", () => {
+        // Deliberate double space to verify not concatenating these words
+        text = '$(icon) foo  bar';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal('foo  bar');
+    });
+
+    it("should strip multiple '$(icon)' specifiers from a string", () => {
+        text = '$(icon1) foo $(icon2)$(icon3)  bar $(icon4) $(icon5)';
+        const stripped: string = statusBarEntryUtility.stripIcons(text);
+        expect(stripped).to.be.equal('foo bar');
+    });
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.ts
index 5918d60c59b7d..2fcb9e13b9bf8 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/label-parser.ts
@@ -90,4 +90,19 @@ export class LabelParser {
         return parserArray;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Strips icon specifiers from the given `text`, leaving only a
+     * space-separated concatenation of the non-icon segments.
+     *
+     * @param text text to be stripped of icon specifiers
+     * @returns the `text` with icon specifiers stripped out
+     */
+    stripIcons(text: string): string {
+        return this.parse(text)
+            .filter(item => !LabelIcon.is(item))
+            .map(s => (s as string).trim())
+            .filter(s => s.length)
+            .join(' ');
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/shell/tab-bar-toolbar/tab-bar-toolbar.tsx b/packages/core/src/browser/shell/tab-bar-toolbar/tab-bar-toolbar.tsx
index 53fbbda8698ca..092c5b90313fe 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/shell/tab-bar-toolbar/tab-bar-toolbar.tsx
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/shell/tab-bar-toolbar/tab-bar-toolbar.tsx
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ export interface TabBarToolbarFactory {
     (): TabBarToolbar;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Class name indicating rendering of a toolbar item without an icon but instead with a text label.
+ */
+const NO_ICON_CLASS = 'no-icon';
+
 /**
  * Tab-bar toolbar widget representing the active [tab-bar toolbar items](TabBarToolbarItem).
  */
@@ -150,7 +155,7 @@ export class TabBarToolbar extends ReactWidget {
         return <React.Fragment>
             {this.renderMore()}
             {[...this.inline.values()].map(item => TabBarToolbarItem.is(item)
-                ? (MenuToolbarItem.is(item) ? this.renderMenuItem(item) : this.renderItem(item))
+                ? (MenuToolbarItem.is(item) && !item.command ? this.renderMenuItem(item) : this.renderItem(item))
                 : item.render(this.current))}
         </React.Fragment>;
     }
@@ -178,8 +183,12 @@ export class TabBarToolbar extends ReactWidget {
     protected renderItem(item: AnyToolbarItem): React.ReactNode {
         let innerText = '';
         const classNames = [];
-        if (item.text) {
-            for (const labelPart of this.labelParser.parse(item.text)) {
+        const command = item.command ? this.commands.getCommand(item.command) : undefined;
+        // Fall back to the item ID in extremis so there is _something_ to render in the
+        // case that there is neither an icon nor a title
+        const itemText = item.text || command?.label || command?.id || item.id;
+        if (itemText) {
+            for (const labelPart of this.labelParser.parse(itemText)) {
                 if (LabelIcon.is(labelPart)) {
                     const className = `fa fa-${labelPart.name}${labelPart.animation ? ' fa-' + labelPart.animation : ''}`;
                     classNames.push(...className.split(' '));
@@ -188,13 +197,23 @@ export class TabBarToolbar extends ReactWidget {
                 }
             }
         }
-        const command = item.command ? this.commands.getCommand(item.command) : undefined;
-        let iconClass = (typeof item.icon === 'function' && item.icon()) || item.icon as string || (command && command.iconClass);
+        const iconClass = (typeof item.icon === 'function' && item.icon()) || item.icon as string || (command && command.iconClass);
         if (iconClass) {
-            iconClass += ` ${ACTION_ITEM}`;
             classNames.push(iconClass);
         }
-        const tooltip = `${item.tooltip || (command && command.label) || ''}${this.resolveKeybindingForCommand(command?.id)}`;
+        const tooltipText = item.tooltip || (command && command.label) || '';
+        const tooltip = `${this.labelParser.stripIcons(tooltipText)}${this.resolveKeybindingForCommand(command?.id)}`;
+
+        // Only present text if there is no icon
+        if (classNames.length) {
+            innerText = '';
+        } else if (innerText) {
+            // Make room for the label text
+            classNames.push(NO_ICON_CLASS);
+        }
+
+        // In any case, this is an action item, with or without icon.
+        classNames.push(ACTION_ITEM);
 
         const toolbarItemClassNames = this.getToolbarItemClassNames(item);
         return <div key={item.id}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/style/tabs.css b/packages/core/src/browser/style/tabs.css
index 01ca9da41786e..ef247de6fcfcd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/style/tabs.css
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/style/tabs.css
@@ -480,6 +480,11 @@
   line-height: 18px;
 }
 
+.p-TabBar-toolbar .item > div.no-icon {
+  /* Make room for a text label instead of an icon. */
+  width: 100%;
+}
+
 .p-TabBar-toolbar .item .collapse-all {
   background: var(--theia-icon-collapse-all) no-repeat;
 }