Ice Cream Guide – San Francisco

Everybody knows that the best way to beat the heat in the summer is with some cold ice cream. Today, we are going to cover all of the best spots to get this delicious treat in and around San Francisco.

Salt and Straw

Over the past few years, Salt & Straw has exploded onto the Bay Area ice cream scene. After opening their first location in Pacific Heights, Salt & Straw has now expanded down the peninsula. Even after adding the second location, you can expect to wait. People are going bananas for this $5.50-a-cone ice cream.

But, something’s even crazier than the price: the flavor combinations. These include “Wild foraged berry slab pie, with chunks of pie crust,” “Goat cheese marionberry habanero” and “Strawberry honey balsamic.” With flavors like these, you can say Salt & Straw are at the forefront of ice cream flavor exploration. Of course, they also have mouth watering classics like “Chocolate gooey brownie” and “Birth cakes and blackberries.”

True “ice cream heads” can join the monthly Pints Club. Enrollment (for a low price of $65) allows you to have 5 new, seasonal pints delivered right to your doorstep.

Smitten

Just down the street from the OG Salt & Straw is one of the numerous Smitten locations. The close proximity is perfect if you plan on spending your afternoon ice cream hopping. Smitten might not have the crazy flavors of its neighbor shop, but it has its own tricks up its sleeve. Here, you can get ice cream made fresh in 90 seconds. This results in an ultra-smooth and creamy texture where the ice cream does the talking (As opposed to the mix-ins). For those trying to flex their Insta clout, a VSCO of this process is the perfect way to wow your 15 followers.

Cream

Who doesn’t love an ice cream taco on a hot day, right?

Cream has the perfect treats to help you cool off after an afternoon baking in the sun at Dolores Park. Yes, ice cream tacos are a fun novelty, but the star of the show is the larger-than-life ice cream sandwich. These will certainly put your childhood ice cream sandwiches to shame (sorry, Hood).

Fair warning if you have a small mouth or hands, though. If that’s the case, this is probably not the ice cream shop for you. Why? Because you will look ridiculous trying to tackle this mammoth of an ice cream sandwich. Yeah, they have the classic chocolate chip and sugar cookie, but they are also boasting an array of other options such as CREAMfetti, double chocolate chip, and (For you wierdos out there) snickerdoodle. After selecting your ice cream, you then choose your toppings (Which your ice cream sandwich will proceed to get doused in).