San Francisco is a massive food hub, and with that, comes a lot of ice cream places. After trying almost every ice cream place in the city, I found that the old fashion ice cream shops that have been around for decades… definitely have the best ice cream. Not to mention they are so cute, classic, and Insta-worthy. Below are my top four old fashion classic ice cream shops to visit in San Francisco.
1. Mitchell’s Ice Cream
Mitchell’s ice cream is great, mainly because it has so many flavors to choose from. So many in fact, that you just might have to get a triple scoop like me. From top to bottom the flavors are: rocky road, strawberries and cream, and mocha frappe. Mitchell’s is located on 688 San Jose Avenue, and they make milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and banana splits! It is the ultimate old fashioned ice cream stop.
2. Bi-Rite Creamery
Personally, I believe that Bi-Rite creamery has the best ice cream in all of San Francisco. The ice cream is rich, creamy, and flavorful. I got the peach cobbler, and could not stop eating it. On a hot weekend, there is likely to be a line out the door with people waiting to get their Bi-Rite fix. Bonus: it’s right across from Dolores Park. Ice cream with a view. Bi-Rite Creamery is located on 3692 18th St.
3. Swensen’s Ice Cream
Swensen’s is truly the definition of an old fashion, classic ice cream shop. From the moment you walk in, it feels like the old days. Like Bi-Rite, Swensen’s ice cream is super creamy and rich. They have an assortment of flavors to choose from, I highly recommend the strawberry (best strawberry I have ever had) and the mocha fudge. Swensen’s also makes ice cream sundaes and banana splits. It’s located on 1999 Hyde Street.
4. Garden Creamery
Garden Creamery is a popular ice cream shop right off of Valenica St. in San Francisco, a fun street filled with shops and restaurants. Garden Creamery has high quality ice cream, but their real claim to fame are the churro cones. Yes, Garden Creamery offers churro cones on Saturdays from 2-4. It is a match made in heaven, ice cream and a churro. Garden Creamery is located on 3566 20th street. You can’t go wrong with the og flavors, classic chocolate and strawberry, but they also offer other unique flavors like black sesame and earl gray.
These are the top 4 classic ice cream shops that you cannot miss when in San Francisco. No matter what the weather, a sweet treat is always a good idea.
If you want to know what other Spoon University writers think about the ice cream in San Francisco, then you can read their opinion here and here!