The Best Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt in San Francisco

Sweethoney Dessert

★★★★☆ 3.8 (961) • $$

"Sweethoney is a dessert cafe with all the trimmings. They have a plethora of drinks, hot food, but really what you come here for is the desserts--pages upon pages of desserts.We had the mango pomelo sago with tofu pudding and a side of toddy palm. We also got the walnut and sesame with sesame glutinous rice balls.Service is super quick and they offer complimentary tea upon arrival at your table. The vibe of the place is always friendly and casual--with a splash of hurry it up since everyone is moving, slurping, or laughing."

Scoop Microcreamery

★★★★☆ 3.9 (888) • $$

""See you later" You have to buy before you can sample. This is an interesting concept because you'll be picking the flavors blindly. Their ube flavor is not the best. Definitely drive south for the best ube flavored ice cream!The young lady was nice and helpful. She explained the "see you later" to us when we asked.It's a normal ice cream shop. Casual vibe / ambiance. Ice cream is always good after a nice lunch or dinner"

Lappert's Ice Cream

★★★★☆ 3.7 (978) • $$

"Came here with my friend after a lunch/brunch! We walked past the place on our way to the restaurant, and we came on our way back to the ferry.The ambiance is nice, but the seating is limited indoors and there is a bit more outdoors. The service was good, and my friend and I were able to try a few flavors!I got the Cookie Monster ice cream flavor (single scoop in a cup). I would give this a 10/10 because I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. The color is a bit offsetting at first but the taste is wonderful :)I also tried my friend's strawberry ice cream, and it was very refreshing and creamy with a nice strawberry flavor :)"

Over the Moon

★★★★☆ 4.2 (493) • $

"My friends took me and my bf here for ice cream after we grabbed drinks and some appetizers at a bar, and it was sooooo good! The service was great and the ambiance of the parlor was really laidback and nice. The staff were nice and welcoming. I got the funfetti ice cream in a chocolate chip bowl - and was not disappointed. If you ever have a sweet tooth - come here!"

Matcha Cafe Maiko

★★★★★ 4.5 (344) • $$

"Went for BeverageFood - 5/5. Their matcha has a beautiful shade of grassy green with a rich flavor that is befitting of its color. It has a light taste with a hint of astringency and a clean finish. Their matcha drink kept it simple with a bit of sweetness letting you taste the matcha in its purest form. It had a viscosity that was slightly thicker than water, creating a nice mouthfeel. Matcha latte had the rich creaminess of milk with a sweet flavor. You could still taste the matcha and I enjoyed the more decadent sweetness and creamy finish.Service - 4/5. Cashier was professional and beverages came out quickly.Value - 5/5. I always appreciate when an establishment specializes specifically in matcha and Cafe Maiko reliably hits the spot. Beverage prices are standard with a large matcha being $4.80 and matcha latte $6.00. They do add sales tax after the price, which is unusual for beverages.Parking - Mall Lot/Garage (Free)"

Sweet Indulgence

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (672) • $$

"298 Broadway Millbrae, CA 94030"Sweet Indulgence" is a dessert place with an overwhelming menu. The only reason why I went in this place was because the Yelp listing says "ice cream and frozen yogurt." So I have been here twice now, and both times I enjoyed the gelato. The first time, I had a scoop of chocolate and scoop of coffee gelato. The second visit was on Christmas eve, I got three scoops- chocolate, coffee, and mango. The gelato is very good and has a smooth texture. Plenty of inside seating, and a restroom is available with a key."

La Copa Loca Gelato

★★★★☆ 4.2 (367) • $$

"I am back to the Mission where it all began . I had to go to the original La Loca Copa ( crazy cup ) at Mission District location in the heart of San Francisco to get the scoop . This location is a neighborhood gem for over a decade when it comes to desserts. Sometimes the 22nd street La Loca Copa on a hot day gets as crowded as Mitchell's Ice Cream .There are lots of people of all ages coming here to enjoy scoops of gelato. The gelato flavors come in a range of different types of tastes like sour, sweet, not too sweet ,too sweet, savory and tarty. There is an emphasis of different flavors of Latin American food and fruit for their gelato and dessert offerings which reflects the Folklore of the Mission. I had the Mexican Vanilla and the Pistachio gelato on a waffle cone. It was a good tasty combination of sweet and savory. There are also crepes , croissants , smoothies, and sundaes available. If it's your mission to find good gelato then come to the Mission District on 22nd street between the streets of Capp and Mission. When it comes to gelato the two La Copa Loca locations are consistent and both menus match Come to the Mission and catch some gelato with a dash of agave and exotic flavors by the batch"

Matcha Cafe Maiko

★★★★★ 4.6 (278) • $

"This Matcha Cafe Maiko location is in the heart of SF Chinatown. So it's expected to have long lines as there is a lot of foot traffic. However line moves decently fast so don't be too defeated by the crowd haha.I have a matcha soft serve in a cup. You can get it in the cone which smelled so good. But getting it in a cup seems like a less messy way~ the matcha flavor is delicious strong, the soft serve is sweet but not too sweet. The texture is great too. Love it~I would recommend visiting this store by walking. Really don't see much street parking near by but perhaps I didn't notice. I think if you happen to walk by definitely give it a try~"

Preston's Candy & Ice Cream

★★★★☆ 4 (331) • $

"Cute little gem in Burlingame. So happy to see something been here for so long is still here. Many shops have changed on broadway but I'm glad Preston was able to make it through the pandemic. Their ice cream is really good here. We got the tiramisu flavor and honey comb. Service is really good too. This is the best place to go after dinner. If you're craving for a nice ice cream."

Gelataio

★★★★☆ 4.2 (282) • $$

"Well made gelato, delicious seasonal flavors, and they have a cute chocolate fountain used to drizzle chocolate over your gelato. Perfection with a wafer cookie. Bring my kids and big kid (hubbie) here regularly for an after dinner treat."

Sweet Connections

★★★★★ 4.6 (235) • $

"We had just finished our lunch reception for a funeral; and some of the siblings and cousins wanted something sweet. Since we were right down the street from where we had lunch, we walked right over to Sweet Connections. They offered so much to choose from. I got a small Kahlua pie ice cream. So good. The others had bingsu, shave ice, and ice cream. There must have been easily over 30 of us flooding the ice cream shop and just two servers, but they got everyone of us served. They served our group with a smile and were very helpful. We must've been there hanging out over two and a half hours but were not asked to leave. I think the owner was one of the two servers. We were taking pictures and she offered to help take our picture. She was so gracious. From outside, I thought it would be small, but to our surprise, it accommodated all 30 of us. It's a great place to get ice cream and to hangout. I would definitely come back with friends and family. And I would absolutely recommend this place. Check them out."

STEEP Creamery & Tea

★★★★☆ 4 (298) • $$

"I love their cream HK milk tea and their matcha milk tea! So bummed that they'll be closing soon. It's my favorite place for these two drinks. Please let it be that you're closing temporarily! Come back with your wonderful drinks because we need a boba spot here in the Embarcadero/South Beach area."

Shake Shack Hillsdale

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (512) • $$

"This will likely be my last visit to this Shake Shack. After four tries, it's time to share my experience. I still remember my first visit during the pandemic. My friend and I ordered through the app while standing right outside. It was straightforward--place your order, get an estimated pick-up time, and check the monitors to see when it's ready. We waited a long time, but our names never appeared. When we asked an employee about our order, the woman rudely told us that if our name wasn't on the screen, our order wasn't ready. We ended up asking another employee, who was able to locate our food, but the experience left us with a negative first impression. As for the food on the 3 previous visits, I've always thought the burgers were just okay--nothing exceptional. Every burger I've had here has been lukewarm at best, never hot and fresh.Tonight's order was particularly disappointing. I got the ShackBurger and a frozen custard (vanilla & chocolate). The burger was a mess--sloppy assembly with tomatoes sliding out, a pickle against the cardboard box, and a sad, wilted lettuce leaf between the top bun and cheese. The buns were flat, and once I reassembled the burger, it looked so unappetizing. As usual, the burger was lukewarm with a soggy, flat bun. It wasn't worth the $7.99 as I was still hungry afterward. The only bright spot was the frozen custard.Another annoying detail: despite checking the box for napkins, they never include them, and I always have to ask. I've had great experiences at Shake Shacks on the East Coast, but this location consistently disappoints."

Plantation Coffee Roastery

★★★★☆ 3.8 (278) • $$

"Came to burn some time and get caffeine before our kids school event, we came because of the high reviews and the proximity.It's a neighborhood coffee place, locals are sitting inside and outside. I've never seen this before; super comfortable customers leave money on the counter and walk behind the counter to get coffee for themselves.Cappuccino: Milk was not frothed great and coffee was not good. Tasted like something you would get out of a machine with a button for "cappuccino" on it.breakfast bagels: These took really long to make, we ordered two and they took 20 minutes to be finished. These are made way faster at local donut places. Egg in mine was crazy hot like it was nuked in the microwave and super tall and hard to eat. We did like the toasted bagel, nice crispy outside and soft inside.As we were leaving we saw a customer pulling used coffee cup sleeves out of the trashcan, folding them back flat, and putting them back into the sleeves tray!"

BeauTea

★★★★☆ 3.9 (255) • $$

"Went there again last night and while the ice cream was good it was the end of the night so the product quality suffered greatly.The ice cream was gritty and full of little grains which I later figured out was milkfat that separated from the cream. They melted against the roof of your mouth like tiny grains of butter. We still ate it all because it didn't detract from the flavor but be aware of this if you serve the last of the ice cream (another customer after us was told there was no more ice cream.I wish I could contact the owners but don't see any contact information on their website. I need to give some feedback which I don't feel is necessary to post publicly."

Simple Delights

★★★★★ 4.9 (145) • $$

"My son's 4th birthday party was less than a week away when I finally got myself together to order a cake. I worked with Jessica and her team on a construction-themed birthday cake, and we were so excited to see what they came up with.I had seen other Yelp reviews with construction cakes so had a really good starting point. We wanted to have the cake share colors with the Pupstruction show so I shared the Pupstruction logo. Email communication plus a phone call was all Jessica and team needed for the cake. Jessica's team even purchased construction vehicles from Amazon - and within the relatively short timeline. We were really happy with how the cake turned out and (most importantly) so was our son. Success! We'll be back."

Dagwood & Scoops

★★★★☆ 4.2 (197) • $$

"I was in the city for a Craig's list transaction and stepped into this place for lunch. What a lucky find! Will def return next time im in the mission. I got the Gemini, very tasty and enough for two imho. next time will try the Dagwood."

New Daly City Market

★★★★☆ 4.4 (174) • $$

"Been coming to this spot for YEARS since it's a local gem in the neighborhood. Amazing sandwiches that never disappoint. My go-to is their pastrami on Dutch crunch with "the works." Their garlic spread truly gives it that signature flavor!"

Shake Shack Cow Hollow

★★☆☆☆ 2.4 (576) • $$

"My go-to order at Shake Shack is the "Shack Stack," a delightful combination of a single beef patty and a fried, stuffed portobello mushroom filled with gooey melted Muenster cheese. This burger stands out as one of the best on their menu, though the rich cheesiness and the intense flavor of the mushroom can be a bit overpowering. Nevertheless, it remains a delicious and indulgent choice.Although I'll be honest, I typically only visit Shake Shack when I need to use my $10 monthly credit from Amex, so the high price and small portions are slightly more bearable especially when there's a special promotion, such as free chicken sandwich or milkshake. These deals are worth keeping an eye out for, even though the free sandwich is just so so.The ongoing debate of Shake Shack vs In-N-Out is a tough one. Though they operate in different tiers with varying options, Shake Shack leans more towards a "premium" experience. However, when considering value and overall taste, I typically favor In-N-Out for its consistent quality and satisfying portions.Overall, while Shake Shack delivers on quality, the smaller portions and higher prices make it a less frequent choice for me compared to other options."

Tea World

★★★★☆ 3.7 (234) • $$

"Service was excellent! Boba place to go and must try their Halohalo. Well recommended."

Cuppa

★★★★☆ 3.6 (190) • $

"It was middle of the road and barely passable frozen yogurt. Nothing about this place is special minus some of the interesting baked goods that I would describe as trying a bit too hard for me to actually want to try them. They took a straightforward thing like frozen yogurt and have like the most inhospitable / not useable toppings area. I'm surprised they didn't end up all over the floor. The flavors were nothing special and kicker was its way overpriced. Go to Noe Valley for Easy Breezy."

Balboa Ice Cream

★★★★★ 4.6 (107)

"Great shop with a good selection of ice cream flavors. They have some fantastical, childhood flavors like cotton candy, bubble gum, pink unicorn, blue monster etc that is great for families for kids.Personally, I come here for their mangonadas. They use a mango sorbet and mix that with the fresh mango and all the delicious sour, savory, spicy Mexican flavors. It's highly addictive once it grows on you"

Toy Boat By Jane

★★★★☆ 4.3 (118) • $$

"What a unique place to grab dessert! Stepping into this dessert shop felt like traveling back to the 90s. The first thing you notice is the toys adorning every inch of the walls. It was fun looking at all the toys while deciding between an ice cream sundae or a delicious-looking cookie.I highly recommend this spot if you're looking for a cool treat on a hot day or a neat place for dessert after a meal."

San Francisco Chocolate Store

★★★★☆ 3.7 (150) • $$

"Store was beautiful but really I'm here just to talk about the homemade ice cream. It was absolutely stunning and a must try for anyone in San Fran. I had the strawberry cheesecake and whoa, what flavor in such a small cone."

Yomie's Rice X Yogurt

★★★★☆ 3.9 (130) • $$

"It's so refreshing. I love the chewy texture of the purple rice plus the yogurt flavor is so tempting. My friend got the mango sago. :)"

Happy Cow Creamery & Tea

★★★★☆ 4.1 (113) • $

"This was my first experience trying rolled ice cream and I couldn't have been more pleased with it! The freshness and high quality of the ingredients was very noticeable. Dairy, especially ice cream, tends to leave me with an uncomfortable, full feeling, but to my pleasant surprise, that was not the case at all here- likely due to there being no unnecessary ingredients added!The owners were incredibly friendly, kind, welcoming, and willing to answer any questions you may have. The shop is small, but still a very pleasant environment if you'd like to eat inside. It's located in a quiet part of the city, but absolutely worth going out of your way if you're craving ice cream or milk tea!"

Milktopia

★★★★☆ 4.1 (112) • $$

"A friend of mine recommended the HK Silky Milk Tea here, so I gave it a try while in the area. The drink was very rich and creamy! The perfect balance for my palate. A classic strong black tea flavor that I adore. The caffeine was also pretty hefty too. Kept me awake for a good while.KEEP IN MIND: Taraval doesn't have any parking really. So definitely aim to park in a nearby neighboorhood. There's also no seating inside. Takeout only!"

Magical Ice Cream

★★★★☆ 3.9 (123) • $$

"We had the Boba Tea, and it was very nice. A wide range of flavors for both the teas and the boba. The ice cream is a cold plate frozen profmduct and looked very good, but we did not Tae tome for it this day so we will need to go back and try it."

Louie's Original

★★★★☆ 3.9 (119)

"Surprisingly good!!! The less than amazing reviews were unfortunately from when they first opened, which definitely deterred me. With that said, I am happy to report, they have definitely addressed the issues. The Big Louie (2 patties) for $11 with a perfect brioche bun was a delicious juicy burger. Add $1 for American cheese and $2 for white cheddar cheese. The waffle fries for $6 were solid. Crispy on outside and soft on inside. They do have a combo for $17 for the Big Louie that essentially gets you a free drink. They do have good drink options like Topo Chico! You could also get the Small Louie with single patty for $8. To me the price is pretty good for what you get! Don't leave without getting the soft serve custard cone!!! Folks from the mid west know about custard cones but you don't see too many places here that have it. It is creamier and thicker than regular soft serve. It is sooooooo good!! It reminds me of the buffalo cream Double 8 ice cream. Yum yum!! It is like a casual establishment so you order at the corner. I also think they made some adjustments and removed the automatic 18% service fee while still asking you to tip. We did not seem to have this problem (though we didn't get itemized receipt so will have to double check next time). And yes, there will be a next time for sure!"

Natural Sensations

★★★★☆ 3.9 (103) • $

"A decent and ok smoothie place in SFSU. They also serve soft serve yogurt and some food as well.Prices are $5 for a smoothie. They have a bunch of options and you can also add-on other stuff like an energy shot or protein. Smoothies also taste very natural and not artificial as well. Service is fast, about 5-10min waiting for order. Def would come back here if I was craving a smoothie next time on campus."

Shake Shack Stonestown Galleria

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (197) • $$

"McDonald's next to Trader Joe's in Stonestown Galleria was long gone. We may never know when that famous fast-food chain shall be coming back. Shake Shack, however, would continue to keep the business running as the only burger joint.Like Marugame, Shake Shack has a big enough space, with both indoor and outdoor seating. A staff member kindly delivered a meal to my table with a fair amount of time. But still, I rather use cash to pay to the cashier than my credit card for self service. Regular criss-cut French fries, non-dairy chocolate shake, and a nice Shroom Burger; a perfect health conscious trio! I wanted to try the Golden State Burger, but I'm not much of a beef guy. If anyone loves beef burgers, I say grass fed shall be the best choice. This type of beef is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and micronutrients. I might have one sometimes since I usually eat less meat and more greens.I have other eateries I wish to go to later on. But if it was Shake Shack I'll go to again, it'll be my modern day McDonald's that won't fail to please."

Happy Yogurt

★★★★☆ 3.9 (98) • $

"I'm was having a rotten day and came in to get chocolate yogurt w jelly beans. I feel instantly better. Thank you!!!!"

EA Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (71) • $$

"I got a poke bowl here and it was so good! Plenty of fish and super fresh. Great flavor of the ponzu sauce. Construction workers were mainly there getting their lunch. It's a to go place, they also have a case of desserts that looks good. The man taking orders was very nice. If you want a bowl you use the dry erase marker and mark what you want on the menu and then they give that to the cool in the back. Very efficient. The place doesn't look like much but the food quality is excellent."

Shake Shack San Francisco Centre

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (167) • $$

"8:3/2023Last time I had a shake shack was the last trip in Vegas..(at the airport)..My youngest loves the chicken sandwich..I just went with a single shack and fries.Different set up, as you walk up to the kiosk and order yourself..Only interaction is when you go and pick your order up..Can't resist krinkle cut fries and the were perfect."

Mellis Cafe

★★★★★ 4.8 (51)

"Food is GREAT! The cakes i went back 3 times and had to take some back home to Seattle! The coffee is delish, the service was always Nice and respectful the outdoor setting makes it even better!"