Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Francisco by diners
Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Francisco by diners
Ice cream is a treat that can be enjoyed all year round, although the volume produced during the hotter months signals otherwise. The majority of ice cream and other frozen desserts in the U.S. are made between March and August, with July being the busiest month of all, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Many Americans have memories of their pastel green mint chocolate chip scoop dripping down their waffle cone at the height of summer or cooling down with their sprinkle-covered chocolate and vanilla soft-serve twist. Ice cream tends to scream nostalgia, but the range of available flavors has evolved since the days when the dessert was mainly limited to vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
Of course, that doesn't mean those aren't still top-tier choices. According to a May 2024 survey of 2,200 American adults by the International Dairy Foods Association and Morning Consult, the top 10 ice cream flavors today are still the three classics (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, in that order) followed by butter pecan, cookie dough, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip, rocky road, and peanut butter or peanut butter cup.
Nowadays, many ice cream shops offer fresh combinations and ingredients you may never have imagined could be made into ice cream, concoctions like black sesame cookies and cream or honey lavender. Some ice cream shops boast flavors with even more unheard-of ingredients and combinations, like the savory tarragon olive oil or pineapple with pink peppercorns.
Ice cream creators have also expanded into rethinking frozen yogurt, soft serve, and vegan options. Dairy-free folks no longer have to order the only sorbet on the menu. There are nondairy milk ice creams made from plant-based milks like oat or almond and other plant-based products like avocado or sunflower butter.
And then there are the toppings, one of the best parts about getting a scoop at your local shop. Pour on the condensed milk or dulce de leche. Sprinkle bits of honeycomb or your favorite childhood cereal.
Ice cream shops everywhere have made it their job to serve up the smoothest, creamiest, and most crave-able options. To find out who's doing the best job of it, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated ice cream shops in the San Francisco area using data from Yelp. Data is as of June 24, 2025.
Businesses were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only businesses with at least 10 reviews were considered. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than five locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.
Read on to determine where you'll get your next cup or cone from!
#28. Twirl and Dip
- Rating: 4.3/5 (292 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 335 Martin Luther King Jr Drive San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#27. San Francisco's Hometown Creamery
- Rating: 4.3/5 (1067 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1290 9th Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#26. Toy Boat By Jane
- Rating: 4.3/5 (121 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 401 Clement St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#25. The Baked Bear
- Rating: 4.3/5 (801 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 303 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Desserts, Bakeries, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#24. Kiss Of Matcha
- Rating: 4.3/5 (477 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 750 Clement St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#23. Belly Good Cafe & Crepes
- Rating: 4.3/5 (1445 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1737 Post St. Ste 393 San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Creperies, Bubble Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#22. Mister Softee NorCal
- Rating: 4.4/5 (423 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: Fremont, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#21. New Daly City Market
- Rating: 4.4/5 (178 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 398 Templeton Ave. Daly City, California
- Categories: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Sandwiches, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#20. Lush Gelato
- Rating: 4.4/5 (373 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 520 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts, Gelato
- Read more on Yelp
#19. Somisomi
- Rating: 4.4/5 (163 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1350 4th St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Korean, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#18. Rocko's Ice Cream Tacos
- Rating: 4.4/5 (165 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: Santa Clara, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks, Coffee & Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#17. Banan
- Rating: 4.4/5 (110 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3862 24th St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Juice Bars & Smoothies, Vegan
- Read more on Yelp
#16. Powder
- Rating: 4.4/5 (785 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 260 Divisadero St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Shaved Snow
- Read more on Yelp
#15. Matcha Cafe Maiko
- Rating: 4.5/5 (360 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3251 20th Ave. Ste 250K San Francisco, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Bubble Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#14. Bi-Rite Creamery
- Rating: 4.5/5 (10247 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3692 18th St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#13. Matcha Cafe Maiko
- Rating: 4.5/5 (298 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 756 Grant Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Shaved Ice
- Read more on Yelp
#12. Matcha Cafe Maiko
- Rating: 4.5/5 (1570 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1581 Webster St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Bubble Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#11. The Baked Bear
- Rating: 4.6/5 (456 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2824 Jones St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts, Bakeries
- Read more on Yelp
#10. Mitchells Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.6/5 (4944 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 688 San Jose Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Custom Cakes
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.6/5 (1866 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3886 Noriega St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Gelato, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Angie's Pizza
- Rating: 4.6/5 (118 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3228 16th St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Pizza, Italian, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Balboa Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.6/5 (112 reviews)
- Address: 1844 San Jose Ave. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Juice Bars & Smoothies, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Hila Gelato Caffe
- Rating: 4.6/5 (166 reviews)
- Address: 951 Valencia St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Sweet Chinito Coffee
- Rating: 4.6/5 (151 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 3100 Mission St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Sandwiches, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Norman's Ice Cream & Freezes
- Rating: 4.6/5 (456 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2801 Leavenworth St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Coffee & Tea, Juice Bars & Smoothies
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Milkbomb Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.7/5 (880 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1717 17th St. Ste 105 San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Desserts, Donuts
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Garden Creamery
- Rating: 4.7/5 (1569 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3566 20th St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Miyako Old Fashioned Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.8/5 (503 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1470 Fillmore St. San Francisco, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
