Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Jose by diners
Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Jose 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 Jose 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. Happiness Cafe
- Rating: 4.4/5 (473 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1688 Hostetter Road Ste C San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Vegan, Bubble Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#27. Rocko's Ice Cream Tacos
- Rating: 4.4/5 (165 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: Santa Clara, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks, Coffee & Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#26. Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard
- Rating: 4.5/5 (199 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1801 Pruneridge Ave. Santa Clara, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Shaved Ice
- Read more on Yelp
#25. Twisted Chill
- Rating: 4.5/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#24. Cookies N Cream SJ
- Rating: 4.5/5 (84 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: San Jose, California
- Categories: Food Trucks, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Caterers
- Read more on Yelp
#23. La Original Paleteria Y Neveria
- Rating: 4.5/5 (358 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 273 Willow St. San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#22. Ice Splash
- Rating: 4.5/5 (96 reviews)
- Address: 2475 Winchester Blvd. Campbell, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#21. Orange Sunrise
- Rating: 4.5/5 (68 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1597 Meridian Ave. San Jose, California
- Categories: Sandwiches, Juice Bars & Smoothies, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#20. Paleta Planeta
- Rating: 4.6/5 (60 reviews)
- Address: 150 East Santa Clara St. San Jose, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#19. Story's Organic Milk Bar
- Rating: 4.6/5 (58 reviews)
- Address: 929 Story Road ste 2030 San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#18. MoDo Hawaii
- Rating: 4.6/5 (771 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2000 El Camino Real Ste 11 Santa Clara, California
- Categories: Donuts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Poke
- Read more on Yelp
#17. Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.6/5 (578 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 999 Story Road Ste 9072 San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Gelato, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#16. Daybreak Donuts & Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.6/5 (140 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 3263 Sierra Road San Jose, California
- Categories: Donuts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Bagels
- Read more on Yelp
#15. Bay Area Ice Cream Catering
- Rating: 4.6/5 (41 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5446 Thornwood Drive San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#14. Snowtime
- Rating: 4.6/5 (265 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 715 West Hamilton Ave. Ste 1130 Campbell, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Shaved Snow
- Read more on Yelp
#13. Somisomi
- Rating: 4.6/5 (413 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1477 Berryessa Road Ste 20 San Jose, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Korean
- Read more on Yelp
#12. Mustache Mike's Italian Ice
- Rating: 4.6/5 (28 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: Dublin, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Shaved Ice, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#11. Dumont Creamery & Cafe
- Rating: 4.7/5 (109 reviews)
- Address: 28 North Almaden Ave. Ste 40 San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Coffee & Tea, Bubble Tea
- Read more on Yelp
#10. MeloMelo Coconut Dessert
- Rating: 4.7/5 (590 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 19652 Stevens Creek Blvd. Cupertino, California
- Categories: Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#9. The Coffee Shack
- Rating: 4.7/5 (50 reviews)
- Address: 788 West Hamilton Ave. Campbell, California
- Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Munchiiez
- Rating: 4.7/5 (61 reviews)
- Address: 5566 Monterey Road San Jose, California
- Categories: Juice Bars & Smoothies, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Sugar Mama Desserts
- Rating: 4.8/5 (568 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 492 Barber Lane Milpitas, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Cropley Pure Water
- Rating: 4.8/5 (27 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2673 Cropley Ave. San Jose, California
- Categories: Water Stores, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Golden Ice Cream
- Rating: 4.8/5 (36 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: Redwood City, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks, Shaved Ice
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Petals Creamery
- Rating: 4.9/5 (42 reviews)
- Address: 5 North Santa Cruz Ave. Los Gatos, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Golden State Ice Cream
- Rating: 5.0/5 (21 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 330 Race St. San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Happy Scoops
- Rating: 5.0/5 (28 reviews)
- Address: 6059 Cahalan Ave. Ste 40 San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Cruisin Creams
- Rating: 5.0/5 (24 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: San Jose, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp
