Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Jose by diners

Nothing makes people quite as happy as a trip to the ice cream shop. Thankfully, there are endless options offering enough goods to tantalize anyone's palate. Across the U.S., nearly 17,800 ice cream shops serve up tasty treats to satisfy Americans' cravings.

While most of us would agree that there's no such thing as bad ice cream, there are still elements that keep customers coming back to one ice cream shop over another. A sense of newness and surprise are two big draws. Shop owners aim to please by using quality ingredients to experiment with new mashups—consider the rising trend of ice cream combined with pie. Some put unique spins on global treats, like Japanese mochi and Italian gelato. Others create giant Instagram-ready concoctions that become the highlight of social media.

Consumers have learned that smaller scoop shops may be more adaptive to real-time reactions, which means embracing new concepts, such as delicious dairy-free options. They can also ditch chemicals and give plant-based food coloring a try to see how it resonates with their customers.

But where artisanal shops really shine is in their ability to push the envelope to create amazing new flavors and limited-edition offerings that have customers eager to not miss out on what's next.

Seasonal ice creams feature fresh ingredients and flavors that evoke a particular time of year. Partnerships with local businesses can result in crave-able combinations highlighting local specialties. Many local shops also dabble with exotic flavors—savory ice cream, anyone?

To find out who's scooping up the best options, 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 20 reviews and within a 10-kilometer radius of San Jose were considered. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than 10 locations nationally, based on our Yelp data, were not included.

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#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

2 / 28

#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

3 / 28

#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

4 / 28

#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

5 / 28

#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

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6 / 28

#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

7 / 28

#22. Ice Splash

- Rating: 4.5/5 (96 reviews)
- Address: 2475 Winchester Blvd. Campbell, California
- Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
- Read more on Yelp

8 / 28

#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

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#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

10 / 28

#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

11 / 28

#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

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#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

13 / 28

#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

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#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

15 / 28

#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

16 / 28

#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

17 / 28

#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

18 / 28

#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

22 / 28

#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

23 / 28

#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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