Summertime in San Diego is synonymous with one thing – ICE CREAM!
San Diego is a city known for its beautiful weather and amazing beaches, but did you know that it’s also home to some of the best ice cream shops in the country?
There are endless options when it comes to enjoying a delicious scoop (or two) of ice cream in San Diego.
Whether you’re looking for a classic ice cream shop with all the fixings or something more unique, we’ve got you covered.
Start indulging in some of the best ice cream San Diego has to offer!
Scoops La Jolla
Address: 2179 Avenida De La Playa La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858-246-6321
Hours: 11:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M. (Monday – Thursday), 11:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M. (Friday), 10:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M. (Saturday), 10:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M. (Sunday),
This place has been around since 2015 and it’s still going strong today as one of the most popular places in town for frozen treats.
Scoops La Jolla is an ice cream shop that takes its ice cream seriously. They have created the finest and most natural ice cream available, in their never-ending search for the best ice cream.
Everything is made from scratch in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and now can offer New York’s own Van Leeuwan Artisan Ice Cream after months of looking. With just a few basic ingredients, the Classic and Vegan ice creams are made.
Their flavors range from traditional favorites like chocolate fudge brownie, vanilla, or vegan mint chip, to more exotic offerings such as praline butter cake with pieces of smooth brown butter cake inside.
Whether you’re looking for classic flavors or something more unique, Scoops La Jolla has got you covered.
Bobboi Natural Gelato
Address: 8008 Girard Ave La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858-255-8693
Hours: 12:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. (Sunday – Thursday), 12:00 P.M. – 9:30 P.M. (Friday – Saturday)
Bobboi Natural Gelato is a local favorite for its delicious and creative flavors. Some of their most popular choices that are always available include pistachio, Stracciatella, and dark chocolate sorbet.
However, the unexpected Bobboi signatures that stand out from the rest are Matchatella which has a Japanese matcha tea and chocolate shards swirled together or the Rosehoney that combined organic honey and Lebanese rosewater.
Created are only one-of-a-kind flavors by skillfully melding contemporary, organic California ingredients with classic Italian gelato methods.
They use all-organic ingredients like locally produced pistachios to craft the gelatos and sorbets, so some of the flavors will only be available seasonally.
So, it sounds like you’ll want to stop by numerous times to try out all the season flavors that are available!
The Baked Bear
Address: 4516 Mission Blvd San Diego, CA 92109
Phone: 619-320-1237
Email: pacificbeach@thebakedbear.com
Hours: 12:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. (Daily)
The Baked Bear first came together by two childhood friends, Rob and Shane, to follow their passion for creating desserts in their hometown of San Diego. Starting in their hometown, they expanded to seven other locations within California and several states within the United States. Be sure to check out their website if you want to explore and support other cities.
Here, you can find monstrous ice cream sandwiches! The Baked Bear serves a variety of confections and ice cream flavors that may be mixed and matched to create their own favorite combination.
Starting with step one, you first pick your top and bottom mixing and matching with any cookie or brownie. Step two, select your ice cream flavor. The sandwiches can be rolled through toppings such as Fruity Pebbles or Oreo crumble before being served.
Step three, choose your toppings from an endless list of sauces, creams, or bites and candies. Lastly, you’ll have them hot press them together for a delicious dessert.
Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream
Address: 3077 University Ave San Diego, CA 92104
Phone: 619-567-7528
Hours: 12:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M. (Sunday – Thursday), 12:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. (Friday – Saturday)
This is a small family-owned shop that makes some of the best ice cream in San Diego. All of their flavors are made from scratch, and they even have vegan and dairy-free options!
Mariposa Ice Cream
Address: 3450 Adams Ave San Diego, CA 92116
Phone: 619-284-5197
Hours: Closed (Monday – Tuesday), 1:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. (Wednesday – Saturday), 2:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. (Sunday)
For the previous 22 years, Mariposa Ice Cream received numerous awards for the Best Ice Cream in San Diego and has been featured in the New York Times as a must-see when visiting San Diego.
Not only do they sell ice cream but specialize in sorbets and vegan flavors as well. Offered at the shop, are several classic flavors such as rocky road, coffee, coconut almond fudge, maple walnut, and some rotating flavors you might include nuez, vegan Mexican chocolate, pumpkin, peach, or watermelon sorbet.
They currently have a batch freezer that is built to precisely replicate the hand-cranked method, and proudly show the 1923 White Mountain hand-cranked ice cream maker used by the VanRansom family on the farm.
One highlight is that the ice cream has 1/3 less sugar and half the air than typical commercial ice cream!
The only downside is that they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays!
An’s Dry Cleaning
Address: 3017 Adams Ave San Diego, CA 92116
Phone: 619-450-6166
Email: hello@adcgelato.com
Hours: 12:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M. (Sunday – Wednesday), 12:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. (Thursday – Saturday)
Welcome to the hidden ice cream shop that is designed like a dry cleaning shop. An’s Dry Cleaning is a small shop resembling a speakeasy environment, yet serves high-quality, small-batch gelato from local ingredients.
Made fresh daily, you’ll find unique flavors like Obi which includes matcha and white chocolate gelato sourced from Nishio, Aichi, or Fez that was inspired by red velvet cake. There are usually about seven rotating flavors to choose from and they even let you sample before committing to a full scoop.
The chef, with over 13 years of experience making gelato in Europe, has mastered the craft of well-balanced gelato.
If you really enjoy the gelato here, try grabbing one of the gelato’s to-go in pint sizes.
Just note, parking is not the easiest here but they offer limited metered parking. Don’t get discouraged by the parking because it is worth the struggle!
Stella Jean’s Ice Cream
Address: 4404 Park Blvd Ste B San Diego, CA 92116
Phone: 619-501-8252
Hours: 12:00 P.M. – 9:30 P.M. (Sunday – Thursday), 12:00 P.M. – 10:30 P.M. (Friday – Saturday)
Stella Jean’s Ice Cream was founded on the same idea as their sister company, Pop Pie Co. — great meals celebrated with valued friends and neighbors.
Most of the flavors are gluten-free with options for vegan scoops such as mango sticky rice or strawberry oat crumble that will always be at the shop. However, check out some of the seasonal flavors as well. Right now, there is Hojicha and salted cream, chocolate chip banana bread, choco cocoa almond, or earl grey and citrus tea cake.
Conclusion for the Best Ice Cream Shops in San Diego
There you have it! Our list of the best ice cream shops in San Diego.
There are a lot of great ice cream shops in San Diego, but these seven reign supreme. Whether you’re looking for classic flavors or something more adventurous, these shops have got you covered. So next time you’re in the mood for some sweet treats, be sure to check out one of these amazing ice cream shops!
We hope you enjoyed reading it and that it gave you some great ideas for where to go next time you’re looking for a delicious treat. Happy eating!
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