For creative flavors like Secret Breakfast (bourbon ice cream with corn flakes) or Matchadoodle (matcha and snickerdoodle), head to Humphry Slocombe. We like stopping by the Ferry Building location and creating our own sundae with their house-made bourbon caramel or hot fudge before eating it on a nearby bench with views of the bay. Humphry Slocombe also has a shop in the Mission, or you can find their pints at a bunch of grocery stores around the city.

While you can get lattes and blended drinks at Matcha Café Maiko, their matcha soft serve is what keeps us coming back. It’s unbelievably smooth and creamy, and just sweet enough without overpowering the subtle matcha flavor. You can also go for the boba sundae, which we dream about on the hour, every hour. It comes with matcha or vanilla soft serve topped with perfectly chewy boba and a drizzle of their house kuromitsu syrup.

You have a wealth of dessert options to choose from if you’re in the Mission, but Hila Gelato should be on the top of your list, hot day or not. The Sicilian-style gelato is incredibly creamy and there’s a large variety of fun and always-changing flavors, like lemon delight, stracciatella, and cherry. Standouts are on the fruitier side, like the blueberry that’s chock full of small bits of fruit that taste straight from a farm stand in the Central Valley.

The extremely rich, creamy gelato at this spot in North Beach is some of our favorite in the city. They’ve got a small, frequently-changing selection of things like brown butter & chocolate honeycomb, honey lavender, and dulce de leche, which you can order in a pint or a scoop to-go.

Mitchell’s has been around since 1953, and these days the ice cream spot is synonymous with “quintessential San Francisco.” The small creamery on San Jose Avenue usually draws long lines thanks to flavors like banana, cantaloupe, ube, and buko. The best part is their ice cream comes in endless forms, from cups, cones, and sundaes to splits, milkshakes, and ice cream sandwiches.

We probably aren’t the first to tell you that Salt & Straw knows how to make some damn good ice cream. Their flavors range from standbys like honey lavender and salted, malted, chocolate chip cookie dough (hits) to monthly-changing flavors like mashed potatoes and gravy (less of a hit) or birthday cake and blackberries. So, if you’re passing by and smell the serotonin-inducing scent of fresh waffle cones and pure sugar, you should definitely grab a cone.

This snug, cash-only ice cream shop in the Fillmore is covered from floor to ceiling with colorful candy jars and ice cream flavor lists, and has been around since the early ’90s. They serve locally made ice cream from Mitchell’s and Dreyer’s, and have over 100 flavors—everything from ube (our go-to) to cookie dough to Mexican chocolate. Also, they don’t skimp on the scoops.

This spot in the Inner Sunset makes their ice cream in small batches, with house-made ingredients—and the effort shines through. We like the mint chip, which is incredibly light, made with fresh mint, and is always on the menu. Hometown Creamery also has excellent rotating flavors, like coffee and donuts or honey berry breakfast. Another plus: you can order “smidges,” golf ball-sized scoops that are perfect if you want to try a bunch of different flavors without having to bust out the Lactaid.

Double Rainbow is a beloved SF icon, and decades after they first opened in the Castro, they’re back with a new scoop shop close to the original location. The small storefront is home to a rotating menu of ice creams, like It’s A Goody (vanilla, peanut butter, and fudge), peanut butter and jelly, and strawberry matcha. Load up a waffle cone with your favorites, or go for one of their thick, creamy shakes—and maybe grab a pint to take home, too.

Being Dolores Park-adjacent (and also churning out fantastic ice cream) means there’ll most likely be a line at Bi-Rite. But said lines move quickly, and it’s worth waiting to get some of their incredibly smooth soft serve or regular flavors like ricanelas, salted caramel, or cookies and cream. Whichever you choose, the texture will be creamy and perfect.