The Best Ice Cream in Los Angeles, Ranked
Your guide to frozen goodness
In Los Angeles, you have your pick of the best of the best, like super-rich ice milk stuffed between two brownies, perfectly smooth soft serve and the one and only ice cream hot dog. (Trust us, it’s amazing.)
Here are the 15 ice-cream shops you need to visit this summer.
15. Shake Shack
Flavors of the frozen custard change on a weekly basis, so keep going back until you try the cherry streusel. It’s super creamy because it’s made with egg.
8520 Santa Monica Blvd.; 323-488-3010 or shakeshack.com
14. Smitten Ice Cream
July’s seasonal flavor, Nectarine Crisp, is made--like the rest of the chain’s flavors--using a proprietary method that fast-freezes fresh ingredients using liquid nitrogen. Note to East Siders: A Silverlake outpost is opening in the fall.
The Point, 850 S. Sepulveda Blvd.; 424-220-7100 or smittenicecream.com
13. McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams
Why not double-decker your ice-cream sandwich? May we suggest Summer Fruit Cobbler ice cream with Vanilla Gooey Butter Cookies and Raspberry Lingonberry sauce over Pistachio Amaretto ice cream with Sweet Corn Sugar Cookies?
Locations in Downtown Los Angeles and Studio City; mcconnells.com
12. Sprinkles Ice Cream
It’s hot up in here, so skip the cupcakes and go for a red waffle cone full of rocky road, dark chocolate with toasted almonds, housemade marshmallow cream and bittersweet chocolate chips.
Locations in Glendale, Beverly Hills and Westlake Village; sprinkles.com
11. Coolhaus
Hipsters flock to this sleek neon-accented Culver City ice creamery that’s inspired by high design. We don’t know about all that, we’re just here for the brownie ice cream sandwich that’s so rich we have to split it with our bestie.
8588 Washington Blvd.; 310-838-5559 or eatcoolhaus.com
10. Sweet Lucie’s Ice Cream and Treats
Cookies-and-cream ice cream sandwiched between two cookies-and-cream macarons? Yes please.
12222 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista or ilovelucies.com
9. Honeymee
Super-smooth soft serve sprinkled with granola and honey served in a sweet oblong bun. Hello, ice milk weiner, where have you been all our lives?
Locations in Koreatown and on Sawtelle; honeymee.com
8. Sweet Rose Creamery
A vegan ice cream that’s a solid, creamy contender? We would never lie to you. You must try the dairy-free dark chocolate topped with cacao nibs.
Locations in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Studio City, Mid-City and Santa Monica; sweetrosecreamery.com
7. Three Twins Ice Cream
This Northern Cali transplant knows we need a little sumpin-sumpin to get us going on Monday mornings. So they’re ready with Madagascar vanilla and a shot of espresso.
2726 Main St.; 310-399-8946 or threetwinsicecream.com
6. Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream
This Hollywood strip-mall institution was famous for its non-traditional flavors long before the current foodie craze. Lavender and rosewater saffron are musts.
1525 N. La Brea Ave.; 323-874-0144 or mashtimalone.com
5. Milk
Your secret summer feel-good move? Stop in at Milk and order a milkshake--our favorites are the blueberry, red velvet and coffee. By the time you get back to your car, its smooth, soothing properties will have worked their calming magic.
Locations on Beverly and Silverlake; themilkshop.com
4. Jon and Vinny’s
This neo-Italian hot spot is known for its pizza and in-house wine store but the real news is its post-prandial soft-serve swirl of chocolate and strawberry, complete with a little wooden spoon, just like in Little Italy.
412 N. Fairfax Ave.; 323-334-3369 or jonandvinnys.com
3. Kind Kreme
Oh, gourmet raw, vegan, organic chocolate ice cream, are you sure you don’t contain any milk products? Shhh…you’re so rich and fulfilling, we don’t want to know.
1700 W. Sunset Blvd.; 213-989-1718 or kindkreme.com
2. Jeni’s Splendid
Maybe it’s our inner beauty-product junkie that makes us love the Bronze Goddess sundae, inspired by an Estée Lauder fragrance of the same name. But more likely it’s our inner glutton--because the layered salted caramel ice cream, cherries cold-poached in orange blossom and peach essence and toasted coconut and whipped cream is too, too good.
1954 Hillhurst Ave.; 323-928-2668 or jenis.com
1. Salt & Straw
This Portland outfit has rocked Angelenos (and made us wait in lines) with its crazy gourmet mash-ups (strawberries with balsamic and black pepper, anyone?). But the best is the Meyer lemon buttermilk with blueberries, a flavor that rings of SoCal summertime with every mouthful.
Locations in Studio City, Larchmont and Venice; saltandstraw.com
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