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It doesn’t matter if it’s a foggy, 60-degree day in June or an 85-degree scorcher in November — it’s always ice cream weather in San Francisco if you want it to be. And in a city as diverse and innovative as ours, it’s no surprise that scoop shops offer a rainbow coalition of flavors, from Asian-inspired ube pandan, vanilla lilikoi, and matcha Oreo to all-American classics like rocky road and mint chip.

In the latest edition of Pro Tips, we caught up with chefs, restaurant owners, winemakers, and other industry experts to learn their top scoop shops. The answers span old-school soda fountains, nostalgia-inspiring creameries, and (in a nod to the city’s rich Italian American history) a few gelato shops that might just rival the best in Rome. 

Here are the 10 best San Francisco spots for ice cream, gelato, and sorbet, according to the pros.

Favorite scoop: Polly Ann Ice Cream, Outer Sunset
For Fisher, ice cream is all about nostalgia. She and her friends have been coming to this unassuming shop since high school. Fisher, a “forever mint-chocolate-chip stan,” orders the same thing she did 20 years ago: two scoops, one her favorite and one of whatever new flavor she hasn’t tried, in a cake cone. “I’m fully aware that a cake cone is essentially sweetened cardboard,” she says. “But as a kid who grew up eating cylinder cones of ice cream at Thrifty’s and soft serve at McDonald’s, they just hold the highest of honors in my heart.”

Favorite scoop: The Ice Cream Bar, 815 Cole St., Cole Valley  
After dinners at his grandparents’ house in Natchez, Mississippi, Harter would wander to The Malt Shop for a chocolate malt. Today, when he wants his ice cream fix — he calls it his Achilles heel — he’ll head to The Ice Cream Bar, a retro-style soda fountain, for a scoop of banana pudding ice cream. “You can take the boy out of the South, but you can’t take the Southern out of the boy,” he says. He usually gets it in a cup, because “I’m notorious for wearing what I eat.”

Favorite scoop: Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream, 3866 Noriega St., Outer Sunset
When she’s not at Garden Creamery in the Mission or Bad Walter’s Bootleg Ice Cream in Oakland, Maeda is likely at Marco Polo, a no-frills spot with Asian-inspired flavors that are hard to find elsewhere. Soursop, jackfruit, fresh banana, guava, and pistachio are Maeda’s go-to flavors, and she’s team sugar cone for ice cream — though in the case of gelato or sorbet, she’ll opt for a cup. “I think that sorbet needs to be eaten on its own and doesn’t need anything taken away from it,” she explains.

Favorite scoop: Mitchell’s Ice Cream, 688 San Jose Ave., Outer Mission
Sullivan has go-to flavors at both Mitchell’s and Humphry Slocombe. But no matter what he’s ordering, one thing is certain: He’s team cone, all the way. Whether he orders a sugar or cake cone depends on the ice cream flavor. In the summer, it’s all about Mitchell’s fresh peach, made with local fruit. Otherwise, he’s likely to order ube-macapuno (purple yam and coconut). “This is a favorite family treat,” he says. “We go with my wife, our two boys, and often the grandparents. Everyone has their own favorite flavor, and we always leave happy.”

Favorite scoop: Garden Creamery, 3566 20th St., Mission 
Whenever he makes it into the city — which is more frequent now that he’s opened a taqueria in Saluhall — Prado makes an effort to visit what he considers to be SF’s best ice cream spot. He tips his cap to owners Erin Lang and Danny Capozzi: “No other ice cream place exists other than Garden Creamery.” Prado says all the flavors are hits, but he’ll usually order a cup of black sesame, pistachio, coffee, or cookies and cream.

Favorite scoop: Gio Gelati, 1998 Union St., Marina
In addition to Mitchell’s Ice Cream, Sagan loves this charming gelateria. Like Piccino, Gio Gelati marries Italian tradition with seasonal Californian ingredients. Sagan goes for a scoop of pistachio or hazelnut in a waffle cone. “Why scrape deliciousness out of a meek cardboard container?” she asks.

Favorite scoop: Gelato cart at Cotogna, 490 Pacific Ave., Jackson Square
Michael — whose bakery has an ice cream-focused outpost, Toy Boat by Jane — has a long list of favorites, including Philmore Creamery and Matcha Cafe Maiko. But when Cotogna rolled out its gelato cart five years ago, it became her go-to. On Saturday afternoons in the summer, Michael and her husband stroll by to grab a cup of honeycomb vanilla gelato topped with chocolate sauce. “I’m a cup person, mainly because I survive on carbs all day long,” she says. “Between bread, croissants, and cookies — my dietary staples during the day — I rarely need a carb at night.”

Favorite scoop: Swensen’s, 1999 Hyde St., Russian Hill
“Swensen’s is a true classic — the kind of place that feels like it belongs to the neighborhood, with generations of locals,” says Nayfeld. On warm days, he brings his daughter, Helena, to get waffle cones piled high with classic flavors, such as mint chip, cookies and cream, or her favorite combo: cookies and cream with sprinkles. “There’s something nostalgic about Swensen’s,” he says of the company founded in SF in 1948. “It’s the kind of spot that reminds you why simple pleasures like really good ice cream on a sunny day are unbeatable.”

Favorite scoop: Hila Gelato Caffe, 951 Valencia St., Mission
“Here’s the thing: With a cone, you’re racing against time and gravity to ensure you catch every bead of melted ice cream rolling off the mound,” Budayr says. “You can’t quite capture that kinetic experience in a cup.” That’s why, after dinner on Valencia Street, he and his partner will walk over to this cozy gelateria serving the most balanced, aerated gelato he’s had in the U.S. His order is custardy, rich zabaglione — on a cone, of course.

Favorite scoop: La Copa Loca Gelato, 3150 22^nd St., Mission
Few wax as poetically about gelato as Shelton, who moved to the Mission during the pandemic and frequents this sunny, unassuming gelateria. “Nothing beats walking through the Mission on a warm, fall night when the streets are howling and you’ve got La Copa Loca in your hands,” he says. Post-dinner at nearby Loló, he’ll snag a cake cone with coffee gelato to keep up his energy. “A cone demands your attention in the way that beautiful ice cream should. No lollygagging!”