Favorite Ice Cream Shops in LA

My boys love their ice cream. Little treats and mid-day outings are what brings us the most joy. With summer right around the corner, I can’t wait to start going out for ice cream and other treats to beat the heat. I wanted to share LA’s Top Ice Cream shops, via MomsLA. Check out their list for the best sweet treats and great spots to cool down.

Recommendations are from Moms LA:

Afters Ice Cream
Multiple locations around SoCal

Afters Ice Cream is known as the home of the Milky Bun — a singular creation involving ice cream and a glazed bun (something like a donut but without the hole) that’s apparently not to be missed. The brand is also super popular on Instagram, and they’ve got a ton of very creative flavors.

Carmela Ice Cream
2495 East Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104

Established in 2007, Carmela offers artisan ice cream and sorbets with seasonally inspired flavors such as basil and lavender honey from locally grown and organic herbs, spices, and flowers. Everyday flavors include Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean, Lemon Basil Sorbet, and Strawberry Buttermilk, while seasonal flavors can include Brown Butter Sage and Pear Champagne Sorbet.

Coolhaus
8588 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232

Coolhaus began as a food truck and became so popular that they opened shops in Culver City and Pasadena (the Pasadena site has since been closed). Their ice cream parlors are known for selling gourmet, handmade, and unique flavors such as Guinness Chip, Chicken and Waffles, and Lucky Charms.

Creamistry
6150 Laurel Canyon Rd., Ste. 135, North Hollywood, CA 91606

Creamistry serves made-to-order Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, which means it’s about as fresh as possible! Choose your base, flavors, and toppings — it’s all customizable there! They have multiple locations around SoCal.

Fosselman’s
1824 West Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 282-6533

A family-owned and operated business, Fosselman’s has been scooping the most delicious ice cream to customers for over 100 years. Completely family-friendly, the kids will love the candy selection and you’ll love the 48 ice cream flavors to choose from.

Ginger’s Divine Ice Cream and Pops
Two locations:
12550 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
8430 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048

Ginger is the person behind Ginger’s Divine Ice Cream and Pops. She shops at local farmers’ markets for fresh ingredients and makes all of the ice cream, cookies, and brownies the stores sell. The company is known for its amazing flavor combinations, vegan ice cream, and seasonal flavors.

Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream
Multiple locations around SoCal including:
8850 Corbin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 91324

Launched in 1945 in Youngstown, Ohio by Alice Handel, Handel’s has grown to now include locations all across the U.S. All of the ice cream flavors are made fresh daily in each location. Look for more stores opening in SoCal soon.

HONEYMEE
3377 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 116, Los Angeles, CA 90010

HONEYMEE has a select menu offering, but don’t let the small menu fool you: It offers sweet, smooth, all-natural ice cream. The subtle floral honey and not-at-all-icy soft serve is sure to be the subject of your summer food fantasies.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
Multiple locations in Los Angeles including:
4751 Commons Way, Ste. A, Calabasas, CA 91302
540 Rose Ave., Venice, CA 90291

Jeni’s makes ice cream with a uniquely smooth texture and buttercream body, with flavors like Gooey Butter Cake, Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns, and Brambleberry Crisp, among many others. Jeni’s is also a Certified B Corporation, which means they meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. 

McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream
Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013

For almost 70 years, McConnell’s has been making their impeccable ice cream the same way — from scratch and in small batches. Ingredients include Central Coast grass-grazed milk and cream, pasteurized at their creamery at The Old Dairy, and the finest local, sustainable, and organic raw ingredients sourced from partner farms, artisans, and purveyors.

Dear Bella Creamery
1253 Vine St. #12, Los Angeles, CA 90038

What if you crave ice cream but are staying away from dairy products? Head over to Dear Bella to get a couple of scoops of vegan ice cream right away! They’ve got flavors like Taiwanese Pineapple Cake, Mango Chamoy, Rocky Road, Birthday Cake, and so many more. They also have treats to go with their ice cream, like cakes, cookies, and even gluten-free waffle cones. It all looks so good!

Magpie’s Softserve
Three locations:
Silver Lake — 2660 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Tarzana — 18971 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356
Highland Park — 5049 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042

We were reluctant to add soft serve to a list of scoop shops, but this is not ordinary soft serve ice cream. Made from scratch by avowed ice cream lovers, Magpie’s boasts flavors like Malted Milk Chocolate, Corn Almond, Hazelnut Coffee, Fresh Banana, and more. Vegan options and daily flavors are listed on their website. Bonus: Soft Serve Pies.

Mateo’s Ice Cream & Fruit Bars
Four locations including:
1250 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006

Mateo’s opened in 1982 and now has more than 25 different flavors of ice cream and 26 different kinds of ice pops. They also have paletas made with 100 percent real fruit. Everyone in the family will find something they love at Mateo’s.

Rori’s Artisinal Ice Cream
Multiple locations including:
910 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403

Rori’s Artisinal Ice Cream is made in small batches using local California Central Coast milk products and local herbs and ingredients. Rori Trovato makes all of the delicious ice cream and cookie recipes for locations from Santa Monica to Carpenteria. Flavors include Malted Milk Ball, Lemon Curd, and Cinnamon Toast Cereal Crunch.

Salt & Straw
Multiple locations including:
Silver Lake — 3823 Sunset Blvd.
Larchmont — 240 N. Larchmont Blvd. 90004
Culver City — 9300 Culver Blvd. at the Culver Steps
Venice — 1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek’s Portland-based creamery, Salt & Straw, has gained fast popularity with their handmade fresh small-batch seasonal scoops here in Los Angeles. When they launched in LA, they crafted a new flavor just for us: a Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Custard with ribbons of blueberry jam served alongside some of their classics like Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbon and Cinnamon Snickerdoodle. There’s a new set of flavors each month!

Sweet Rose Creamery
225 26th St. #51, Santa Monica, CA 90402

Sweet Rose is a small-batch ice cream shop that focuses on local, organic ingredients and farmer’s market fruits and produce — mainly from the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. Sweet Rose pasteurizes on-site and makes all ice cream, sorbets, and dairy-free ice creams and cones on the premises from scratch. They feature at least 5 classic flavors daily and 10+ seasonal flavors daily.

Van Leeuwen
Multiple locations around SoCal, including:
The Point at El Segundo, 850 S. PCH, Store #1-F, El Segundo, CA 90245
Silver Lake, 2925 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026

This company started as a food truck in New York City in 2008. Since then, it has grown to include locations spread all across the country. Van Leeuwen’s dairy ice cream uses extra egg yolks for extra goodness, which means it needs to be called, “French Ice Cream,” according to some authorities. But we think it’s fine for you to call it anything you want. Van Leeuwen is known for changing its flavors from season to season, so be on the lookout often for new products to try!

Satisfy your sweet cravings and indulge in any of these ice cream shops—you won't be disappointed.

Shared by Head Rascal (Ngoc Nguyen Lay), mother of two rascals, ages 8 and 10. Content written by MomsLA.