One thing that San Francisco does better than Los Angeles is ice cream, especially in the Mission District. The Mission has some of the best ice cream in the city, if not the best in California entirely. Here are three local ice cream shops in the Mission that you don’t want to miss. 

Bi-Rite Creamery - Mission

Photo courtesy of Bi-Rite Creamery

Other neighborhood: Alamo Square

There are two locations to get Bi-Rite ice cream around the city- one on Divisadero (in the Alamo Square neighborhood) and one in the Mission. Their organic ingredients and creams are sourced from around the Bay Area. With homemade flavors such as honey lavender with sonoma honey, balsamic strawberry, earl grey, meyer lemon, cream cheese carrot cake, green tea, and black sesame, the ice cream is one of the treasured secrets of the city. They offer samples in both locations, so try as many as you like.

If you’re a frequent customer, get a stamp card. With enough stamps from cones you purchase, you’ll surely rack up enough to earn a free ice cream. 

Mitchell’s Ice Cream - Dolores Park

Photo courtesy of Mitchell’s Ice Cream

Other neighborhood: Mission District

Mitchell’s, has served a series of delectable homemade options since 1953. The super-premium (yes, that is a thing)  ice cream is made in small batches in their own shop and features flavors like Mexican-inspired horchata as well as Filipino-inspired Halo Halo. The shop is tiny but offers samples and does full desserts and floats as well as traditional cones. The family-run store is located not far from Dolores Park for weekend rounds. 

Note: There is a parking lot in the back with 10 spaces available to customers. 

Humphry Slocombe - Financial District

Photo courtesy of Humphry Slocombe

Other neighborhoods: Mission and Oakland

Humphry Slocombe, named after two characters from “Are you Being Served?” (a TV show from the 70’s), is arguably at the top of the neighborhood ice cream tier. It has organic and handmade ice cream with a range of unique flavors including Secret Breakfast, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, Black Sesame, Milky Tea, Pink Lemonade Sorbet, Peanut Butter Curry, and Jesus Juice Sorbet. While some of them are available in pints outside of the city, it’s highly encouraged that you stop by one of their brick-and-mortar locations or find their food truck that sometimes makes cameos outside of the city.

Humphry Slocome recently partnered with award-winning musical “The Color Purple” to make a new, limited-edition flavor combination made of blackberry puree and dried hibiscus flowers. It’s only available at the Financial District's Ferry Building and Mission locations in the city.