The Top 7 Artisanal Ice Cream Shops In Los Angeles
I grew up in Massachusetts one mile from a cow pasture, so we would get local ice cream all the time. The craziest ice cream flavor we ever saw was asparagus, or as the locals called it, "Hadley Grass." My neighbor, a man with many names and a fake knee he acquired after fighting in WWII with whom I weeded dandelions with on the regular, painted a picture of a cow to go inside the ice cream store. I thought of him as the celebrity of Amherst, Massachusetts and bragged to all of my friends that it was indeed Hoke/Charlie who painted the elegant portrait.
Sure, I paint the picture (of my neighbor painting the picture) that I'm some wayward farm girl in an idyllic land from the golden age when Keats and Shakespeare wrote pastorals full of shepherds, but I am not naïve. I enjoy traveling and have eaten many types of frozen treats in my life, including gelato from all around Italy.
Yet nothing prepared me for the strange and eclectic ice cream land that is Los Angeles.
From spiced peanut, to avocado, to mole, the inventiveness is endless. Yet, with inventiveness comes a higher price—so although I love a good $7.50 sundae from Jeni's in Loz Feliz with homemade extra bitter hot fudge and a fresh (not Maraschino) cherry, I am also aware that many people have more important and pressing things to spend their money on, and like Flayvors of Cook Farm in Massachusettes, some delicious ice cream does not come with an absurd price tag. Therefore, my list is reflective of the best ice cream in L.A., keeping in mind the various price levels.
#7 Kind Kreme at Sage, Echo Park
Sage is the go-to vegan eatery in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Echo Park. In fact, it's the only vegan eatery in the neighborhood, and admittedly the only reason I go to Echo Park at all unless I am visiting a friend. That is, until recently. I used to love their flavorful sauces and gluten free mac and cheese balls, but a few months ago all their food started going downhill. Okay, so why am I writing about it on this list? Their ice kreme has never out me off and is totally dairy free! (Duh). Sage also has another location in Culver City, which I have not tried, but the menu is similar, albeit not identical.
Top Picks: Superfood (a dark chocolate with a hint of berry), and green tea.
Plus: They give you giant containers of water, so for a thirsty person like me, you don't have to constantly ask the server to refill the tiny glasses in this drought land. You can also sit outside at any time of the year because they have heat lamps if it's too cold.
Minus: The rest of the food plays Russian Roulette with your stomach.
Cool Snack: They have a raw brownie sundae, as well as a plethora of smoothies and other vegan desserts. I love the greena colada smoothie.
#6 Mateo Ice Cream and Fruit Bars, Culver City
My cousin lives in Long Beach and I live in Atwater Village, so instead of meeting halfway in a warehouse in Commerce, we tend to opt for Culver City. This place had come up on Yelp multiple times, but in the past, we had primarily been interested in eating dinner. One abnormally hot day in March, we both wanted ice cream, so I knew exactly where to go.
Top Picks: Coconut milk Popsicle. Some of the popsicles are water-based, which in mine (and their) opinions, are not as good as the milk-based popsicles. That being said, if you have a dairy allergy, the water-based ones are still a delicious treat.
Plus: The employees are friendly and helpful, and the overall vibe is very unpretentious. The ice cream is reasonably priced and you'll find an eclectic mix of people here, mostly with their families having a good time. This is not a pretentious artisanal L.A. place.
Minus: It's in a strip mall, so it can be easy to miss. The parking is iffy and there are very few seats. I commandeered a bench for a long period of time, but when others joined me, I spent the rest of the time standing in the parking lot.
Cool Snack: Try a chocolate-dipped Popsicle or a smoothie.
#5 Pazzo Gelato, Silverlake
I adore Italian gelato, so one might imagine I'd go around saying obnoxious things like, "The gelato in America is not nearly as bono!"—which I do, unless I am at Pazzo in Silverlake or Popbar in New York (but we will save that for another time).
Top Picks: Thai Iced Tea. I've never seen this flavor of gelato anywhere else. The sweet and smoky tea flavor pairs perfectly with the richness of the cream. I always say Thai tea tastes like a sauna (in a good way). The green tea is great, too. You can't go wrong with any of the flavors.
Plus: It's very laidback and doesn't try to hard to be "super hip," which we all know Silverlake is. The prices are reasonable.
Minus: There isn't one!
Cool Snack: This place is focused on gelato and they do it well.
#4 Milk, Silverlake
There was a wooden panel on Silverlake Boulevard for the longest time that read "Go Kale Yourself," which, if not an accurate description of the neighborhood, I don't know what is. When "Go Kale Yourself" was removed, an artisanal ice cream shop was born. This shop was Milk.
Like its trendy counterparts Jeni's and Salt and Straw, always has a ridiculously long line. Yet, Silverlake Boulevard is filled with shops and cafes that close on the early side, so it is relatively low-key late at night; thus no line at this location of Milk.
The first flavor I tried immediately hooked me. It didn't taste frozen at all, which might sound strange for ice cream, yet this flavor was Nutella and tasted essentially like I was eating a cup of pure milky Nutella, which once again reminded me of Italy. I think I should save my money and book a flight back to Florence ASAP.
Top picks: Nutella. Nutella. Nutella. Nutella. Nutella. Also, mint. I love a good mint.
Plus: When the lines get too long elsewhere, Milk stays relatively chill. Also, Nutella.
Minus: There aren't many places to sit and parking on Silverlake Boulevard can be iffy.
Cool Snacks: In addition to ice cream, Milk also has a large selection of drinks and desserts. It's great to come to with a group of friends who are all craving different sweet treats. There is something for everyone.
#3 Salt and Straw, Larchmont Village
The best of Portland has made its way South with the first location of Salt and Straw in the adorable hamlet that is Larchmont Village. I always joke that you can never tell the difference between clubs and ice cream shops in LA because the lines at the best ice cream spots are usually longer than lines to get into the hippest clubs. If ice cream shops are the clubs of L.A., then Salt and Straw is the most exclusive. Better dress to your nines cause there is no guarantee you're gonna get in (unless of course you stand in line for thirty minutes). They even have the velvet roping!
Top Picks: Stumptown Coffee with Compartes Love Nuts, avocado and strawberry sorbet, and Universe III—a mole based ice cream with a ton of different flavors mixed in .
Plus: Some of the most inventive flavors I've ever seen. All the ingredients are all locally sourced, so you know it's the real deal. Larchmont is also, in my opinion, one of the cutest neighborhoods in L.A. Have dinner at one of the charming restaurants beforehand, or just grab your goat cheese ice cream and take a walk around. Did I mention Salt and Straw has goat cheese ice cream? I don't love the taste of goat cheese in general, but it certainly sounds interesting for anyone who is up for that sort of flavor. There is also a great gluten-free bakery next door called Erin Mckenna's. If the line at Salt and Straw gets too long, I recommend going next door for a maple donut or a mint brownie cupcake.
Minus: The line. Sometimes I'm like a toddler and just want my ice cream and I want it now. This is L.A.'s first, and so far only location, so I hope that they will consider opening another in the near future to perhaps defray the masses of people traveling from near and far just to get a taste.
Cool Snack: They have interesting and locally made toppings. Give them a try!
#2 Jeni's, Los Feliz
Jeni's is the best thing to happen to Hillhurst since, well, forever. While Los Feliz is a charming French-influenced village, it is seriously lacking in good food. Then came Jeni from Ohio with her delicious, handmade ice cream, determined to open her first shop in SoCal. Thanks Jeni!
Top picks: Bangkok peanut (peanut and cayenne), Savannah Buttermint, Milkiest Chocolate, and Almond Brittle
Plus: There are a lot of pluses. For one, they clearly label the ingredients on each individual ice cream container so you don't have to be the annoying person asking what is soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, etc. The employees are incredibly friendly and scoop the ice cream in perhaps the most precise way I have ever witnessed. I also appreciated how much free ice cream I got before I ever had to pay. There are also seasonal flavors that rotate, so you can never get bored. But who gets bored of good ice cream? Additionally, they have ice cream floats and delicious sundaes.
Minus: They encourage everyone to try almost every flavor before they decide, which is nice, but also makes the already long line seem almost endless. Once again, being the only location, it seems everyone is flocking from the San Gabriel Mountains all the way to Ocean Avenue just to get a taste of these unique artisanal treats. Also, when they reopened the shop recently they seemed to be devoid of every flavor I liked and heavy on the fruit flavors, which are not as much my cup of cream. They promised they would be cycling everything back soon.
Cool Snack: Salty caramel ice cream sandwich (It's gluten-free!).
#1 Mashti Malone's, Hollywood
One may not guess that an unassuming storefront in a random strip mall on the corner of Sunset and La Brea holds the best ice cream in all of Los Angeles, but believe me, it does. I did a play in a theater above Mashti Malone's and did not set foot in it for about a year afterwards. Everyone was always saying how good it was, but I wasn't eager to spend more time at this strip mall than I needed to. They don't call it "Hollyweird" for nothing.
While I love Jeni's, Salt and Straw, and Milk, when it comes down to it, really good ice cream takes the cake, and I am slowly learning that oftentimes, good things come in strip malls in L.A.
Top Picks: Rosewater/saffron, rosewater/ginger—anything with rosewater is an interesting and unique flavor that tastes a little like bath water, but in a good way. The mint chocolate chip was the best version of this classic I've ever had by far. It tasted as though someone picked fresh mint, ground it up and churned it into the ice cream seconds before serving me. My friend also said the cucumber was surprisingly good.
Pluses: Every flavor is so fresh. They also have a crispy rice noodle flavors which I think wins the award for the most inventive flavor I've seen.
Minuses: The location is convenient to walk to if you live nearby, but the parking is terrible and you must valet park at night. That's another baffling thing about L.A. Why am I going to pay $8 to park my car at this random strip mall? Have I said strip mall enough yet? The woman serving me and my friends wasn't particularly friendly, but the other woman working seemed like she was, so it seems as if the temperament of the staff varies.
Cool Snack: They also have Turkish desserts for sale.