Boston/ Food & Drinks
Published on July 20, 2017
The Scoop On America's Top 50 Ice Creameries: Is Boston On Top?Photo: Tiffany L./Yelp

With summer right around the corner, ice cream shops around the country are about to get a lot busier. But when it comes to getting the best ice cream around, do you know where to go?

To get the scoop, Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top 50 ice cream shops around the country, using Yelp data from Mayand our own signature recipe to produce a data-driven breakdown of where America’s most iconic ice cream establishments call home—and how Boston ranks.

Over 18,700 ice creameries across the country have a 4.0- star average rating or higher on Yelp, as seen on our map here. We did the math to narrow that number down to the top 50.

As it turns out, Bostonians are well represented, with one of the nation’s best ice cream operations. Landing on our list at #15, is Toscanini's Ice Cream, a Cambridge staple since the ‘80s that has an impressive 4.5- star average with 1,283 reviews.

What makes Toscanini’s special? Its extensive list of creative flavors contribute to its popularity. Well known for its Burnt Caramel, B3 (brown sugar, brown butter and brownies) and Khulfee (cardamom, chopped almonds and pistachios), Toscanini’s also dishes out micro sundaes, ice cream sandwiches and affogato—and free sprinkles.

Want to know where to score the creamiest, most delicious ice cream the country has to offer? Here's the rundown of America’s top 50 can’t miss ice creameries:

  1. Bobboi Natural Gelato (La Jolla)
  2. Gelatology (Las Vegas)
  3. Milk (Los Angeles)
  4. Ici Ice Cream (Berkeley)
  5. Salt & Straw (Portland)
  6. Island Cream Co. (Lahai)
  7. Mitchell’s Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  8. Scoops (Los Angeles)
  9. Gunther’s Quality Ice Cream (Sacramento)
  10. Saffron & Rose Ice Cream (Los Angeles)
  11. Fentons Creamery (Oakland)
  12. Marianne’s Ice Cream (Santa Cruz)
  13. Carmela Ice Cream (Pasadena)
  14. Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous (San Francisco)
  15. Toscanini’s Ice Cream (Cambridge)
  16. Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  17. Little Man Ice Cream (Denver)
  18. Leopold’s Ice Cream (Savannah)
  19. The Penny Ice Creamery (Santa Cruz)
  20. Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  21. Ample Hills Creamery (Brooklyn)
  22. Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and Yogurt (Redondo Beach)
  23. Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream (Los Angeles)
  24. Lick Honest Ice Creams (Austin)
  25. Holy Gelato! (San Francisco)
  26. Treat Ice Cream Company (San Jose)
  27. Gelateria Naia (San Francisco)
  28. Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream (San Diego)
  29. Swensen’s Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  30. Strickland’s Ice Cream (Irvine)
  31. 8 Half Desserts (Honolulu)
  32. Afters Ice Cream (Fountain Valley)
  33. Tara’s Organic Ice Cream (Berkeley)
  34. Helados Pops Ice Cream (San Fernando)
  35. à la minute (Redlands)
  36. Pazzo Gelato (Los Angeles)
  37. Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  38. Sweet Action Ice Cream (Denver)
  39. Capogiro Gelato (Philadelphia)
  40. Tin Pot Creamery (Palo Alto)
  41. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (New York)
  42. Mariposa Ice Cream (San Diego)
  43. Smitten Ice Cream (San Francisco)
  44. McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams (Santa Barbara)
  45. Cookies & Cream (South Pasadena)
  46. Wanderlust Creamery (Tarzana)
  47. YERSEN Gelato Cakes (Danville)
  48. Fosselman’s Ice Cream (Alhambra)
  49. Churn (Phoenix)
  50. Quenelle (Burbank)