Japanese immigrants reportedly first brought shaved ice to the Hawaiian islands in the late 1800s when working in the sugar cane fields. Today, the sugary treat is a traditional Hawaiian staple, with outposts dotting all corners of the islands. Though still extremely popular in Hawaii, the sweet frozen dessert has made its way to the mainland to much fanfare as well.
To shave it down to the best in the nation, Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top 40 shaved ice shops around the country, using Yelp data and our own special sauce* to produce a data-driven breakdown of where shave ice reigns supreme across the U.S.
Topping the list is Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, located at 790 Front St. in Lahaina, Hawaii. With an impressive five stars out of 2,535 reviews on Yelp, this local outpost has made a serious impression with its extensive menu featuring nearly four dozen flavors, like almond, leche, pineapple, li hing mui (salty dried plum) and more.
If you're having trouble deciding on a flavor profile, Ululani has signature combinations on offer as well, such as the No Ka Oi with coconut, mango, liliko’i (passion fruit), or the traditional Hawaiian Rainbow with strawberry, pineapple and vanilla. Finish off the dessert by adding toppings like the "snow cap" sweetened condensed milk mixture, shaved coconut or azuki red beans. Since the shop debuted nearly a decade ago, it has expanded to seven locations across the island.
In second place is Honolulu's Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha with a solid five stars out of 1,365 reviews. Located at 820 W. Hind Dr., Suite 116, this family-run venture specializes in all-natural house-made syrups composed of cane sugar and fresh fruit. Expect to see flavors like milk chocolate, green tea, mango, pineapple and more. Look for toppings like ice cream from local purveyor Tropical Dreams, fresh strawberries, coconut-based haupia sauce and house-made mochi prepared daily. In 2018, the shop opened a second location at Ala Moana.
The third-place spot goes to Hansen’s Sno-Bliz in New Orleans, Louisiana, which has 4.5 stars out of 411 reviews. Located at 4801 Tchoupitoulas St. in West Riverside, this business has been slinging snow since 1939. According to the business, founder Ernest Hansen is said to have invented the first ice shaving machine and his wife, Mary, invented its line of flavored sweet syrups. Today, the shop still creates its snowballs with the original machine and hand-crafts syrups each day.
When it comes to shaved ice's popularity across the country, Yelp data show that businesses tagged with the "shaved ice" category are largely clustered around urban metros on the East and West coasts, with Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Louisiana also seeing notable numbers of shave ice-focused outlets.
As for relative popularity across the nation, measured by average ratings for a given category, Yelp data indicate that North Dakota, Wisconsin and New Jersey may not be home to the biggest shaved ice fans, comparatively speaking.
When it comes to how prevalent shaved ice businesses are, state by state, Hawaii shows the strongest ratio of shaved ice outlets compared to all other categories, with Texas, Delaware, Utah and Louisiana the runners-up. Unsurprisingly, Hawaii should be your top stop if you want a diversity of shaved ice options to choose from.
Want to know where to score the most satisfying shaved ice the country has to offer? Here's the rundown of the 40 American shaved ice shops to knock off your bucket list:
- Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice (Lahaina, Hawaii)
- Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha (Honolulu, Hawaii)
- Hansen’s Sno-Bliz (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Snowdays (New York City, New York)
- Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice (Kihei, Hawaii)
- Hula Girls Shave Ice (Huntington Beach, California)
- SnoCream Company (Annandale, Virginia)
- Snow Monster (Austin, Texas)
- Snoh Ice Shavery (Phoenix, Arizona)
- Waiola Shave Ice (Honolulu, Hawaii)
- Ice Cave (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Oasis Shaved Ice (Cocoa Beach, Florida)
- One Aloha Shave Ice (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii)
- Loco Coco Shave Ice (Koloa, Hawaii)
- Hula Cowgirl Shaved Ice (Georgetown, Texas)
- Litchi Snow Ice (Pembroke Pines, Florida)
- Sips (Hermitage, Tennessee)
- SNOWLAB (Denver, Colorado)
- Sno-Beach (Austin, Texas)
- Detroit Water Ice Factory (Detroit, Michigan)
- Iceskimo (San Diego, California)
- Snowflake Shavery (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Matsumoto Shave Ice (Haleiwa, Hawaii)
- Shimazu Store (Honolulu, Hawaii)
- Brian's Shave Ice (Los Angeles, California)
- Nu Cafe (Houston, Texas)
- Blockheads Shavery (Los Angeles, California)
- Hanji (Davie, Florida)
- SnowBots (Rockville, Maryland)
- SnoWhat (Louisville, Kentucky)
- Sno (Dallas, Texas)
- Original Big Island Shave Ice (Kamuela, Hawaii)
- Sno-La Snowball Lounge (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Snow Zone (Mobile, Alabama)
- Shuei-Do Manju Shop (San Jose, California)
- Get Shaved (Northridge, California)
- Lumi Snow (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Winterfell Dessert (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Aloha Pizza & Shave Ice Company (Gardena, California)
- Boudreaux's New Orleans Style Sno-Balls (Middletown, Kentucky)
* To determine "best" businesses, Hoodline took into account the business's Yelp rating and the significance of that rating proportional to the number of reviews, as well as regional variations, to ensure that states with a stronger pattern of reviews don't have an unfair advantage over states that tend to review businesses less frequently.
