Get as crazy as you can imagine at this Fisherman's Wharf ice cream shop that pairs cookies, ice cream, and toppings. Just take a look at the Baked Bear Instagram from some flavor inspiration. Stroll down to the wharf for takeout, or order delivery through several different apps.

The unexpected flavors at this Portland-founded ice cream shop will make more sense to your tongue than your brain. Green apple mayo sherbet and peach vinegar cobbler with toasted nutmeg, for example, don't enjoy the same recognition as classic flavors like chocolate chip or strawberry. That's what's so intriguing about Salt & Straw, whose unique flavors are often churned with ingredients from local food producers like Sightglass Coffee and Berkeley olive oil.

Uji Time is a Berkeley treat shop known for its adorable fish-shaped cones stuffed with soft serve, that has since has expanded to San Francisco and beyond. The famed cone, called taiyaki, is a take on the traditional Japanese dessert in the shape of a fish, and here is filled with flavors like matcha, black sesame, lavender, lychee, rose, and coffee. In addition to the taiyaki cones, which take extra time to prepare, other choices include waffle cones and bowls.

This no-frills classic scoop shop doesn't pull any punches, offering Americana standards such as root beer swirl and rum raisin, or more unconventional flavors like wasabi and chai tea. One thing’s for sure: it’s still serving up ice cream straight from your SF childhood — even after a 2010 move across the street.

If the excitement of dining at a chef’s counter is your idea of a good time, head to Smitten where the ice cream is made at all locations in front of you in about 90 seconds, using liquid nitrogen for a smoother, denser cream. Owner Robyn Sue Fisher created and patented the machine herself, which churns out everyday local flavors like Blue Bottle espresso and TCHO 60.5 percent chocolate as well as seasonal options such as sweet corn with berries and rhubarb crisp.

Head to this unassuming Mexican ice cream shop tucked into a Mission market for flavors like corn, guava, and leche quemada (burnt milk). Order it by the scoop, in a banana split, or go for a combination of fruit and toppings like a mangonada made with mango sorbet fresh mango, chile, lime, and tamarind. Check out its sister shop in Fruitvale, too.

Expect to wait in line for Berkeley-based CREAM’s (Cookies Rule Everything Around Me) mix-and-match ice cream sandwiches that have proved exceedingly popular with the Cal student set. The endless options allow ice cream sandwich fiends to build the ideal sandwich from a large selection of cookies (there are vegan and gluten-free flavors, plus more unusual variations like turtle, M&M and cappuccino) and ice creams (green tea, cinnamon, and the highly meta cookie dough). Check out their full list of locations around the Bay Area here.

Double Rainbow is a 45-year-old ice cream company that was originally founded by two best friends in the Castro in the 70s. It returned to the neighborhood in late 2020 with a new scoop shop just a couple of doors down from their original location. Longtime fans stop by for old-school scoops of malt chocolate and mint chip, shakes, cups, and pints.

A second sweets shop from the Ice Cream Bar’s Juliet Prie, the Castro Fountain has an extensive menu of cakes and baked goods on top of fresh-churned ice cream — or rather, to put that ice cream on top of. Like its predecessor, the shop’s style is that of an old-school soda fountain, so go ahead, split a sundae, a float, or a piece of photogenic rainbow cake with a scoop of ice cream on the side. One ice cream flavor, Yass Queen, even has bits of that rainbow cake inside it.

Garden Creamery is the Mission District ice cream shop that became an Instagram star for opening with churro-like chimney cones, made with sweet yeast dough baked and covered in cinnamon sugar. Garden Creamy offers an array of Hawaiian-influenced flavors (including some non-dairy options), as well as matcha with toasted rice, black sesame, as well as Mexican and Manila mango, salted plum, and Thai tea.

If it’s gourmet ice cream you desire, look no further than this daily-changing option from Wolfgang Puck Spago alums (and husband and wife team) Ian Flores and Annabelle Topacio. Flavors like mango chili lime, chocolate chicory coffee and candied violet will satisfy your higher-end needs, though there’s no shame in going classic with plain old vanilla bean, too.

Get your weird on with experimental flavors at this crazy popular Mission ice cream destination (with an outpost in the Ferry Building, too). The most-talked-about flavor is Secret Breakfast, made with vanilla, cornflake cookies and Jim Beam bourbon, but there’s no shortage of wacky options such as prosciutto, cheese, mushrooms and foie gras from evil ice cream genius Jake Godby.

Mitchell’s opened in Bernal Heights way back in 1953 and has been inspiring lines of fans ever since. The classic shop is known for its authentic Mexican (horchata, Mexican chocolate), Peruvian (yucuma) and Filipino (two types of coconut) options, including a bright purple ube with its own longstanding fan following.

Originally a mobile ice cream cart, proprietor Rica Sunga-Kwan opened her Avenue Theater Portola shop in 2017 after gaining fans from across the city. Many of Churn’s flavors, like mint chip straciatella, blueberry swirl, ube honeycomb, and horchata, are made with ingredients grown in Sunga-Kwan’s own garden in South San Francisco. All are made without eggs, and many are also dairy free and vegan.