We all love some tasty ice cream. Luckily, you don’t have to leave the chocolate shop to find some premium, delectable ice cream. We serve Salt & Straw, a chef driven ice cream company with humble beginnings in Portland, Oregon. If you haven’t tried our Chocogato with either their Almond Brittle or the Vegan Mint Chip, what are you waiting for?!
If you do want to venture out past the ChocoVivo Oasis, you’re in luck since Los Angeles is a bastion of fancy, health-conscious, and delicious ice cream. Whether you’re an LA local or just visiting, you must try at least one of these shops!
A lot of what makes these ice cream shops stand out is a lot of what makes our stone-ground dark chocolate so special. It’s made by dedicated people that use top quality ingredients and mix different flavors you would not expect. Innovation and dedication will always change something that seems ordinary and take it to the next level.
Here are 5 to start you off…
Photo Credit: Anne Fishbein; LA Weekly
#5) Mashti Malone’s (Hollywood)
This family owned ice cream shop has been in LA for almost 40 years! It offers Persian ice creams and sorbets with exotic flavors from ginger to saffron. Straying from the ordinary will lift your taste buds to new heights, and this Middle-Eastern ice cream spot sure knows how to do just that! Their Rose-water based ice cream is sure to surprise you in the most wonderful ways. Plus it’s certified Kosher and made with high quality and local ingredients!
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Photo Credit: Spencer H. Gray; Omnivorous Blog
#4) Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co. (Alhambra)
You know you have a solid product when your company has been in the game for a century. Fosselman’s has been serving up delicious handmade scoops with the finest ingredients since 1919. At their shop you can get all the classics: Banana Split, Root Beer Float, Sundaes and you can even get Ice Cream Cakes!
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Photo Credit: Boris Mindzak; Foursquare
#3) Ginger’s Ice Cream and Divine Pops (Culver City)
This ice cream shop is right down the street from ChocoVivo and this unique shop’s owner, just like ChocoVivo’s chocolate mastermind and owner, is a local and sources ingredients locally. You can find Ginger at Farmers Markets looking for top quality and interesting ingredients. Ginger’s touts itself as the best vegan ice cream while using coconut milk and coconut cream, introducing new vegan flavors every month. They also have handcrafted popsicles that look very gourmet.
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Photo Credit: Ryan Vaillancourt; Gelateria Uli
2) Gelateria Uli (2 locations DTLA Spring St. & Beverly Glen)
This immigrant woman owned Gelateria makes small batch gelato from scratch by hand. They have 24 flavors in their downtown location and 19 at the Beverly Glen location including seasonal flavors. The owner, Uli Nasibova, focuses on local ingredients and unexpected flavors inspired by the diverse immigrant communities of L.A. Try some of their fun and exploratory flavors like Beet Tarragon and Sweet Corn, Ube (yam), Sesame, Cucumber Sorbet, or Horchata, just to name a few.
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Photo Credit: Milk Bar Facebook
#1) Milk (Melrose, Los Angeles)
You can always find a line for ice cream on a hot day in LA, but this West Hollywood ice cream shop has one all year long. This establishment, owned by James Beard Award Winner Christina Tosi, gets on Eater’s list of Top Ice Cream shops. Salt and Straw opened up down the street but that hasn’t slimmed the line down at this parlor whose goal is to provide an elevated ice cream experience. Milk will transport you back to the classics like shakes, floats, sundaes and ice cream novelties like ice cream cookie sandwiches. All treats are handcrafted using fresh ingredients and locally sourced produce and dairy.
