Balboa Ice Cream is hands down one of our favorite spots. The customer service is always top-tier. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome, and they consistently treat our family so well every time we come in. Great vibes, great people, and of course, great ice cream! read more

Ask for a little to wash hand on a towel and refused Poor service will never come back Can't support business with poor customer service read more

As others have pointed out, their customer service is great. However, their ice cream is meh and the sundae I got there was a joke. Stingy with the chocolate syrup and toppings even when I paid extra to get 2 toppings instead of one. read more

San Francisco is filled with a ton of amazing ice cream places, and Balboa is on the top of that must try list. Customer service is perfect. The staff is nice. The only draw back is that they only permit two tiny samples. It's tough when they offer some delicious sounding ice cream! We opted for the Marionberry and the rocky road. The Marionberry has no business being as delicious as it is! It's filled with these tasty pie filling pieces that make the fruit explode with flavor. Seriously damn delicious. The rocky road ... THIS my friends is how rocky road should be made. Tons of chocolate goodness, tons of marshmallows, and... no walnuts!! They use almonds. It is really so delicious. Balboa, thank you for making amazing ice cream! We will be back!! read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Super friendly crew and not many large crowds. We came if to SF and always stop at Mitchell's which is down the street. We met up with friends who said it was better than Mitchell's! We drove by Mitchell's and I was ready to pull in, but to foodie in me say no, try it. It's not Mitchell's and not even close. Great spot of your not an ice cream snob and just want a treat. In options alone, Mitchell's has 3X more. Healthy potions, good basic ice cream, but my place is Mitchell's ‍ read more

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Good neighborhood ice cream shop. Good amount of flavors, both ice cream and sherbet, and the service was friendly and quick. Prices were fair for portion size. They have outdoor seating area and parking is pretty easy in the neighborhood. Solid spot ice cream. read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Hawaiian sherbet - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

Lovely neighborhood ice cream spot. Walkable distance to Balboa Park. Lots of selection of ice cream flavors, open late and friendly! They also have drinks like boba, coffee, tea. read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

Mom and pop type, late-night dessert place! Service was friendly. Menu offers a good variety of- boba, coffee, ice cream, and smoothies/juices! Prices are reasonable. There also some tables outside and a couple chairs inside to enjoy your treats. Parking was a little tricky since it's within a residential neighborhood. There's public transportation near by. Since this places give quite fast service, you can find a parking spot easy. Would def come back here with the fam again for late night treats! read more

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Cute little ice cream shop with local charm. After walking quite a bit on a warm day and exploring Glen Canyon Park, this was a perfect treat to end the day. There's ample street parking right on San Jose Ave. Very clean and bright interior but no indeoo seating. There are two tables and a bench outside. Tons of flavors, including half a case of just sherbet options! I had rainbow sherbet in a waffle cone, which was refreshing and not overly sweet. Nice staff and good quality-great local find! read more

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This spot is amazing! The smoothies are delicious, boba is tasty (I recommend the horchata), and ice cream flavors are great! Theres both indoor and outdoor seating available and the nicest workers I've ever met work here! They will have you walking out with a smile and yummy treat in hand. 10/10!! read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Honey churro Single Scoop (1 flavor) in a cup - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

I like how this place is opened late at night. This place sells lots of tasty flavors AND the scoops are huge too and has the option to choose what you want your icecream to be in, such as a cup, cone, or waffle bowl! Anyways, I always like getting my icecream in either a cone or a waffle bowl! It's just a nice little treat to go with the icecream. I also loved how huge the scoops and how flavorful the ones I chose are too! I got the Double Scoop Waffle Bowl with Cookies & Cream + Chocolate Chip Mint icecream. Both flavors were good. I'd recommend this place if you ever get an icecream craving at night! read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Double Scoop (2 Flavors Max) | IG: @nomwithelaine - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

So good! Love this spot now in my childhood neighborhood! I got the affogato with mint ice cream and taro boba. One worker is here and was able to serve us well! So good! I love my affogato! Spacious and clean! Live the details and light in this gym! read more

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Service was great, the guy working was nice and let us try samples beforehand. A couple different flavors I've never seen before such as : matcha mochi, coconut pineapple, etc. there was a good mix of ice creams and sorbets. Both with great flavor. I ordered the matcha mochi and mango ice cream. The matcha mochi had pieces of mochi inside. Because of that, the ice cream was a bit dryer and I'm assuming it's from the powder of the mochi mixed in so I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The mango had great flavor and was creamy, I'd definitely get this flavor again! I got the split single which was $5! Parking wasn't the easiest to find on the block, but I liked how we didn't have to wait in line like other ice cream spots. read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Matcha mochi, mango - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

Balboa Ice Cream is following the tradition of Mitchell's, Polly Ann's as a local fan favorite spot in The City. Located on San Jose Avenue near Balboa Park, residing in the former storefront of the legendary San Francisco Strike Zone sports card store (one of the historic longstanding Baseball Card Shops in the Bay Area for decades), Balboa Ice Cream opened up in the Y2KXX era rejuvenating the neighborhood with a clean upscale ice creamery that's both hipster and family friendly with prices starting around $4 that's affordable and high quality. Parking is fairly easy up front curbside as well as walking distance in the surrounding residential neighborhood. This area is quickly transforming from a hidden little quaint local hot spot, to a widely regarded area to hang out and find high end quality hole-in-the-wall businesses. The ownership and workers are friendly and professional. They offer unique flavors of ice cream that's great whether in the cold of winter or heat of summer, it's delicious year 'round. Catch this place as it's emerging as a popular player in the Ice Cream scene while there's minimal lines and wait and easy parking, which is always difficult to navigate trendy areas and highly recommended and praised by review referral businesses. I'd recommend either the 1/2 - 1/2 two flavors in 1 scoop OR, better yet... getting 2 full scoops. They also have BOBA here too in addition to other menu items. It's open I think roughly from 12pm noon to 9pm later night, so has great ice cream social hours to indulge. read more

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San Francisco certainly doesn't lack for good ice cream shops. There are some that are too indulgent for even my excessive tastes, and they apparently gain popularity from their Instagram presence. Others are way under the radar like this spot. I had never heard of it before I ran into it on Google Maps when I was walking through the Outer Mission. I hardly ever walk on San Jose Avenue, and it's not in a heavily commercial area. The vintage-looking signage made me think it's been around for decades, but I can't find any history on them online. I just see that the oldest Yelp review is just two years old, so I guess you can call it newish. It doesn't show up on "Best of SF" ice cream lists, but I don't see why it doesn't get a mention. It was quite good with a pretty large selection of flavors. I was particularly intrigued by Denali Moose Tracks, which was vanilla streaked with chocolate fudge and crunchy nibs. It tasted nothing like elk droppings...or so I assume. I combined that with a slam dunk flavor for me, Coconut Pineapple, into the $5 Split Single Cup (review: https://bit.ly/402kOZZ). Generous serving, quite yummy, and kinda remote...at least for me. ICE CREAM - 4 stars...loving the moose tracks, just a tad too frozen for me AMBIANCE - 4 stars...clean, bright shop and a magnet for local toddlers SERVICE - 4 stars...pretty friendly, good neighborhood vibe TOTAL - 4 stars...methinks this semi-hidden spot needs more local coverage on social media RELATED - Exploring the Outer Mission? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/37B1acE read more

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There service is always pleasant. Very close to where I live. and ice cream is very good If you're strolling around please stop by its must try. read more

Mom and pop shop with lots of flavors, decent ice cream and fair prices. Service was great and the gentleman at the counter was super friendly. $10 for a double scoop Sunday with toppings, whipped cream and chocolate sauce! I got the salted Carmel and praline. read more

They have a lot of flavors but they're on the pricier side for ice cream shops. They also don't have a restroom so take your kids to the bathroom before coming for a bite read more

OMG so good!!! i have been ordering different pints from grubbhub for a few months now (don't judge me) and their ice cream is so good. my favorite is cookies & cream and my hubands is the espresso gelato with chocolate chips. the caramel is my second favorite. the ingredients are healthy unlike mass produced ice cream. 10/10 recommend read more

I always expect non-boba shops that sell boba to disappoint me but Balboa Ice Cream actually impressed me. I also got some ice cream, but more on that later. I just wanted some dessert and began looking as I took the BART back home and decided to go with ice cream. Got it delivered right after I made it back. I saw they had boba and well, I won't resist when a place sells boba even if I know it's bad from my friends. Alongside a Taro Milk Tea with Boba, I snagged two quarts of ice cream for later. Each one supported up to two flavors so I went to experiment and got Black Cherry and Huckleberry with Strawberry Cheesecake and Ube Boba. Taro Milk Tea with Boba - for starters, the boba was actually chewy. Like something I'd get at a decent to good boba shop. Online they had three types of boba - brown sugar boba ($0.75), black tapioca pearl ($0.50), and honey boba ($0.75). I'm very curious if they actually carry three types of boba, but I got the brown sugar. It was actually sweet, like the boba had flavor and wasn't just a chewy jaw sore. I opted for taro just in case the boba was a failure and well, taro is always good. It was a classic powder taro drink but blended well so there was no powdery bits at all. Black Cherry - a classic cherry vanilla (or cherry garcia), the pink ice cream is a rich blend of cherry and vanilla and there are sweet black cherries mixed in. Smooth and creamy! A pretty safe choice. Huckleberry - a personal favorite from college, though I mixed it up with the strawberry cheesecake. Huckleberry was blended into the ice cream so there weren't many pieces of huckleberry to eat. It was a light berry flavor, more like a vanilla-berry. Strawberry Cheesecake - my favorite flavor of all time across all brands, still holds true. Super rich and creamy, solid cheesecake pieces. Ice cream had a cheesecake taste as well. Even melted it was crazy good (picture does not do it justice). Ube Boba - was expecting the same boba as those in the brown sugar boba popsicles which somehow preserve texture but the ones here are like day old boba that tear apart and don't have the chewy bounce. Ube ice cream itself is rich and nutty with bits of purple yam blended in. I like the ice cream but could do without the boba. read more

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"Life offers you a thousand chances... all you have to do is take one." - Under the Tuscan Sun All you have to do is take one, right? Balboa Ice Cream is truly a hidden gem found between Ingleside and Mission Terrace in the City. Locals in the area know about it, the occasional city wanderer, but good luck finding a single tourist around here. Parking plentiful! I was invited to Balboa Ice Cream by one of my Ice Cream buddies and she didn't have to twist my arm to join in the Ice Cream fun! Jennifer L. & I decide to meet Mila E. on a Sunday afternoon in the city. We all arrive on time, anxious to lick away. This being Jenn & my first visit, tho Mila has been here before, we all eagerly decide to test taste, of course me being European, I decide to taste only the Dragon Boba, my mind already made up when my eyes locked on CINNAMON CHURRO and ANDES MINT! I decide split scoop in cup. Jennifer and Mila are professional Ice Cream taste testers, so obviously amigas still tasting away! The chill gentleman behind the counter was polite, cared about the moment, and never hesitated with the taste testing! Just know most Ice Cream offered not made in-house, if that matters to you. For us, it was the wow in the endless choices and our shared experience! Amazing how time flies when you're with the best amigas ever! I really enjoyed my choices and to my surprise wasn't the last to finish this time lol! We ended up chatting overtime about future adventures, soul mates, serendipity, kinda astrology, Under the Tuscan Sun, and life itself, imho the highlight was Mila explaining how to delete negative energy on Yelp... ahh duh click the de-friend button, stupid ha! Ice Cream 4-stars, Balboa Ice Cream vibes 5-stars, the planets aligned 5-stars, Aries Horoscope on point, but of course my life choices on the company I keep is set into the stratosphere! I am the blessed one! Ciao... read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Ice Cream fun with Mi Amigas! Just missing mi bestie! - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

If You Know, You Know. And after one visit, I know Balboa Ice Cream, despite its near-perfect Yelp score, isn't for me. For two people who love to consume liquid calories, we didn't think our drinks were worth finishing. The Yellow Smoothie ($9) was extremely ginger forward; the fresh mango, pineapple, & banana flavors we were expecting didn't come through strong enough. Mangonada ($9.75) had chunks of mangos floating in mango sorbet. Not the flavor or smoothie-like preparation we're used to. We took home a quart of ice cream ($12), which is still sitting half-eaten in our freezer weeks later. Instead of being packed side-by-side (like store-bought Neapolitan, for example), Wild Mountain Blueberry (which was middling) was packed on top of Pistachio Almond so the two not-necessarily complementary flavors melded into one another. Sticking to our usual ice cream spot which is also located on San Jose Ave. IYKYK. read more

5 stars from me and my husband! We tried Balboa Ice Cream for the first time tonight and it did not disappoint! I ordered the spumoni gelato and my husband the bubble gum. We both loved the flavors we chose. My husband was on a straight bubble gum ice cream high and said it was the best he's ever had. This is huge because he is a bubble gum ice cream snob! We will absolutely be back and can't wait to try the other flavors. read more

Great shop with a good selection of ice cream flavors. They have some fantastical, childhood flavors like cotton candy, bubble gum, pink unicorn, blue monster etc that is great for families for kids. Personally, I come here for their mangonadas. They use a mango sorbet and mix that with the fresh mango and all the delicious sour, savory, spicy Mexican flavors. It's highly addictive once it grows on you read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Mangonadas - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

Expensive but delicious ice cream and fruit smoothies and fruit drinks! It tastes better than supermarket ice cream. read more

What a gem! Great spot with lots of unique flavors that you don't see everywhere and a refreshing vibe. The owner was super friendly and provided excellent service, letting us try multiple flavors before deciding. The ice cream itself was delicious--perfectly balanced and not too sweet. Absolutely worth a visit to Balboa Park. read more

COVID-19 precautions. Free parking in neighborhood. Friendly staff. Affordable. Generous portions. Apple Pay, card and cash payment. Among the best ice cream shops in the city. Delicious ice cream. See below for more deets: COVID-19 precautions: Staff and customers wear face masks. Only one group is allowed in the shop at a time with the employee giving the cue when to enter. There is complimentary hand sanitizer at the ice cream counter and near the register. The store shop is kept open to allow airflow. Free parking in neighborhood: One perk of Balboa Ice Cream is the ample street park available. There is parking on San Jose, where the shop is located, but if you prefer not to parallel park with ongoing traffic then you can park in the surrounding streets for free as well. Friendly staff: The staff here is friendly. All of of our questions were answered, and the service was professional. Affordable: The ice cream here is affordable. We had a waffle cone Junior scoop, a Junior scoop, and a regular, which came out to $13. The Junior scoop is $3.75, single scoop $4.75, and $6 for a double scoop. The waffle cone is $.75 extra. Generous portions: The portions at Balboa Ice Cream are among the most generous we have had, especially in the city (as shown in review pics). I had the Junior scoop on a waffle cone, which felt much more like two scoops elsewhere. Apple Pay, card and cash payment: Various forms of payment are accepted here including Apple Pay, card and cash. Among the best ice cream shops in the city: We are ice cream enthusiasts from exploring shops across the nation to making our own on the weekly basis, and Balboa is among the best in the city. The ice cream is so creamy, close to gelato territory, and heaven for desserties. Delicious ice cream: I scream for ice cream Balboa edition!! I can't believe it took is so long to try this shop but are we happy we did. I had the Junior scoop of coffee on a waffle cone. The ice cream was strong, perf for a caffeine fix, without overbearing bitterness while creamy and a hint of sweetness. The partner had the Junior scoop of salted caramel. The texture was smooth while frozen; the caramel was sweet and rich, which could have used more saltiness, but still tasty. My 11-year-old sister had the lime single scoop. She ate it all and said it was limey while sweet and sour. Overall, highly recommend you try Balboa Ice Cream!!! (: read more

Balboa Ice Cream - lime scoop - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

COVID-19 TAKEOUT "How's your day going so far?" *Turns to the left* *Turns to the right* *Turns to the back* NO ONE IS THERE. Are you talking to ME?! She was! Phew, I'm not hearing voices again... I'm sure some of you can relate but with COVID, I'm just happy someone is actually talking to me! From the family behind Tasty Coffee, Balboa Ice Cream opened during COVID serving housemade ice cream WITH fantastic customer service. It was legit the first time someone has asked, how my day was going since the lockdown. I found out about Balboa Ice Cream, not through Yelp but while waiting for TT to be groomed down the block. I was wondering why the staff from Tasty Coffee kept going back and forth to another storefront. They have yummy tamales and fresh juices by the way. I walked further down the block and saw they had a new business: Balboa Ice Cream. C O V I D - 1 9 S A F E T Y P R E C A U T I O N S * Staff wore masks properly. * Gloves are worn. * Touchless hand sanitizer at entrance with multiple hand sanitizer available throughout the shop. * Limited capacity with social distancing stickers on the floor. * I saw staff regularly disinfect the ice cream sliding door and handles. * Cone tips are covered. Waffle bowls are placed in bowls. * Two socially distant tables outside to enjoy your ice cream. The staff were 100% on-point with COVID safety protocols. And, when I've seen staff running between their shops, they always keep their masks on to avoid cross-contamination. M E N U They have about 24 flavors - nothing fancy, no crazy flavor combos, just straight up good ol' fashioned ice cream with some new skool flavors like salted caramel and churro. I believe there's two sorbet vegan options. Samples upon request (didn't ask for any). Junior scoop: $3.75 Single scoop: $4.75 Double scoop: $6 They also sell smoothies, fruit bowls, pitaya bowls, and açaí bowls. M Y O R D E R Unless it's Marco Polo's durian, I'm hella basic with ice cream: Vanilla. But, it was a hot day and I wanted something cooling so Mint Chip it is too. I got a Double Scoop of Vanilla & Mint Chip in a Waffle Bowl ($8) which comes with your choice of two toppings; I got almond and macadamia nuts. Served with a cute compostable wooden spoon. Both the vanilla and mint chip were smooth and creamy with no air pockets or icy particles. Not too sweet and tasted natural (despite the mint's green color). The waffle bowl was fresh and crunchy, as were the nuts. I should have asked if they did split scoops because the scoops here are GIGANTIC! I literally could only eat 1/3rd of it. Def good for sharing. S E R V I C E The staff here are so warm, kind, and friendly. They greet you as soon as you walk in and you can see the smile behind their masks. Everything you want out of a family-owned neighborhood shop. P A R K I N G Unlike most parts of SF, free street parking is pretty easy in this area. I've never had issues finding parking. Hot or cold, rain or shine...there's always room for ice cream, yea?! If you're grabbing a sandwich from Roxie's or pizza from Red Sea, be sure to stop by for some ice cream at Balboa Ice Cream! read more

Balboa Ice Cream - COVID TAKEOUT: Mint Chip & Classic Vanilla w/ almonds, macadamia nuts | Double Waffle Bowl-$8 (includes 2 toppings) - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

I'm always down for late night ice cream, this neighborhood spot has some unique flavors and I think they may change them up but their ice cream is delicious haven't made it the other items on the menu but I will make time. The service was great, and the seating outside so we enjoyed the night air with our dessert. read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Late night - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

First time going here and the guy who helped us was kind and friendly. It's a hole in the wall type of place, it seemed clean and very well kept. Outside seating was nice and very picturesque. The flavors I had were Lime and Mango sorbet. Both were amazing, but I would pair the flavors differently next time. The lime had a perfect amount of sweet to balance the sour & the mango was more on the tartier side. My son had Maui waui sorbet which tasted just as it sounds, fruity, refreshing & sweet. I would definitely come back to try the other flavors and drinks they also offer. read more

Ice cream is delicious and so many flavors to choose from. Servings are large. Love this place.

I took the kids to Balboa Ice Cream for an after school treat during the heatwave. The staff was friendly and patient as my kids looked over their options. The ice cream itself was creamy, sweet, and perfect. Perfect way to cool down during a hot day. We will be back. read more

This place is where you contemplate which ice cream is really your favorite or what do you really want today. Great spot to grab ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes and etc. Great service, tons of flavors and toppings to choose from. read more

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We popped in for ice cream on a hot Sunday afternoon, and had a good experience! The ice cream was good (we learned they make some flavors, but not others), the service was friendly (and I appreciated the fact our server was masked), and the prices were reasonable for SF. My husband enjoyed his Premium Coffee ice cream, and my daughter enjoyed her mint chip. My MIL liked her strawberry cheesecake. I thought my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was decent. This is a great spot if you're wanting good ice cream without a wait! read more

We came on their official opening back in September. The owner is really nice - we had really good service! I appreciated between the signage, staff, and clientele, everyone was careful about socially distancing. There was a long line on opening day and people stood politely 6ft apart. Only a certain number were allowed inside at a time and everyone abided by that rule. By far, their in-house flavors are much better. This is maybe not the best ice cream I've had, but it's a welcome addition in my neighborhood. I'd go back as it's walking distance and because they're so friendly. Dulce de leche - 4 stars Lemon cheesecake - 4 stars Black walnut - 3.5 stars Cookies and cream - 3 stars Matcha - 2 stars Pistachio - 2 stars read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Menu! Grand opening, Fri afternoon 2020-09-04 - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

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New spot! It has good unique flavors. We went at night so we got free parking in front. They have a sitting bench and seating inside. Place is clean and new and no line like Mitchell's. I loved the Ube and my bf love the mangonada read more

Balboa Ice Cream - Front - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Balboa Ice Cream has quickly become one of my favorites. They have a nice variety of rotating flavors and I think they have the best soft and chewy textures. My favorite flavors are Cookie Monster, Strawberry, White Rabbit, Cookies and Cream, Pistachio, and Party Animal. Service is always nice and quick, and they really pack that scoop! I also like to pick up pints to take home, they can pack up to three flavors in one pint. read more

Super delicioso nieve Amazingly friendly and helpful staff Multitude of options beyond ice cream Highly recommended Mos def return read more

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Balboa Ice Cream has some variability in flavor and texture quality, however I think they have nailed their fruit ice creams, especially strawberry and roasted banana. Service is always friendly and the ambiance is relaxed. There's no indoor seating but a few tables and chairs right outside. read more

Service was great, I've cream was great, we enjoyed our ice creams, outside on their cute seating area. Best thing, prices were reasonable for three ice creams and toppings. Will definitely return read more