8 Ice Cream Shops In Los Angeles That Will Satisfy Every Kind Of Ice Cream Lover

I scream ice cream no matter what kind of day it is! Whether it’s raining, snowing, or a beautiful sunny day, it’s always a good time for ice cream. As someone who has lived in Los Angeles for many many years, here are my favorites.

1) Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw has a lot of creative classic flavors and new monthly themed ones. If you like ice cream that isn’t ‘traditional’, this is a must-try. It’s originally from Portland, but there are several locations throughout LA.

My personal favorites: Gooey Chocolate Brownie, Cinnamon Snickerdoodle. Almond Brittle & Salted Ganache (seasonal), Roasted Strawberry & White Chocolate (seasonal)

2) Magpies Softserve

Whether you love dairy or vegan soft serve, Magpies has you covered. A majority of their flavors are vegan and all of them taste delicious and creamy. They have fun toppings like Butterscotch Krispies and Honeycomb Candy. Do not sleep on their soft serve pies! They come in single slices and whole soft serve pies. Flavors rotate on a weekly basis and you can also get certain combos swirled together.

My personal favorites: The Original Fried Softserve Pie, almost every flavor with Butterscotch Krispies toppings.

3) Hokey Pokey LA

A new addition to the Century City Mall (and LA), this New Zealand style ice cream shop serves their country’s favorite ice cream flavor, hokey pokey! It’s traditionally a vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee, but their version is made with golden toffee according to their site. The ice cream is soft serve style and dairy or non-dairy versions of the flavors.

My personal favorites: Hokey Pokey and Strawberry

4) Wanderlust Creamery

If you love unique, creative ice cream flavors, this takes the cake…or ice cream cake ;) The flavors are inspired by ingredients from all around the world and every month they have a new themed menu in addition to their signatures. Everything from Asian-inspired Sticky Rice + Mango and Vietnamese Rocky Road to European-inspired Kinder and Gianduja. They also have vanilla if you’re not feeling as adventurous.

My personal favorites: Smoky Road, Earl Grey, and Ube Malted Crunch

5) Awan

This is a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ place tucked into the corner behind the coffee shop Dayglow. Menu changes daily/weekly, but the Balinese Vanilla is the mainstay and the star. To be fair, it’s the only one I’ve had, but I will try another one next time I go (maybe…). It comes with this delicious palm sugar topping. Ice cream is vegan and made with Indonesian coconut.

My personal favorites: Balinese Vanilla

6) Rori's Artisanal Creamery

This is located in Santa Monica along with some other locations in the Santa Barbara area. I don’t hear this ice cream shop get talked about as much in LA, but they have tons of lovely flavors and I get overwhelmed with excitement every time I go there.

My personal favorites: Biscoff, NY Strawberry Cheesecake, Cinnamon Toast Cereal Crunch

7) Somi Somi

They have a handful of locations in LA County and Orange County, but my preferred location is the one on Sawtelle. This place is known for their soft serve with taiyaki. If you’re unfamiliar with teriyaki, it’s a warm fish-shaped waffle with filling. If you only want one or the other, you can do that as well. The soft serve is very creamy and you can also get it in a swirl and with toppings!

My personal favorites: Ah-Boong (taiyaki with soft serve) in a cup. I enjoy the strawberry, milk, and cookies ‘n cream, but want to try more flavors next time!

8) Rite Aid (Thrifty’s)

Do not sleep on this one or laugh at it! This was a staple of my childhood and other LA area natives. You could get scoops for 99 cents and no, I’m not talking about in the 70s. If you want delicious cheap ice cream, you can get Thrifty’s ice cream in the frozen section or from the ice cream counter.

My personal favorites: Strawberry, Chocolate Malted Crunch, Coconut Pineapple, Rocky Road