Mitchell's Ice Cream tops Yelp's list of best ice cream shops

Mitchell’s Ice Cream took the top spot in Yelp’s national ice cream shop ranking, giving the Mission District creamery at 688 San Jose Ave. another round of attention in San Francisco.

The shop opened on June 6, 1953, when brothers Larry Mitchell and Jack Mitchell set out to make the very best ice cream in San Francisco. Mitchell’s says it began with 19 flavors, all made with 16% butterfat cream and superior ingredients, a formula that has kept the business anchored to the same family identity for more than seven decades.

That original store still operates in the Mission, and Mitchell’s says its ice cream now reaches customers through a network of shops across the Bay Area. All of Mitchell’s shops are open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., keeping the brand visible far beyond the original storefront.

The creamery’s story is tied closely to San Francisco itself. Local reporting has long described Mitchell’s as an iconic city institution, with roots linked to the Mitchell family’s dairy-farm history at Noe and 29th Street. Larry Mitchell was also a San Francisco firefighter for 30 years, a detail that deepens the shop’s connection to the city’s civic life as much as its food culture.

The Yelp ranking adds to a recent string of recognition for the family business, including being named 2025 Best In The Bay by SFGATE and San Francisco Magazine. For a shop that began with a handful of flavors in 1953, the No. 1 national finish underscores how Mitchell’s has remained both a neighborhood fixture and a citywide point of pride.