Swensen's Ice Cream Reviews

Very creamy and smooth, with a wonderful selection of flavors. Raspberry marble is the best!!

Best ice cream in the city, the more you buy the cheaper it gets, I always get a pint so I can bring the rest home : ) cash only!

Great ice cream, original location in a charming neighborhood. My favorite SF ice cream shop. Look out for a star on your receipt for a discount on your purchase!

Literally the best ice cream I've had. Sticky peanut butter with fresh banana on a waffle cone was perfect, and Brian was ridiculously friendly and generous helping us navigate to this delicious flavor duo. Excellent staff + unbeatable ice cream = I'm coming back.

Love it. No bells n whistles, just straight up great ice cream.

Everything okay, but too much hyperactivity around a scoop of ice cream, which is okay.

There wasn't much order when I went there. The workers rely on yelling "next customer," but they're so quiet. And then they were too busy making fun of each other about being quiet that they messed up my order. Ordered two scoops of different flavors, I got two scoops of one flavor. The ice cream isn't anything special, and the customer service was just disorderly.

Quaint. Grab a scoop or two and enjoy Lombard while you eat. :)

Visited Swensen's on a nice warm Sunday. Tried the Swiss orange chip, Turkish coffee, chewy chocolate, and thin mint before deciding on Turkish coffee. It had a good coffee flavor and was on the less sweet side. Ice cream was creamy! There was no line but a few families came in right after I placed my order and got real busy. The ice cream shop is definitely popular with both locals and tourists.

Oh think a single scoop was $3.25 with a generous scoop. A good deal for ice cream in the city.

Nice place to think about business. Prices that won't break you.

Love everything about this sweet neighborhood ice cream shop! FYI cash only!

Their ice cream is bomb. The lemon and banana pudding are my favorites so far. The small cup is about 4 oz of ice cream. The interior looks like a typical ice cream parlor, reminiscent of the 50's.

Delicious Ice Cream! Very reasonable prices. Beware: They are Cash Only, so be prepared for that. There is an ATM at the convenience store across the street.

Every time like last time.... great service best ice cream in town ... and the floats.
The First Swensen's Ice Cream Store.

The Best Ice Cream in SF. Been coming here for over 30yrs. Get your ice cream cone dipped in Chocolate...yummm!!

Delicious Ice cream! Lots of flavors available. Great location in a nice neighbourhood. Cash only.

Love this place and glad that it's back open. been dreaming of their cookies and cream!!!! Fyi they are only serving in cups right now...and still cash only

Great small corner old-fashioned style ice-cream joint. About 15 flavors of traditional hard style (not soft serve). They have ice-cream, floats, soda, sundaes,Cones, Pints, Quarts, etc. This place focuses on ice-cream and not selling tons of un-needed side items. Cash-Only if I remember correct.

Great flavors when visited; I recommend the Caramel Turtle Fudge and Bordeaux Cherry.

So bring a friend, your kids, a date, or treat yourself. Good quality ice-cream and good simple service.

It is refreshing and perfectly balanced. It's hard to describe why it's so good.!! This is a beautifully delicious place..

I love their old fashion style ice cream with modern flavors! The lychee and fresh banana flavors are so good!

Very good ice cream. I got the sticky peanut butter and it was delicious. The waffle cones are just average. Love the location near Lombard st.

It's good and they will try to concoct something if you ask, but little things like the cheap cup or lid at this point is frustrating...

Authentic local ice cream in one of the most interesting parts of the city.

Swiss orange chip. The best ice cream ever invented!

Love the classic flavours here, but bring your cash and no seating.

This Swensen is the original Swensen. Best ice cream in this small ice cream shop. This place is just a few blocks away from Lombard street which is awesome because you can eat ice cream with a nice view. Tasty ice cream made fresh from the shop. You can see the managers make it on certain days through the window. Credit and Debit not accepted which is a bummer.

Old fashioned ice cream served just right. You're not going to find balsmaic strawberry or salted caramel or lavender ice cream here and you will like it!

I love eating here. good to cool a days of hot temper! HEHEHEH

This place was rated high, and for a reason. Great location and great ice cream. No parking but that is the uncontrollable.

Took the fam here for lunch & ice cream. Old style creameries are hard to find, and so happy there's a place like this still around. All the pirtiins are large, so come hungry, or share if you must.

Charming shop! The ice cream was tasty, and it would warrant 4 stars in other cities, but San Fran is packed with higher-caliber ice cream. Cash-only, btw!

came here on a friday i think. certainly worth going back to.

The best real ice cream in San Francisco. Hands down.

During my visit to San Francisco I had my first and so far only Swensen's Ice Cream. I was definitely impressed! But with a place with such good reviews, I would hope so! The ice cream was good quality - fresh and flavorful. I got one of my favorite flavors, chocolate chip cookie dough. It was good, just not too memorable except I just remember that I liked it. Swensen's was clean inside and our ice cream scooper was very friendly. They have a big variety of flavors plus of course sundaes, shakes, etc. I wouldn't necessarily go out of way to get ice cream here, but at the same time I don't feel Bi-Rite Creamery is that special either. So if you're looking for good, old fashioned ice cream, look no further.

My absolute favorite ice cream of all time! Swensens is a MUST! Their seasonal flavors are not to be missed. No one beats their pumpkin! Their cones are freshly made as is their ice cream! Cash only, so keep that in mind. Take the cable car over and hop off, or climb that hill if you're not already on top. It's such a special treat!

Cash only... Very inconvenient. They tell you after you get the ice cream too. Not everyone looks at signs so you should tell them before giving us the ice cream.

Unfortunately the recipe for mint chip was not the original recipe from when I was a kid. But the ice cream is good quality... Staff is nice. Cute corner location... VERY limited parking.

The cookies and cream ice cream I had was very typical and tasted tainted by some mint flavor. The staff wasn't that friendly and make sure you know it's cash only. There's absolutely no parking there too.

Line is down the street but definitely worth the wait. They make ice cream sandwiches in deliciously soft cookies. They have a variety of flavours of ice cream and cookies. Would take the trip downtown to get this ice cream sandwich again.

super savory. looking forward to coming back with my relatives. they have a lot of great reviews for a reason.

Great place to chill, get away, eat some good food. This place has a nice feel to it.

Went a long way to try this place. The ice cream was nothing out of the ordinary, they only accept cash, and finding parking is not worth the hassle. Must be rated high because of close proximity to crooked street. It wasn't bad, just nothing special.

Reminds me of when I was young and my mom would take us there. Great sundaes!

Step back in time as you enter this retro ice cream shop! The ice cream is delicious and the atmosphere is sweet and nostalgic! Be sure to try a milkshake.

Great SF spot for ice cream. If you've never been, you've got to go. There might be a line, but it's sooo worth the wait.

Swensen s is an original S.F. hang out. Cold nights in the city with cold ice cream on the corner of Union and Hyde. Staple in the fabric of the North side of town. Seasonal flavors like Spumoni come and go for the holidays while others like Peppermint remain a year round option.

Long story short. Skip it. It s ok. Head to Ghirardelli Sq. You re not that much further away. If you want quality ice cream Or just buy a pint at your local grocer. Nothing to write home about here.

Staff:
The staff seem less than motivated to do anything. When I walked (Sunday 12/3) it there was two young people a guy and a girl . The guy practically was laying down on the counter. Head folded in his arms on the desk. I wasn t greeted with a Hello , Welcome , Not even a can I help you. They seemed to want me out as fast as I came in.

Only problem is that, it s cash only. So if you re like me and don t walk with it you have to go across the street and pay a atm fee. Furthermore, on that topic after giving the girl my cash, she give me the courtesy of handing me my change in my hand. Unsurprisingly, the tip jar is front and center.

Facilities:
Some might call it charming , cute , or eclectic where I m from we call it dirty. There s no excuse for a establishment that is selling a dairy product to look the way this does. Everything seemed like it had a layer of dust or dirt and two people uninterested in being there, much less wanting to clean. I did take pause in moving forward with my purchase due to the condition of the place and the frigid response from the staff. (Ha! Puns) but I read some of the reviews and moved forward.

Product:
Honestly, I don t know what everyone is raving about. I wasn t BLOWN AWAY by this ice cream and it sure as hell wasn't The best ice cream I ve ever tasted. like some of the reviewers seem to infer. It s about as good as Breyers or Cold Stone. In fact, there s a diner right outside of Union sq that makes the best milkshakes and has better ice cream. If they re making this themselves, I would stop and just have it shipped in. There s no big difference.

The pricing is good. I paid about $5 for a medium sized cup of Cookies and Cream. I didn t feel it was over priced. But I d pay more if it meant the service and the establishment made some upgrades.

Added note: They also charge $1 for water....I mean, it s water. Not even bottled. I wonder how much are you making off of that!? It seemed kind of silly when there s bottled water everywhere.

Synopsis:
It s at its best 2 out of 5. I d be hard pressed to give it a 3. But, I d give it one extra star as it is out of season for ice cream, I get that. I feel like they could try a lot harder. Being walking distance from San Frans most iconic tourist traps, Lombard Street Gardens, Polk Street, and the Cathedral, I feel like this place could be an amazing find. However, a lot of work needs to be done. Half of it could be fixed very easily with A active internet connection.

My recommendation:

Hire friendlier, more motivated staff, ones that understand customer service by smiling and welcoming the customer into the establishment. I shouldn t walk into you practically sleeping no matter how boring it is on a Sunday afternoon. Also, when they pay thank them for their patronage and give them their cash in their hand as they handed it to you.

Put on some lively music and some chairs outside for a nice day. Folks will appreciate a nice seat outside after getting their cardio in with the SF hills. You could be the treat for their hard work.

Update the place, replace those old floor tiles, throw up a fresh coat of fun paint. Like mint green or arctic blue, and clean, clean, clean! The staff should always be cleaning or thinking about cleaning.

Start accepting Credit cards. A Square, Paypal, or Stripe are practically free nowadays for merchants. Also, don t charge for water. Either sell bottled water or don t offer it. $1 for water is just plain nonsensical.

After all that, then maybe, put the tip jar out.

This place is The Ice Cream Place to go to, the ice cream is yummelicious The Best!!! If I could I'll give more than 5stars.
I miss this place and I wish we could have one here inSan Antonio, Texas all the way

When you want to step back in time taste Goodness ask for 2 scoops with a cherry on Top!

Basics are good like the rum raisin, everything else taste very similar

Nice ice cream place with interesting history, if you are a fan of Swensen s, do not miss this place. The ice cream taste like original! Famous Lombard street is close by, you can walk there after ice cream.

Trouble customer service, ice cream test like soap, cash only f***

Incredibly creamy local ice cream! Great flavors - mint chip is my favorite. Cash only although there is an ATM inside.

Charming retro atmosphere and delicious without pretention!

Good ice cream from a family owned and run shop. Some of the flavours we tried weren t all outstanding or to our taste.

The chocolate malt was amazing! Would highly recommend.

In Asia, Swensen s Is a big deal.

However the ice cream here is totally different, in a bad way. IMO the sticky chewy chocolate was really lacking the sticky chewy part. Overall flavour felt sweeter than what I felt was necessary, although the chocolate flavour was definitely great. Large large scoops to satisfy even the most obese American.

At less than $5 I would say it s definitely affordable. Nowhere to sit down or standup to eat, unfortunately.

3/5 above average quality ice cream, come here if you re literally 2 blocks away. Other than that, you probably can find a good substitute.

Great ice cream. All of their chocolate flavors taste great. Unfortunately, they're cash only.

Wow-the sticky chewy chocolate flavor was just incredible and tastes exactly as you d imagine it would taste. The store is tiny and looks like it s a snapshot in time. Cash only!

Delicious and reasonably priced. Honestly a bit better than Ghirardelli.

We went to Fentons (4 children & 7 adults) today around 1PM. There wasn't a line at all, must have been the rainy weather so we got seated right away. Parking is still tight in that location.

Cash only
I drive 7 min to buy ic cream when arrive they said only cash it is so crazy I don't why we are in 2018 and the owner refuse debit and credit card I think there is only one reason for this ( hide income )

A scoop of Sticky Chewy Chocolate on a sugar cone was fantastic in the 80's and it's still the same. If you like creamy ice cream, it is The Best.