School might be back in session already, but here in the Bay Area, so-called summer weather is likely to stick around like a goopy melted ice cream scoop until mid-October.
The double whammy of new classes and high temps is all the more reason to treat yourself — or the back-to-schooler in your life — at one of these incredible new ice cream and gelato destinations around the region.
There’s Milanese gelato, shaved milk, Indian-inspired scoops, ice cream-topped slushies from a beloved Bay Area dairy, and so much more to explore. Here are nine new, exciting ice cream destinations to check out.
Bacio di Latte, San Jose, Palo Alto
Assistant general manager Manuela Montoya works the gelato counter at Bacio di Latte in the Stanford Center in Palo Alto on July 29, 2026. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Every day at 11 a.m., a new shop at the Stanford Shopping Center – whose name translated from Italian means “kiss of milk” – is transformed into a gelato factory. That’s when the team at Bacio di Latte makes its daily batches of the frozen Italian dessert. The posh gelato chain opened a location in May at the Palo Alto mall, following closely on its debut at Santana Row in San Jose in February this year.
Started in 2011 by two Italian brothers, Edoardo and Luigi Tonolli, the chain, which began in Brazil before expanding into Southern California, has about 200 locations worldwide. The artisanal gelato shop uses cream and milk sourced from Clover Farms in Sonoma County, hazelnuts from Piedmont, Italy, and chocolate from Belgium and Italy.
A woman walks past Bacio di Latte at the Stanford Center in Palo Alto on July 29, 2026. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The scoop: Honestly, you can’t go wrong here. Go for a seasonal flavor like buttercream pretzel (we’re drooling just thinking about that sweet-savory combo) or blueberry ricotta, an affogato or a tried-and-true gelateria staple like stracciatella. To test how well they pull off the classics, we ultimately went with a regular waffle cone ($11.55) featuring two flavors: Bacio di Latte vanilla flavor and triple chocolate. The cone disappeared almost too quickly to make a proper assessment. Maybe we should try again?
Details: Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily, 660 Stanford Shopping Center, Suite 11A, Palo Alto, and 3090 Olsen Drive, Suite 11015, San Jose; baciodilatte.us.
Milky Flakes, Walnut Creek
Employee Abby Mulugeta makes a strawberry Soft Scoop while working at Milky Flakes in Walnut Creek on July 31, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Many people have heard of shaved ice, but what about shaved milk? It’s a real thing, and it is proving extremely popular at this brand-new business that’s half ice-cream parlor, half science-fair exhibit.
Milky Flakes offers soft serve in flavors like full-fat Hokkaido Milk and Organic Matcha. It’s poured in shiny curls and dusted with matcha powder and dried strawberry dust, respectively. It also has Soft Scoops, which are made like gelato but never flash-frozen, and available in combos such as ube with roasted coconut flakes or Sicilian pistachio with kataifi. Then, it makes Milky Flakes, which is a cup of soft snow made from milk and cold cream and real fruit bits of mango or strawberry.
Customers line up out the door at Milky Flakes in Walnut Creek as they wait to try its unique styles of ice cream on July 31, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
All this happens in a see-through cold compartment where concoctions spin around, turning from liquid to frozen semisolid. “We don’t have a freezer in the back of the house; we just have fridges that hold the milk and cream,” says Billy Rinchin, who helps run the shop with family and friends. “All the freezing occurs in the front, in front of the customers. In hindsight, that was a questionable decision, because our front-of-house is getting very hot with all the equipment dumping heat in a small space.”
The Alphonso mango Soft Scoop is churned before being served at Milky Flakes in Walnut Creek on July 31, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The scoop: If you’ve never had shaved milk, you kind of have to try it, yes? It’s like a Slurpee made from cow ($10). Otherwise, many people order the Soft Scoops, especially the peanut butter flavor with miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ($7.50-$9).
Details: Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 1399 N. Main St., Walnut Creek; 925-440-0569, instagram.com/milkyflakeswc.
Nature’s Organic Ice Cream, Campbell (new), also Fremont, Sunnyvale
The Chocolate Aztec at Nature’s Organic Ice Cream, newly opened in Campbell, adds a touch of hot pepper to the traditional blend of chocolate and cinnamon. (Courtesy of Nature’s Organic)
Despite the Bay Area’s organic bent, ice cream shops with an all-natural lineup can be hard to find. Enter Nature’s Organic, which was launched in Fremont in 2017, later expanded to Sunnyvale and has recently opened a bright, sparkling new shop on the avenue in downtown Campbell.
The list of ingredients found in the handcrafted ice cream here is a short one. That’s because of the number of additives not used. No gum or carrageenan. No artificial flavors or colors. Just Straus Organic Milk and real flavors, spices and colors.
Flavor choices abound, with a rotating selection of more than 40. And because some of these are unusual creations — Cardamom Pistachio Kulfi, Honey Lavender, Chocolate Aztec — the shop’s scoopers are liberal with samples. You’ll also find classic, kid-friendly flavors like Strawberry, Birthday Cake and Mint Chip, along with several vegan ice creams.
The scoop: A cup costs $6.49, and it’s 25 cents extra for a regular cone and $1 for a waffle cone. There’s also a shareable flight of four scoops. We thought we were brave enough to handle the heat on the back end of the Chili Guava, but we wimped out and ordered Custard Apple instead. That’s still an adventurous choice, as it’s made with a tropical fruit also known as cherimoya.
Details: Open noon-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, noon-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays, 191 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell.
Meadowlark Dairy, Livermore
Isla Vuong, 3, of Fremont, enjoys her ice cream while at Meadowlark Dairy in Livermore on Aug. 1, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
A collective “Yay!” went out this winter among children and adults with ice-cream stains on their car seats when Meadowlark Dairy opened its second location in Livermore. Meadowlark is California’s first certified dairy, launched in 1919, and is beloved among true cream heads for decadent soft serve, dispensed at the original Pleasanton drive-thru by Tri-Valley high-school students.
The Livermore shop keeps the dairy’s cheery vibes while expanding gift-shop retail offerings and placing a window into a new production facility, where high volumes of pint ice cream are packed.
That’s not all: The company recently acquired a vintage Divco milk-delivery truck and restored it into a classically cool ice-cream truck. You can find it outside Meadowlark’s two shops or rented out to serve ice cream at special events, like weddings. Meadowlark is so beloved that some brides and grooms even have photos taken with the truck providing four flavors of soft serve to their friends and family. (For rental inquiries, email truck@meadowlarkdairy.com.)
Customers sit outside eating their ice cream at Meadowlark Dairy in Livermore on Aug. 1, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The scoop: The same high-quality soft serve is available here in vanilla and chocolate flavors, plus vegan orange, strawberry and pineapple ($3.50-$4). A special flavor rotates daily (check Instagram) and has included bananas foster, eggnog and honeydew. All that is on offer, plus milkshakes, ice-cream sandwiches, pints and Diablos (slushies topped with ice cream).
Meadowlark Dairy, which has locations in Pleasanton and Livermore, restored a vintage ice-cream truck that it rents out for special events. A couple celebrates their marriage posing with the Meadowlark truck. (Courtesy of Meadowlark Dairy)
Details: Open 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, 2287 Second St., Livermore; meadowlarkdairy.com.
Matcha Mori, Mountain View
Matcha Mori in Mountain View serves matcha drinks and treats plus an array of handcrafted gelato flavors. Shown here is a sample of guava mousse cake, which is expected to debut shortly on the cafe’s menu, and a cup of citrus ricotta and jasmine matcha gelato. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
A matcha shop isn’t necessarily where you’d expect to find innovative gelato flavors like golden citrus ricotta, Sicilian pistachio and fragrant milk rice. But Matcha Mori, a family-run shop that opened about two months ago, contains multitudes.
On the matcha front, the cafe uses ceremonial-grade matcha that it sources from Japan. If matcha’s not your thing, there are plenty of other options, thanks to the shop’s inclusive menu: It serves vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free alternatives.
“We try to keep everyone included,” says Summer He, daughter of shop owner Coco He.
Looking to try something else entirely? Coming soon to the menu are cold, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, heart-shaped guava mousse cakes.
And last but certainly not least, fresh gelato features prominently on the menu: The shop’s team learned how to make gelato from an Italian master and put their own East Asian spin on the recipes, Summer He says.
The scoop: We tried a cup with both the golden citrus ricotta and jasmine matcha gelato flavors ($7.59 for a regular cup with up to two flavors), and both were delicate, balanced and refreshing.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturdays and 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays, 636 San Antonio Road, Mountain View; matcha-mori.com.
Lafayette Scoop, Lafayette
Lafayette Scoop sells ice cream from several well-known Bay Area purveyors in Lafayette. (Tamalyn Ann Photography for Lafayette Scoop)
Caffeine and ice cream are what’s on the menu at this Lafayette parlor that, during the first part of the day, operates as a matcha shop.
Prior to opening Lafayette Scoop last year, local entrepreneur Alex Teece worked as a management consultant at McKinsey. “More than food, retail or ice cream, I like interacting with people, solving their problems, building community. Ice cream and matcha seemed like a fun, authentic way to do this,” Teece says. “There aren’t a ton of hard-serve ice cream options in Lafayette, or hand-whisked matcha with homemade syrups and ingredients. It seemed like a good idea.”
Part of the attraction here is that the ice cream is sourced from many Bay Area purveyors, such as Mitchell’s, Double Rainbow, Marianne’s, Humphry Slocombe and Curbside Creamery. “People know these ice-cream shops — they win for best ice cream every year. We wanted to bring them all into one place,” Teece says.
By day, Lafayette Scoop sells hand-whisked matcha with homemade syrups and ingredients. (Courtesy of Lafayette Scoop)
The scoop: The ube flavor from Mitchell’s is popular, as is mint from San Francisco’s Hometown Creamery and vegan oats from Double Rainbow ($5.50-$9.50). For matcha, go for something intriguing like the homemade banana-bread flavor and watch it whisked before your eyes.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. for matcha and noon-9 p.m. for ice cream daily (open until 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday during the summer), 63 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette; thelafayettescoop.club.
Serotonin Scoops, Berkeley
Serotonin Scoops in Berkeley refers to its scoops “doses,” and a cup with two scoops, like this one with guava and malai-kulfi ice cream, is called a “balanced dose.” (John Metcalfe/Bay Area News Group)
In a time when protein is added to everything – dried pasta, soda, Doritos chips – why not have protein-enriched ice cream? Especially when it makes the end product thicker and oh-so-creamy?
That’s the trendy concept behind Serotonin Scoops in Berkeley’s Epicurious Garden food hall. Opened this June by Jay Desai, Ray Niak and Rohit Singh, the shop aims to match the decadence of Häagen-Daz with a high-nutrition treat that diabetics can enjoy. Some ice creams are dairy-free; others have added fibers and whey protein. None have traditional sugar – except for natural honey in the excellent honeycomb flavor — using instead monk-fruit sweetener or allulose from tapioca root.
Don’t let all the chemistry mumbo-jumbo weird you out. The ice cream is truly delicious, luscious and bright with fresh fruit and Indian spices. You might even convince yourself to take a carton home – it’s good for you, right?
The scoop: Portion sizes are called “doses” here, as if a doctor is prescribing ice cream, with two scoops being a “balanced dose” ($9). The guava flavor is tart and tropical with a grit signifying real fruit flesh, and it matches well with the cardamom-spiked richness of the malai-kulfi flavor.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and noon-9 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays, 1511 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; serotoninscoops.com.
Mixue, Sunnyvale, San Mateo
Zi Han and Zi Jia pick up free soft-serve ice cream cones at Mixue at the shop’s grand opening on July 10. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
For those of us struggling to justify spending what seems to be close to or even more than $10 on an ice cream cone at competing ice cream shops — In THIS economy??!? – the arrival of Mixue, the world’s biggest chain by number of locations, in the Bay Area could not have come at a better time. With everything on its menu priced under $5, this boba and soft-serve shop from China serves up sweet treats that even those on the tightest budgets don’t have to feel guilty about.
Mixue recently opened in Sunnyvale and has a second Bay Area location coming soon to San Mateo.
The Scoop: With vanilla, matcha and chocolate soft-serve cones priced at $1.59 to $1.99 each, any (or all!) of these flavors is a win-win.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, 1641 Hollenbeck Ave., Sunnyvale; my.mixue.com.
Dumont Creamery, Sunnyvale (new), San Jose
Dumont Cafe and Creamery in downtown San Jose serves decadent craft ice creams in global flavors like Hokey Pokey, a New Zealand favorite that blends vanilla ice cream and crunchy caramel toffee pieces, and Biscoff cookie-flavored ice cream, a favorite in Belgium, according to the creamery’s website. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
This national ice cream and coffee chain specializes in global flavors; in fact, its slogan is “Taste the World.” That international flavor palate was on full display during a recent visit, when among the different scoop varieties were Hokey Pokey, a flavor popular in New Zealand that pairs vanilla ice cream with lumps of honeycomb toffee, and Biscoff, which blends cookie butter and Biscoff cookies, a flavor popular in Belgium.
Dumont opened its first Bay Area location in San Jose at the end of 2024, and its second regional location was scheduled to open Aug. 7 in Sunnyvale.
“We are thrilled to bring the Dumont experience to the vibrant Sunnyvale community very soon this summer,” said Yash Kudaravalli, the Sunnyvale shop franchisee.
Brothers Vivek and Bhaskar Inampudi started the chain in Hyderabad, India, in 1999, and now have around 50 shops in India. They began expanding in the U.S. around 2023 with a shop in Little Elm, Texas, and now have locations across Texas and in Illinois, California, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and Ohio. Dumont also serves Karafa coffee, a shade-grown coffee brand, matcha and other teas.
The scoop: We were lucky to catch the San Jose shop in a quiet moment, when the scoop staff was abnormally generous with sample tastes, like Murder in the Snow, a seasonal blend of white chocolate and strawberry; Oreo Caramel Fudge; and Kheer, with almond, cardamom and saffron notes. There wasn’t a bad one in the bunch. We went with a combination cup ($8.99) of the Hokey Pokey and Filter Coffee, inspired by South Indian filter coffee, both of which were excellent — but that’s probably just because we didn’t see the option for an ice cream flight of four flavors ($15.95).
Details: Open 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 7 a.m.-midnight Fridays, 8 a.m.-midnight Saturdays and 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays, 28 N. Almaden Ave., Suite 40, San Jose, and coming soon to 1167 W El Camino Real, Unit 109, Sunnyvale; dumont.us.