Salt & Straw

I could not have more love for this store and its staff members in my heart if I tried. I approached them to ask if I can film a short scene of my thesis film in their store, and they were SO incredibly kind and supportive, not just of me, but of their own staff members, which I truly appreciated. I get a little uncomfortable when managers go all out for customers without considering their own staff, but when I spoke to the manager (Brennan), he was very receptive and friendly to talk to, and said he would e-mail me after talking to his staff. He e-mailed me the same day and let me know that his staff members were all comfortable with my request. (He seems like such a great manager!) On the day of the filming, the staff member was SO kind (I really wish I knew his name) and he gave us free ice cream! It goes without saying that the ice cream is always divine and everyone's go-to spot in Hayes Valley. I'm sure the store is doing well business-wise, so they really did not need to go out of their way for my request, but it really felt like they were doing it to be kind and helpful to a stranger. I am forever grateful to Brennan and his team. Thank you SO much!

They're spicing things up for Halloween with their Scoops & Skulls Series. The Don Bugito's Creepy Crawly Critters flavor is surprisingly delicious, with matcha ice cream and crunchy chocolate crickets and toffee-brittle mealworms. It's a fun, unique experience for the season. The Jack o' Lantern Pumpkin Bread flavor tastes like a cozy autumn hug. It's got pumpkin bread, warm spices, and creamy cream cheese frosting - a slice of fall in every bite. The Pinot Poached Pear Sherbet is elegant and refreshing. It combines pears soaked in Pinot noir and double-fold vanilla, creating a lovely, subtly spiced sherbet.

Highly recommended! We chanced upon this shop on our way to the painted ladies. Their hefty serving for a single scoop suprised us. We thought maybe that was their way to compensate for the so-so taste of their ice cream. We were wrong! The flavors we tried - sea salt with caramel ribbons; salted, malted chocolate chip cookie dough; and peanut butter brittle caramel fudge - were all delicious. On the day of our visit, the guy server was a delight but one of the female staff looked tired and somewhat bored with doing her job.

Sometimes things are simply better in the memories; however, Salt & Straw has been a constant in our lives. We were treated with the aroma of fresh waffle cones as we approached the ice cream shop. It always smells so good but eating it is a different story. Anyway, we really love their blue cheese and pear ice cream. Not a typical combo but a great one nevertheless.

This place has really creative top quality ice cream. I came here with friends around 10 o’clock on a brisk Sunday night and the line was OUT THE DOOR. If that doesn’t tell you this is good ice cream nothing will. I had the honey lavender, which was divine. The lavender flavor wasn’t too strong and the flavor itself wasn’t ridiculously sweet or anything. The blend was beautiful. I tried the olive oil as well which was good and subtle but weird for me, and the strawberry balsamic which can be a bit strong with the balsamic but I enjoyed it. This place is awesome and if your in SF and have a hankering for ice cream this is the place for you!