The sun is hot, and it’s time to cool down. Fortunately, a world of refreshing flavors awaits, all right here in the Bay Area. Sample 10 of the tastiest frozen fruity treats around the world right here in the Bay Area, from strawberry Korean bingsu to a Mexican mango-lime paleta, Filipino ube halo-halo to pineapple Thai rolled ice cream.
Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos, Santa Clara
Feeling nostalgic for the era of the Choco Taco? Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos, which opened in 2018 as a brick-and-mortar shop in Santa Clara, picks up where Choco Tacos left off (Klondike discontinued the brand in 2022), adding customizable flourishes to its reimagined concept. Start with a waffle cone shaped like a taco shell, stuff it with your ice cream selections, then have it dipped in chocolate, rolled in toppings and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Try: A custom ice cream taco: almond cherry chocolate ice cream matched with a chocolate coating and rainbow sprinkles.
Details: Open 5:30-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1:30-10 p.m. Saturday and 1:30-9 p.m. Sunday at 2905 Park Ave, Santa Clara; rockosicecreamtacos.com.
Polar Bear Rolled Ice Cream, Union City and Oakley
Polar Bear Rolled Ice Cream, which started in Oakley in 2018 and expanded to Union City in 2023, uses a technique popularized around 2009 in Thailand, sometimes called stir-fried ice cream, to prepare rolled ice cream strips, each serving made-to-order on the spot. A liquid mixture is poured onto an ice pan, mix-ins are added, and the cooled strips are scraped into rolls.
Try: The piña colada Thai rolled ice cream ($10 and up) featuring a vanilla base, mixed with pineapple and coconut, and topped with whipped cream and crushed pineapple.
Details: Open 2-9:15 p.m. weekdays and 1-9:15 p.m. weekends at 34608 Alvarado-Niles Rd, Union City and 12-9 p.m. daily at 2581 Main St., Oakley; polarbearicecream.net.
Paleta Planeta, San Jose
Brothers Mauricio and Luis Salazar started their paleta shop out of their parents’ garage in east San Jose in 2021, taking online and Instagram orders, according to Mauricio Salazar. Through a Prosperity Lab grant, they expanded to a ghost kitchen, expanding their business selling their fresh paletas at pop-up markets and arts events around the city. Today, they’ve got a brick-and-mortar ice pop shop across the street from San Jose City Hall with a rainbow of flavors. The most popular is cookie monster — an Oreo and Chips Ahoy! blend — Salazar says. But they’ve got more than 250 flavors that frequently change, he adds.
Try: A fruit paleta, topped with savory chamoy and tajin for a sweet, slightly spicy flavor boost.
Details: Open 12-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 12-9 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 150 E Santa Clara St, San Jose; paletaplaneta.com.
Palmetto Superfoods, Walnut Creek, Burlingame, Palo Alto, San Jose
Palmetto Superfoods, which started in 2019 in San Francisco before expanding throughout the Bay Area, traces its roots to Cafe de Casa, where its owners Thais and Amanda Moreira teamed up with Charles Lee and Hessam Shirmohammadi to create the acai-focused brand.
Try: The a customized acai bowl ($13 and up). The menu offers some pre-crafted blends, or you can explore a rainbow of frozen, fruity bites — from acai, coconut and mango to blends like ube blackberry, spirulina and chia pudding, plus a selection of toppings, including peanut butter, granola, fruit, seeds and nuts.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily at most locations; palmettosuperfoods.com.
Snowtime Cafe, Campbell
This Arizona-based dessert shop, which specializes in an array of Korean desserts, expanded to Campbell in 2023. You’ll find taiyaki buns, soft serve, boba and espresso drinks, but the shop’s snow desserts are particularly elaborate, with flavor combos like “Tira-Miss-You” (serving up strawberry, chocolate and tiramisu bites) and the coffee-flavored “Espress-Snow.”
Try: The snow, also called bingsu. It’s a milk-based shaved ice dessert that changes texture as it melts in one’s mouth. It starts flavorful, yet dry, almost like eating fresh-powdered snow, before it liquefies into creamy, chilly mouthfuls. A strawberry-topped version with mochi bites adds extra freshness and chewiness.
Details: Open 12-9 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and 12-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 715 W Hamilton Ave #1130, Campbell; snowtimedesserts.com.
Cafe 86, Mountain View, Antioch, Union City, San Jose
This cafe’s purple color scheme belies its specialization: all things ube. The purple yam that originated in the Philippines is the star of the show at Cafe 86, where visitors can find ube butter bars, leche flan, bread pudding, boba drinks and more. New locations are in the works in Milpitas, Daly City, San Ramon, Concord and Livermore.
Try: The upside-down halo-halo, made with an ube slushie featuring coconut jellies, jack fruit, boba, frosted flakes and vanilla ice cream. The hodgepodge of textures and flavors brings something interesting — and delicious — to every bite.
Details: Open 12-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 12-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 738 Villa St., Mountain View; cafe-86.com.
Coco S’more, Sunnyvale
Even though it’s only open Fridays to Sundays in the evenings, and even though there are only two menu items, Coco S’more is worth the trip to Sunnyvale. Its marshmallow ice cream desserts, which originated as a street food in Korea, are hard to find elsewhere in the Bay Area, and the result is unlike any other summer treat.
Try: The strawberry s’more ice cream ($9.75). Vanilla ice cream, wrapped in a cube of strawberry marshmallow on a stick, is torched with a creme brulee flame, serving up that campfire crusted-exterior with chilly ice cream inside, fusing hot and cold, crispy and creamy sweetness into each bite.
Details: Open 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 573 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; cocosmore.com.
Somi Somi
SomiSomi
Given that SomiSomi began in Los Angeles’ Koreatown in 2016, and already has eight Bay Area locations, the chain’s taiyaki and soft serve combo has found a loyal following here. And for good reason: Their freshly pressed waffle cones are shaped like little fish, and inside each, visitors get to choose among a variety of colorful, flavor-rich options for their base fillings lining the cones, soft serve flavors and toppings. The result? A highly Instagrammable and delightfully inhalable treat perfect for snacking on a summer stroll.
Try: The taiyaki with soft serve, a Korean dessert known as ah-boong. Though subject to change, the dessert shop has flavors like ube, matcha, chocolate, strawberry and more, plus fillings inside the base of each freshly-shaped cone, including Nutella, custard and red bean paste. Toppings include fruity pebbles, coconut flakes and Oreo crumbs, for starters.
Details: Opens daily at noon at most locations; somisomi.com.
Gelataio, San Carlos
Gelataio’s biggest claim to fame might just be its Wonka-style chocolate spigots, one gushing dark chocolate, the other milk chocolate, fully ready to drizzle piccolo (or grande) Italian-style gelatos and sorbets with rich, elegant chocolate stripes at a moment’s notice. But that would do a disservice to the gelato itself, which is delectably creamy and rich, and the fruit-forward melt-in-your-mouth sorbetto, which tastes like summer itself.
Try: A sorbetto-gelato combo, like the strawberry-stracciatella. Don’t forget to top it with a chocolate drizzle — your choice if it’s milk or dark chocolate.
Details: Open 12-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 12-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 644 Laurel St. Suite B, San Carlos; https://www.gelataio.us/
Pints of Joy, Fremont, Sunnyvale
Founded by two entrepreneurs from Sunnyvale, Ketki Dandekar and Arshiya Shaikh, Pints of Joy was born after the two women created a pandemic pod with their families. Feeling nostalgic for the Indian dessert flavors of their childhoods, they started experimenting with ice cream. Their creations — with flavors like gulab jamun, fig and walnut, and custard apple — have been a hit; they recently opened a second location in Fremont.
Try: The alphonso mango ice cream. The shop has both dairy-based and dairy-free versions, and it’s an ultra-refreshing way to beat the summer heat.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday and 2-10 p.m. Monday at 3768 Capitol Ave Suite I, Fremont, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sunday and 2-10 p.m. Monday at 717 E El Camino Real #6, Sunnyvale; pintsofjoy.com.