Polly Ann Ice Cream

The staff were very patient and polite while giving us samples and taking our orders! They have a big wheel you can spin if you can’t decide which of their many flavors to get! I had the lycée flavor which was delicious!

This place has ROSE ice cream that tastes like delicious roses. It’s bliss. It’s called American Beauty and it’s *perfectly paired* with the JASMINE TEA ice cream which is the best jasmine tea ice cream you can imagine…
Runner up: Red Bean and Green Tea Matcha. It’s all made fresh and if you get the above flavors, or any Asian flavor (Black Sesame, etc.) they do them exceptionally well.
This place is right down the street from me… yay! Why only 4 stars? Because as an Asian lactose lover/​hater, I’d love if they did at least one sorbet! :*

Is it extreme to say that this is the best ice cream shop in San Francisco? I know a lot of people are going to disagree and throw out Humphrey and Birite but Polly Ann is where it’s at!
When I’m craving ice cream after dessert and pay for a cup, I want to be able to finish my ice cream scoop. I’m sure you’ve encountered the times when your order was so sweet it starts hurting your throat (unless you have the biggest sweet tooth). At Polly Ann’s you don’t have to worry about that. There’s also a hugeeeee selection of ice cream flavors. The names are mysterious and fun. You’re not going to be able to tell what the flavor is for some of them… unless you ask them.
I love. their toasted almond and matcha! They also have a jasmine tea flavor which is more floral. For durian lovers, they also have durian ;)

Mmmm, yum! I’m going to enjoy writing this review!
This place leans more on the unique side of the ice cream spectrum. Sometimes, I decide to be a little adventurous and trying their durian flavor or bubble gum flavored. If you’re unsure of what you want, you can always spin the gigantic wheel on the wall and see what you land on! Me, in fear of getting something I’ll hate, rather sample everything and make an ultimate decision. This place also has unique names for their flavors. More often than not, I find myself asking them what flavor is the «Old San Francisco» or «Star Wars» or «Bumpy Road» (which is Rocky Road, I remember because I found that hilarious). I personally love Asian-​style flavors, so my recommendations would be
— Jasmine Tea
— Sesame
— Taro
It’s uncommon to find a sesame flavored ice cream in an ice cream parlor, so if you hit this place, definitely try it!
TIP #1: Check in to Unilocal to redeem a free brownie or waffle cone!
Tip #2: If you are picky with flavors, DO NOT spin the wheel! There’s a bigger chance of you getting something you don’t want, and you can’t change after the wheel has spoken.

The thing about Polly Ann is that their flavors are hit or miss. One flavor could be bomb diggity and one may not. I do appreciate that they have lots of flavors to choose from but sometimes that can be a curse because you have such a hard time deciding on what you want. If you can’t decide you can always spin the wheel and go with the flavor it lands on. I’ve never actually spun the wheel myself but it’s fun watching other people do it.
My all time favorite is the green tea. I thought the durian was good but after trying Marco Polo’s durian gelato, Polly Ann’s doesn’t even come close.
Aside from ice cream, they also have a bunch of candy and snacks for sale.

I’m a sucker for good ice cream and this place had a lot of it. Great, creative variety. It’s hard to pick which one you want, so they have a wheel you can spin that will decide for you. I had the banana rocky road. Good, but lacked the flavor I was expecting. Black raspberry was very flavorful though if you’re into that. Staff was very patient — even when 4 bratty girls (and their 2 mothers!) came in. The bratty girls pulled up a chair from one of the tables and climbed up to the top of the counter with all 4 of them yelling «I want… I want…» Annoying and dangerous! Ugh! Did I mention their mothers walked in right behind them and did nothing? Good job staff for keeping your patience and accommodating them!

Did a Unilocal check in and got a free waffle cone with our ice cream today. Service and the ice cream was really good today.
Lycée –good
mango –ok but not exceptional. skipping this next time
black sesame –excellent
taro — really good
Thai ice tea — too sweet. skipping this next time
green tea — used to be my favorite, but it’s just good now.

Finally got to try Polly Ann! I got the Jasmine Tea and it was yum. We were greeted upon entering the store. Not much to say, but good ice cream! I do have one complaint though…
They might have had a sign before that says there’s a minimum on how much you have to spend before you can use card. However, when I went, I didn’t see one. I didn’t even know there was a minimum.
I was just going to pay for my ice cream and my friend pays for hers. But! When I gave the girl my card, she charged all 3 ice creams on my card. She didn’t even tell me ahead of time that there was a limit. she just swiped my card.
The cashier is off to the side, in the back, so if they had a sign there, then no way would customers see that. They need to have a sign in the front that tells customers that there’s a limit.

Got the Thai tea & black sesame seed ice cream & my boyfriend got the jasmine tea & green tea ice cream. We asked for one scoop of each & their scoops were very generous!!! I used the Unilocal check-​in reward which is a free cookie or waffle. I got a free waffle bowl.
All four ice cream flavors were delicious. The Thai tea is my favorite as it tastes exactly like drinking the actual drink. Definitely recommend!

NEVER been a fan of JB but even freakin Bieber knew how to say «Sorry». I never understood how some people can do such horrible things and make excuses/​lies to cover up instead of just saying sorry. Have some dignity!
Like… Polly Ann, girl, is it too late to say sorry? Yeah I know that I let you down. HOW COULD I NOT WRITE A REVIEW AFTER GOING TO YOU FOR A WHOLE YEAR 10+ TIMES?
Mystical unique variety of ice cream flavors you will not find anywhere else. Amazingly friendly staff, always clean, good prices with generous portions? What’s there to complain about?
Flavors alternate each month I believe.
Top Favs atm:
–lychee
–jasmine tea
–raspberry sherbet
–praline & cream
–mango and strawberry swirl
–Thai tea
2.95 for a junior (1 flavor)
3.50 for a single (1 – 2 flavor)
5.00 for a double (2 – 3 flavors)
6.25 for monster (3 – 4 flavors)
Also they sell certain ice cream in pints so you can bring home and enjoy while watching Titanic bawling with a box of tissues … NOT THAT I DO IT…*shifty eyes* don’t judge!
They have smoothies, sundaes, soft serve, cup of noodles, snacks and candies as well to satisfy.
If you’re indecisive and you cool with any flavors, they also have a wheel they spin. The three closest numbers you can choose from. If you lucky, you can land on FREE and get any for freeeeee. :)

Spin the wheel if you dare! Just hope it doesn’t land on durian, lol.
They make all the ice cream & have creative names for the flavors. Old fashioned style ice cream. I think they supply many of the quality Asian restaurants with green tea, red bean, lychee & black sesame ice cream. They can also be found in some small corner stores.
I find a new favorite with each visit — depends on my mood. I do like the fruit flavors like mango & lychee.
I love that they provide little cones for your doggy.

I tell myself I need to finish off my SF reviews, but I finish my SD/​Las Vegas ones… and they happen AFTER my SF trip lol.
Polly Ann Ice Cream is amazing! Why do people not know about this place? Because it’s on the West Side of SF in Sunset, not in Downtown or the Mission District. Polly Ann has many many flavors you can choose from
Taro– Subtle. Definitely subtle. Not overly sweet. I wasn’t too much of a fan of this one compared to the other ones, but this was still pretty good. Which shows how much better the others one were.
Mintie Oreo Cookie– The mint was gooddddd. And if you love Oreo Cookie, you most definitely must get this! The oreo cookie is infused in the mint and the mint makes you wake up and loveeeeee the flavor.
CCC– I had chocolate. I only remember chocolate. I remember there being chunks but I forget what exactly what was in it. Don’t be me. Don’t inhale it. This was by far the best of the three :) Would recommend!
They also give doggie cones (I remember seeing that in 2008 or 2009).
If you are indecisive, there is a wheel. Spin it. Whatever you land on, that’s your flavor. You can’t change your mind!
With a Unilocal check in, you get a free upgrade to a cone :) or a free cookie. Your choice.
It’s hidden so on Noriega, make sure you watch for it! :D

Cute little neighborhood ice cream shop, around since 1955 (I think I got that right…). They have a huge assortment of flavors, ranging from the typical to slightly more exotic (I guess that depends on your background, but whatever).
Be sure to spin the wheel for a chance at a free scoop — we won half-​off a scoop after a weird spin. Check it out!

I visited this charming little ice-​cream shop in the outer sunset this past weekend. The locals love swinging by this place for their interesting selection of flavors. There are lots of asian inspired flavors like black sesame, lychee, durian, and red bean. They also have your classics like pistachio, mint chocolate chip, and vanilla. And then you have some interesting ones that I was not brave enough to try — star wars, rum raisin, and goji ginger. I ended up going with chocolate and oreo bits which was perfectly fine with me!
Polly Ann’s is cool because they have a giant spinning wheel behind their counter where you can request a spin for the chance to win free ice-​cream! Otherwise you can choose among the 3 numbers; where the needle lands and the two flavors besides it to the left and right.
Lastly, they apparently have doggy ice-​cream cone treats that you can get with ice-​cream. So if you have a furry friend, you can bring them in for a sweet treat! My friend brought her dog and she loved it!
TIPS
–Check in to Unilocal to redeem a free brownie or waffle cone offer!
–SPIN the wheel for the chance to win free ice-​cream

I grew up on Polly Ann’s back when it was a few doors down and merely a hole in the wall. After it was moved and remodeled it’s nice to see it still has some of the touches of the original location e.g. the menu, (so retro looking) and some of the signs/​quotes.
On my recent visit I was telling my girlfriend about the Starwars flavor they had when I was younger. I didn’t know what was in it and surprisingly it was still there! After trying a sample I knew I wanted more. It’s minty with a touch of marshmallows, but there could be other things subtle mysterious ingredients in it. I also got the jasmine tea, which was the strongest jasmine tea flavored ice cream I’ve ever had. It was like I was eating a tea bag. It had a weird texture that was not reminiscent of ice cream, but more so a blob of fluffy and cold cream.
I thought it would cost more, but the double was $ 5 and you can get 2 – 3 flavors. The servers here are very friendly and patient. They don’t mind giving out samples (but being a dick equates to smaller portions, according to sign, lol). The lady who served my group smiled the entire time and continued to do so with the long line behind us.
This is definitely one of the better, or quite possibly the best, place to get ice cream in the Sunset District.

Hm. Is it just me ’cause I thought Polly Ann was only OK. We ordered durian and taro on waffle bowl. The flavors were present but not rich enough. The consistency was good but not exactly creamy. In addition, the waffle bowl was stale. To simply put it, it was average and no different from Polly Ann ice cream you can buy at the grocery store.
Also, for the quality, the price is a bit steep (close to ~$ 6). I wouldn’t recommend coming here.

This place has a variety of flavors! Best thing. you can sample until you find the one you love! If you can’t decide what flavor you want, they will spin the wheel for you! I want to try all of their flavors… I’ve been here a couple of times. This time, I got green tea and strawberry/​mango swirl ice cream. I also have tried jasmine tea, thai tea, sesame, and durian. Durian is okay for me. I am not too big of a fan of durian in general, but I wanted to sample it just to see how it would taste. My favorites are jasmine tea and green tea so far! I enjoy the creamy texture.
SIGH. I want more jasmine and green tea :(
Better yet… Eggettes is right next door. So of course, before I came here, I had to get egg puffs first. I brought the warm, hot, crispy egg puffs to Polly Ann and carefully filled each egg puff with the right amount of ice cream. It was the perfect combination. Heaven.
I’ll be back soon!

Durian? Black Sesame? LYCHEE???
Out of all the ice cream joints I could’ve gone to, Polly Ann’s was 1^st on my list. With all these asian flavors, I HAD TO!
It was a cold day but I don’t care. I didn’t travel 600 mi for nothing.
I first had samples of the following: GT, Jasmine, lychee… then I started feeling bad I was taking too many samples, so I did one more: Durian. The girl helping me started turning around and went to the back of the store. She came back about 15 seconds later and handed me my durian sample. Yum! Strong, pungent flavor… not exactly there but good enough. I showed her my check-​in and got 2 scoops: 1 durian and 1 Gt on a waffle cone; durian on top please.
This was obvious but I asked her if the durian ice cream was separated from the rest of the group. DUH. My ice cream was creamy, it had strong good flavors of both GT and durian. The amazing part was I’ve never had GT ice cream with that particular flavor. It was so distinct and tasted completely from the other realms of GT ice cream. It was so good, I bought a quart of GT.
The next day I had GT for breakfast and GT for Brunch. Delish. I wish there was a Polly Ann’s here or even the ice cream distributed to S. Cali. *sigh, wishful thinking.
Muy Bueno!

Mmmm mmm
I love that Polly Ann’s have unique flavors! I love to get the durian flavor because it’s so hard to come by in ice cream stores. I love the fact that it’s a quaint shop, rich with history. It kind of captures the feeling of San Francisco to me. I do and will continue to come often (as my waistline allows) because of the yummy flavors, cheap prices, and convenient parking.
One star taken off for the slow service :/​Maybe it’s the flavors I choose, but the staff always has to go to the back to scoop my ice cream. I’m not sure if they have the top access freezers behind the counter, but I hope they’ll keep my flavors there next time so I’m not waiting for them to run to the back, scoop the ice cream, and then come back to the counter.

Ice cream here isn’t just another sweet treat. Polly Ann’s has unique flavors with deliciousness and depth!
Taro is a flavor that often tastes overly sweet and artificial, whether in milk teas or ice cream, but Polly Ann’s truly does it justice. Their taro has a prominent and authentic taste to it that’s delicious without being too sweet.
Most ice cream shops have some form of green tea ice cream, but none can compare to Polly Ann’s jasmine green tea flavor. You’ll taste jasmine blossoms as well as green tea in every lightly sweetened spoonful.
If you’ve had red bean, you’ll love Polly Ann’s red bean flavor. If you haven’t had red bean, you’ll still love it, too! The red bean is prominent without tasting sugary or artificial.
My favorite flavor by far is the black sesame ice cream I’ve only ever seen at Polly Ann’s. This is a unique and distinct Asian flavor that I’d definitely recommend trying!
I’d eat Polly Ann’s even on cold days. This is by far my favorite ice cream shop ever!