I had a great experience! Got the birthday cake and cookies and cream and it was delicious. Service…read morewas amazing and the spot had a very homey feel. Prices were great as well. Definitely a hidden gem. It is cash only. Would def recommend if you're in SF!

Great, ambiance, tom is very kind. Definitely come here! Lovely milkshake, good price (cash only!!)read more

Matcha Cafe Maiko is a matcha specialty shop that first opened in Hawaii and currently has multiple…read morelocations across multiple states including California (two Los Angeles locations in Monterey Park and Rowland Heights), Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Arizona. For this location, the shop is located inside the Kinokuniya Mall in Japantown in San Francisco. [Parking]: There are two parking garages - The Main Garage (1610 Geary Boulevard) and The Fillmore Annex Garage (1650 Fillmore Street). Parking rate = $5 per hour from 12 PM to 6 PM and $3 per hour outside of those hours. I got lucky and was able to find metered parking spots near the intersection of Buchanan St and Sutter St (free on Sunday). [Atmosphere]: Matcha Cafe Maiko is located on the first level of Kinokuniya Mall. This is mostly a takeout only spot with no indoor tables and limited chairs available. [Menu]: Most visitors come here for the matcha soft-serve ice cream. The shop also offers the Golden Sho-Gun 24K gold soft-serve ice cream. Other items include sundaes, parfaits, lattes, cream foam lattes, and teas. *** Soft Serve Ice Cream (Matcha, Cone - $6.95): Amazing ice cream - creamy and dense with a strong matcha flavor. *** This is a fantastic matcha ice cream shop - two big thumbs up. P.S. - If you are already at the shop, this is also a good opportunity to check out other shops in Kinokuniya Mall and the adjacent Japan Center Malls.

Really enjoyed this spot!The matcha ice cream and iced matcha were both delicious creamy,…read moreflavorful, and not overly sweet. The service was quick and friendly, making it a perfect grab-and-go stop while exploring Japantown. Definitely worth trying if you're a matcha lover! Ambiance welcoming but not intended to eat in.

Maybe it was the flavors I chose the first or second time I went here but I wasn't too crazy about…read morethis place. I've been here about 10x since my last review because the tourists we take to Japantown always want something from here. The soft serve is so good now. The most recent flavor I got was yuzu something and it was smooth, creamy, and had a nice yuzu flavor. The fish cone is pretty good, I enjoy both types the regular fish shaped cone and the mochi version. The mochi version is indeed mochi. I wish they would use an unscented floor cleaner because the smell of the cleaner is really strong and wafts out into the area where people order at the kiosk and wait to pick up their ice cream. It's an unpleasant fragrance to smell while you're waiting or trying to enjoy your food. They've finally added more tables outside the shop where people can hang out and eat their ice cream. They could add even more tables and chairs, and there'd still be plenty of walking space.

Okay. No sampling allowed. Long queues. Maybe people know…read morewhat flavor they like? There are two self order kiosk at the end of the queue and various flavors to choose from. Ordered ube/yam and matcha swirl in their classic fish shaped waffle (not sire what its called) Be careful as the cone leaks very quickly. No seating of any kind at this outlet. Revisit score - 3/10

I was stuffed after dinner, but as we all know, dessert goes into a completely different stomach!…read more Another bonus was that there was no line when I arrived, so I quickly decided on the Daifuku Special. It came with a matcha-flavored crepe, matcha ice cream, caramel sauce, and, best of all, daifuku. I opted to skip the bananas since I wasn't really in the mood for fruit with my dessert. I just wish the crepe skin itself was a bit crispier. I requested it but I don't think their method of making the crepe makes it possible. At $12 plus tax it felt like a fun indulgence and a sweet way to end the evening.

It's the month of June and the sun is coming out in San Francisco. Feels like Summer is in the air…read moreand there is lots of options when it comes to getting something refreshing . What first comes to mind is ice cream and there is a place which serves ice cream not on a flakey cone like some in SF but on a crepe. This place offers crepes like the Hawaiian which comes with ham, cheese, and pineapple and the Peach, Pineapple, Coconut Flake & Honey .There is a place located in Japantown offering savory and sweet treats. This is located inside West Mall of the Japan Center and it's called Belly Good Cafe & Crepes. On a Spring stroll in San Francisco's Japantown I landed inside the West Mall at the Belly Good Cafe & Crepes. There a variety of different dessert options available. I got the Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, Strawberry crepe. The ice cream flavors wasn't too cheesy like some in SF. The crepe was soft and held the ice cream was tasty and the design was creative. The ice cream crepe character reminded me of a birdie / Pikachu. They also serve savory crepes like the Smoke Salmon & Cream Cheese With Pesto Crepe Roll. This is good place to enjoy some refreshing dessert and cool out from the sun in SF. When gets hot and you need an "escape" from the sun to go grab some something with ice cream on top of a "crepe "you can watch them get made and see them spread and then" scrape" and then turn them into "animal shape " Go to Japan Center and it's not located inside East Mall with the mural of spiting fire "Godzilla" is located in West Mall where they have crepes with and strawberries and "Nutella"you can take cover from the sun don't need an "umbrella"when it comes to variety of flavors of crepes they offer I would have to say "hella"

Love this place! Been a few times and finally am leaving a review. It's right next to the park and…read moreusually I wait in a small line but it moves quick. I tasted the black sesame (so good) but was feeling a refreshing mint chip. I didn't know that they had gluten free cones, so that was a treat! The space is cute, not much seating but they have a water station which was VERY needed. Staff were really cute and kind!

Disappointing, Overhyped, and Not What We Expected…read more My family and I are very experienced diners, and we rely heavily on Yelp when we're looking for honest opinions from other customers. We were recently in San Francisco and were excited to find a great ice cream spot. With so many options, we turned to Yelp and that's where we found Bi-Rite Creamery, boasting nearly 11,000 reviews and a 4.5 star rating. Those numbers set some pretty high expectations. I read through quite a few reviews beforehand, looking for recommendations on standout flavors and specialties. After all that praise, I was genuinely confused when we arrived. First, finding parking was a nightmare and the surrounding area felt pretty rundown. The shop itself was underwhelming, the employees weren't particularly welcoming and the ice cream looked noticeably soft as though the freezer temperature wasn't quite where it should have been. The flavor selection was surprisingly limited and I wasn't impressed by the use of reusable tasting spoons. I ordered the sundae, expecting something memorable after reading so many glowing reviews. Instead, it was completely ordinary and the bananas weren't fresh. There was literally NOTHING about it that justified the level of hype I had read beforehand. And that's really my bigger issue: the experience simply did not match the reviews. It was confusing. This wasn't terrible ice cream, but it was decidedly average. The selection was limited, the ice cream wasn't as cold or impressive as expected, location sucked, the atmosphere was nothing special and the customer service was marginal at best. Afterward, I started looking more closely at the business and its enormous volume of reviews, and I honestly found myself wondering how our experience could be so dramatically different from what I had read beforehand. Nearly 11,000 reviews?? That is an extraordinary number for an ice cream shop, especially when so many reviews describe the experience as exceptional and rave about specific flavors which were subpar. Obviously, I can't speak to the authenticity of other customers experiences and I'm not going to accuse anyone of manipulating or leaving fake reviews without evidence. But I can speak to ours: it was nowhere near the experience YELP led us to expect. This is exactly why I wish Yelp did a better job helping consumers distinguish genuine, useful customer feedback from whatever is driving these enormous review counts and inflated expectations. My family spent our time, money, and effort getting there based largely on those reviews and we left wondering what we had missed... Nearly 11,000 reviews and a 4.5-star rating? Based on our experience, that's a level of hype this ice cream simply didn't live up to and something's up. It sucks when dishonest people take advantage of useful resources.

Pull a number and wait your turn, the wait is worth it!…read more From pre-packed ice cream, little cookies and treats for easy grab and go to hand scooped orders this place is BUSY. For good reason!! Love all the tropical flavors they have here from ube to durian, classic flavors like Rocky Road and one's that are hard to find in ice cream flavors, such as Filipino Halo Halo! Not only ice cream, but sundaes, shakes, to ice cream cakes! Got the Blueberry Cheesecake and thought the junior size was perfect on a cone. Line moved fast and service was friendly and fun. Was a great way to end the night, enjoying ice cream out front on the sidewalk.

Is Mitchell's worth the hype? 1000% every time. I would avoid the narrow parking lot and park down…read morethe street. This place is ALWAYS packed - you go inside and grab a number and wait to be called. They have an incredible assortment of flavors and friendly, fast employees. I love their Lucuma, Ube, and coconut- but they have tons of traditional flavors as well. SF staple and for good reason!

Second time here! Came back and sampled their Seasonal fresh strawberry flavor and it was SO GOOD!…read moreIt very refreshing, especially on the hottest day of the year. Service was quick and they give a complimentary wafer with every order. The two sample policy makes me sad, I want to try everything! They have benches and tables outside for seating/ standing.

such unique flavors!!! the Rose petal pistachio stole the…read moreshow: super strong rose flavor (worked for me because i love rose flavored desserts) with these chunks of crunchy (not sure but probably caramelized) pistachio scattered throughout it. i would definitely return for that the Chai was also good, not artificial at all i also sampled the mexican coffee and i really liked that you could tell it had actual spices in it also tried their seasonal Plum flavor: this was like a real plum, on the sweeter side, but will only be around for 2 more weeks definitely would return to try other flavors the one small bad thing: really really sweet, which is only a problem for me because I usually enjoy lighter flavors also pretty good service! allowed sampling even though I was super indecisive also not a long wait

THE BEST CREPES!!!!!!! No joke, best crepes ever. From east…read morecoast to west, this is the absolute, hands down, best crepe spot. Nestled in the heart of Japan town's shopping center, right next to the bookstore- Sophie's crepes is. Very small bistro seating is available, but this place gets pretty busy. They have an extensive menu of both simple and layered flavors. The crepes here are thin and crispy, and come in a very cute crepe holder when served. I always get the strawberries and banana with Nutella, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. The crepe won't last long, you'll eat it right up. My partner opts for a strawberry and whipped cream option, with raspberry jam- simple in comparison to my order. Sophie's is always our starting point in Japan town, and once you've placed your order, you cannot revise it. Make sure you hold onto your number, you'll need to provide it when your number is called. Enjoy, a must try in SF; even if you just go to Japan town for this one thing, trust me, it's worth it.

It's been a long time since I last visited this crepe shop. With so much competition in San…read moreFrancisco's Japantown, I wouldn't say the flavors here are particularly impressive or outstanding. That said, the prices are quite reasonable, especially considering how generous the portions are. Overall, it's still a pretty good value, and I'd recommend giving it a try! 很久沒去過這家可麗餅店了，但是感覺在競爭激烈的舊金山日本城，這家店的口味感覺不算太驚豔，不過價格不算貴，因為他們的份量非常的多，所以還是挺推薦給各位的。

Our favorite ice cream shop in San Francisco! We always get the banana dipped in chocolate, and it…read moreis SOOOOO good! Seriously, we look forward to it every time we're in SF. The staff is always super fast, friendly, and welcoming, which makes the experience even better. Great treats, great service, and definitely a must-stop for us whenever we're in the city!

Came here on a sunny afternoon and it was unusually warm in town. Decided to swing by Swensens for…read morea delicious scoop. I have to warn you, if you are going to walk here, prepare for really steep hills! Your calves will be screaming. In a good way most likely! There's also a bus that drops you off closeby. No worries, guys. But the scoops are generous here. Staff are also very friendly. I got a scoop of their Mint Chip on a cone and it was super delicious. Creamy and minty on a perfect afternoon. They do accept cards here, so don't be shy, grab a cone...or two!

This heatwave is heating up and it's getting sunny in August. There are a few things you can enjoy…read moreto get some relief from the sun. On taco Tuesday more hot sauce isn't going to work to feel refresh. There is place where the tacos are frozen. This place also has many different flavors of ice cream such as pear& blue cheese and sea salt with caramel ribbons like some on my social feed. They also have pies like Wildflower Honey & Lemon Chess Pie and Cherry Coconut pie like some on my social media feed. It's a place for people who like it sweet and salty in SF. It's called Salt & Straw. On a Summer stroll on a sunny day in August I landed inside Salt & Straw in Pacific Heights on Fillmore street. I got the Tacolate a collaboration between Taco Bell and Salt & Straw. The ice cream taco was not too sweet and the sauces like the Wild Berry were tasty and the Mango Jalapeño was a bit savory. The waffle cone for the tortilla was crunchy. Overall it was refreshing and a place for the sweet and salty on a hot day in SF. When the sun is shinning and you need feel refreshed you can to a "shopping mall "or do a "pub crawl" and get something cold and "tall" or grab something sweet and salty like some in SF at "Salt & Straw" Get saucy with packets of "Taco Bell" sweet sauce and waffle taco "shell" and all the flavors tend to "gel" like ice cream with ribbons with sea salt with "caramel"

Apple season is back as of 09/17/2026! Sampled 2 out of the 4 Apple flavors, and both tastes the…read moresame. The store has some interesting flavor: olive oil, balsamic vinegar (which is pretty good), prosciutto, etc. A small line, there's a lot of employees but not very friendly. There's no chairs or tables to seat, all standing. Mostly to go or stand and eat. In addition to the scoops, able to buy a pint which costs $12. Single scoop ($7.50) is pretty large, able to get 2 flavors too! Most likely will get the kids scoop next come because it's very sugary. The ice cream is creamy, a lot of chunky bites, so no need for toppings. Overall, the flavors are unique, able to sample, and fulfill your sweet tooth.