Bi Rite Creamery
3692 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
On my dessert run in San Francisco a few months ago, the one place I didn’t get a chance to try was Bi Rite Creamery. The line was simply too long and I felt too guilty to let my non-foodie friends wait for the ice cream. I’ve been wanting to visit ever since.
On this last trip to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival, I had all sorts of spots I wanted to visit while in SF like the farmer’s market, the Ferry Building, the amazing melt-in-your-mouth Dynamo Donuts I had last time, and of course Bi Rite Creamery. Unfortunately, the schedule was so packed or I was so exhausted that I didn’t get to do any of these things–except Bi Rite Creamery.
The traffic getting to Bi Rite was awful, but I just had to visit. Luckily there was no line out the door this time. Bi Rite specializes in making small batches of ice cream with local ingredients. They offer a few select flavors a day. Many have proclaimed this place to be the “best ice cream.” It has over 2000 positive reviews on yelp.
On the day I went, there were about 8 flavors available. I sampled a few before deciding. Unfortunately, none of the flavors were ones I was particularly interested in. Lately, I’ve really been into more unique flavors, and Bi Rite’s offerings were more common and mainstream.
I chose a creme fraiche and a honey lavender, which were two of the more “unique” offerings. BF got a vanilla and cookies and cream. The ice cream was creamy and rich. It was one of those things where at first bite, I wasn’t that impressed, but as I kept eating, I really began to admire the rich and creamy texture. I think Bi Rite Creamery serves some delicious ice cream. It’s not my favorite ice cream shop though. I also wish they had some more unique flavor offerings, like Slocombe Ice Cream, which is nearby.
Oh Bi Rite how I miss thee. I want some now!
Seriously, we need more places like this in SD!
hi kirbie – i liked bi-rite. even though their flavors weren’t as wild, they were easier on my tongue. you’ll see why when i do the posts. i am going to post the bi-rite tonight…
our friend had the “secret breakfast” flavor as well – it was pretty good.
I’ve never been a fan of bourbon so I was surprised that I liked the secret breakfast flavor so much. Can’t wait to read your post!
If you are into unique flavors and in LA you should definitely try Scoops – Very unique and unusal flavors
I love Scoops! They had the craziest flavors and it’s so cheap there. I wish we had one in SD!I wish it wasn’t so far away.
hi kirbie
yay – bi-rite! i am so behind in my SF posts – we went here too and on the same DAY, Humphrey Slocombe. my poor lactose intolerant husband. there was a long line out the door when we went – but it went quickly. i also picked up a couple of items from their bakeshop next door.
I’m curious which place you liked better? I went to Slocombe last time and I loved the breakfast bourbon ice cream. Wish I could have brought some home..
Sounds great! How does it compare to Neiderfranks?
It’s definitely a lot richer and creamier than Neiderfranks
when i was in san fran i went to a different bi-rite location and loved it. i remember them having some great flavors and toppings, i wonder if this location is different? mmm i could go for some of that ice cream now!
I didn’t know there were multiple locations. Well, there was one right across the street but I think that was more of a Bi Rite market to buy larger quantities of the ice cream. I’ll have to research this further