Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop

I had the classic hot chocolate mmmm… yummy. Great on a cold evening which apparently every evening in SF is, after dinner! I had a bite of a friends brownie, OMG great. super rich.

If you’re going to go to Ghirardelli Square, or even San Francisco, this place is a must! I took my friend from out of state here after dinner and we had an absolutely wonderful time. We went on a Friday night, so yes, it was super busy and we were lucky to have been able to place our order in under 15 minutes and even be able to find a seat. we split the sea salt caramel sundae that ended up being $ 13 (did not expect it to be that expensive!) but it was so delicious and surpassed my expectations.
As we were finishing our sundae, we were facing an Instagram captioner’s block and just could not figure out a caption for our picture from the Square. We decided to ask a server, but when we asked, I don’t believe he heard our question but just smiled at us. It was an incredibly busy night so we were stuck facing our blocks by ourselves. Nearly 10 minutes later, this same server came to us with the brownie sundae. I said, «we did not order this; you must have the wrong table!» He said «no I don’t, it’s for you.» Though we were completely stuffed already, we still tried to enjoy some part of the brownie sundae. Such a kind, random act of kindness. It is servers like this that keep customers coming back. We didn’t manage to grab his name, unfortunately, but what an amazing end to our Friday in the city!

After giving a talk at a conference nearby, it was recommended that I treat myself at this ice cream shop. I came around 4:30pm on a Thursday, and while relatively busy, there were plenty of seats/​tables open. I ordered the salted caramel brownie sundae ($ 14.50) and a vanilla latte ($ 5.95). The sundae was absolutely gorgeous and delicious, but I was defeated about ¼−1/3 in, so bring a few friends with you! The latte was also made well, and I was a fan. In addition to brownie sundaes, they also serve regular sundaes, sorbet, ice cream scoops and cones, shakes and floats, hot chocolate, and other types of tea/​coffee. The price of their sundaes is definitely a bit higher than I expected, but it would be very difficult for one person to finish it, and worth it as a «treat yoself» moment. There is also plenty of chocolate in their gift shop– I bought a few gifts (including a SanFran-​themed chocolate box) for friends, but they also had their square chocolate in every flavor. While waiting in line to order, I was also given a free square of chocolate, which made me happy. Overall, I’m really glad I tried this place– it was fun!

HAVE AGAIN: the hot fudge sundae was delicious, but a bit steep at $ 11.95. A one scoop ($ 4.95) with hot fudge (+$ 1.25) and nuts (+$ 1.25) was a much better deal.
Service needed to be improved: no one handing out chocolate samples and it was unclear about how the ice cream would be served. But Unilocal had $ 1 coupon which was good for both sundaes.

2016 Unilocal 100 Challenge Review #19
I settled in on the Ocean Beach Sea Salt Caramel Sundae and it was indeed very good but I just felt the price point was too steep. I was visiting San Fran and so I splurged and wanted to say I came here and tried it. They give free chocolate samples when you come in which is nice. Customer service was basic at best.

Came here on my way to the Giants game. It was right at the top of the BART entrance on Montgomery. My wife and I got milk shakes and people watched as we indulged. The shakes were delicious. The price was high!
The overall atmosphere of the place was pleasant with normal noise.

Came here with a friend who was visiting from
out of town, as a part of the whole tourist experience. We shared the world famous hot fudge sundae. I’m not usually a fan of hot fudge, but the sundae was delicious! All of the other sundaes looked great as well. A little on pricey side, but definitely worth the visit.

I’ve definitely had better ice cream at other places. It is a cute little shop though, and a nice place for tourists to rest and buy some chocolate. But I honestly wouldn’t come here if I was craving ice cream – there are just so many better options.

You can’t go wrong with ghirardellis when in SF! Very clean with plenty of seating. We were greeted right away when we walked in and were given a sample of the dark blueberry chocolate. We settled on a salted caramel brownie sundae ($ 1 off with Unilocal check in) which came out to be about $ 15. We were given a number and the sundae was brought out to us.
The sundae had two soft brownies, they were good but I’d say they were more cake like. Either way, we devoured them quickly. Usually brownies with ice cream tend to get rock hard but these didn’t. The sundae had two scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, whip cream and sea salt. You can never go wrong with caramel and sea salt BUT I’d recommend getting sea salt on the side. It was unevenly distributed on the brownie so we got a mouthfuls of salt. We tried scraping some salt off but it didn’t help much. One sundae was good for three of us to share.

I was originally looking for the crème brûlée cart, and my navigation said it was right in front of me oh well, needed to get this sweet tooth craving fixed so ended up at the Ghirardelli square.
It was my first time at this location and its smaller than the one near the pier. But it was definitely really cute. They were giving away blueberry dark chocolate, i’m not really a fan of dark chocolate so it was just okay for me.
Ended up with the worlds most famous hot fudge sundae with chocolate and espresso with espresso chips, and that’s definitely always a HIT!
The staff was super friendly and supervisor, I forgot her name gave me a free waffle cone. She’s so sweet!
Oh and don’t forget to check in so you can unlock your $ 1 off for a sundae!

Very tasty. This isn’t the main touristy location, it is in the heart of the financial district and honestly — that was ok by me. We stayed a few blocks away and was thrilled to find this place. They offer you a full-​size Ghirardelli square when you first walk in — which is a nice greeting. I had a fudge sundae in a waffle cone and my husband has a caramel milkshake. We were both pleased.

Such a cool place to hang out! The store is fairly big in size thanks to their eating area.
All of the workers were very friendly and helpful throughout our chocolate buying experience. Once we walked through the front door we were welcomed by a greeter who gave us free chocolate! FREE CHOCOLATE! Who doesn’t love that!
Walking around the area you can see a couple of chocolate makers do their magic and provide you with samples of what they just mad. The endless options of chocolate gift bags, tins, and create your own was overwhelmingly welcomed!
The reason for the four stars is simple, at the «sundae bar» you can’t see a thing! If you go to the bar to watch the people make ice cream and shakes you can’t see anything because your seats are low and there is just tons of equipment blocking the magic. When I hear bar, I think «open» not a leg with a couple chairs…
P.s left with $ 50 in chocolate and had a sundae UFFFFFFF love!

It’s iconic… you almost HAVE to come to Ghiradellis when you’re in SF, right?
You will be greeted by someone offering a fee sample and that’s pretty cool, but you better bring your wallet if you order anything.
A chocolate chip cookie and hot fudge sundae is gonna run you about 17 bucks, without tip.
Both are mediocre if you ask me, but they must be doing something right cuz they are hugely successful in spite of my opinion about their brand.

The Hot Chocolate is amazing! Choosing a sundae was one of the most difficult options I had during my vacation. Overall the experience was great, the sundae and ice cream were delicious. the only reason why I am not giving 5 stars is because for what you get it is kind of expensive however it is San Francisco so it has to be expected

After having a belated V-​day dinner at my most recent discovery Mourad for the second time in 2 months, we made sure to save room to head over to the Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop for dessert just a few blocks away.
I was excited to find that there was another ice cream shop option outside of what can often be a too touristy and crowded Ghirardelli Square on the weekends. Attached to the Palace Hotel where you can enter through the hotel or from the street side, this shop has a good blend of tourist and locals. In the midst of the Financial District and close to the Downtown area so right by BART, it is a perfect location to drop by to pick up chocolates for yourself or gifts for others. Like most stores, as you enter, you are greeted with a complimentary square to whet your palate before you dive into the many choices available.
Since our home is already on chocolate overload these days, we came for the Ice Cream Sundaes. Starting at $ 10.95 for Sundaes served in the Sundae glasses to up to $ 39.95 for the 8 scoop Earthquake meant for 4, we settled for the middle ground and split a $ 13.50 Land’s End Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae served on a Sundae boat. The brownie was soft and a perfect pairing for the ice cream. I do wish they were less heavy handed with the whip cream though as the entire first bite for both of us was all whipped cream and strange that they do not remove your # after they serve you your order. That meant having to pick up the sticky number tag and return to the counter yourself.
But overall, enjoy having an easier to get to location for a decadent Sundae fix.

I came here and ordered a Brownie Sundae. It was pretty expensive at around $ 15 after tax, but it was a lot — too much for 2 people to finish.
Also, the spoons we got were sticky.
If I were to come back again, I’d order something smaller.

This is the largest of the Ghirardelli stores/​ice cream shops. Often when the Original Ghiradelli store has lines out the door you can walk right in an order at this shop.
You can watch chocolate in many different shapes being made right up front in the store. and there are quite a few more retail options in this store.
They have the same menu as the other locations, last visit I ordered the Lands End — Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae. So much better than the regular brownie sundae, seriously.
I do wish they would get new dishes, they dont seem to contain the ice cream very well and since they are metal they slide around a ton on the stone table surface.

Great ice cream, and lots of it! Ghirardelli is a San Francisco tourist destination, but it is also great for locals looking for something sweet. We tried the chilled cocoa float with mocha chip and vanilla ice cream. The wait time was short, and the drink came out to us with two spoons and lots of whip cream. My girlfriend and I got through most of it, though it was a little too big for the two of us to finish without getting a bellyache. With tax, the bill came to $ 8.98. Highly recommend for folks looking for a solid ice cream fix (and walk through the hotel after for some free live music and nice architecture).

This is probably my favourite Ghirardelli shop out of the three Ghirardelli’s I have been to in San Francisco.
Entering, we were given a complimentary chocolate — I think they’re promoting the minis lately. DE-​LI-​CIOUS. What a smart way to get people to purchase them. They are currently selling 80 minis or 80 of their regular chocolates (which are heavier) for about $ 27.95 which is really worth it for so much chocolates!
This environment is very open and has plenty of seats for those who would like to sit down for a sundae or a drink. We got the brownie sundae (treasure island) in a waffle bowl for about $ 13.50. The brownie was delicious, it was chewy, with a lot of fudge beneath it. The ice cream was alright, well of course, Ghirardelli specializes in chocolate, so I wouldn’t expect their ice cream to be amazing. Their waffle bowl was dipped in chocolate, usually in other places, you would need to pay extra, but I suppose for a chocolate shop, chocolate dipped waffle bowl is the only option. It had a little TOO much chocolate in my opinion, I would like it if it had less chocolate, so I can have a taste to the waffle bowl, or I would hope that they can give an option of a waffle bowl without chocolate.
The staff are really friendly as one of them kindly let me know that she will be right with me to open the washroom door (code) for me as she was finishing up checkout for another customer.

Uma experiência incrível com sorvete, todo turistas deve conhecer essa soverteria deliciosa!

Okay, so I’ve come to this place twice the first time was in March and the second time was this morning.
REASON FOR ICE CREAM BREAKFAST:
This morning. was a complete accident. My friend and I had to catch a noon flight going back to LA and we didn’t realize most of the dim sum places were closed. Me, being Chinese knows that traditionally Dim Sum places are supposed to be open earlier in the morning for a breakfast/​brunch meal! So I am very disappointed in you SF Chinatown! You shame the dynasty! :P
THE CRISSY FIELD:
Anyways, interestingly enough the store that was open was this sweets shop and out of my friends brilliant idea was to eat ice cream first thing in the morning, like a five year olds dream and a 90 year old diabetic’s nightmare. We ate the crissy field three scoops of cookies and cream ice cream with a soft baked cookie throughout the ice cream. With a ton of whipped cream all over, with cookie crumbles all on top and two dark chocolate Ghirradeli’s to top it allll off.
It is very RICH and CREAMY. Very heavy, I deifnitely could never finish this on my own. The first time I had the Brownie Sundae with a friend and we couldn’t finish it.
LOCATION:
In the heart of DTSF, on the corner just off of the Montgomery Bart station :)