Ube — the vibrant purple yam from the Philippines — has gone from community staple to citywide obsession in San Francisco. Its naturally sweet, vanilla-adjacent flavor and unmistakable violet hue make it one of the most photogenic and delicious ice cream flavors you can find. If you're chasing the best ube scoops in the city, here's where to look.
Garden Creamery in the Mission is widely considered the gold standard for ube ice cream in SF. Owner Erin Lang crafts small-batch scoops using real ube sourced from Filipino suppliers, resulting in a deeply flavorful, creamy experience that goes far beyond food coloring and artificial extract. They also rotate in ube-based specials like ube coconut swirl and ube macapuno, so repeat visits always feel fresh. Pair your scoop with their pandan or calamansi flavors for a full Filipino-inspired flight.
In Japantown, Uji Time Dessert takes a different approach, folding ube into their Japanese-inspired dessert menu alongside matcha soft serve and mochi-wrapped treats. The result is a playful cross-cultural mashup that feels perfectly at home in SF's diverse food scene. Don't miss their ube soft serve with mochi toppings — it's one of the most Instagram-worthy desserts in the city. Nearby, Miyako Old Fashion Ice Cream in Japantown offers a more traditional take with their classic ube scoop that has been a neighborhood favorite for years.
Beyond dedicated ube spots, keep an eye on seasonal menus at shops like Humphry Slocombe at the Embarcadero and Milkbomb Ice Cream in Potrero Hill, both of which have featured ube in limited-edition flavors and donut ice cream sandwiches respectively. The purple yam trend shows no sign of slowing down, and San Francisco remains one of the best cities in the country to explore it.