All Our Favorite Ice Cream, Gelato, Soft Serve and Sherbet in Honolulu

7 Gradi Gelato

324 Coral St., Kaka‘ako, @7gradi.gelato

Photo: Melissa Chang

Asato Family Shop

Asato Family flavors are steeped in local kid memories—ice cakes after soccer practice, Green River at the drive-in and sour sweets from the crack seed store. Fans line up outside their shop on Pali Highway (as well as their signature orange pop-up truck, which appears at local festivals) with cooler bags in tow. If li hing mui, kūlolo and White Rabbit candy mean something to you, then follow Asato Family’s socials and find out which confection is about to become your next favorite sherbet. Last fall, they whipped up a crème brûlée flavor—smooth custard sherbet topped with a crispy layer of scorched sugar. Needless to say, I’ll be back in line pretty soon with my cooler bag. —Alexander Pang, Frolic

I love li hing flavor, so I love Asato Family’s li hing float (or any li hing flavor, really). —Melissa Chang, Frolic

1306 Pali Hwy., Downtown, asatofamilyshop.com, @asatofamily

SEE ALSO: Roll With It: Asato Family Sherbet Truck Hits the Road

Dave’s Ice Cream

I’ve been going to the Pearl City Dave’s Ice Cream since high school for its great kūlolo flavor, which they make on-island using local ingredients. I like that it’s not too sweet, and it has a slightly nutty flavor thanks to the coconut. —Sheadon Shimabukuro, Eleven 17

Multiple locations, daveshawaiianicecream.com, @davesicecream

Photo: Melissa Chang

Double Fat Ice Cream

If I’m not mistaken, Double Fat’s signature honey furikake ice cream is their best seller, and it’s the best for me, too! It sounds like it would be really salty, but it’s actually more of an umami bomb. It’s awesome as a chaser to a fried chicken sandwich. They only sell pints out of Onda Pasta & Provisions now. —MC

Onda Pasta & Provisions, 3449 Wai‘alae Ave., Kaimukī, @doublefaticecream

Photo: Christine Labrador

The Halo Halo Place (formerly Magnolia Ice Cream & Treats)

Yes, there’s a salad at an ice cream shop! Buko salad is a Filipino party fruit salad that’s available in ice cream form at The Halo Halo Place. It’s a sweet milk base with young coconut and speckled with colorful mixed fruit, such as pineapple, nata de coco (coconut gel) and palm fruit. Ice cream party time! —Christine Labrador, HONOLULU senior art director

Multiple locations, halohaloplace.com, @thehalohaloplace

Photo: Andrea Lee

Henry’s Place

Truly an OG ice cream spot that often gets overlooked by locals because it’s a hole-in-the-wall in Waikīkī. In what looks like a convenience store, two of the fridges are filled with ice cream and sorbet in classic flavors, such as mango and coffee alongside kookier ones like durian and corn and cheese. Each one is made and labeled by hand. If you spot your favorite fruit in the fridge, I bet you’ll like the ice cream or sorbet Henry’s makes with it. And you might think $10 is a lot to spend on ice cream, but it comes in a coffee cup and is big enough to share among a group or take home and enjoy over several dessert times.

I’ve written about the lychee ice cream at Henry’s Place a few times now, and that’s always 10/10, no notes. If you love lychee, you gotta try it. A new favorite is the calamansi lime sorbet, which is tangy and sweet and just sour enough to awaken your taste buds without making you pucker. The sorbet’s texture is much icier and so refreshing on a hot day. —Andrea Lee, HONOLULU digital editor

234 Beach Walk, Waikīkī, @henrysplacehi

Photo: Brie Thalmann

Il Gelato Hawai‘i

Very rarely do I escape an afternoon of shopping at Kāhala Mall without a stop at Il Gelato Hawai‘i for a little Italian ice cream. The intoxicating aroma of fresh waffle cones that floats out from the kiosk-style café always lures me in. The Kona coffee gelato there is excellent. And fans of old-school froyo will love the tart yogurt flavor, which gives major Yami Yogurt vibes. But more often than not, I’m bringing home a pint of the vegan strawberry lemonade flavor. Sweet, zesty, creamy and icy all at the same time, it’s like a sunny summer day in every sumptuous scoop. —Brie Thalmann, HONOLULU home & style editor

Multiple locations, ilgelato-hawaii.com, @ilgelatohawaii.com

Ume soft serve. Photo: Andrea Lee

Matcha Café Maiko

I go practically every month to check out the new soft serve ($6.80). My favorite limited-time flavors have been sakura and ume (both delightfully salty-sweet), though hojicha is another one I’ll drive into Waikīkī for. But even the year-round matcha is always worth getting; the flavor is so deep yet not bitter, like what every matcha latte aspires to be. The soft serve is creamy and impeccably swirled. Just make sure to eat it quickly since it melts fast in the heat. And don’t forget to show your ID for the 8% kama‘āina discount. —AL

2310 Kūhiō Ave. #143, Waikīkī, matchacafe-maiko.com, @matchastand_maiko

SEE ALSO: Sweet Treats: Don’t Sleep on the Hojicha Frappé at Matcha Café Maiko

Photo: Mari Taketa

Niu Soft Serve

Guilt overwhelms me every time I order a Hot Kūlolo Sundae. The two brothers who opened Niu Soft Serve never dreamed this would become their best seller—or that it would take 24 hours of low, slow cooking to achieve the chewy texture and caramelly notes that make kūlolo crave-worthy. They cook batches several times a week, nursing the simmering pots and even bringing in their parents to help. They wish people would stop telling them they love the Hot Kūlolo Sundae so much they can’t order anything else. But I’m one of them. The hot kūlolo slides down the plant-based soft serve and creates a gratifying, creamy lagoon, with toasted mac nuts capping the swirl. I can’t order anything else. —Mari Taketa, Frolic Hawai‘i editor

2320 South King St., Unit B4, Moili‘ili, niusoftserve.com, @niusoftservce

SEE ALSO: Niu Soft Serve’s Hot Kūlolo Sundae Is Its Top Seller (and It’s Vegan)

Photo: Brie Thalmann

Please Come Again

Relatively new to the local dessert scene (Jo and Kyle Wai Lin opened shop just last year), Please Come Again has already garnered a cult-like following for its inventive, offbeat and downright delicious ice cream flavors. If you’re feeling adventurous, I’d suggest diving into the miso salted caramel, which balances sweet homemade caramel with salty Fuwatto Koji white miso cream. For a subtler scoop, the gluten-free shiso mint chip is lovely—it’s mint chip-forward with a delicate shiso finish. Lately, I’ve been loving the cinnamon malasada flavor, made with a heavenly combo of cinnamon crunchies and bits of actual Agnes Bakery malasadas. —BT

Simple but not basic, the vanilla milk ice cream at Please Come Again is essential for hot days and just because. Made with local Lā‘ie vanilla bean, sweet milk and cream. Try two scoops straight up or in an affogato and thank me later. Plus, she’s gluten-free! —CL

322 Ku‘ulei Road, Kailua, pleasecomeagainhawaii.com, @pleasecomeagainhawaii 

SEE ALSO: Sweet Treats: Kailua’s New Ice Cream Parlor Has One Request

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Sage Creamery

Sage Creamery is the kind of feel-good story everyone loves. Born from the ashes of the 2020 pandemic, this family business took the figurative spilled milk and created a cult following. Using O‘ahu ingredients like Makaha Mangoes and Mānoa Honey, Sage creates magic in a satiny base of organic cream. The Lā‘ie Snow Cream is simple and straightforward and makes both my inner child and 50-plus-year-old me smile. —Gregg Hoshida, Frolic

My favorite ube ice cream is the Ube Crinkle Cookie flavor from Sage Creamery in ‘Ewa Beach. All of their ice cream is made in-house with organic dairy and local ingredients (as often as possible). It’s rich and not excessively sweet! —Aaron K. Yoshino, HONOLULU staff photographer

91-3575 Kauluakoko St., #3005, ‘Ewa Beach, sagecreamery.com, @sagecreamery

Slice by HB Baking

At pastry chef Heather Lukela’s HB Baking in Kilohana Square, the “Scoops du Jour” board has a secret weapon: Boozy Scoops. If Mango Mezcal Margarita Sorbet is there, don’t hesitate. Fresh mango meets smoky mezcal, tart lime and a splash of orange in the dreamiest sorbet texture. By the end, you won’t know if you’re buzzed or just giddy from the flavors—and it won’t matter. Not into mezcal? Go for the Hibiki Suntory Whisky or Bailey’s and Coffee; the balance of flavors and textures are divine. Just remember: Scoop responsibly. —MB

1016 Kapahulu Ave., Kapahulu, @slicebyhbbaking

Photo: Martha Cheng

Via Gelato

It’s both a bold move and also common sense for a dessert shop to set up in the middle of Kaimukī, which has some of the best restaurants on the island, many with their own dessert menus. But pretty much any time I eat in the area with friends, we end the night at Via Gelato. If I’m stuffed, I’ll get a cup, but I try to leave room for a waffle cone stacked with black sesame, ube Oreo or mint chip. As much as I love ice cream, the creaminess of gelato’s lower-fat content wins me over almost every time. —Katrina Valcourt, HONOLULU executive editor

Let me sing the praises of Via’s mountain apple sorbet. Aside from being vegan, it tastes exactly like the sweetest ruby-red fruits that appeared on my tree one year, so plump and heavy the entire branch fell down. The tree has never since replicated that glory, but Via’s mountain apple sorbet appeared just as the weather turned scorching in early summer, and it’s still there. —MT

1142 12th Ave., Kaimukī, viagelatohawaii.com, @viagelatohawaii

Read the rest of the series:

All Our Favorite Pizzas in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Burgers in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Matcha Drinks in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Shave Ices in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Sandwiches in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Fried Chicken in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Cold Noodle Dishes in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Fries in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Musubi in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Poke in Honolulu
All Our Favorite Doughnuts in Honolulu