North Park · Best Ice Cream in San Diego
Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream Review
Last updatedRanked #1 of 7 in Best Ice Cream in San Diego
Hawaiian-inspired ice cream with a dense, creamy texture. The lilikoi quark and flight program are the reasons locals keep coming back.
Score breakdown
- Texture96/100
- Flavor94/100
- Creativity92/100
- Value86/100
- Atmosphere88/100
The verdict on Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream
Ranked #1 of 7 — 93/100 in our Best Ice Cream in San Diego coverage
Hammond's is the best ice cream shop in San Diego because it treats texture as seriously as flavor. The base is dense and creamy, with a slow melt that lets you taste the ingredients as they warm on your tongue. The Hawaiian-inspired flavors are the signature: lilikoi quark balances passionfruit tang with a cheesecake-like richness, and the flight program lets you sample without committing to a full scoop. The North Park shop is small and often busy, and the staff is generous with samples. It is the destination ice cream shop that locals and tourists line up for equally.
What to order at Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream
Across our coverage the recommendation is consistent: Hawaiian flight or lilikoi quark.
Order a flight. The scoops are small enough to try four or five flavors without sugar overload.
Is Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream worth the price?
Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream sits at $5–9 — the budget band for this category. Nothing else we ranked in this category lands in the same price bracket, so the comparison is against cheaper or pricier alternatives rather than a like-for-like rival.
Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream FAQ
Is Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream expensive?
Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream is priced at $5–9, which puts it in the budget band for this category. There is no other option at the exact same price point on the same list, so treat it as its own bracket.
Is Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream worth it?
It scores 93/100, 4.6 points above the 88.4 average for its list. That's a solid recommendation within the category.
What should I order at Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream?
We recommend the Hawaiian flight or lilikoi quark.
What else is nearby Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream?
Tribute Pizza (93/100 in our best pizza in san diego list) and Devil's Dozen (92/100 in our best donuts in san diego list) are also ranked in the same neighborhood, so it's easy to pair a visit.
What works
- Strong texture — scored 96/100 in our ranking
- Strong flavor — scored 94/100 in our ranking
- Strong creativity — scored 92/100 in our ranking
- Top-1 finish out of 7 spots we scored in this category
Know before you go
- Order a flight. The scoops are small enough to try four or five flavors without sugar overload.
The full review
Hammond's is the best ice cream shop in San Diego because it treats texture as seriously as flavor. The base is dense and creamy, with a slow melt that lets you taste the ingredients as they warm on your tongue. The Hawaiian-inspired flavors are the signature: lilikoi quark balances passionfruit tang with a cheesecake-like richness, and the flight program lets you sample without committing to a full scoop. The North Park shop is small and often busy, and the staff is generous with samples. It is the destination ice cream shop that locals and tourists line up for equally.
On our weighted scale it earns 93/100 — the top score of all 7 places we evaluated for best ice cream in san diego. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes.
What to order at Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream
Hawaiian flight or lilikoi quark
Price: $5–9
How we scored Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream
Every score on this page comes from the same editorial rubric we apply to the whole category: texture, flavor, creativity, value, atmosphere. The criteria are weighted toward what matters most in the category, compared against every other place we ranked in the same list rather than against an abstract ideal. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes. Scores are editorial judgments rather than aggregated user ratings.