Pacific Beach / Mission Beach · $7–12 · Ranked in 1 list
Last updated
Quick answer
The Baked Bear is a Pacific Beach / Mission Beach spot ranked #4 of 7 in our Best Ice Cream in San Diego list, scoring 88/100 in our Best Ice Cream in San Diego. Order the custom ice cream sandwich. Custom ice cream sandwiches with freshly baked cookies and brownies. The best dessert experience in Mission Beach.
We scored The Baked Bear 88/100 in our full editorial review.
The Baked Bear is in Pacific Beach / Mission Beach, San Diego. Give yourself a few extra minutes for parking on weekends — Pacific Beach / Mission Beach fills up early on sunny days.
On our Best Ice Cream in San Diego list, The Baked Bear lands at #4 of 7, just behind An's Dry Cleaning (90/100) and ahead of Mariposa Ice Cream (87/100). Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream holds #1 with 93/100, so the gap is 5 points.
The Baked Bear scores 88/100 against a best ice cream in san diego field that averages 88.4, running from 84 at the bottom to 93 at the top. That is 0.4 points below the category average, though it still finishes ahead of 3 of the 6 other places we scored. It lands 4th of 7, and the category leader is 5 points clear.
Judged criterion by criterion, The Baked Bear separates itself most on creativity (92/100 versus a 89 category average). Its softest showing is texture at 88, 1.7 points under the field. Those two numbers are the honest summary: this is a place you pick for creativity, not for a clean sweep of every category.
The Baked Bear scores versus the Best Ice Cream in San Diego category average
Criterion
The Baked Bear
Category avg.
Difference
Texture
88
89.7
-1.7
Flavor
88
89.4
-1.4
Creativity
92
89
+3
Value
84
84.3
-0.3
Atmosphere
90
87.1
+2.9
Scores are Sandi Spots editorial judgments, compared against every other place we ranked in best ice cream in san diego.
Who The Baked Bear is right for
Go if
You care about creativity — it beats the category average by 3 points there.
You care about atmosphere — it beats the category average by 2.9 points there.
Skip it if
Texture is your priority — it scores 88 against a 89.7 average here.
Flavor is your priority — it scores 88 against a 89.4 average here.
You want a walkable cluster of stops — nothing else we rank sits in Pacific Beach / Mission Beach.
What else we rank near The Baked Bear
The Baked Bear is the only place we have ranked in Pacific Beach / Mission Beach so far, which makes it a destination stop rather than part of a walkable crawl — plan the trip around it.
Know before you go
Hours change seasonally, so we link straight to the venue's live hours instead of publishing a schedule that goes stale.
Expect $7–12 pricing. Budget-friendly. One of the cheaper ways to eat well nearby.
If it is your first visit, order the custom ice cream sandwich before you experiment.
Why The Baked Bear made the list
Texture
88/100
Flavor
88/100
Creativity
92/100
Value
84/100
Atmosphere
90/100
Is The Baked Bear worth it?
Yes, if you are in the neighborhood or nearby.
The Baked Bear scores 88/100 in our Best Ice Cream in San Diego list (#4 of 7). It is strongest on creativity (92) and atmosphere (90). Custom ice cream sandwiches with freshly baked cookies and brownies. The best dessert experience in Mission Beach.
Skip it if value matters most to you — that is its weakest category (84/100).
Plan your visit to The Baked Bear
The Baked Bear is a good fit for ice cream. Because it ranks #4 on our best ice cream in san diego list, it makes the most sense to pair it with nearby stops in Pacific Beach / Mission Beach rather than build a day around a long cross-town drive. Check live hours and availability before leaving, especially for a weekend visit.
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Score 88/100 on this list's criteria · Order: Custom ice cream sandwich · $7–12
The Baked Bear is an ice cream sandwich shop that lets you choose your cookie, brownie, ice cream, and toppings. The cookies are baked fresh, the ice cream is good quality, and the combinations are endless. The Mission Beach location is the most iconic, with a line that stretches down the boardwalk on summer nights. The sandwich is large and messy, and the experience is fun whether you are a kid or an adult. It is not the purest ice cream experience in the city, but it is the most fun one.
Written and fact-checked by the Sandi Spots Editorial team — San Diego residents publishing under Sleep Coast LLC. Every place we recommend has been visited in person or verified against an official source, and no business can pay for inclusion or a higher ranking.
Local, first-hand. Reported on the ground in San Diego County.
Kept current. Prices, hours, and closures reviewed on a rolling basis.
Independent. Affiliate links never influence rankings.