Best ice cream in Sacramento? Bee readers say these 5 shops are top notch

Brianna Taylor
·3 min read

Year after year, Bee readers’ favorite ice cream spots haven’t changed much.

In 2022, our readers ranked the best ice cream spots in Sacramento. We circled back to see if the favorites still stand.

Spoiler alert: they do, mostly.

The now-closed Devil May Care Ice Cream and Frozen Treats dominated The Bee’s 2022 spring poll. This year’s top picks don’t stray too far from the rest of the list, making it clear that Sacramentans are as loyal to their dessert as they are to the Sacramento Kings.

The Bee’s 2022 top five ice cream picks included Devil May Care Ice Cream and Frozen Treats (666 votes), Gunther’s Ice Cream (288 votes), Leatherby’s Family Creamery (128 votes), Vic’s Ice Cream (115 votes) and Dairy Queen (65 votes).

One year later, Bee readers cast more than 500 votes to settle the debate before summer begins. Remember: This poll is not scientific — it’s for fun!

This is where to get the most delicious scoop of ice cream in the city of Sacramento, readers say, in order of most votes cast:

Gunther’s Ice Cream

Gunther’s Ice Cream has been a Curtis Ark staple since the 40s. The ice cream shop ranks on The Bee’s Top 5 list of best ice cream in the city of Sacramento for the second year in a row.
Gunther’s Ice Cream has been a Curtis Ark staple since the 40s. The ice cream shop ranks on The Bee’s Top 5 list of best ice cream in the city of Sacramento for the second year in a row.

227 votes | Location: 2801 Franklin Blvd.

Gunther’s Ice Cream has been scooping dessert in Sacramento since the 1940s, according to its website. The ice cream spot was named the best in California by Food and Wine magazine and the best in Sacramento by PBS Food.

Ice cream scoops, milkshakes and finger food range from around $4 to $10, according to the shop’s website.

Leatherby’s Family Creamery

Leatherby’s Family Creamery started on Arden Way in Arden Arcade, photographed on Thursday, Dec 3, 2020, in 1982 and now has three locations in the Sacramento region.
Leatherby’s Family Creamery started on Arden Way in Arden Arcade, photographed on Thursday, Dec 3, 2020, in 1982 and now has three locations in the Sacramento region.

104 votes | Locations: Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove

Leatherby’s is a family-owned ice cream parlor and sandwich shop that serves dessert as well as finger food like burgers, onion rings and chicken strips.

Prices range from $4.49 for one scoop of ice cream to $22.99 for the blended crab on sourdough bread, according to the shop’s website.

Vic’s Ice Cream

88 votes | Location: 3199 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento

Situated in Land Park, Vic’s Ice Cream parlor is an old-fashion creamery serving cones, milkshakes and ice cream sundaes.

Prices range between $2.50 and $12, according to its website.

Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw’s Jackie Nelson hands a sample to midtown resident Georgia Russell at the opening day of the shop on R Street in midtown Sacramento on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Russell was considering several of the store’s zany flavors – including strawberry balsamic, pear and bleu cheese, or spiced goat cheese pumpkin pie – while waiting in line.
Salt & Straw’s Jackie Nelson hands a sample to midtown resident Georgia Russell at the opening day of the shop on R Street in midtown Sacramento on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Russell was considering several of the store’s zany flavors – including strawberry balsamic, pear and bleu cheese, or spiced goat cheese pumpkin pie – while waiting in line.

28 votes | Location: 1710 R St.

The only chain business to make the list was the small-batch ice cream company Salt & Straw.

The Portland, Oregon-based shop opened a single Sacramento location in September and serves zany flavors like mango habanero IPA sorbet, strawberry cilantro lime cheesecake and sweet corn and waffle cones.

Prices range from $5.95 for a single scoop of ice cream to $12.95 for a pint-sized container.

Yume Gelato

15 votes | Location: 5921 Folsom Blvd.

Last year, Bee readers ranked the East Sacramento dessert shop Yume Gelato as the eighth best ice cream in the city. Now, it’s No. 5.

The gelato shop serves flavors like caramelized honeycomb, coffee brownie and key lime pie. A to-go pint-sized container cost $11.99, according to the gelato shop’s Facebook page.

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