Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream

NOTE TO SELF :
— if they don’t have the strawberry cheesecake flavor get the PB & Oreo icecream.
— ask for your 2 scoops as a sundae with the Carmel

Ice cream galore! So many flavors, so little time! They had a multitude of ice cream, but the ones I had to try was the Peanut Butter Oreo (my choice), Peanut Butter Guava Jelly, and Blueberry Cheesecake! All gourmet flavors, all delicious!
The flight has to be one of best things about this place. You could try a small scoop of up to 6 different flavors. They even have a tiny tray to place each ice cream cone in.
Ice cream isn’t my preferred dessert, but if you’re into ice cream you have to give this place a shot.

We came here on a Saturday night for some desserts. It did not disappoint. The line moved fairly quickly and we didn’t have to wait long.
We tried 4 flavors flight. We got lychee, thai tea, chocolate, and kona coffee. My favorite would have to be lychee and chocolate. The flavors were on point and the chocolate was so delicious and not overly sweet. The lychee was very refreshing. Kona coffee wasn’t bad but thai tea flavor didn’t stand out for me.
Overall a nice cute place to end your date day or night with some ice cream

As an ice cream connoisseur, I have to seek out the best ice cream in every city I visit.
Hammonds offers over 20 of their made-​in-​Hawaii flavors at any given time. That’s a lot of options for anyone (ice cream fan or not) to choose from. Luckily, this spot offers ice cream flights so you don’t have to commit too a unique flavor (like Peanut Butter Guava Jelly) or regret being safe with a classic (side eye to Oreo). I tried 6 tiny cones of cute scoops and approved of each one. Kona Coffee and the Rose flavors scored 100s all around.
Why don’t more ice cream shops do this?
This spot is cleanly lit, modern, aims to be eco-​friendly. And you will probably want to instagram the heck out of it. –_–

This ain’t your regular ol’ ice cream shop with 31 shades of vanilla. This place offers creative flavors where you can sample away by ordering ice cream flights (so genius)!
Flavors:
–Ginger cream: Nice refreshing flavor without being overly gingery
–Lavender: I love lavender ice cream, so this was great to me! You can definitely taste the lavender, so if you don’t like floral flavors, you might not like this.
Service:
–This is where they lose a star. The staff was very patient, but man, there has to be a better and quicker system for ordering. They should make the menu larger and closer to the ice cream display so that people know exactly what they want to sample and order when they get to the front. Otherwise, you’re waiting for grandma, grandpa, uncle, great-​uncle, great-​aunt twice removed, and their mom to sample and order!

Summer is coming… so when you are screaming for some ice cream, this is the place to go. Oh my do they have delicious flavors! The ice cream was out of this world. I would go back again and again. Loved the lychee cream and thai tea amongst others.
The was a little but if a line but it moved quickly. The tables were messy from previous customers, but ok, just wiped it off with a napkin and didn’t lick the tables.
The place has a artsy/​modern/​diy kind of vibe.
See you again Hammond’s!

Let me lay it out for you. (TLDR is below.)
– What I ordered –
–1 scoop of Banana Storm in a mini waffle cone (waffle cone is 25 cents — didn’t get to see how much the mini scoop itself was)
– Wait time –
–None! Went at a pretty odd time (Wednesday around 9PM), and the store was still spotted with customers sitting and enjoying their ice cream. There was a family that came in right after us, so the flow of the store (in terms of business) was pretty consistent. I’ve seen lines here being out the door, so it’s probably a lot different on the weekends.
– Ambience –
–Cute and very calming to the eye! The walls are painted in beautiful, welcoming mint green color that you can talk amongst for hours. The place has a few tables and chairs, and high ceilings that make the store appear even more spacious.
– Now for the Good Stuff –
So unlike a lot of the reviews, I ended up getting just a mini cone as opposed to the ice cream flights. And after a heavy night of tacos, I think this was the perfect way to wrap up the night.
I looked at the highlights mentioned in a lot of the reviews here and decided to try one of their most popular flavors: Banana Storm (which consisted of a banana ice cream base, bits and pieces of strawberry, as well as oreo chunks). Initially, it didn’t sound as appealing to me, but after taking one bite of a sample, I had to! The banana flavor was complimented by cookie chunks, and the strawberry purée was a very nice fruity relief.
The ice cream texture was creamy and had a good amount of thickness to it. It wasn’t too fluffy to the point where it was styrofoam-​y (if you’re an ice cream eater you know what I mean), but not too thick where the ice cream seems to never melt. The texture kind of reminds me of Thrifty’s ice cream… and I know for some of us that sounds a little degrading, but I’m a sucker for Thrifty’s.
Another complaint I read through these reviews that the classic flavors (e.g., mint chip, chocolate, etc.) aren’t as great as they expected. But my theory is, if you’re coming out all the way to San Diego to try this parlor, why not try their specialty flavors? I mean aside from the ice-​cream flight concept, I’m sure their interesting flavors are what cap them as alluring.
Tiff’s Rating: ⁴⁄₅
So, to say in short.
– PROS –
–workers patient and generous in samples
–tons of interesting flavors (ranging from the classics to ones I’ve never tried)
–also a collection of sorbet if you’re more for that
–banana storm! yummy
– CONS –
–pricey (but if they coin themselves «gourmet», what can you expect?)
–parking is a little tricky, especially if it’s really busy
-$ 5 minimum credit card use

*** $ 5 minimum on all credit card purchases & no bills larger than $ 20 ***
Bars, coffees, and gourmet ice cream (as in handmade with 18% butterfat) — the North Park neighborhood has them all! Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream import their ice creams directly from Hawaii (a brand called the Tropical Dreams) and ice creams must be made with at least 50% of local Hawaiian ingredients.
Price: $ 3.99 for small and $ 5.99 for medium. You can get «flights» of mini scoops if you want to try several exotic flavors. Two flights will cost $ 3.49 for cake cones and $ 3.99 for waffle cones & six flights will cost $ 8.64 for cake cones and $ 10.14 for waffle cones. Now if you are REALLY greedy, you can also get flights of all 32 flavors for $ 39.95 for cake cones and $ 47.95 for waffle cones.
***
Five Flights (cake cones with blueberry cream, vanilla, butter pecan, peanut butter & guava jelly, and brown sugar; $ 7.25): Blueberry cream had a hint of blueberry, but tasted slightly too creamy and it might be better to make it more like sorbet. Both vanilla and butter pecan were good, but not outstanding, Peanut butter and guava jelly had too strong of peanut butter flavor and it was a bit too sweet. Brown sugar tasted light and it was the best one out of all five flavors I tried.
***
Pretty expensive for flights of ice cream and there are better gourmet ice cream shops in Los Angeles, but I do like some one-​of-​a-​kind flavors here and it is still ultimately a decent ice cream shop in San Diego.

This ice cream was so d%#* good…
How good was it, Wendy?
So good, I found myself hunting for more while in Hawaii. Hawaii? Because the brand they feature (and I loved) is called Tropical Dreams, imported from the little town of Kamuela on the Big Island. Not sure if all their flavors were that brand, but there is no doubt that many were Hawaii influenced. Those tropical flavors were so real, it is entirely possible you might embarrass yourself by grabbing a ukulele and launching into a hula.
The very next day, we left for Hawaii. Even found a small parlor, Uncle Clay’s in Honolulu, that sold this brand. Well, a lot of good that does me here on the mainland… but what me worry? I now have Hammond’s, three separate San Diego locations. And although Hammond’s is relatively new on the scene… when you feature a great product such as this, it’s easy to stay in business.
As every ice cream aficionado knows, always load up on free tastes first. But I was so smitten, I shorted myself on the free tastings when I discovered…
POG sorbet — Perhaps I am a bit dated, but «pog» to me meant «a cardboard or plastic disk printed with a design or picture, used in a children’s game involving the flipping over of piles of such disks.» Thank you, Wikipedia. At least, that was the 1980’s version. In a frozen dessert? I think not!
But for those as clueless as I… the Hawaiian version went more like this:
P = passion fruit, O = orange, G = guava. Yes, POG. Now that is something worthy of talking about. It is delicious, refreshing beyond measure. I have always known of my passion fruit addiction, but clearly I must now join POG Anonymous.
Mr. B’s choice was Blueberry Cheesecake. Maybe not so Hawaiian, but… irony… he doesn’t even like blueberries that much. And he agreed, this is one *special* ice cream with a butter fat ratio that will knock your socks off. Translation: So rich and creamy, it will melt quickly.
This is also the home of ice cream flights. So if you are not dedicated to one flavor, good for you! Not all available at the same time, but they boast of having over 300 flavors. And not too sweet either.
Hammond’s, you’ve got my vote. Mahalo, dudes!

Yum Yum Ice Cream!
SITREP
Hammond’s was a wonderful ice cream stop close to the Lafayette Hotel where I was staying on my visit, not more than a hop & a skip away.
What’s cool about Hammond’s is how they let you set up some «Ice Cream Flights», very much in the same fashion that you can get a Beer or the more typical Wine flight.
THE CHOICES
The very intuitive cone flight-​container allows for 6 small cones, or as few as 2 if that’s all you want to pull the trigger for just over 5 bucks, I got four 4 cones, each with a different flavor!:
* I started with Lychee Cream, since it was exotic fusion flavor I could surmise and it was very very smooth!
* Their Cookies & Cream was a very good version of this flavor, but kind of in the middle of what I“ve enjoyed ranging from other parlors and grocery store outlets;
* Their Blueberry Cream was hands-​down was my favorite — creamy, light & bluberry, just what I was hoping for, and definitely the flavor I will get when I come back!
* And their Kona Coffee was pretty much what I expected. Strong flavor, which is why I saved it for last. But very good and the 2^nd flavor I would select if getting a sundae!
I look forward to trying their other flavors too, but with Blueberry & Kona, I have MORE than enough reason already to come back!
PRICE
If you know what you like, you are better off gettng a cone with one flavor, because value per ounce, the flights are 2 – 3 more expensive than the single cone or sundae. So those who already know what they want — or are willing to risk with a single flavor, you’ll get far more bang for your buck over the expensive flights.
THE LOWDOWN
Thank you Hammond’s for a delicious ice cream experience that cools my tastebuds with some delicious tasty cones!

This was actually my first time doing an ice cream flight! Pretty neat idea! They have some interesting flavors and a variety at that. Wasn’t too crazy about most of the flavors but I’m assuming they rotate them. The ice cream was definitely creamy though!

Pricey ice cream! The pint is $ 9.50 and the Cake Flight is $ 8.64. We got a 20% off during Unilocal’s Spring Break but even then the price is high for what it is. I did enjoy our flavors we chose though.
Here is what we have tried:
Dragonfruit Sorbet
Kona Coffee
Lychee Cream
Orange Dreamsicle
Pineapple Coconut Cream
Pineapple Orange Guava Sorbet
Poha Berry
Tahitian Vanilla
Thai Tea
They are all so amazing and so soft and rich in flavor. The fruity flavors were very refreshing as expected, and the Tahitian Vanilla was made with real vanilla. I think the Kona Coffee and Thai Tea were good but predictable so definitely try out the more unique flavors.
The shop is cute with plenty of seating. But we may not come back again because of the prices. Worth the one time try!

Yumm! I came here during Unilocal Spring Break on the last day before going home. I am really glad I was able to check out this place before going home. My boyfriend and I got here after eating ramen nearby and before a big crowd came in. The store is somewhat larger for an ice cream shop and the workers are very nice and helpful.
We went with a flight of 6 to share, 3 for each of us. It was $ 10, but with our Spring Break lanyards, we got 20% off, so it was about $ 8. I must say though, that getting a flight of ice cream is a bit on the pricey side… but I guess that’s all part of the fun. You can try as many samples as you want before committing to which flavors you want. I tried quite a few and had a hard time picking just 3 flavors… but I went with mint chip (my typical favorite), Vietnamese coffee (since I’m Vietnamese and LOVE Vietnamese coffee), and toasted coconut. I also tried lychee, Thai tea, brown butter… My boyfriend went with chocolate peanut butter, mint chip, and I forgot the last he choose. You can choose your flights with either the traditional cake cone or a waffle cone. The price difference is about 10 cents and you can buy anywhere from a flight of 2 to all 32 flavors. After I had chosen my flavors, I saw that there was a beer flavor! You can also get regular sized ice cream if you want, but I think a big draw is being able to have a flight of ice cream. I think a flight of 3 is good for most people, but if you are really wanting ice cream, you may need a flight that includes a few more. The scoops are small as they are about the size of a golf ball. It’s supposed to be richer ice cream from Hawaii.
The shop itself is really clean. There are some tables, bar tables, and outdoor seating. Parking is street parking only. We scored some street parking right to the side of the shop a block away. Ice cream was tasty and had good flavor. I really liked it! I would come here again next time I’m in San Diego! The ice cream here is a bit pricey though, so I while I would come here when I’m in San Diego, I would not come here all the time.

Update: Tried the flights recently. Definitely go for these in a cone vs. just having it in a cup. Jack Daniels and Mango flavor are also good.
—-
Pretty good ice cream for San Diego (the best I’ve had so far if I don’t include gelato places), but not as good as my favorite ice cream place (shout out to A La Minute in Redlands, CA). They have a wide variety of flavors and they were nice enough to let me sample whatever I wanted. Some of the ice cream flavors were hit or miss and the texture of one that I tried was too icy in texture for me, so I recommend trying flavors before buying.
I ordered a large to share in a cup with Poha Berry, Blueberry cheesecake, and Lychee. The texture was nice and super creamy for all three and was almost taffy like when lifted the ice cream with my spoon. Blueberry cheesecake and Lychee were definitely my favorites, but Poha berry was also pretty good and ordered it for more for the purpose of having variety. I wish I got the flights though. I think it may have been cheaper for 3 flavors and my Unilocal picture would’ve looked nicer since the ice cream flavors would’ve been separate in cones. It’s hard to take the flights to go it seems, so I opted for the cup, so it would be easier to walk around with my ice cream.
The inside is nicely decorated and cute. We parked in the North Park garage across from Dark Horse coffee and walked to Hammond’s. The other con is that Hammond’s is probably the priciest ice cream I’ve had. I think I paid about 8 dollars for a large and the quantity really seemed like more of a medium to me.
I prefer gelato on most occasions, but when I’m craving ice cream in San Diego; Hammond’s is my top choice for now.

A great place in North Park that serves up deliciously rich and expensive ice cream.
It seems very popular though there isn’t much parking surrounding it as is common in the area.
I like the simple décor and all the extra seating.
The plants as center pieces and the ice cream scoops display is pretty cool.
The flight of ice cream range from three to 36!
If you’re in a huge group try the 36 and share. If you’re by yourself or with a friend, buy a scoop unless you really want to get other flavors.
Bring cash unless you’ll be spending more than $ 5 as they do charge a nominal fee. Remember to rip well as the workers are predominantly students.
Try the blueberry ice cream as well as the mango. My favorite was the peaches and cream…
Mmmmmmmm!

The Hammond’s ice cream shop is located in North Park neighborhood of San Diego. I was craving some ice cream and my friend recommended this place. I was so happy she did. The place was spacious with indoor and outdoor seating. A restroom is towards the back of the shop.
As the name suggest, Hammond’s offers an array of delicious, specialty ice cream. Flavors change every now and then but some include, thaI tea, lavender, P.O.G (pomegranate, orange and guava), blueberry cheescake, lychee, vanilla rose, peanut butter guava jelly, chocolate peanut butter oreos, ube, green tea and much much more! You can get scoops, sundaes, and floats. What makes this place unique is that they also sell «flights» of ice cream so you can sample more flavors! You can choose up to 6 flavors (or all 32 flavors) on waffle or cake cones. Note waffle cones are pricier.
Prices for scoops:
Small scoop (1 flavor): $ 3.99
Medium scoop (2 flavors): $ 5.99
Large scoops (3 flavors): $ 7.89
Pint: $ 9.50
Prices for flights on cake cone:
Two: $ 3.49
Three: $ 4.35
Four: $ 5.80
Five: $ 7.25
Six: $ 8.64
All 32 flavors: $ 39.95
Prices for flights on waffle cone:
Two: $ 3.99
Three: $ 5.10
Four: $ 6.80
Five: $ 8.50
Six: $ 10.14
All 32 flavors: $ 47.95
My friend and I split a flight of four flavors with waffle cones. We chose lavendar, blueberry cheesecake, mint chcocolate chip and vanilla rose. Prior to choosing our flavors, we sampled A LOT because there were just so many fun flavors! Yeah we were that people in line that literally almost sampled everything haha Thankfully our server was super chill and cool and even encouraged us to try more. Eventually we were like okay, we have made our decision, we need to stop. At first I thought the flights would be too tiny for me and I wouldn’t be satisfied but I was wrong. They give a good amount on each cone even though they may seem tiny scoops but with that mamy flavors we got, I was good. Plus the cones filled me up too.
My favorite flavor was lavendar. It was sooo creamy and delicious. Their mint chcocolate chip was different than ones I’ve normally had since it had a spearmint flavor to it. It was refreshing! For the blueberry cheesecake, I thought it got a bit too sweet towards the end while the vanilla rose was the opposite. I felt that at the end, I lost the taste of the «rose» part of the vanilla rose. Regardless all the flavors were great and I’ll definitely come back!

Absolutely love places where they have sample sized things. Why? It gives me more variety. Rather than having a huge entrée, I’m able to try more things all at once! Yay.
At Hammond’s, you can get a regular scoop of ice cream or you can get one of their flights which is what we chose to get! We chose to order a flight of six so we could try multiple flavors. We got mint chip, tahitian vanilla, kona coffee, cookies n cream, pistachio, and banana storm (banana ice cream, strawberry purée, and oreos. My favorite was the banana storm for sure. It had a very interesting flavor! The flight came to about $ 8 – 9. I saw that there was an option to have a sample size of all the flavors… which was around $ 40ish dollars I think? Craaazy!

Ever hate to decide which ice cream flavor you would like? Not here!
Flights of Ice Cream? Yes! You can taste a multitude of ice cream and sorbet flavors on mini waffle or sugar cones. Of course, you can just pick one on a giant cone/​cup as well.
Their PREMIUM ice cream is called premium because they are made with 18% butterfat– oh soooooo not so healthy perse but oh sooooo creamy delicious, so reward yourself!
They rotate among many many flavors. See the menu here:
I really enjoy not only the enormous amount of choices for ice cream but tropical & premium flavors you won’t find everywhere such as chocolate coconut macadamia, lychee, Peanut Butter Guava Jelly, Kona Coffee, and so forth. the list goes on…
Delicious ones to note are the Dragonfruit sorbet, salted caramel, strawberry and blueberry cheesecake, and the P.O.G (Hawaiian made– Pineapple, Orange, Guava).
There often can be a long line so be patient my friends for ice cream is worth it in the end.

I was lucky enough to spend time with my God Daughter during the day and she wanted to cap off the evening by grabbing some ice cream before getting picked up by her mom. We ended up finding Hammond’s via Unilocal.
Not your average ice cream shop. This place serves a variety of wonderful flavors such as: PB& Guava Jelly, Honey Lavender, Azuki Bean (aka Red Bean), Blueberry Cheesecake, and many many other flavors (32 flavors in total). They will rotate a few flavors every so often. One specific flavor that I’ve missed out on and would like to try: Vietnamese Coffee!
They offer standard regular sized scoops of ice cream, but they also offer «flights» of mini scoops. You can order anywhere from 2 — 6 flights… or 32 flights (all flavors)! They have both regular sized cake and waffle cones (for a little bit more $), but make them mini sized as well (for the flights).
We each ended up getting 12 flights total (two orders of 6 flights), and it was more than enough. We ended up not finishing all of it, but it was nice to taste the different flavors for the next time we visit. By the way, they have a waffle press and make their waffle cones fresh!
The manager served us and she was pretty friendly. The store was clean and had plenty of seating.
Anyone who has ever ventured to North Park can tell you parking can be a pain. There are pay and go parking lots available. At least you can walk off some of the calories.
⁵⁄₅ — Ice Cream flavors (lots of choices)
⁵⁄₅ — Concept (we loved the idea of being able to order flights)
⁴⁄₅ — Atmosphere /​Cleanliness
⁴⁄₅ — Service
³⁄₅ — Parking
*Other ice cream flavors: Orange Dreamsicle, Kona Coffee, Salted Caramel, Mango Sorbet, Tahitian Vanilla, Chocolate Chocolate Chunk, Strawberry Cheesecake, Thai Tea, Vegan Chocolate, and many more (total of 32). #DecisionsDecisions

So much to choose from! Brain overload!!!
Just give me two flights of six and surprise me.
My wife also ordered the root beer float with Tahitian Vanilla, she was very pleased. My little one tried each flavor from the flights and decided she liked the Simply Chocolate and Raspberry Sorbet. So I ordered her a 2 scoop cup.
As for my favorites: Blueberry Cheesecake, White Chocolate Macadamia and call me crazy but I enjoyed the Thai Tea. I love Boba.
The price was a bit steep, but I can’t complain when everyone had a smile when we were done.
I will be back soon for another flight.
WILL THE THAI TEA BE OVERTHROWN!!!
STAY TUNED!