Scoop — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Scoop's ice cream really has great texture - it's very indulgent, luscious, and creamy. Unfortunately, that's where it ends for me.

They have many interesting flavors but they list only the names - no details about what's inside, what's special, etc. Many flavors are not even on display either - so you can't "window shop" to see what the base is / what's mixed in. And in case that wasn't enough, they don't give out samples.

I asked about a few flavors, but the staff member there on a weekday afternoon was only able to repeat back the flavor names (language barrier).

So, good luck to you picking flavors.

In case it helps: I've tried Thai tea, black sesame, peanut butter indulgence, and rum vanilla. Peanut butter indulgence turned out to be a chocolate base with chocolate peanut butter chunks inside (think Reese's peanut butter cups), and that's been my personal favorite. Thai tea and rum vanilla tasted like their names implied and were not particularly memorable. Black sesame was just plain bad, like eating sweet, cold, dirt - not recommended.

Because their specialty is an ultra-creamy texture, licking or biting their ice cream in a cone actually wasn't enjoyable for me - the creaminess just sort of coated my tongue and it felt soupy more than anything - I couldn't taste much. I much preferred savoring it bit by bit from a cup with a spoon. But, their cups ended up being super compostable: mine actually started to dissolve while I was still eating the ice cream, which was disgusting since I accidentally started eating cup material...

If you do go for cones: I've tried their chocolate dipped waffle cone, but the chocolate layer was way, way too thick. The thick chocolate got rock hard when cold from the ice cream, so biting into it was like biting glass - literally painful - not recommended.

I've never seen anyone order drinks here, but I actually tried their European hot chocolate once - it was way too sweet, burned me so badly, was lumpy, and just looked to be some premix they microwaved and poured into a sad paper cup after I ordered it - not recommended. You're much better off at one of the many nearby cafes for coffee (or even drinking chocolate) where hot drinks are their specialty.

Word of warning for my LGBTQ+ friends and allies: I'm gender non-conforming and as I was walking out, the staff member started to gossip with another person that walked in about my gender expression (they seemed to know one another). They didn't think I could understand them (thanks?), but I happened to understand the language they were speaking and confronted them about it. Needless to say, I won't be returning.

I'm going to give some other shops a try. There are quite a few ice cream places popping up...

My husband and I have this thing where we only eat ice cream when one of us had a bad day. We were driving by this place last Saturday October 21,2023 at 10:15 pm and it wasn’t too busy. First time trying out this place and we were both excited. The man in front of me was served by a lady, she was giving him free tastes (LIKE ALL ICE CREAM SHOP WHO GIVES FREE TASTE WITHOUT ANY HESITATION) ordered his flavor and got his toppings. I was assisted by another worker. I asked this guy If I could try out some of the flavors and he told me “OH I’M SORRY FREE TASTE IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW” and I’m like what? the guy before me was just doing his free taste and he said “YEAAAAA, NO FREE TASTE IS CLOSED”.. I kept my cool and just ordered two of the flavors I wanted to try I asked him for toppings and guess what he said “YEA WERE NOT DOING ANY TOPPINGS I WAS JUST TOLD RIGHT NOW” and this guy was right in front of me the whole time. I blankly stared at him and just checked out anyway. He even punched in my number when take note the guy before me was still paying so I had to pay before the guy ahead of me. It was like wanting me out of the shop ASAP.There was a mom and daughter behind me who thank God was not served by him. Imagine if he had to say that around children who thinks ice cream shops should be a place of comfort. Im not really one to say something negative about any business but this was just a poor experience and thankfully we didn’t have any kid with us. We were there to end the day well and this guy just ruined it. Also ruined how the ice cream tasted ad I didn’t even want to touch it after being treated that way. My husband was patiently waiting outside when we were observing the guy who is now giving free taste to another customer just after I left when he said “FREE TASTE IS CLOSED” What kind of ice cream shop is open till midnight but closes giving free taste? This was just terrible. If you happen to be there on a Saturday at around 10PM don’t even bother going if the guy is on shift, a few blocks away is Salt and Straw they’re more than happy to give you toppings and free taste, as all ice cream shops should. I have no idea how the ice cream tasted all I remember was this terrible experience of service.

Message to the owner to let this guy know that if he’s unhappy with his job he should quit. He doesn’t deserve to be greeting people or serving them with that attitude. You have no idea how you affect...

We've been going to scoop regularly for the last three years or so. It's situated in the middle of downtown Palo Alto which is swarming with ice cream / Gelato / froyo places (at least 7 others within walking distance) and Scoop is by far the best. About two years ago we took a trip to Portland and were dragged to "this amazing ice cream shop" called Salt and Straw. We tried it and were not impressed -- the chocolate there was gritty compared to Scoop. During the time we've been going to Scoop, Creamistry came and went across the street as well. They were good, but the ice cream wasn't quite as rich as Scoop's slightly larger batch nitro style is (worth going once or twice for the show though)!

I believe that the ownership changed sometime in 2018 as the staff went from being random teenagers to seeing more of the same faces regularly, and the staff treat us really well (generous samples and portions). It is a family run establishment and it shows. In that time they went from having flavors rotating every day or two to about a week between changes, but if anything the quality went up. The mint and cookies (a highlight) is even mintier than before.

The ingredients are all fresh and quality -- and it shows.

My highlights from their "always on" menu are (in no particular order as it's mood dependent): Bourbon Vanilla & Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cup Mint and Cookies

--also-- the fresh made waffle cones (at the counter daily) are outstanding, and the real, dark chocolate that the pro version is dipped in goes really well with their super smooth plain chocolate flavor.

Sadly, we are moving out of the neighborhood, and won't be able to get Scoop as often as we have in the past, but we'll definitely be making the occasional trip up just for some Scoop!

My advice: buy local! Skip Salt &Straw, walk past Cream, and go directly to Scoop, you...