Niederfrank’s Ice Creams

This place is right down the street from where I work and my co-​workers always talk about it. I finally got to stop by here the other day to try what they have been raving about for months. Everything here is 100% natural and they make all the ice cream in house. The girl behind the counter told me they have been there for 66 years, they must be doing something right!
There are a bunch of flavors and you can taste test any flavors that you want to try. I had the red mint chip, it was delicious! I think I am addicted to this place now.

Old school ice cream shop keeping it real for well over a half century. Walk in to the classic ice cream shop. Lots of classic flavors and some interesting ones without getting too whacky. Everything is made naturally. Ordered the kahlua crunch, red mint chip and cinnamon.
Everything was delicious. Kahlua crunch was rich and delicious. They’re pretty generous with their ingredients and make sure everything is mixed up well and balance. Ordered the red mint chip because I was hoping it was a little different from my childhood favorite. Well, the only difference is it’s red. Got the cinnamon due to a recommendation from Master Soo H. Normally I’d never order this flavor, but so happy I followed his recommendation. Some pretty sophisticated flavors and kept getting a maple after taste. Pretty amazing that one of the most basic flavors packs the most flavor.
This is an incredible place and nice historical business for National City. Hands down the best ice cream I’ve ever had in So Cal. A great place to experience. You’ll get some major points with anyone if you bring them Niederfrank’s over store bought.

The ice cream was decent. The flavors were good. The customer service was horrible. The gal behind the counter was one step away from being out-​right rude and incompetent. She was annoyed that I wanted a flavor that needed to be refilled. She scooped the ice cream and then took her time dramatically writing out the names of the flavors (she messed up and had to do it all again). She seemed to totally disregard my time as a customer. I would only go back if I was already in the area; I would not drive out of my way.

When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, ‘Ours.’
Vine Deloria, Jr.
My kid was a climber. She loved climbing on the bars and beams in gymnastics. She loved climbing the rocks in rock climbing class. She loved climbing the Indian that use to be in the front of the store. I noticed the Indian has been moved to the back where he is safe from climbers. Over the years I’ve seen the owners, daughter of an owner, and various employees behind the counter. Some things stay the same though. The Indian and the delicious ice cream. Staff are very nice giving me samples to help me decide which half gallons to buy. Ice cream is delicious here. Too good to just eat a scoop or two. My fav is the cinnamon. Rich, creamy base with a strong cinnamon flavor. Was back in high school I was hooked on bbq ribs and cinnamon ice cream. Made friend’s with a customer on my paper route and one day he took me to Jim’s Hickory Wood BBQ on El Cajon Blvd. Strong hickory aroma from smoking and the sweet sauce made those my fav ribs in San Diego. Those were the good old days. Sadly Jim’s shutdown around 2000. I searched for cinnamon ice cream for years and found this place had it. Now I make my own bbq and I have scoops of cinnamon ice cream from Niederfrank’s for dessert.
Some other flavors I really love. Passion fruit sorbet has a cold icy base with a very strong passion fruit flavor. Perfect for a hot summer night. Tangerine sorbet has sweet and tangy flavor just like a tangerine. Dark cherry has sweet maraschino cherries and cherry flavored ice cream for when you need to feed your cherry addiction.
When I see the Indian behind the counter I think back on the good old days when my kid climbed on everything.
Review #600

Niederfrank’s was a saving grace for me. On a work trip I found myself in National City, CA and if you’re not familiar with the area, there really isn’t much to be familiar with, but when I saw the old timey sign, i knew I was in for a real treat.
So. Many. Flavors. And I can sample them? Why thank you.
I stuck by my tried and true love of Strawberry ice cream and it was rich and creamy and full of fresh strawberries.
The woman who waited on me was so sweet. I love it when you can tell someone truly loves their job. I have no reason to be out there again but I wish I did because that was probably the best ice cream I have ever had.
If you find yourself in the area you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t check it out. It’s retro and quaint but most of all the ice cream is delicious.

Incredible flavor. First time tried it at Neiman Marcus. Was in the area for a soccer game and took the opportunity to visit. Lemon Custard was the best I have ever had even better than the ice cream at Extraordinary Deserts which is quite good.

Very friendly and the ice cream is genuine, old fashioned awesomeness!!! One of the oldest and best in San Diego!
A MUST stop if you’re near!

I’ve been frequenting Niederfrank’s for numerous years, for me it’s the best place hands down game over in all of San Diego (dare I say) for delicious, all natural, hand made ice cream! Nobody even comes close, nobody.
So if your looking for artificial flavoring, compressed air or unnatural ingredients you’ve come to the wrong place.
On each visit I can rely on having my choice of at least 30 plus flavors including craft beer creations. If your not sure about a flavor, you can get a test taste. They offer cones, cups or half gallon tubs to take home. Call ahead if your wanting a special flavor for the half gallons to see if they have any in stock, as they don’t pack the half gallons while you wait.
The Niederfrank owners are not only impressive ice cream makers, they have forever changed the term community service by leaps and bounds. They are the super heroine’s of what it takes to embrace your community and give back. On the far right wall as you walk in the store is a small beautifully framed plaque from the Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny, 40^th Senatorial District, detailing why Patti Finnegan and Mary Ellen Faught are honored with receiving the Small Business of the Year award on May 28^th 2008.
To mention a few of their accolades, both Mary Ellen and Patti have donated to the National City Library, National City Boys & Girls Club, National City Kiwanis Club, Christmas in July, Rotary Club, local schools, churches and senior centers. Mary Ellen established a «random act of kindness» program with the National City Police Department to reward good deeds in local schools and she is also active in speaking at events that benefit at-​risk juvenile girls. Patti serves as President of the Morgan Square Business Improvement District and Treasurer of the National City Chamber of Commerce. All they need now is a super heroine cape!

I was really excited to try this place! It’s been around forever. Tried it over the weekend and it really wasn’t anything special. It’s a bit pricey for ice cream. I like the old fashion look and that they make it all there. They also have so many options to choose from! They even have milk shakes!. If you have never been try it out!

Given the area and that they have been around since 1948 I was expecting a no frills ice cream shop with fantastic old school made on site ice cream and they did not disappoint!
Service was ok, I got to have a few samples and went with the passion fruit sorbet as it was a really hot day out and it was super tasty and refreshing.
Prices and portions are fair, they have a huge selection, I would guess over 30 flavors in stock so there is really something for everyone.
Easy parking right out front, not very busy when we came in which is good as they only have a few tables to sit at.
Surely not fancy, but worth the stop as it is just about 10 minutes past downtown.

This place was recommended to me by a co-​worker and I’m glad I stopped by. I am rarely in the area but I told myself that if I was in the area I’d stop by.
I got a scoop of the Mexican chocolate and my fiancé got a scoop of the golden pistachio (mango with pistachio) and we both fell in love!
The service is fantastic and the girl who scooped our ice cream even waved and said by as we headed out! She’s super cute!
The parking is pretty sparse because there’s no actual lot but we came on a Saturday afternoon and had no problem with parking in front.
I highly recommend!

Posting a review while posted up in here.
Dope ice cream spot in Nasty City (sike, National City is on the come up). THAI TEA ICE CREAM IS SO DANK! DAS IT! Kahlua Crunch is hella dank too.
They got hella flavors on deck, except green tea :(. Finna try their shakes next time.
Aye their spoons are WEAK tho
Old school vibe inside, tables to sit at inside, benches outside.
A lil bit pricey for ice cream but I don’t mind supporting a place like this.

Ye Olde time ice creamery shoppe located in a quite street, you could almost miss it, but make sure you dont cuz they serve some mighty tasty ice cream. They don’t make them like this any more. Mom and pop shop, looks like it could be from Radiator Springs after Lighting McQueen fixes the town’s neon in Cars. And speaking of neon, the sign out front looks like it used to be neon, would look really cool if they completely restored it. Staff was nice and helpful. The kids and I had the chocolate Mexicano, a scoop was about 3 bucks, prolly a little less than other modern competitors but you also get the satisfaction of buying local. Very hot indoors, but quaint outdoor seating area.

A National City Gem. If you’re looking for good quality ice cream then this is the place for you.
I always get macadamia nut toffee and every time I bring somebody here they enjoy the flavors they get such as: avocado pistachio or rum raisin.

Saw a booth years ago at a jousting competition, and was in the area so I dropped by.
They accept credit cards but with a 3% charge. Parking on the street was easy to find.
Single scoop (single flavor) -$ 3.5, kahlua krunch, very creamy.
The price is a bit steep for a single IMO, but I will be back!

Kaluha Crunch on a sugar cone please!
Cute lil mom & pop shop. They had so many favors to choose from! They even has some stout flavored ones!

There is something nostalgic about eating old fashioned ice cream. For me, it always brings me back to childhood. The hot summer days of running around in the sun, and then having some ice cream to cool down.
I was introduced to Niederfrank’s Ice Cream from another Unilocal Elite — Omar S. I ordered the Avocado Pistachio Ice Cream and it was AMAZING. They must be doing something right if they have been open since 1948 and still make ice cream the old fashioned way. According to their website — «we still make our ice cream by the most antique, inefficient, outdated and expensive process in the world. We think you will agree, the results are delicious!»
I agree. Indeed, I agree. I can’t wait to go back and try the other flavors such as Thai Tea, Macadamia Nut Toffee, Wasabi Sorbet, and Lemon Custard.
Tip: Hours vary. Call before you head over.
Tip: Use restroom before you head over. There is no public restroom.
Tip: Cash only.
ENJOY!

Well this place is historical! One of, if not the oldest establishment in National City. I heard about this place so many times and I really wanted to take my nephew out for some ice cream. With the current construction going on in the area, it was initially hard to find, but I’m a directions girl… i got this.
The shop itself is a little old fashioned, they have a wide selection of flavors and it was hard for me to choose, I’m a pretty basic girl. I got a scoop of the cookie dough. Unfortunately, my scoop barely had any in it! I wasn’t disappointed and it doesn’t stop me from coming back, but geez! lol… hook a girl up with cookie dough, My nephew liked his scoop too. It was a good size to continue to our next foodie stop for coffee. Don’t worry, I didn’t give my 14 year old nephew coffee.
They do accept CC, they actually use an iPad app so you can get your receipts electronically, always helpful. Waffle cones are made in house, you can smell them being made if you come at the right time. They have the legit tools to make them too. Believe me I worked at cold stone, and we made waffle bowls between two cups. lol.

Old school looking spot in National City. The ice cream is amazing! I got the brownie and cream. My friend got the chocolate peanut butter. He’s lactose and he’s willing to eat it.
I was only going to 4 stars because it is a little pricey but the ice cream is definitely worth the price.

Dangerously, it turns out that Niederfrank’s is a mere 7 minute drive (without traffic, probably an hour with) from my house. So although it may seem like the National City location is a million miles away, I can assure you that is only true if you live in North County or crave ice cream during rush hour.
Now, I don’t enjoy cheating on my boy, Mariposa, with another parlor. But although Mariposa is in my ‘hood, there’s just something about their confections that I don’t find… crave-​able. Nieferfrank’s, on the other hand, well, I’ve been thinking about their Thai Iced Coffee ice cream since I finished my scoop.
Niderfrank’s is not… in an area you’d probably find accidentally. Many of the flanking businesses are shuttered, and on a HOT Saturday afternoon in March, both the street and the ice cream parlor were nearly abandoned. That’s good, though, because ice cream is served at a truly glacial pace here, so a crowd would likely mean a substantial wait for your snack.
We tried the mexican chocolate orange peel stone stout, the thai iced tea, and the almond joy ice creams. Of the three, the almond joy was our least favorite. A bit too sweet, lacking in flavor complexity. The Stone ice cream had bitter, beery undertones and was just… excellent.
The Thai Iced Tea ice cream was something else altogether. It was creamy, refreshing, and everything you want a thai iced tea to taste like. Just delicious. This is the flavor we’ll be going back for.
I’m sure you don’t take requests, Niederfrank’s, but if you do, please please please make an Irish whiskey coffee or caramel flavor! That would be excellent. And since you seem to be amenable to boozy ice cream flavors, I will be expecting it next time I make the short drive down the ⁵⁄₁₅.

Niederfrank’s has been around longer than you have, but unless you grew up nearby, you might not have heard of this ice cream shop without help from Unilocal.
Niederfrank’s is our County’s oldest continuously operating «scoop» shop. It’s been tucked away in National City since 1948, when the Niederfrank frères — Elmer and Ed — set up a second-​hand ice cream maker and started the business that would outlive them, passing it to David Allen in the ’70’s, who sold to current owners Mary Ellen Fraught and Patti Finnegan in 1995.
I found the shop last summer, Unilocaling for «ice cream San Diego.» For me, Niederfrank’s is a twenty minute drive, but I’ll commute for love, and its fans insisted that I’d just love the place. Of course, they were right; I was knocked out by the shop’s mostly Philadelphia-​style product. Since then, I’ve eaten many of their flavors, including: Triple Chocolate, Kahlua Krunch and Thai Tea. I’ve also enjoyed Cabernet, Peach and Pear sorbets. My current favorites include: Dark Cherry; Apple Strudel; Lemon Custard; and Chocolate Mexicano.
Through the generations, Niederfrank’s owners have used only natural ingredients, and have eschewed the snobby «artisanship» that leads more modern purveyors to promote strange components and bizarre combinations. Niederfrank’s has always preferred the craftsman-​like development of selections that, even when they vary from the traditional, appeal to a broad range of tastes. This is ice cream for the many; not jazz, but rock ‘n roll.
Consider their Chocolate Mexicano. I’ve tried renditions of the flavor elsewhere, including Normal Heights’ Mariposa Ice Cream, and I’ve made it at home. Everyone (myself included) has the same problem: how to incorporate the chocolate, a marvelous combination of cacao, ground almonds, cinnamon, vanilla and other ingredients, while smoothing out the product’s grainy texture?
Mariposa, serving a horrible, gritty mess, seems to have given up. I’ve had success steaming the chocolate with my espresso machine before adding it to my base, but that’s more effort than I’m willing to put in.
Niederfrank’s solves the problem in a typically yeomanlike manner: they make a blend of Guittard chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and other natural ingredients, and then add it to their base. In other words, they don’t use Mexican chocolate; they replicate it, then they make the ice cream. And this sort of over-​achievement has continued for almost 60 years.
The store is often busy. Lines form while Jessie or one of the other hard-​working staff provide suggestions to the uninitiated, and samples to those who walk in fully aware of what they intend to buy, but want to taste a dozen flavors, anyway. The place fills up when locals break for lunch, and when old-​timers pop in, remembering better days. Tourists increasingly follow their phones down from the Gaslamp and the Zoo. Yet retail is only a part of Niederfrank’s business.
Niederfrank’s distributes its product to shops and restaurants from Mission Valley to Pacific Beach, and from North County to the border. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of those places only offer a few of Niederfrank’s flavors, just scratching the surface. If you want to try their ice cream as Elmer and Ed intended, you’ll have to take a ride down the 5, and back in time.
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Mariposa Ice Cream:
Niederfrank’s Retail Outlets:

On a hot September day, nothing beats having some ice cream. The ice cream here is advertised as being all natural old fashion ice cream, and it certainly is incredible ice cream. The lady inside was more than happy to give us samples of any of flavors they offered and this place offers tons of flavors every day on a huge menu board in the front. Being the peanut butter fiend that I am, I tried the Sweet cream and chocolate peanut butter ice cream, with real chunks of peanut butter in every bite, this ice cream was amazing. Not too overloaded with sugar or too much cream, this ice cream definitely hits the spot as being balanced flavor wise.
What I don’t understand is the «Cash Only» sign on the wall, but the credit card logos stuck to the front door. For two medium sized scoops at $ 5.25, its not that bad of a deal at all, especially when you consider the quality of the ice cream. This place definitely deserves the great reviews its getting, its fantastic ice cream.