Curbside Creamery

I was pleased to find this new creamery in my neighborhood! The flavor of my selection – vanilla with whiskey– was great! However, there was a horrible mouthfeel – it felt like fat or butter on the roof of my mouth. The price for the small serving was a bit much as well. Also, the cashier was not personable at all! Impatient and not friendly. Won’t likely return.

The sevice was horrible and overpriced ice cream mediocre. When I say horrible I mean liberal hipster racist horrible. I came in this evening with three other women of color coworkers, we were excited to try Curbside out, never again! There was no one in the shop, the woman working acted as if we were annoying her, they were out of most flavors, plus she aggressively rushed us to choose what we wanted. She coped a major attitude when I asked for a taste of ONE FLAVOR as she served up the scoop (dirty nails and all). An older white woman came in right after us and the server was sweet as pie, I mean literally a Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde switch up, it was so obvious one of my coworkers didn’t order anything in protest, the other made plans to call the owner. Save your money, go somewhere with better service, better ice cream, and less attitude.

I was so excited to treat myself and my colleagues all women of color to some ice cream after a meeting and to our shock and horror the entitled gentrifier working tonight was BEYOND rude. It was nowhere near closing time (8pm) and her stank attitude acted like we were bothering her as we decided which ice cream flavor we wanted. We thought damn well maybe she’s just having a really bad night BUT then a white lady walked-​in after us as were we paying to which the angsty entitled gentrifier worker sweetly asked how she could help them. That was IT. Never again. Don’t come to Oakland or work in Oakland and displace communities of color only to treat us like shit when we come to support your business. Neo liberal racism at it’s best.

I visited here for the first time with my mom. I’m not sure if the woman helping us was annoyed with our inexperience with their establishment or if she was just naturally standoffish with customers. Seeing as how it was my first time there, I asked to sample two ice creams, the vanilla bourbon and the strawberry soft serve. I don’t drink alcohol so the vanilla bourbon was way too strong for me. I thought it was one of those ice creams that included alcohol that couldn’t be tasted but that was DEFINITELY not the case. If you like bourbon, you’ll probably like that flavor. I ordered a small strawberry soft serve. It was tasty and refreshing but it definitely wasn’t creamy like your typical soft serve. It was kind of grainy with quite a few strawberry seeds mixed in.

I don’t get the hype. Location may be the best thing going for this place. The flavors sound more exciting than they taste, the texture is weird and the staff was surly. I do like the milk alternative options. I would happily eat it if it was put in front of me, but doesn’t come close to some of the nearby boutique ice cream competition.

If you like dense and super rich ice cream, this isn’t your jam.
Ice Cream: If you’re lactose-​intolerant and smarter than me, you’ll be happy to find that Curbside offers a variety of vegan flavors (cashew-​based) as well as traditional dairy flavors… I rely to heavily on my lactaid. Conventional ice cream flavors with an innovative gourmet twist, such as adding malt balls and bourbon whiskey to revamp the classic vanilla. My boyfriend inhaled his Vanilla Malt Ball before I could snap a photo, it had small malt balls which gave it great texture and a robust flavor. I had the Fresh Strawberry with chunks of real strawberries, less creamy than most due to the cashew base, but that added a twist of nuttiness which I was fond of. I also had the Pistachio which is the perfect shade of pale green; you know they didn’t add any of that food coloring when you don’t get a bright artificial green color. It contained small pistachio chunks, subtle in flavor, nutty and also creamy (dairy based). Waffle cones are freshly made! I ordered a single scoop and if you look at my photo, the employee was able to split my single scoop into two flavors creating two generously rounded ice cream balls that were pure heaven. Everything we sampled was fresh, fun and succulent.
Price: Let’s end the debate about how expensive this stuff is. Okay, you’re paying a little more than what you’d pay at the next closest ice cream shop, but was the quality and taste the same? I was fortunate enough to receive a large portion, so I’m not complaining.
Ambiance: Curbside is legit at the curb of charm. Endless amount of charm stemming from the smallest little details like signage, color scheme, décor and the fact that it’s at the corner of Temescal Alley.
Service: Nice employee with a great hand for scooping, quick-​service, helpful and friendly.
Overall: Fun and fresh tasting ice cream. Slow-​churned and light, but still filling. Not as dense or rich as other joints, but a good break from the traditional hand-​scooped ice cream. I’ll definitely be back for more scoops.

This ice cream shop is very cute impression from entrance! I am even surprised there many Gulten free and vegan options! I had tasted Mint chocolate chips (non Gulten). It was so good. Comparing other ice cream shop, they are not too sweet, it is just right taste! I will recommend to try this place!

I’d give more stars but I just had to knock them down.):
My sister & I are always eager to go try new food places especially when it comes to desserts. The ice cream here was delicious without a doubt! But it could’ve been a little better. My sister got the Thai Tea flavor with the coconut base, it wasn’t so great. It’s was more deep tea taste that isn’t much like what Thai Tea tastes like with a bit of coconut after taste. I got a cinnamon flavor. It was great at first taste wise. Towards almost finish eating it, it got too creamy in my mouth. The other flavors my cousin got (cookies & cream, pistachio, & mint chip) were all perfect though!
Overall the price was just so sad. Literally 1 scoop known as their Jr. Scoop is $ 3. $ 3 dude… It’s not worth one damn scoop. It would worth filling up the small brown cup they use. For a regular scoop which is a couple scoops, it’s $ 4.25 I believe & if also sits in the small brown cup as well. It’s just so so so so sad. Everything else was perfect from service to product. Just not the price. It could be toned down or give what it’s worth.

Coffee and mint chip after eating mac and cheese at Homeroom.
Talk about a lactose disaster waiting to happen (luckily it didn’t).
As soon as I finished, I wanted to get another double scoop.
Literally. As soon as I finished.
Need I say more?
Pro-​tip:
Sample everything!

So I came here because a friend told me their cookies & cream was really good. Ummm, well, I didn’t get to try that flavor because it wasn’t there when I went, but the two flavors I got weren’t that great. I came in to curbside with a huge expectation and it definitely did not exceed or even meet halfway. I’m a huge ice cream fan and especially because a friend of mine told me to check this place out, I was excited… But poop, it was mehhhhhh. 2÷5…
I got the …
1. Salted caramel: it was sooooo sweet and to be honest, it was the WORST salted caramel ice cream I ever had. I don’t know what else to say, but that it was bad. Lol.
2. Coffee: um it’s like just coffee, but frozen version. I think I’d rather get the Haagen Daz coffee ice cream. It’s cheaper and I get more quantity.
The ice cream melts so quickly and quality seems pretty low. I’ve had so much better ice cream and for the price of their ice cream… SO not worth!!! I would rather go to rite aid and get thrifty ice cream. No joke.
So it’s a 2/​5, not a ¹⁄₅ because I’m nice.

Had this place bookmarked for awhile now and decide to try out this place with my sister. This creamery is in a small cute area with little shops nearby.
Staff and service was great. They offered a few vegan ice creams such as thai tea and fresh strawberry that was made from cashew and almond base. They also offer soft serves snd ice cream sandwiches. We each got a single scoop of the pistachio ice cream on a sugar cone. It was full of flavor and had a lot of pistachios and not overly sweet. Glad we found this gem!

This review is for the salted caramel ice cream only.
I recently got the salted caramel in a junior scoop, and it was way too sweet. It was almost difficult to finish this ice cream even though I purchased the smallest size. I love the creaminess of the ice cream, but the salted caramel flavor proved a little too much for me. I’m sure other people really enjoy this flavor, but I found it cloying. Like most ice cream places, Curbside Creamery provides samples of their ice cream so you can taste before you commit to a flavor. I normally enjoy salted caramel ice cream, which was why I made the mistake of ordering before tasting! (My bad)
But anyway, I’ve always had good experiences at Curbside Creamery. The staff are always very helpful and friendly.
I will be back!

Oh my GOD this place is everything. Came here after dinner right before closing and the ice cream baristas (can this be their new title? cuz I like it) were not at all crabby or anything, but you could tell they were exhausted from the day.
I ordered the cinnamon ice cream in a sugar cone and he ordered a mint chip sugar cone and both were divine. They had the perfect consistency, not too creamy to the point where it melts too quickly, but not hard like store bought. It was the PERFECT consistency. The cinnamon tasted exactly like cinnamon toast crunch, which I was soooo into. The mint chip also tasted like real mint, which was delicious. They’re fairly priced as well, since this is a specialty ice cream place. I think it was $ 3.95 each.
The place is also so adorable. It seems like it’s a converted garage and it’s a very open environment. There’s also outdoor seating underneath this canopy of vines and pink flowers. So pretty.
This place also has vegan options, ice cream sandwiches and soft serve! I will for sure be back to try more things.

Vegan ice cream, how cool and delicious. They have a few vegan flavors and other ice cream flavors and frozen yogurt. I tried a few flavors and all were refreshing and flavorful. I ended up getting the vegan mint chip made with a nut base and you couldn’t even tell it was any different than dairy based ice cream. The only downside is there a little pricy. I got the junior scoop for three dollars.

I can’t agree anymore with the reviews here regarding the product and customer service. The ice cream is tasty and sandwiches are hefty and fulfilling
However I don’t quite appreciate not being greeted a few times I’ve visited. I’ve never asked to try samples so I can’t be one of those who come smooching for free taste tests. I’ve actually bought over $ 75 worth of ice cream sandwiches in ONE visit and still received pretty rude customer service. Another time I spent over $ 50 as well! I gave the benefit of doubt to them. Maybe she had a bad day or what not but really? Why the brush off customer service here?
It’s a love hate relationship for sure. Love their products, hate the spotty customer service. Because of that, I don’t make an effort to go out of my way to visit anymore.
But the whiskey bourbon ice cream is bomb for scoops and ginger snap on vanilla bean is great as well! Go for those.
Btw– spell check your labels. Upon my first visit a few months ago to even last week. There’s a spelling typo. How has No one has caught that yet?

Rudest service I’ve experienced in recent memory.
—This is an ice cream store. Not the DMV. If you are being inconvenienced by people coming here, then we won’t! —–
I was with three of my students last night and each one asked to try a sample. The woman working there handed each sample out without a word. To say she did it robotically would be saying it was done in a neutral way. It was done with disdain.
And then when I had just put my sample in my mouth, she said dryly «Since there is a line, I need you all to make up your minds.»
I was stunned. We are talking about the amount of time it takes to scoop out 4 teaspoon samples. Give me a break!
And while we’re on the subject of taste, my chocolate sample, made with cashew milk, tasted like chalk.
But my students are kids. They see ice cream above all else — even egregious rudeness. So they ordered and said thank you about 5 times each. Even when one ordered a scoop on a «regular cone», to which the server responded contritely «what is a regular cone?»
I didn’t buy anything, and don’t think missing out on chalk ice cream has left me with any feelings of deprivation, but the taste left in my mouth is definitely nasty.
So here is my one-​star, rude review to you, Gutterside, because that is how you communicate. The cashews want their dignity back.

Experienced fantastic customer service when I came here one night! The woman that was working was really jolly & answered the many questions I had for her. She also shared what she liked & gave me suggestions because I didn’t know what to order!
What my boyfriend & I got:
–vanilla bean & Ginger snap cookie ice cream sandwich
–Thai tea on a waffle cone
Gingersnap cookies were my favorite when I was a kid & eating it brought back so many childhood memories. The vanilla ice cream complimented the cookie extremely well! Not to mention the cookies were soft! (Even though they are pre made)
The Thai tea ice cream tastes exactly like Thai iced tea! It wasn’t too sweet & the waffle cone was good as well! I’m not sure if they make their own waffle cones but it tasted really fresh. The worker who was extremely nice & gave us a generous scoop!
Outside of the shop, they have a nice seating area with green chairs & white tables, but it was way too cold for me to sit outside. But I can imagine it would be amazing in the summer time! This shop is in a residential neighborhood so there’s plenty of street parking!

Curbside Creamery is another endearing truck-​to-​mortar success story, or in this case, tricycle-​to-​mortar. The owner literally used to sell ice cream curbside, out of a customized tricycle, at local events and farmers’ markets.
While there’s plenty of ice cream competition nearby, including but not limited to Tara’s and Smitten, Curbside purports to offer a variety of unique flavors, especially vegan and dairy-​free ones. The consistency of the ice cream here veers towards the creamier side, and the portions do seem a bit small given the prices.
Depending on who’s staffing the place, service can range from warm and personalized to perfunctory and disinterested. Nevertheless, Curbside is a nice addition to Temescal Alley and worth a stop if you’ve already had brunch or dinner nearby, or are waiting for a haircut directly across the way.

My favorite thing to get at Curbside is the vegan soft serve. They offer two flavors everyday one vegan, typically cashew based, and one dairy flavor. I always get the vegan flavor and so far I’ve tried Vanilla, Bicycle Coffee, and Cinnamon. My fave is the vanilla. Very creamy and delicious and not icy at all. I no longer get the hand scooped ice cream or sandwiches. I always go for the vegan soft serve!
I’m happy they offer vegan options but It would be even more awesome if they just made both flavors in the machine vegan, that way we can get a swirl! Or I hope they get more soft serve machines!
In addition, I hope the staff improves their customer service. Sometimes the workers are friendly while other times they seemed annoyed.

I gave Curbside another shot, as they are open late and I do appreciate that they have vegan options.
I was willing to let bygones be bygones and forget about the waffle cone incident. I’ve visited a handful of times this summer and, for the most part, I do like their ice cream. The Thai ice tea flavor is my favorite.
Unfortunately, I’m still not a fan of their ice cream sandwiches. I feel like the vegan shortbread cookies are always a little dry and a touch on the bland side. I do enjoy their soft serve option, it is pretty delicious. I believe it is cashew based, and they usually offer at least a handful of vegan flavors (not as many as their dairy ones, though).
The service here is very hit or miss and on the last visit, kinda rude. My friends both ordered small ice cream cones. I ordered a large, and mine turned out smaller than both of theirs. When we mentioned it to the cashier, the girls working behind the counter said that they had been overly generous with my two friends, and that theirs should have been smaller. So I ended up paying more for a cone considerably smaller than the «small».