Talk about a hidden gem. I'm glad it's far from me because otherwise I'd be there constantly. Best ice cream shop in south county and I love the simplicity of the menu. We got a cup, a float, and a frozen banana for our family; all were delicious. The cup is enough for two kids to share.
Lauren Rowe
South Swell is a must stop for all ages! Wonderful hand dipped soft serve and hand dipped ice cream bars make for the perfect anytime, anyday treat. Super friendly staff!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adriel Lubarsky
Delicious. Chocolate dip was so good, peanut butter in the bottom was hard but the end and crunchy and delicious. Unique ice cream and so good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Parent Trap
Tamarack Restoration Gmail
Best ice cream Ive ever had.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Ice Cream
Heather A.
One girl working during a busy Sunday holiday weekend. Soft serve machine was down. Came around 3:30pm. The girl working had a poor attitude and should probably not serve the public. She was barely wearing a shirt. Health and safety code violation was watching her handle cash at the register then go straight into dipping ice cream and her hands touching the toppings. No gloves. Pretty gross when you think about it. Lack of knowledge to wash hands in between handling dirty money no brainer
Mahdis B.
Best hand-dipped ice cream ever! Love all the toppings! Everyone is super nice, friendly, and informative. It's super cute on the inside too!
Sam Tyrrell
South swell ice cream was not that swell.Quality similar to McDonald’s flurry, service was good however. Overall 3.5/5.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Corey Pitsillidi (Pitts)
Amazing hand dipped icecreams with all the yummy toppings. Worth checking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sam Sangermano
Came for the ice cream, stayed for the toppings. Somehow the ice cream wasn’t that cold?
Sweet tooth heaven. Came with a group of friends and we all got different things.. root beer floats and hand dipped bananas. Everything was tasty!
Kylie P.
This place is quite literally my favorite ice cream shop!! I love how you can choose a variety of ice cream options from soft serve to bars to frozen bananas! You get 2 toppings and a drizzle and they dip your choice of ice cream in chocolate!! I feel like such a kid whenever i go here just for that dipped effect! The service is usually pretty nice and fast. Sometimes they move too quickly and the ice cream dipped looks a little wonky so not that cute for pics but tbh I dont mind much because it still tastes great! Tips: they have a bathroom woohoo! and they have a free parking lot right behind them: you can enter through the front or back!
Nai Q.
Luckily we visited South Swell in May 2023 on a weekday night when finding parking was a breeze! It's worth noting that on a bustling weekend evening securing a spot may require a bit more patience as this is a busy and beautiful promenade type location. South Swell Ice Cream offers desert in a few simple steps: 1) BASE -chocolate or vanilla ice cream bars -waffle -sub frozen banana (I wanted this but they were out). 2) DIP -Only offers chocolate sauce 3) TOPPING | DRIZZLE -Sprinkles, cookie crumbs, graham crackers -Chocolate, caramel (salted or plain), raspberry or strawberry sauce -Pink or vanilla icing, peanut butter It's a little strange that the ONLY "DIP" offered is chocolate but there's an option to add other flavor sauces. Why not allow those sauces to also be a dip? I understand the logistics but I DON'T understand the logic. What if someone just wants a bar DIPPED in salted caramel sauce? My niece (the chocolate lover) selected a chocolate ice cream bar with chocolate sauce, half dipped in graham crackers and half in sprinkles. Seeking to indulge in a balanced combination of flavors I ordered a vanilla ice cream bar, dipped in chocolate sauce, a graham crackle drizzle for the crunch and since I LOVE natural raspberries, I added a LIGHT drizzle of raspberry sauce. As Timmy Failure says, "Mistakes were made", instead the raspberry flavor overpowered the other elements of the ice cream bar. Whomp! Whomp! Might have something to do with the fact that it tasted like those small chocolates from my childhood yakno' the ones... with raspberry filling inside (I was never a fan, always had a very specific "fake" medicated taste). My niece did express her preference for shops with a wider variety of toppings but she also claimed, . "other places do the same thing but better" its not just because other locations offer a wider variety of toppings because there is something to be said about simplicity! Rather neither of us were fans of the products used for the basic ingredients. Idk I like to give a spot at least two chances so maybe I'll be back and try something like the banana with a chocolate drizzle or something off the specialty section of the menu since they seem to be a hit! As I always say, try it out and experience it for thyself!
Erica S.
I met up with a friend here and it was my first time at a hand dipped ice cream shop! I decided to try a speciality item on the menu rather than building my own. I ordered the parent trap since cookies n' cream is my favorite ice cream flavor. It was delicious and aesthetically pleasing along with the decor of the place inside. The employee was welcoming and kind. I wish there was seating inside so you don't have to eat the ice cream on the outside table when it's dark and cold outside. I would come here again though!
Katie K.
Cute atmosphere and fun experience. Not much seating ( outside), but the downtown ambiance was worth the stroll.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Ice Cream Bar, Hand Dipped Ice Cream Bars, Frozen Banana
Best ice cream shopped in so cal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hand Dipped Ice Cream Bars
Talk about a hidden gem. I'm glad it's far from me because otherwise I'd be there constantly. Best ice cream shop in south county and I love the simplicity of the menu. We got a cup, a float, and a frozen banana for our family; all were delicious. The cup is enough for two kids to share.
South Swell is a must stop for all ages! Wonderful hand dipped soft serve and hand dipped ice cream bars make for the perfect anytime, anyday treat. Super friendly staff!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious. Chocolate dip was so good, peanut butter in the bottom was hard but the end and crunchy and delicious. Unique ice cream and so good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Parent Trap
Best ice cream Ive ever had.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Ice Cream
One girl working during a busy Sunday holiday weekend. Soft serve machine was down. Came around 3:30pm. The girl working had a poor attitude and should probably not serve the public. She was barely wearing a shirt. Health and safety code violation was watching her handle cash at the register then go straight into dipping ice cream and her hands touching the toppings. No gloves. Pretty gross when you think about it. Lack of knowledge to wash hands in between handling dirty money no brainer
Best hand-dipped ice cream ever! Love all the toppings! Everyone is super nice, friendly, and informative. It's super cute on the inside too!
South swell ice cream was not that swell.Quality similar to McDonald’s flurry, service was good however. Overall 3.5/5.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Amazing hand dipped icecreams with all the yummy toppings. Worth checking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came for the ice cream, stayed for the toppings. Somehow the ice cream wasn’t that cold?
Restaurantji Recommends
Sweet tooth heaven. Came with a group of friends and we all got different things.. root beer floats and hand dipped bananas. Everything was tasty!
This place is quite literally my favorite ice cream shop!! I love how you can choose a variety of ice cream options from soft serve to bars to frozen bananas! You get 2 toppings and a drizzle and they dip your choice of ice cream in chocolate!! I feel like such a kid whenever i go here just for that dipped effect! The service is usually pretty nice and fast. Sometimes they move too quickly and the ice cream dipped looks a little wonky so not that cute for pics but tbh I dont mind much because it still tastes great! Tips: they have a bathroom woohoo! and they have a free parking lot right behind them: you can enter through the front or back!
Luckily we visited South Swell in May 2023 on a weekday night when finding parking was a breeze! It's worth noting that on a bustling weekend evening securing a spot may require a bit more patience as this is a busy and beautiful promenade type location. South Swell Ice Cream offers desert in a few simple steps: 1) BASE -chocolate or vanilla ice cream bars -waffle -sub frozen banana (I wanted this but they were out). 2) DIP -Only offers chocolate sauce 3) TOPPING | DRIZZLE -Sprinkles, cookie crumbs, graham crackers -Chocolate, caramel (salted or plain), raspberry or strawberry sauce -Pink or vanilla icing, peanut butter It's a little strange that the ONLY "DIP" offered is chocolate but there's an option to add other flavor sauces. Why not allow those sauces to also be a dip? I understand the logistics but I DON'T understand the logic. What if someone just wants a bar DIPPED in salted caramel sauce? My niece (the chocolate lover) selected a chocolate ice cream bar with chocolate sauce, half dipped in graham crackers and half in sprinkles. Seeking to indulge in a balanced combination of flavors I ordered a vanilla ice cream bar, dipped in chocolate sauce, a graham crackle drizzle for the crunch and since I LOVE natural raspberries, I added a LIGHT drizzle of raspberry sauce. As Timmy Failure says, "Mistakes were made", instead the raspberry flavor overpowered the other elements of the ice cream bar. Whomp! Whomp! Might have something to do with the fact that it tasted like those small chocolates from my childhood yakno' the ones... with raspberry filling inside (I was never a fan, always had a very specific "fake" medicated taste). My niece did express her preference for shops with a wider variety of toppings but she also claimed, . "other places do the same thing but better" its not just because other locations offer a wider variety of toppings because there is something to be said about simplicity! Rather neither of us were fans of the products used for the basic ingredients. Idk I like to give a spot at least two chances so maybe I'll be back and try something like the banana with a chocolate drizzle or something off the specialty section of the menu since they seem to be a hit! As I always say, try it out and experience it for thyself!
I met up with a friend here and it was my first time at a hand dipped ice cream shop! I decided to try a speciality item on the menu rather than building my own. I ordered the parent trap since cookies n' cream is my favorite ice cream flavor. It was delicious and aesthetically pleasing along with the decor of the place inside. The employee was welcoming and kind. I wish there was seating inside so you don't have to eat the ice cream on the outside table when it's dark and cold outside. I would come here again though!
Cute atmosphere and fun experience. Not much seating ( outside), but the downtown ambiance was worth the stroll.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Ice Cream Bar, Hand Dipped Ice Cream Bars, Frozen Banana