Here are 10 sweet, icy desserts for summer in the Bay Area

Instead of (foolishly and reductively) trying to sort out the best style of ice cream, I’m recommending my favorite Bay Area treats that bring cold pleasure. Some come from restaurants, like the Charter Oak in St. Helena or Lavash in San Francisco, while others hail from dedicated sweets shops, like Kamurocho in Pleasanton, UC Dessert in Oakland and Belmont Fruit Snacks in Belmont. The flavors range from fruity and tart to creamy and sweet to even spicy and acidic.

Here are 10 fun ways to cool down with some frosty happiness.

Kakigori

Kamurocho

It gets particularly hot in the valley where Pleasanton lies, and one of the simplest ways to cool down can be found at Kamurocho. The intimate shop has many sweet coffee and boba drinks as well as a roster of kakigoris, the Japanese style of shaved ice. The one that stands out is the mango ($11.50) version, where soft, fluffy ribbons of ice are covered in fruit puree. It’s tangy and sweet but not overbearing, with the occasional small chunk of mango. You can find a spot inside, which is decorated with framed Pokemon cards, or try your luck with the elements outside. Eat quickly, though: Heat is the worst enemy of shaved ice, especially if exposed to the sun.

5321 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton. 8:30 a.m-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday., 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 925-425-7129

Bingsu

U :Dessert Story

U :Dessert Story has two dessert houses, one in San Francisco and one in Berkeley. It has the vibe of a sit-down boba and dessert joint where Top 40 music hits and K-pop play in rapid succession. The menu is expansive, full of Korean, Japanese and Thai treats from mille crepe cakes to mochi waffles to a litany of matcha drinks, cheese foam teas, coffee and even booze. The menu and aesthetic can be a little overwhelming, but the shaved ice is an icy distraction. I like to go for the strawberry cheesecake bingsu ($17), where a mound of soft shaved ice is topped with ruby-red strawberry puree, Greek yogurt and almonds. Small cheesecake cubes play hide-and-seek in the ice. There are over a dozen options to try, including several vegan ones, and some really wild combinations in Berkeley like one that’s made with beer and another that adds bacon.

3489 16th St., San Francisco. 3-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 1-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 1849 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. 3-10 p.m. Monday-Friday. 1-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

udessertstory.com

UC Dessert

There I was, sitting alone, eating a warm bowl of black sesame paste with mochi balls filled with the same stuff when I fell in love with UC Dessert. It’s a quiet place to get both warm and cold desserts. The black tea bingsu ($12) is a wonderful, not-too-sweet, milk tea-based shaved ice. It has the high caffeine characteristics of a Hong Kong milk tea but without the excess sugar. The tiny shards of beige ice form a small hill surrounded by toasted almonds and a side of chewy boba and wiggly grass jelly. Depending on my mood, I’ll go for the mango bingsu ($12) topped with tangy puree, sago (tiny balls made from palm starch) and coconut milk. The dessert shop is located in the heart of Oakland’s Chinatown and stays open late for an evening thrill.

388 Ninth St., Suite 159, Oakland. Noon-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

ucdessert.com

Hawaiian shave ice

Diamond Head General Store

Equal parts Hawaiian convenience store, shave ice shop and plate lunch restaurant, this San Bruno spot does it all. Inside of the multi-function joint, you’ll spot racks full of bagged candy, Japanese ingredients, pancake mix and other assorted snacks. The wall above the register has the list of shave ice syrups you can choose from. I suggest skipping the colored sugar water and going for the rotating fruit purees ($10). Create lively, fruity combinations like mango and strawberry, a half red and half yellow ice globe topped with condensed milk ($1) and mochi ($1), for a mix of tanginess, creaminess and sweetness. The unflavored mochi provides a chewy respite from the flavored snow. Make sure to also get a lunch plate like the jumbo garlic shrimp ($25), which comes with fat scoops of rice and macaroni salad on a paper plate.

260 El Camino Real, San Bruno. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. 650-636-4007

Raspados

Belmont Fruit and Snacks

This shop is like if Willy Wonka decided to get into the antojitos game. Here you’ll find Mexican snacks like paletas, bionicos, prepared fruit, fresas con crema, micheaguas, elotes, ice cream, waffles, the list goes on. Instead of a traditional raspado (shaved ice), try the diablito ($8), a concoction of shredded ice and tamarind puree fortified with lime juice chamoy, hot sauce and a sprinkle of Tajín seasoning for good measure. This cold treat in a cup explodes with tart, spicy and sweet flavors, moving into savory dessert territory. If that sounds like too much, try the creminieve ($9). It’s an interpolation of the frescas con crema form that adds strawberry milk-based ice cream, which has a lovely, almost-grainy texture. Enjoy your icy treats inside or outside.

1020 Sixth Ave., Belmont. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.
belmontfruitandsnaksca.com

Halo halo

Guava Island Treats

Upon entering downtown Walnut Creek sweets shop Guava Island Eats, you’ll be asked if you want to try the halo halo. It’s not on the menu, but the staff tells me it’s the most popular item, and for good reason. Guava Island’s halo halo ($14) is the sundae to end all sundaes, with close to over a dozen ingredients. It reads like a grocery shopping list for a sundae-themed potluck: toasted coconut, ube puree, ube and jackfruit ice creams, shaved ice, lychee jellies, red beans and a splash of half-and-half to loosen things up. The treat shop’s interior is decorated with light-colored wood, palm leaf wallpaper and a back wall covered in foliage and an “island vibes” sign — you know, for social media.

1506 N Main St., Walnut Creek. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m Sunday.

guavaeats.com

Ice cream and soft serve

The Charter Oak

The Charter Oak might be best known for its roaring wood-fired grill and bread made from a sourdough starter that’s older than me. But there’s one item that punctates many meals: the soft serve ($12), which gets its tan color from burnt vanilla beans. It’s topped with what might appear to be caramel syrup, but that toasty, slick sauce is actually pecan oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. It lends an extra nutty flavor to the treat and accomplishes all the feats of a sundae without the extra sugar you’d normally get from caramel or fudge. Even the ice cream has a bit of smoke coursing through it, as will your shirt and hair after your dinner, like a wistful reminder of a past lover.

1050 Charter Oak Ave., St Helena. 11:30 a.m-8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

thecharteroak.com

De La Creamery

De La Creamery is an ice cream maker that specializes in Mexican flavors. You can sample these ice creams at pop-ups around the Bay Area, or go to Tahona Market in San Francisco to snag a pint. The flavors are swaddled in nostalgia like cafe de olla, modeled after the spiced Mexican coffee, and gansito, which swirls the popular chocolate-covered cake snack of the same name, in vanilla ice cream. But I want to bring your attention to a simple option: horchata ($13 per pint). The ice cream is silky but almonds, rice and cinnamon give it a pleasant, almost sandy, consistency. It’s like trying horchata for the first time, except this one doesn’t get watered down by ice. You can also find De La’s creme fraiche flavor featured in one of the desserts at Oakland bar Slug.

delacreamery.com

. Sold at Tahona Market: 1168 Leavenworth St., San Francisco. Noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Lavash

The Sunset District is ripe with food and dessert options, but only Lavash offers bastani, Persian ice cream. Opened in 2008, the restaurant has two options: a golden scoop made with saffron, rosewater and pistachios ($7) and another made with pomegranate and chocolate ($7). The former is an elegant combination of aromatics, smooth cream and nuts that avoids the excess sugar of American ice cream. Fresh, locally made Persian ice cream in the Bay Area is a rarity, so Lavash made me miss the dedicated ice cream shops in Los Angeles’ Little Tehran. Don’t sleep on the food either — it’s one of Soleil Ho’s top Middle Eastern restaurants. But if you don’t want to eat, you can order the ice cream for takeout as you stroll through the area.

511 Irving St., San Francisco. 5-9 p.m Tuesday-Friday, noon-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

lavashsf.com

Lion Dance Cafe

Aside from having some of the best vegan food in the region, Oakland’s Lion Dance also sells showstopping sundae kits consisting of a pint and toppings. There are two options to choose from, both inspired by co-owner C-Y Chia’s childhood. The first is the coconut pandan sundae, which is modeled after cendol,a Southeast Asian dessert with shaved iced, coconut and pandan jellies. In place of gula jawa (palm sugar), Lion Dance reaches for piloncillo (unrefined sugar), and instead of shaved ice, it uses young coconut ice cream from Curbside Creamery. It’s garnished with salty potato chips that are dusted with soy bean powder. The other, nuttier option is the chile peanut kit. In it goes vanilla ice cream with chile-lime peanuts and fudgy peanut caramel fragrant with makrut lime. Both display a daring attitude that isn’t afraid to mix spicy and acidic flavors with ice cream, only it’s all vegan. In the future, Chia hopes to procure an ice shaver to add more colorful combinations to the dessert menu.

380 17th St., Oakland. 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.

liondancecafe.com

Cesar Hernandez is The San Francisco Chronicle’s associate restaurant critic. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @cesarischafa