Delicious ice cream, tons of flavor options, generous portions, and friendly staff. My favorite local ice cream shop in Santa Monica!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Medium Dish, 4 Scoop Sampler, Small Dish
Heidi Ross
We love this old fashioned ice cream spot! What a gift to the neighborhood. The ice cream is delicious and the staff has been so sweet. They are supportive of community schools and teams with give back days. We are so happy to welcome them to Santa Monica!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
mbrot6001
The ice cream was amazing. I’m a regular customer by now. Service was great. However, one of the employees smelled bad and his shirt was darker than the others. Tell that employee to wash his clothes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Jillian Pratt
Handle's is legendary ice cream. The large variety of flavors it's hard to not be pleased coming here. Sundaes and milkshakes are available. Take-home pints, cups or cones.They have a list that you can refer to to ensure those with milk, nuts, gluten, etc. allergies are safe. And while they don't promise 0% contamination, they do use a separate scoop for each ice cream. So the risk is minimized. Vegan options are available.Small parking lot, but street parking is plenty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew C.
As a world-class ice cream lover, and having been to their location in Northridge, I was very happy to see that a new location was opening much closer to home. They just know how to do it right. This location is a walk up window only and they have a large staff ready to serve the long lines waiting. Everything just has a very clean look from their color scheme to the uniforms. The staff is all younger people, and they are extremely polite and appear to be very well trained. They have so many different flavor choices that it would be impossible to review them. I have had maybe five or six different ones so far and they are all excellent and have forced me to venture outside of my usual ice cream comfort zone. As the temperature gets warmer, I expect to be a more frequent visitor.
L S
Meh…taste is very boring, artificial, and basic. You’re better off getting Thrifty or the Ralphs Private Selection ice cream or some store brand pint for the taste and price. Trader Joes brand ice cream and Haagen-Dazs is waaaaay better tasting than this place. The Yoga-Urt vegan ice cream place across the street is much better and I’m not even vegan. I love chocolate ice cream and it tasted so fake and bad, I tossed my scoop after one bite... IT WAS THAT BAD, and the coconut cream pie tasted like sunscreen. No wonder they don’t let you sample anything. Had I tasted prior to buying I definitely wouldn’t have purchased anything. I wouldn’t come back.The service was good.
Maren C.
There are so many amazing and creative flavors and they are all so good! I ended up getting a 4 scoop sampler and It was a good amount for 2-3 people. While I was in line, a girl named Finley was so helpful in telling me exactly what each flavor was like and what was in them. The workers were so nice and the ice cream was delicious! Highly recommend!!
Bailey M.
Amazing ice cream and service! Must try spouse like a house, recommended by the staff and was fantastic!!
Jayron A.
Ice cream made fresh daily... I can tell. There's no comparison to any of the other ice cream shops around, you can taste how fresh it is. If a business has a line, I know that it's worth it, & it was. The line moved pretty quickly, those kids working were hustling! I got chocolate malt with caramel, DELICIOUS! My boyfriend got the 4 scoop sampler. It's Santa Monica so we took a stroll down the street since the weather was so great. There's a bench to sit on & we were able to snag a parking spot, which I never thought we would since it's a smaller parking lot. But I never expect to find parking anywhere in LA so this was a hit! Overall 10/10 will def be back!
Best ice cream and service! Made in the store daily!!!! Shakes are so good too! The 4 scoop sampler if you can't decide on one flavor!
Dream Builders
Banana cream pie was on another level.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elman P.
I was happy to see a Handels location opened up in the West LA area. Handels has been my favorite ice cream spot for years now. The flavors are identical to the other locations I've gone to. A couple things to worth noting for this location and that's why I'm giving it 3 stars. Parking can be a bit difficult to find if it's busy. You may have to park in the surrounding neighbors. They don't let you sample flavors at this location. I was told they don't allow it at Handels. Which to my experience, other locations like Redondo Beach let you sample as many flavors as you like. Also, they seem very frugal with the scoops they give you. They don't seem as generous as the other locations I've visited. I've gone this location multiple times to see if my opinion has changed but every encounter is the same. You're better off getting a milkshake or a pint to get your moneys worth it. If you have a Handels closer to you, I would probably go to that location over this one.
Nena M.
They take WAY too long to scoop ice cream or make a shake. And the whole opening and closing the windows in your face seems a bit rude.
Michelle B.
I might be obsessed with the orange dream cream. Handel's is a welcome addition to the Sunset Park community. The flavors are great, portions are huge, and the service is always great. We just did another "ice cream for dinner" night after soccer, and my kids couldn't be happier. The same goes for the adults. One kid is ecstatically blue after trying "Blue Monster" (cookies and cream but very blue). The other just downed an entire mango sorbet. I hear all of the vegan sorbet flavors are fantastic, but my daughter loves the mango sorbet so much I may never get to try them (eyeing you, coconut). While they don't do samples, you really can't go wrong. And with the 4-scoop sampler, you can work your way through the menu...at least until they add new seasonal flavors. Key lime pie, butter pecan, mint chip, and pistachio...all good. Handel's also recently added video monitors to explain the flavors. They are super helpful with so many fun flavors. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Delicious ice cream, tons of flavor options, generous portions, and friendly staff. My favorite local ice cream shop in Santa Monica!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Medium Dish, 4 Scoop Sampler, Small Dish
We love this old fashioned ice cream spot! What a gift to the neighborhood. The ice cream is delicious and the staff has been so sweet. They are supportive of community schools and teams with give back days. We are so happy to welcome them to Santa Monica!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The ice cream was amazing. I’m a regular customer by now. Service was great. However, one of the employees smelled bad and his shirt was darker than the others. Tell that employee to wash his clothes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Handle's is legendary ice cream. The large variety of flavors it's hard to not be pleased coming here. Sundaes and milkshakes are available. Take-home pints, cups or cones.They have a list that you can refer to to ensure those with milk, nuts, gluten, etc. allergies are safe. And while they don't promise 0% contamination, they do use a separate scoop for each ice cream. So the risk is minimized. Vegan options are available.Small parking lot, but street parking is plenty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
As a world-class ice cream lover, and having been to their location in Northridge, I was very happy to see that a new location was opening much closer to home. They just know how to do it right. This location is a walk up window only and they have a large staff ready to serve the long lines waiting. Everything just has a very clean look from their color scheme to the uniforms. The staff is all younger people, and they are extremely polite and appear to be very well trained. They have so many different flavor choices that it would be impossible to review them. I have had maybe five or six different ones so far and they are all excellent and have forced me to venture outside of my usual ice cream comfort zone. As the temperature gets warmer, I expect to be a more frequent visitor.
Meh…taste is very boring, artificial, and basic. You’re better off getting Thrifty or the Ralphs Private Selection ice cream or some store brand pint for the taste and price. Trader Joes brand ice cream and Haagen-Dazs is waaaaay better tasting than this place. The Yoga-Urt vegan ice cream place across the street is much better and I’m not even vegan. I love chocolate ice cream and it tasted so fake and bad, I tossed my scoop after one bite... IT WAS THAT BAD, and the coconut cream pie tasted like sunscreen. No wonder they don’t let you sample anything. Had I tasted prior to buying I definitely wouldn’t have purchased anything. I wouldn’t come back.The service was good.
There are so many amazing and creative flavors and they are all so good! I ended up getting a 4 scoop sampler and It was a good amount for 2-3 people. While I was in line, a girl named Finley was so helpful in telling me exactly what each flavor was like and what was in them. The workers were so nice and the ice cream was delicious! Highly recommend!!
Amazing ice cream and service! Must try spouse like a house, recommended by the staff and was fantastic!!
Ice cream made fresh daily... I can tell. There's no comparison to any of the other ice cream shops around, you can taste how fresh it is. If a business has a line, I know that it's worth it, & it was. The line moved pretty quickly, those kids working were hustling! I got chocolate malt with caramel, DELICIOUS! My boyfriend got the 4 scoop sampler. It's Santa Monica so we took a stroll down the street since the weather was so great. There's a bench to sit on & we were able to snag a parking spot, which I never thought we would since it's a smaller parking lot. But I never expect to find parking anywhere in LA so this was a hit! Overall 10/10 will def be back!
Best ice cream in Santa Monica!
Restaurantji Recommends
Best ice cream and service! Made in the store daily!!!! Shakes are so good too! The 4 scoop sampler if you can't decide on one flavor!
Banana cream pie was on another level.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was happy to see a Handels location opened up in the West LA area. Handels has been my favorite ice cream spot for years now. The flavors are identical to the other locations I've gone to. A couple things to worth noting for this location and that's why I'm giving it 3 stars. Parking can be a bit difficult to find if it's busy. You may have to park in the surrounding neighbors. They don't let you sample flavors at this location. I was told they don't allow it at Handels. Which to my experience, other locations like Redondo Beach let you sample as many flavors as you like. Also, they seem very frugal with the scoops they give you. They don't seem as generous as the other locations I've visited. I've gone this location multiple times to see if my opinion has changed but every encounter is the same. You're better off getting a milkshake or a pint to get your moneys worth it. If you have a Handels closer to you, I would probably go to that location over this one.
They take WAY too long to scoop ice cream or make a shake. And the whole opening and closing the windows in your face seems a bit rude.
I might be obsessed with the orange dream cream. Handel's is a welcome addition to the Sunset Park community. The flavors are great, portions are huge, and the service is always great. We just did another "ice cream for dinner" night after soccer, and my kids couldn't be happier. The same goes for the adults. One kid is ecstatically blue after trying "Blue Monster" (cookies and cream but very blue). The other just downed an entire mango sorbet. I hear all of the vegan sorbet flavors are fantastic, but my daughter loves the mango sorbet so much I may never get to try them (eyeing you, coconut). While they don't do samples, you really can't go wrong. And with the 4-scoop sampler, you can work your way through the menu...at least until they add new seasonal flavors. Key lime pie, butter pecan, mint chip, and pistachio...all good. Handel's also recently added video monitors to explain the flavors. They are super helpful with so many fun flavors. Welcome to the neighborhood!