Bad Walter's Bootleg Ice Cream
Ice cream shop · Rockridge ·
Handmade lactose-free ice cream with rotating unique flavors
Handmade lactose-free ice cream with rotating unique flavors
"After many months of waiting, former pop-up Bad Walter’s has launched their brick and mortar ice cream shop in Rockridge. Known for their mix-in-heavy flavors, like Fluffer Nutter Butter with marshmallow fluff, Slumber Party with Reese’s pieces, and Cemetery Dirt with crispy chocolate chip cookies, their lactose-free ice cream (still made with real cream) is already drawing long lines." - ricky rodriguez, julia chen 1
"With a fantastical, ’90s Nickelodeon–like vibe, this Oakland shop offers funky flavors like burnt marshmallow custard and Greyhound grapefruit sorbet and plans hot chocolate affogatos when the season turns." - Justine Jones
"After many months of waiting, former pop-up Bad Walter’s has launched their brick and mortar ice cream shop in Rockridge. Known for their mix-in-heavy flavors, like Fluffer Nutter Butter with marshmallow fluff, Slumber Party with Reese’s pieces, and Cemetery Dirt with crispy chocolate chip cookies, their lactose-free ice cream (still made with real cream) is already drawing long lines. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Team Infatuation
"Opening Saturday, September 7 at 5800 College Avenue in Oakland, Bad Walter’s Ice Cream is the dream scoop shop Sydney Arkin spun out of her pandemic pop-up following, and I get the sense it's exactly the playful, slightly messy ’90s wonderland she promised—complete with a multicolored mural by Rymie that evokes blow-up couches, see-through phones and Nickelodeon energy. The opening case will feature eight rotating flavors (expanding to 12): Campfire, a super-burnt marshmallow custard with candied Rice Krispies, bourbon fudge and a smoky note that "blows a lot of people’s minds"; Crazy Squares, a cinnamon custard with housemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch toffee and bourbon caramel; MF Monster, a Biscoff cookie custard with Oreo chunks and salty caramel; a crowd-pleasing vanilla made with Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans; and the shop’s first sorbet, Greyhound, a grapefruit sorbet with a teeny bit of vodka—along with rotating slots that will include Dreamweaver (marshmallow custard with raspberry jam), Pick‑Me‑Up (coffee custard with Green House Bakery chocolate chip cookie dough), Sexual Chocolate (dark chocolate with Amarena cherries and marshmallow fluff), or Single Ladies (cream cheese custard with "pretzel gravel" and peanut butter swirls that taste like peanut butter cheesecake). Toppings are deliberately limited to sprinkles, hot fudge and caramel because, as Arkin says, the ice cream is already a sundae in a scoop; there are housemade waffle cones, packed pints, six-flavor ice cream flights, and a seasonal "chocogatos" hot-chocolate affogato planned for cooler weather. After years of sold-out pop-ups and a year of building the space, Arkin says she’s excited to be in the shop to offer something awesome, be part of the community, and start building something totally epic." - Dianne de Guzman
"Evolving from a 2020 pop-up, Bad Walter’s Bootleg Ice Cream (owner Sydney Arkin) will open a permanent Rockridge shop offering three or four permanent flavors alongside weekly rotating flavors, fresh-made cones, and hot chocolate “chocogatos.”" - Lauren Saria
