Burlingame Avenue, three blocks of tree-lined shopping between the Caltrain station and Highway 101, has somehow become the densest stretch of ice cream real estate on the Peninsula. Four distinct shops, four different concepts, all within easy walking distance of each other. If you can't decide what you want, this is the move: park once, walk the strip, share scoops.
Here's the order we recommend, working east to west along the avenue.
Stop 1: Salt & Straw (Burlingame) — 1309 Burlingame Avenue. The Portland export opened its second Peninsula location here in 2023. Start your stroll with their monthly rotating flavor menu — there's always a vegan option and always something weird (in the best way). Get small scoops to leave room for the next three stops.
Stop 2: Buena's Organic Soft Serve — 1215 Burlingame Avenue. A block west, a totally different concept. Organic soft serve with clean, simple ingredients and a small rotating flavor list. Plant-based options always available. The Instagram-worthy swirl is the move; share one between two people. This is the lightest stop of the four, which is exactly what you want in the middle of a four-shop crawl.
Stop 3: Caffe Stellato — 1112 Burlingame Avenue. Now switch lanes entirely — into authentic Italian gelato. Order an affogato (a scoop of gelato drowned in a fresh shot of espresso) to refresh your palate and reset for the final stop. The pistachio is the standout. The café side serves real espresso, which you will appreciate by this point in the walk.
Stop 4: Yumi Yogurt — 1316 Burlingame Avenue. End where Burlingame's frozen-treat history began. Yumi has been serving the same tart frozen-yogurt recipe since 1979. Fresh fruit toppings, granola, mochi — make a small dessert "salad" out of it. The contrast with the three richer stops before is the point. You'll leave the avenue having tasted four very different takes on frozen dessert in under an hour.
Parking tip: the city garage on Lorton Avenue (one block north of the avenue) has two free hours and almost always has space. Don't fight for street parking on Burlingame itself.
Total stroll: three blocks east-to-west, twenty minutes if you're moving briskly, two hours if you're doing it right.