Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream

At a time when ice cream chains from nearby counties, neighboring states, and further-off locations are multiplying in Orange County, we’ve visited a lot of different small shops and chains looking for the best of the best. Started in 1972 in a Santa Ana strip mall – now very close to South Coast Plaza, and still the factory for its products – Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream currently has three locations total, all in Orange County.

Somewhat comparable to a smaller version of Handel’s, Hans is a simple, traditional American-style ice cream shop with rotating flavors, including multiple seasonal peppermint choices that brought us in. Though its website lists around 75 ice cream flavors and eight sorbets, expect to find a much smaller subset available at any given location and time.

The ice creams we tried looked perfect – peppermint was flecked with what looked but didn’t feel like candy bits – but were only supermarket-grade in flavors and textures, limiting our interest in returning. That said, chocolate fans will note that there are at least 10 if not 20 different flavors that might appeal to their tastes, while nostalgic ice cream lovers may enjoy the vibe of the original Santa Ana shop, which feels like it’s straight from the 1970s or early 1980s; the Anaheim Packing District and Huntington Beach locations are newer and more sterile.