While not the most refreshing dessert to tackle in the throes of summer, milkshakes might be among the tastiest. They come in all shapes, sizes and levels of excess, from the unadorned chocolate malt to more bombastic creations crammed with nuts, candies and even pie. Scouring the shake scene in Orange County, here are seven truly great standouts that surpass scoops on a cone.
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And at the risk of wading into the ever-churning tipping debate, please tip the employee who makes your shake. As someone whose first job found him stuck behind an ice cream counter at the rapscallion age of 15, I can tell you that shakes are always the biggest pain to prepare.
Blue Scoop Creamery
391 S State College Blvd., Brea; 5105 Richfield Road, Yorba Linda; bluescoopcreamery.com
Southern-style ice cream spot Blue Scoop Creamery, with locations in Brea and Yorba Linda, has turned its house-made scoops into something of a North County staple. Since opening in 2020, the independently owned creamery has switched to using lactose-free milk and cream for all of its ice cream, making its shakes friendlier for those who live with lactose strife. I recommend the strawberry shake, a simple, thick rendition topped with whipped cream and, of course, a cherry. No frippery required.
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Bruxie
215 W. Birch St., Brea; 3333 Bristol St., BLM3, Collage Food Hall, Costa Mesa; 292 N. Glassell St., Orange; bruxie.com
Orange-based fast-casual chain Bruxie churns out some of the best shakes around. Small wonder: It uses frozen custard, whose extra richness gives its shakes an almost impossibly thick texture. For summer, go for the Lemon Cream and Berries shake. The seasonal offering pairs the richness of the custard with tart lemon and berries, enough acidity to keep the whole thing in balance.
Handel’s Ice Cream
300 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach; 5365 Alton Parkway, Irvine; 827 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine; 13786 Jamboree Road, Irvine; 28121 Crown Valley Parkway, Laguna Niguel; 23615 El Toro Road, Lake Forest; 2200 W. Oceanfront, Newport Beach; 30622 Santa Margarita Pkwy, Rancho Santa Margarita; 610 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente; 18210 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda; handelsicecream.com
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This ice cream chain is noted for its litany of flavors (I miss Animal Cookie and hope it returns to regular rotation), but sometimes the simplest ones work best here. Case in point: Orange Cream Dream, a mix of orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream à la a 50/50 bar. It makes for a fantastic scoop and an even better milkshake, blended into citrusy, creamy perfection. I prefer the standard size, but the truly committed can opt for the Monster Shake, which comes in a whopping 44-ounce cup.
McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream
31864 Paseo Adelanto, San Juan Capistrano; mcconnells.com
River Street Marketplace is home to plenty of choice eats, but one of its biggest coups was landing Orange County’s very first McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream. The 77-year-old Santa Barbara-based creamery makes some of the Golden State’s finest ice cream, any flavor of which can be turned into a milkshake. If you don’t want to think too hard about it, order the Coooookie Shake (yes, five Os), a blend of Seal Salt Cream & Cookie and Cookies & Cream ice creams, chocolate chunk cookie pieces and whipped cream. Deliriously good. Throw in another buck to make it a malt, which adds a toasted, slightly savory depth that works well with all that cookie business.
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Orange County Creamery
34255 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point; orangecountycreamery.com
Along Coast Highway in Dana Point, this small shop makes its own ice cream and lets customers build shakes however they please, combining up to three flavors per shake. During a recent visit, I went the sorbet route with the two-pronged attack of lemon and strawberry. Bright, slightly tarty and refreshing. You can opt to have it blended with sparkling water or milk. I chose the latter, which softened the citrus without muting it. If sorbet isn’t your bag, the espresso shake here will pick you right up.
The Straw: Modern Milkshakes
1215 Baker St., Costa Mesa; thestrawmilkshakes.com
For a maximalist take on the shake, head to The Straw: Modern Milkshakes in Costa Mesa. This independently owned spot specializes in shakes of the gloriously bombastic variety, like the Donkey Kong, a banana-chocolate-chip milkshake with cookie butter and a cannoli shell perched on top, or the Campfire, a s’mores shake crowned with graham crackers and fire-toasted marshmallows. Best of the bunch, though, is the Apple Pie À La Mode. As its name suggests, it’s dessert piled onto dessert, a salted vanilla milkshake layered with baked apple pie. This place merits return visits to check out all of its menu.
Yummy Land
23016 Lake Forest Drive, Laguna Hills; yummylandshop.com
My favorite of the bunch must go to Yummy Land’s majoon shake. This small, Iranian Laguna Hills dessert shop makes a standout version of the Persian treat, blending bananas, dates, milk and vanilla ice cream with a generous assortment of cashews, pistachios and walnuts both pulverized in the shake and nestled atop the whipped cream. It’s velvety, nutty, subtly fruity and substantial enough to flirt with being a meal. (Dare I call it comparatively healthy? Should that even matter? Sure.) More important, it’s destination-worthy, in the same realm as the famed date shakes at Hadley Fruit Orchards in the Inland Empire and, I’d argue, even better.
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