Ghirardelli Square

San Francisco, United States

4.1

Closed now

22 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 415-775-5500
Website:
www.ghirardellisq.com
Address:
900 N Point St, San Francisco, CA, 94109
Fisherman's Wharf, Russian Hill
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miJones & Beach Street
0.3 miLombard Street
0.4 miBig Bus Tours Stop 2, Activity Center
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Bussiness info

Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Francisco) 00:54 Wednesday, 11 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 12:00 am
Saturday 10:00 am – 12:00 am
Sunday 10:00 am – 11:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Ghirardelli Square is a place to «Savour Your Day». You’ll enjoy shopping at boutiques such as Lola of North Beach and Yap Pet Couture, dining at Ana Mandara or McCormick & Kuletos, sipping wine at Cellar360 or Wattle Creek Winery, indulging on chocolate & cupckaes and much more!

History

Established in 1964.

In the 1960’s The Golden Grain Macaroni Company bought Ghirardelli Chocolate and relocated it to a modern new facility across the bay in San Leandro. Upon hearing of the sale and fearing that the historic buildings on the property would be torn down and replaced by a modern apartment complex, two prominent San Franciscans, William Matson Roth, and his mother, Mrs. William P. Roth, purchased the entire Ghirardelli block.

In addition to restoring as many of the original structures as possible, William Roth introduced a new marketing method by evolving the old chocolate factory into a lovely brick-​terraced courtyard of shops and fine restaurants. In 1964, Ghirardelli Square opened and is considered the first successful adaptive reuse project in the country. In order to ensure its preservation for future generations, Ghirardelli Square was granted National Historic Register status in 1982.

Today you will find shopping, dining, wine tasting and a wonderful place to savour your day!

Meet the Business Owner

JMA Ventures, LL C.

Business Owner

Ghirardelli Square is now owned and managed by a local company called JMA Ventures, LLC. To learn more visit www​.jmaven​tures​llc​.com.

Ghirardelli Square also recommends

The Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop

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Ice Cream, Gelato & Frozen Yoghurt

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Chocolate & Chocolatiers

JMA Ventures, LL C. says,

«Try the new peanut butter chocolate squares and sundaes!»

McCormick & Kuleto’s

781

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Seafood Restaurants

JMA Ventures, LL C. says,

«The best clam chowder around»

Wattle Creek Winery Tasting Room

142

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Wine Tasting Room

JMA Ventures, LL C. says,

«Friendly staff and delicious wine»

Kara’s Cupcakes — CLOSED

930

reviews

Desserts

,

Bakeries

JMA Ventures, LL C. says,

«Made from local, organic ingredients!»

Crown & Crumpet — CLOSED

554

reviews

Tea Rooms

,

Coffee & Tea Shops

JMA Ventures, LL C. says,

«Come for afternoon tea – it’s divine!»

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Nearby

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Yap Stores
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Ghirardelli Square - UnCorked! Wine Festival
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22 reviews of Ghirardelli Square

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Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
Ghiradelli Square is so very crowded you have to stand in line for an hour to get an ice-​cream cone, which I refused to do. The store was crowded too, but at least we could get in. When we were there nothing was going on. A huge store has been shut down. I visited here about 15 years ago and remember it far more favorably.
The chocolate, of course, is excellent but you can buy it anywhere in San Francisco and pretty much in the USA
Place rating: 4
Charlotte, NC
I think Ghirardelli Square used to be really nice but now, watching the gluttony of fat people gorging hot fudge and banana sundaes? It threw me off a little. But it is a neat shopping experience, not just the Ghirardelli store itself but there are several craft shops in this little plaza. Lots of seating for those who have taken their sweet snack to go, perhaps sit by the neat fountain.
By the way — what sort of idiot gives his kids a harmonica?
Place rating: 4
San Mateo, CA
Always a hit or miss but on a rainy SF night you can get lucky with parking and people not being too crazy.
Great tourist spot to stop at for dessert. There is so much more to this area then just the chocolate — check out the pub and numerous wine bars located steps away!
Place rating: 5
Beaverton, OR
So this is the best place to get your chocolate on! The sundaes are amazing. Piled high with fudge and marshmallow or whatever your heart desires. I shared one with my daughter while having hot cocoa. It really hit the spot. Love this place.
Place rating: 5
Bayonne, NJ
Love the place, love the beverages and chocolate, very nice souvenir shop, very nice staff. A must see place when you go to San Francisco.
Place rating: 5
Houston, TX
There is just something lovely about this square and I can’t quite pinpoint why. Is it because it’s a square focusing on the beauty of chocolate, or a square with a retro 80’s vibe to it? Either way, I had a great time in this former world-​famous chocolate HQ and simply love the atmosphere. Just being in this square made me felt like I was thrown into the era when Frank Sinatra was still singing!
Heck, I was so entranced that I even got suckered into buying the signature hot fudge sundae in the diner. Sure, I could have brought it anywhere and it’s overpriced at more than $ 10 per order, but I can’t buy the experience of enjoying the delicious sundae in a retro diner with chocolate-​making demonstration machines in the background. If it makes you feel better, you get a small discount for checking in on Unilocal!
Anyway, the square will take you less than an hour to explore unless you sat down in the many retro diners and cafes. Whether you plan to dine or not, Ghirardelli Square is definitely worth checking out!
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
The classic ice cream Sunday is still the best item on the menu. Perfectly balanced vanilla ice cream to amazing hot fudge ratio.
Sea salt caramel sundae is pretty good but over hyped, honestly. People have been flipping out over this but I don’t get why.
Midnight Reverie is OK but way too rich with chocolate ice cream AND fudge.
Mint Bliss is OK as well. Mint ice cream is really non descript.
Place rating: 5
Milpitas, CA
12÷31÷15 my best friend of 20 years flew into town for my birthday a few days ago and she wanted to go to San Francisco and site see. One of the places we went to was Ghirardelli. I have been many, many times given that I don’t live far from there but she had a wonderful time and the ice cream was amazing. My husband decided to tag along because he can’t pass up a trip to Ghirardelli! Hands down the best ice cream ever. It’s so beautiful too. Perfect view of Alcatraz and Golden Gate. Highly recommend for a date night or night out with friends!
Place rating: 4
Vancouver, Canada
I went and google where to go in San Francisco. Yes Ghirardelli Square showed up. Even trip advisor this is a must visit place. Parking is a pain because this place is located in a tourist location. But again San Fran is San Fran and any where you go parking is hard to find. Went in and the brick building is interesting. Everyone ends up going in to the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop.
I highly recommend you going into the Square and visiting their ice cream shop for some Sundae.
Place rating: 4
Fresno, CA
If you have a sweet tooth and love chocolates, this place is for you. Ghirardelli Square is located a couple of blocks away from the Fisherman’s Wharf area. We actually went into the Market place store on the west side of the square.
They have a wide variety of your favorite chocolates. They also have a ice cream bar area, along with a chocolate bar seating area. At the chocolate bar area, there were two employees melting chocolate and putting them in molds. One of them had a GoPro camera streaming live chocolate melting on a TV screen behind him.
They have several seating areas. I especially love the seating area that gives you a picturesque view of Alcatraz Island and the bay.
The employees were very helpful and nice. And of course, they handed out free samples as you walked into the store. The only drawback is that their restrooms are located outside in the middle of the square.
Will definitely return.
Place rating: 4
South El Monte, CA
I love Ghirardelli chocolate, so I came to the Ghiradelli square. The lines for this place was long, I waited for about 15 – 20 mins before I can order. If you are a tourist, they have a pamphlet where you can get $ 1 off any sundae and 10% off any chocolate purchase. The place is also really packed on the inside so try to find seats.
I ordered a Classic Ghiradelli Hot Cocoa and a World Famous Hot Fudge Sundae. The hot cocoa was delicious. You can taste their rich creamy chocolate within the the drink. The world famous hot fudge sundae was delicious too. You can tell that their fudge is made from their chocolate it has a strong taste of dark chocolate in it. On a cold and rainy day, we were crazy to get ice cream but why not something hot and cold.
I would come back but I’m not sure if I would want to wait that long for a drink or ice cream.
Place rating: 4
Mississauga, Canada
Split the brownie sundae with a friend. Highly recommend everyone to split, the portions are huge. A bit too sweet for my taste but the first couple of bites was delicious.
Place rating: 4
Portland, OR
This is one of the worst shopping malls ever. Its really bad, The only shop worth your time is the Ghirardelli shop on the corner (great sundaes).
It is the place they used to make the chocolate, now its a hotel, and a shopping mall. People also live there, I saw an episode of House Hunters on HGTV where the guy bought a great unit here., and his views!
Really the reason I give it 4 stars are for the looks, it is visible from all over, and makes a great picture. There are also always street performers out front!
Note while the category is locked I would also put it in shopping and landmarks.
Place rating: 4
Crestwood, KY
A famous San Francisco name has a nice store is a multi-​level center. In addition to the cornerstone chocolate store there are other little specialty shops on each level. The chocolate store has about every flavor and size of chocolate that they make. When you walk in they greet with free samples and if there is a flavor you want to purchase and haven’t tried they will also let you try a sample. There is a fountain where you can order a drink, ice cream, milk shakes, etc.
Place rating: 3
University City, San Diego, CA
A large square dedicated to Ghiradelli chocolate!
Came here after visiting Fishermans Wharf. We decided to walk here, which took about 15 mins or so.
Ghiradelli Square is large, but the stores all seem to be similar. There were two spots where you could order drinks, ice cream, sundaes, etc. And several shops to buy ghiradelli chocolates squares, and other types of chocolates.
This was my first time here. We walked around the square and enjoyed hot chocolate and a scoop of ice cream. It is cool to come check it out, but I’m not sure it’s a place I would come back if in town. I was hoping for something different about this location, but aside from having different stores located together in a square, I didn’t find anything different here.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
I give 3 stars to the experience of being at the square: visiting the shops, tasting some chocolate, enjoying the ice-​cream and taking some good pictures. However, I was not a fun of what we ordered — a 2 stars. Perhaps was a bad choice… I need to come back and try other options! Hehheh
There are three Ghirardelli shops, make sure to go to the largest one (at the square and not on the base).
We had a Crissy Field: the whipped cream fantastic as always, the ice cream was good but nothing special, the hot fudge I think ruins everything, the chocolate chips crumbles my favorite! And of course the milk chocolate caramel mini was delicious as well.
The coffee my husband took was not good at all.
The largest shop has place to sot down and relax, that is very cool, the service is fast and the view is very nice as well.
Place rating: 4
San Gabriel, CA
The building/​square encompasses a huge chocolate market (pricy but it is very good chocolate and I encourage you to buy as souvenirs) My favorite is the gold tin (2 for $ 20) which you can pack (smartly) like tetris and get the most of your purchase. Perfect gift!
Check in on Unilocal APP for a $ 1 off Sundae coupon.
This whole area is excellent for relaxing and getting some nice sunshine in the grass overlooking the water (walking out of the square) and the golden gate bridge (little far but still gorgeous) is visible.
Bathrooms, benches, shade, food. It’s good for taking a break from lots of walking as well.
Parking is tricky, the tiny parking lot right next to the water is free for 4 hours. After than you need to move. Most is street metered parking but you can try (on weekdays) to park on the slanted Larking St (free) but you also need a bit of luck. Bring lots of quarters for the meters.
Lots of tourists and shops to rent a bycicle there as well. Another excellent place to visit on your first time in SF.
Place rating: 4
Brooklyn, NY
Ghirardelli Square is a little square located above the Wharf. If you’re in the Wharf area, just follow where the big Ghirardelli Square sign is. The square basically revolves around the Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop.
For those of you who are first timers, there are actually 2 locations of the ice cream shop located within the square — the larger original shop in the square and the small one located at the base of the square. Make sure to visit the larger shop as my girlfriend and I stumbled upon it only after eating at the smaller one. The larger shop is where they sell all the Ghirardelli chocolate you could’ve ever dreamed of and has tables/​seating for customers who want to sit-​in and enjoy some ice cream concoctions. There is also a small little display in the back that shows customers how they make the chocolate. The square doesn’t span much territory, but if you’re a chocolate lover, it’s a can’t miss!
Place rating: 4
Henderson, NV
Visit Ghirardelli Square and get your Ghirardelli chocolate fix!
Several locations of Ghirardelli are located in the square. Visit all of them and walk out with chocolate samples from each! Aside from the sweets, the square has many cute little shops and several restaurants. There are many locals and visitors walking around this area but not as crowded as others.
If you’re taking the cable car down to the wharf, the end of the line is right across from the square. Very easy to find!
It’s a very cute square with options to please everyone. Don’t forget to get your chocolate samples!
Place rating: 3
Brentwood, CA
Not sure what all the hype is about? I might have missed it because we arrived around 8pm and it was beginning to get dark. Ghirardelli Square is literally a square of dining places… At least, that’s what I took out of my visit.
The star of the entire square is the restaurant for the Ghirardelli sundaes/​ice cream/​hot chocolate. However, the lines are extremely long and there are several of these across SF that you can visit for a shorter wait.
Because of the mass of people waiting to get their own sundaes, it took about 45 minutes from time of order to receive ours. And the sundae we had was overpowered by whipped cream instead of ice cream. I’m not complaining about that though, it still tasted like heaven. I love Ghirardelli sundaes.
The staff deserves a round of applause because as chaotic as their system is to deliver ice creams to two floors of the restaurant just going off of a number stand… they’re still really friendly and don’t mess up your order!
Place rating: 4
Villeurbanne
Ghirardelli Square, c’est un peu la caverne d’Ali Baba des gourmands et amateurs de chocolats. Partout où le regard se porte, des couleurs, des jolis packagings, sans parler des odeurs chocolatées qui se dégagent du salon de dégustation des fameuses glaces qui te font prendre 2 kilos rien qu’en regardant leur photo. ;-)
Ce square est idéal pour faire ses cadeaux souvenirs, de nombreux packagings arborent fièrement le drapeau américain, les câbles cars ou le Golden Gate Bridge.
A chacune de mes visites, j’ai eu le droit à un échantillon de l’excellent chocolat au lait, fourré au caramel… Comment né pas succomber après ça, je vous le demande ?
J’enlève juste une petite étoile car c’est souvent bondé de touristes et après avoir fait la queue plusieurs minutes pour arriver aux caisses, les caissiers sont d’une froideur extrême…
Mais pour un chocolat noir aux éclats de framboises ou un chocolat blanc aux pépites de cookies, je fermerai sans problème les yeux sur ce petit détail…
Place rating: 5
Recife - PE
Maravilhoso! Recomendo muito as sobremesas deliciosas. Wonderful! I highly recommend the delicious desserts.