The Best Gelato in Toronto
With the temperatures in the double digits this past weekend and lots of sun predicted in the weeks ahead, it finally looks like spring has arrived in Toronto. And when spring arrives, my mind (and stomach) keeps thinking about great ice cream and gelato.
Luckily, Toronto does not suffer from the problem of having a shortage of places to get good gelato. Instead, our problem is the inverse: with so many places to go, what are the best gelato shops in our city? We threw the question over to you, our readers, during our Best of Toronto survey, and after a very close race, we finally found this city's supreme gelateria.
Not many votes separated every entry in the survey — Dolce Gelato, La Paloma, Hollywood Gelato, Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe, Il Gelaterie Artiginale, Novecento - but in the end, it was Dolce Gelato that took the crown of the best place to get gelato in Toronto.
The fact that Dolce Gelato won is not a surprise to many: with an abundance of rich flavors (and colors — oh my, what color!) to choose from, it's almost impossible not to be tantalized by the offerings at Dolce Gelato.
Of course, if you can't make it to Dolce Gelato, there are still many wonderful gelaterias in the city. In fact, on a particularly hot day, maybe you can do a gelato tour of the city and visit all eight shops below.
If you do, be sure to call me. I'd love to tag along.
Above photo by Tim.
Dolce Gelato
Incredible flavors, incredible textures, incredible tastes, incredible overall. Hard to say anything bad about Dolce Gelato. More...
La Paloma
A staple on the Toronto gelato season, La Paloma's offerings are flavorful and authentic. More...
Hollywood Gelato
This Leaside shop is a popular hangout because the gelato is well-priced and uber-tasty. More...
Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe
The gelato is great, particularly when paired as a dessert with their awesome selection of sandwiches. More...
Il Gelaterie Artiginale
You can sum up Il Gelaterie's Artiginale's gelato and atmosphere both in two words More...
Comments (18)
The range of Gelato quality in Toronto runs from good to very good, any one of these places is perfectly credible. The best is not as good as the best Italian but the worst is actually pretty good, whereas I've occasionally come across some genuinely awful gelato in Italy (pretty rarely but it's possible, particularly in tourist heavy areas).
what about soma chocolate? although they are known for their exquisite chocolates and coffees, they do have excellent gelato.
sometimes colorful gelato is a very bad sign. it usually means food coloring. muted colors for things like pistachio generally indicates higher quality.
...but hey, i'm bias ;)
Soma Chocolate didn't make our best-of list this year, but I'll be sure to check it out
And Mike, I understand your bias. =)
Ryan: I can't think of any. Got any in mind? Ed's Real Scoop was on the ice cream list, I think.
I just moved to the East end, so have been keeping an eye on places in the Beaches showing up on the best of lists, as I do not know the area well.
Once the Lists are all up, and if I end up with a huge amount of spare time, I may try to google map the results
There's one thing that I find a little frustrating about your food reviews... they rarely indicate whether there are any... how to say... food accommodations available at these restaurants.
This is frustrating because usually your reviews are really good and very tempting!
I'm not expecting a vegetarian/vegan review, but it would be helpful to add "and it seems to have a good vegetarian selection" or "vegans might want to check out the menu online or call ahead" or something.
For instance, La Paloma has 3 soy gelatos (hazelnut, coffee & chocolate) and their sorbettos, with the exception of banana and coconut, do not have any milk in them either. It would be nice to know about the other places also, since that would have been just a quick question of the staff. Or even if it was indicated whether there was any sorbet available would be helpful to those interested in going with a variety of dietary needs.
Another example - Ed's real scoop has (vegan) sorbet...
I think that this information would be handy for everyone.
I hate to complain but I've been wanting to mention it forever.
Otherwise, I love your reviews.
Good point Perry. I'll bring it up at our next meeting and hopefully we can start incorporating that kind of information going forward. Thanks for the suggestion!
My vote is for Il Gelatiere. Not only is the gelato incredibly delicious, they also have amazingly tasty gluten free cones!
After living in Italy for a year, one of the only places that can satisfy my craving is way up north in Richmond Hill on Yonge and Major Mackenzie called 'Ti Amo'. Their dark chocolate gelato is to die for, as is there seasonal cherry. Truly worth the drive!
Ti Amo Gelato is the worst Gelato I have ever tasted! The entire shop is nothing but a con job to serve "authentic" Gelato. The service was rude and the Gelato was tasteless. I'm a proud red blooded Italian. I've eaten Gelato and regular ice cream all my life and for the first time when I ate Gelato at Ti Amo Gelato it felt like eating bland cold cream that tasted nothing like Gelato and tasted just like regular ice cream but costs twice as much. Avoid like the flu!
Solferino and Bravo Gelato were originally on this list but have been removed as they have now closed.
vulcano gelato in rye victoria and bar remigio situated in vulcano island 1 of the 7 eolie islands, in sicily. they really are the best gelati of the earth.
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