Treat Yourself To Toronto’s Best Gelato
Summer in Toronto is all about patios, parks, and festivals, but all of that fun in the sun can be sweaty. Among the best options for cooling off during the dog days is a frosty cup of Italy’s favourite frozen sweet treat: gelato. Not all gelato is created equal, however. Head to one of these specialty shops for a true taste of la dolce vita.
Death in Venice
1418 Dundas St. West; deathinvenice.ca
Owner Kaya Ogruce came to Canada to study chemical engineering before training as a chef, a journey which took him to some of the world’s top restaurant kitchens and eventually to a winning spot on Chopped Canada. Death in Venice has over 50 adventurous flavours in its seasonal repertoire (think Mexican chocolate mole and ricotta lemon rosemary), with 10-15 flavours available by the scoop or pint on any given day.
Bar Ape
283 Rushton Rd.; bar-ape.com
This walk-up gelato counter, named after an Italian truck-scooter hybrid, is a neighbourhood favourite in Corso Italia. Unlike traditional gelato, Bar Ape specializes in gelato soft serve and gelato bars, both of which are available in a range of seasonal flavours. Soft serve flavours change weekly, and range from classic pistachio, to blueberry goat milk, to Ontario gooseberry.
Kekou
394 Queen St. West; kekou.ca
When Italian gelato takes a detour through southeast Asia, the results are delicious. That’s the premise behind Kekou, a shop that combines traditional gelato-making techniques with a variety of flavourful Asian ingredients like sesame, red bean, and oolong tea. In addition to their diverse selection of gelato, they also offer a tasty range of popsicles, soft-serves, and milk teas.
Plus, check out:
SanRemo Bakery
374 Royal York Rd.; sanremobakery.com
Natale Bozzo opened this traditional Italian bakery in 1969 and it’s still going strong 50 years later with his three sons behind the counter. In addition to a huge selection of freshly-baked cakes, doughnuts, bread, and deli sandwiches, SanRemo is a destination for traditional Italian gelato, with classic flavours made daily in-house like lemon, raspberry, and hazelnut.
Futura Granita + Gelato
964 St. Clair Ave West; instagram.com/futuragraniteria
Part science lab, part ice cream shop, Futura creates unique gelato flavours as well as granita (slushy gelato) and sorbetto (dairy-free gelato). Like the best gelaterias, they use fresh seasonal ingredients as much as possible, resulting in flavours like white nectarine sorbetto, Niagara strawberry granita, and fior di panna (sweet cream) gelato.
