Eating a full pint of ice cream is almost always a bad idea. With its high sugar and fat content, it’s a near guarantee you’ll be left regretting it, not just for the calories, but for that sickly, uncomfortable feeling in your gut.
However, swap “ice cream” for gelato, and suddenly indulgence doesn’t feel quite so sinful. Unlike industrial ice cream, gelato is churned with minimal air, giving it a dense, velvety texture. Its lower butterfat content and slightly warmer serving temperature intensify flavours, demanding top-quality ingredients. Flaws are impossible to hide.
We’re not necessarily suggesting you test this theory with an entire pint yourself. But Toronto is bursting with exceptional gelato spots, and scooping your way through this curated list might just be the sweetest (and most guilt-free) solution you’re looking for.
Where to Find the Best Gelato in Toronto
We have scoured the labs, the tiny shops, and the hidden commissaries. What follows are the 9 best scoops that treat this craft with the respect it deserves. Start here.
1. Mizzica Gelateria & Cafe
Signature Dish: Pistachio Gelato. This is the ultimate test of a traditional gelateria. It delivers an authentic, rich pistachio flavour achieved through the use of premium products.
Vibe Check: A perpetually busy spot, characterized by its royal blue interior. A family-owned operation that strives for an authentic Sicilian experience.
Address: 307 Queen St W & 2375 Yonge St
Why It Made the Cut: Mizzica sets the essential traditional standard against which all experimental or fusion shops must be measured. Their commitment to authenticity ensures that the fundamental craft of gelato-making remains respected.
2. Death in Venice Gelato Co.
Signature Dish: Smoked Pecan and Maple Butter Tart Gelato. This flavour captures the Ontario identity: the buttery sweetness of the tart and deep maple and a smoky finish.
Vibe Check: Inventive and heavily aesthetic, yet maintaining a “gelato lab” atmosphere. The flavour selection rotates frequently, meaning what you love today may be off the menu next week.
Address: 1418 Dundas St W
Why It Made the Cut: They prove high-art gelato can be rooted in local, often challenging, ingredients while maintaining textural authenticity. This commitment to innovative, yet precise, flavour pairings is what defines their ethos.
3. Hollywood Gelato
Signature Dish: Biscoff Cookie. This is the definition of their rich base perfected. It exemplifies the shop’s ability to flawlessly integrate crunchy, spiced mix-ins into a thick, undiluted base. When they offer their Oh Henry flavor, it is similarly lauded for its density and authenticity.
Vibe Check: Old-school, family-run business in mid-town Bayview, prioritizing the product over trend or atmosphere.
Address: 1640 Bayview Ave
Why It Made the Cut: Consistency is their weapon. Critics and loyalists praise the superior texture and density, which feels richer than typical gelato. They deliver intense, high-quality flavour depth without resorting to novelty.
4. Dolce Gelato
Signature Dish: Stracciatella. This classic flavour requires precision: a delicate vanilla base riddled with thin, dark chocolate shards. The chocolate shatters on the palate, ensuring the vanilla base is enhanced, not overwhelmed.
Vibe Check: A gritty, vibrant setting at both locations. The atmosphere suggests quick grab-and-go is the primary function.
Address: 234 Augusta Ave & 414 Danforth Ave
Why It Made the Cut: Surviving in Kensington Market demands resilience. They successfully offer traditional Italian flavours, such as Spumoni and Limone, alongside more daring modern twists.
5. SOMA Chocolatemaker
Signature Dish: Chocolate Gelato. This is a purity test. Skip the generic cocoa powder used by lesser shops; SOMA uses pure cacao fondant. The result is complex, intensely dark, and less sweet than virtually any other chocolate offering in the city, forcing the quality of the bean itself to be the defining feature.
Vibe Check: Artisan, industrial chic, focused entirely on the source of the bean and the process of chocolate making. This is a serious stop for serious palates.
Address: 443 King St W, 32 Tank House Lane & 77 Brock Ave
Why It Made the Cut: They prioritize bitter complexity over sugary sweetness. Their expertise in chocolate-making shines in their gelato. While they only serve in the summer, packaged pints are available for purchase year-round.
6. Venerosa Gelato
Signature Dish: Amarena Cherry Gelato. This flavour blends a classic creamy vanilla base with luscious Italian dark cherries (Amarena), balancing creamy richness with a necessary dark fruit tartness.
Vibe Check: A cozy, warm atmosphere in the highly competitive Queen St West area. They emphasize the commitment of love and passion to the dessert experience.
Address: 801 Queen St W
Why It Made the Cut: Venerosa is defined by its dedication to premium, natural ingredients. They craft unique flavours in small batches, guaranteeing quality and authenticity without artificial colours or flavours, upholding strict quality standards.
7. Nani’s Gelato
Signature Dish: Saffron Cardamom Kulfi Gelato. This is the flagship flavour of a rapidly expanding operation. It translates the dense, intense South Asian dessert kulfi, built on a khoya base, into gelato. The profile is floral, deeply spiced, and earthy.
Vibe Check: Trendy, accessible, and rapidly scaling with multiple GTA locations. They represent a successful model of fusion done right.
Address: Multiple locations, including 6 Charles St E
Why It Made the Cut: Nani’s successfully takes powerful, beloved regional flavours and translates them through exacting Italian technique. When this fusion lands, as it does with the Kulfi, it achieves a complexity that traditional Italian flavours cannot touch.
8. Ed’s Real Scoop
Signature Dish: Tanzanian Dark Chocolate Gelato. While Ed’s is locally famous for its ice cream (specifically Burnt Marshmallow), their gelato offerings are serious contenders. This specific recipe uses 73% Tanzanian Dark Chocolate, creating a rich, slightly bitter product expertly tempered for texture.
Vibe Check: Local institution with neighbourhood locations, offering a slightly more classic, family-friendly atmosphere compared to the downtown labs.
Address: 920 Queen St E; 189 Roncesvalles Ave; 2224 Queen St E
Why It Made the Cut: Longevity and quality control in a small-batch, multi-location operation. This specific dark chocolate gelato proves that they understand the cacao complexity and density required for true gelato, distinguishing their offering from the high-air ice cream that built their name.
9. Gemma Gelateria
Signature Dish: Classic Pistachio. A bestseller for a reason. It’s creamy, earthy and sweet all at once.
Vibe Check: Minimal, yet welcoming. Both locations are bright, with lots of tables and seating for groups of friends or families.
Address: 146 Cumberland St and 2076 Yonge St
Why It Made the Cut: With over 120 to choose from year-round, there’s something for everyone. Their approach is classic and true to the traditional Italian roots of gelato.
Bookmark Before It Melts
Stop scrolling, start scooping. Save this list, text it to the other skeptics, and go taste the real best gelato Toronto has to offer.
Toronto Gelato Questions, Answered Without the Added Sugar
The distinction between a true artisan gelateria and a tourist trap hinges on simple, objective differences in production technique.
Why is true gelato always served with a flat spoon (spade)?
Because it’s denser. Gelato is served with a spade, not aggressively scooped, to preserve its dense, elastic texture and prevent aeration. Scooping introduces unnecessary air, damaging the texture. If the server is whipping the gelato vigorously, they are compromising the product’s integrity.
Is gelato actually healthier than ice cream?
Technically, yes. Gelato has significantly less fat (3–9% milkfat) and often fewer calories because it uses more milk and less cream compared to American ice cream (which can range up to 25% fat). However, the real takeaway is that the lower fat content is why the flavour is infinitely richer: less fat coating the tongue allows the pure ingredients to hit harder.
What is sorbetto, and why should I care?
Sorbetto is the fruit version of gelato, utilizing a base of water and sugar instead of milk or cream. It is naturally dairy-free and vegan. Sorbetto is the ultimate purity test of fruit quality, as there is absolutely nothing to hide behind. Look for intense, acidic-sweet perfection that relies entirely on the quality of the fruit.
Does “artisanal” always mean high quality in Toronto?
No. The term has been cheapened by overuse. True artisanal quality is demonstrated only by verifiable technical evidence, like high-grade imported nuts and fruits, bean-to-bar sourcing, or the specialized training of the chef. If a shop sells 100 watery flavors, the “artisanal” label is meaningless. Look for the technical metrics, not the marketing copy.
What’s the easiest way to spot fake gelato?
Look at the height and the colour. If the gelato is piled up in huge, unnatural, brightly coloured mounds, walk away. Gelato is soft and dense; it naturally slumps or flows down over time. Tall, eye-catching displays are often a visual trick used by lower-quality shops that rely on chemical stabilizers and excessive air to maintain a rigid, artificial shape.
Cut the Sugar, Get to Work
Toronto’s gelato scene is proof that dessert can be both indulgent and thoughtful. The top gelaterias showcase a range of techniques, ingredients, and creative visions that elevate frozen dessert to an art form.
Whether you favour chocolate that’s dark and complex, fruit that bursts with natural tang, or a flavour fusion that surprises your palate, Toronto has a gelato experience waiting for you.
Each shop offers a scoop of Toronto’s cool culture. So, grab a spade, and taste your way through the city with intention.
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