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It’s 30+ degrees, the next streetcar is late, and the only thing that’s going to fix your mood is a cone melting down your hand before you’ve made it halfway down the block. Good news: TO takes its ice cream seriously.
The best ice cream in Toronto isn’t one thing. It’s a cookie sandwich on Ossington, a jet-black charcoal cone on Queen West, and a scoop in Yorkville that has been made by hand since 1984. Some of it even comes from fine-dining chefs. While some comes from a truck that grew up and got its own address. All of it is worth the walk.
Here are 12 Toronto ice cream spots to hit before summer’s over, spread across the city so there’s one near you. Bring napkins!
1. Bang Bang Ice Cream — Ossington
Address: 93A Ossington Ave
What to Order: The ice cream cookie sandwich, on a fresh-baked cookie of your choice
Vibe Check: Perpetual line out the door, and worth it
Why It Made the List: The cookie sandwich basically invented the modern Toronto ice cream lineup
Bang Bang is the ice cream offshoot of Bakerbots bakery, which means the cookies hugging your scoop came out of an oven that morning. Flavours rotate through things like London Fog, burnt toffee, and matcha, but the real move is the sandwich. Feeling ambitious? Get it in a Hong Kong-style egg waffle cone instead.
Insider tip: The line is shortest on a weekday afternoon. Weekend evenings, expect to wait 20 minutes minimum.
2. Summer’s Ice Cream — Yorkville
Address: 101 Yorkville Ave
What to Order: Butterscotch, in a cone pressed that morning
Vibe Check: Old-school Yorkville, zero pretension
Why It Made the List: Homemade daily since 1984, three generations deep
While the rest of Yorkville got fancy, Summer’s just kept scooping. The Tokey family has been making ice cream here since 1984, and the waffle cones are still pressed on site every single day. The butterscotch has a genuine cult following, and once you try it you’ll understand why.
Insider tip: It’s a small shop on a quiet stretch. Grab your cone and walk it over toward the Village of Yorkville Park. With customers like Drake and Adam Sandler stopping by you never know who you might run into.
3. Dutch Dreams — Wychwood
Address: 36 Vaughan Rd
What to Order: Any cone, absolutely loaded with fresh fruit and whipped cream
Vibe Check: Delightfully over the top
Why It Made the List: Nobody garnishes a cone like this
The Aben family has run Dutch Dreams since the 1980s, and their whole thing is excess. You order ice cream and it comes back buried under fruit, whipped cream, and coconut, on a cone made in house. There are more than 60 flavours, including local ones like 6ixBuzz and Toronto Traffic Jam.
Insider tip: Come hungry. These portions are not a suggestion.
4. Ed’s Real Scoop — The Beach, Leslieville, Roncesvalles, Mimico
Address: Four east and west-end locations
What to Order: Whatever’s newest, plus a scoop of the espresso gelato
Vibe Check: Neighbourhood ice cream shop, done right
Why It Made the List: Small-batch, made on site with Ontario dairy since 2000
Ed’s churns its ice cream slowly, in small batches, using Ontario milk and cream. They also do gelato and sorbet, so nobody in your group gets left out. With four shops across the east and west ends, there’s a good chance one is near you.
Insider tip: They’ll let you sample before you commit. Use that power wisely.
5. Death in Venice Gelato — Dundas West
Address: 1418 Dundas St W
What to Order: Whatever weird flavour is on rotation today
Vibe Check: Gelato as a chef’s playground
Why It Made the List: 16 rotating flavours a day, none of them boring
This is where gelato gets experimental. Death in Venice runs 16 flavours a day and swaps them constantly, landing on things like Ricotta Rosemary Lemon, Smoked Pecan and Maple Butter Tart, or Olive Oil and Sea Salt. It shouldn’t work. It does.
Insider tip: Check their Instagram before you go so you know what’s scooping that day.
6. Mizzica Geletaria — Queen West and Midtown
Address: 307 Queen St W and 2375 Yonge St
What to Order: Sicilian pistachio
Vibe Check: Proper Italian gelateria and café
Why It Made the List: Real imported ingredients, made fresh every day
Mizzica doesn’t cut corners. The gelato is made in house daily with Sicilian pistachio and hazelnut from Piemonte, and you can taste the difference. Adventurous flavours like black sesame round out a lineup that leans classic and does it properly.
Insider tip: The Queen West spot stays open late, so it’s an easy after-dinner stop downtown.
7. Hollywood Gelato — Leaside
Address: 1640 Bayview Ave
What to Order: Cake Batter, or whatever the Flavour of the Week is
Vibe Check: Family-run Leaside institution
Why It Made the List: Fun, dessert-forward flavours you won’t find everywhere
If you like your frozen dessert to taste like cake or a chocolate bar, this is your spot. Hollywood Gelato leans into playful flavours like OH Henry, Red Velvet, and Cake Batter, plus a rotating Flavour of the Week. It’s been a Bayview fixture for years.
Insider tip: Pair a scoop with a stroll down the Bayview strip. It’s one of the more underrated corners of the city.
8. Good Behaviour — Christie Pits, Kensington, Bloor Street
Address: 146 Christie St, 189 Augusta Ave, 50 Bloor St W
What to Order: Torta Della Nonna, plus a submarine sandwich for the road
Vibe Check: Fine-dining brains, ice cream shop heart
Why It Made the List: Chef-led ice cream that actually earns the hype
Good Behaviour comes from Michael Lam, who cooked at spots like Buca and Omaw, and his partner Eric Chow. That pedigree shows up in flavours like Torta Della Nonna, built on a lemon-ricotta base. They do submarine sandwiches too, because why not.
Insider tip: Get a sub and a scoop. It’s the most Toronto lunch you’ll have all summer.
9. Bar Ape — St. Clair West
Address: 283 Rushton Rd
What to Order: Whatever soft serve combo is up today
Vibe Check: Tiny, cash-only, worth the pilgrimage
Why It Made the List: Toronto’s first gelato truck, all grown up
Bar Ape started as a vintage Piaggio gelato truck and eventually parked itself into a proper shop near St. Clair and Rushton. The soft serve changes constantly, with combinations like Ontario cantaloupe with sweet milk, or salted pineapple with mint.
Insider tip: Bring cash, it’s cash-only, and go while you can. It’s seasonal and closes up around Thanksgiving.
10. Nani’s Gelato — Yonge and Bloor, Liberty Village
Address: 6 Charles St E and 120 Lynn Williams St
What to Order: Mango lassi
Vibe Check: South Asian flavours meet Italian technique
Why It Made the List: Nobody else in the city is doing gelato quite like this
Nani’s takes the flavours a lot of Torontonians grew up with and turns them into gelato. Mango lassi is always in the case, alongside saffron cardamom kulfi and carrot halwa. Flavours rotate, so there’s usually something new waiting.
Insider tip: The mango lassi is the gateway. Start there, then branch out.
11. Super Serve — Kensington Market
Address: 562 Dundas St W
What to Order: A classic swirl, loaded with toppings
Vibe Check: Retro soft serve counter with green-checkered floors
Why It Made the List: Soft serve done with real care, from a serious food team
Super Serve comes from the crew behind Kensington Mexican bar El Rey, and it’s soft serve only. The space is all retro charm, and it’s mostly takeout, which is exactly what you want when you’re wandering the market on a hot day.
Insider tip: Grab your swirl and eat it on the move. Kensington was made for this.
12. iHalo Krunch — Queen West and High Park
Address: 831 Queen St W and 2114 Bloor St W
What to Order: The signature black charcoal cone
Vibe Check: The most photogenic cone in the city
Why It Made the List: Those jet-black cones basically run Toronto’s ice cream Instagram
You’ve seen these cones online whether you realize it or not. iHalo Krunch makes a jet-black cone, coloured naturally with coconut-husk charcoal and hand-rolled daily, with a little treat waiting at the bottom. The soft serve inside is Asian-inspired and just as good as it looks.
Insider tip: Yes, the black cone is worth the photo. No, it doesn’t taste like charcoal.
Best Ice Cream in Toronto: A Few Quick Answers
What’s the most Instagram-worthy scoop?
iHalo Krunch‘s charcoal cone, no contest. Dutch Dreams‘ loaded cones are a close second.
Where should I go for something different?
Death in Venice for wild rotating flavours, or Nani’s for South Asian-inspired gelato.
Best spot for a classic, old-school cone?
Summer’s in Yorkville has been doing it right since 1984.
So there’s your summer sorted. Whether you’re a purist who wants a single scoop of pistachio or the kind of person who needs a charcoal cone for the photo, the best ice cream in Toronto is closer than you think.
Been to one we missed? Tell us your go-to in the comments, and tag us on Instagram with your cone.
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