Let’s face it: every parent has bribed their cranky child with an ice cream cone at the end of a long day. So it might as well be from a local store serving quality goods, right? Nothing satisfies on a hot summer day than a nice ice cream or gelato treat! You can find interesting concoctions across the city, whether you’re in the mood for hard scoop, Thai rolled ice cream, soft-serve or gelato. So, dig into our Guide to the Best Ice Cream and Gelato Shops in Toronto!

Hard Scoop & Rolled Ice Cream

Bang Bang Ice Cream
Address: 93A Ossington Avenue, Toronto
For a different vibe than a regular, why not have your ice cream in a retro glass jar or an ice cream sandwich on a choice of fresh cookies?
Must-try flavours: Burnt Toffee, Cinnamon Toast, Lychee Rosewater Raspberry, London Fog, Totaro

The Big Chill
Address: 566 College Street, Toronto
Get those old-school feels with tons of flavours and topping options, plus smoothies, milkshakes and sundaes.
Must-try flavours: Banana Split, Malt Milkshake, Hot Fudge Sundae

Brett’s Ice Cream 
Address: 1007 Kingston Road & 3148 Kingston Road, Toronto
With two locations in the Upper Beaches, east enders can get their fill with new and interesting flavours.
Flavours: Key Lime Pie, Cinnamon Bun, Banana Nutella

Booyah
Address: 16 Vaughan Road, Toronto
Known for their ice cream tacos, his shop offers a large menu of treats for all tastes, including vegan options.
Must-try flavours: Peanut Butter & Jelly, German Chocolate, Key Lime Pie

Carter’s Ice Cream
Address: 3 Woodmount Ave., Toronto
This small store delivers big smiles, carrying Kawartha Dairy products as well as baked goods.
Must-try flavours: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Salty Caramel Truffle, Moon Mist

Demetre’s and Scooped by Demetre’s
Address: 11 locations of Demetre’s and 2 locations of Scooped by Demetre’s
Whether dining of one of Demetre’s dessert cafés across the GTA or at their Scooped outposts downtown, you’ll find lots of quality ice cream options!
Must-try flavours: Cajeta Swirled Goat Cheese, Lemon Curd Blueberry, Roasted White Chocolate

Dutch Dreams
Address: 36 Vaughan Road, Toronto
This famous establishment is so notoriously over-the-top with their creations, everyone has sweet dreams after indulging!
Must-try flavours: Cotton Candy, Unicorn, Moose Droppings

Ed’s Real Scoop
Address: The Beach: 2224 Queen Street East, Leslieville: 920 Queen Street East, Roncesvalles: 189 Roncesvalles Ave; Mimico: 2370 Lakeshore Blvd West
Ed’s covers Toronto’s beach areas in ice-creamy deliciousness with their scoops and cakes, from Balmy Beach in the east, all the way to Mimico in Etobicoke!
Must-try flavours: French Mint, Burnt Marshmallow, Tanzanian Dark Chocolate Gelato, Mango Sorbet

Good Behaviour
Address: 335 Queen St. West; 342 Westmoreland Ave. North; 1324 Gerrard St. East, Toronto
Known first for their scrumptious sub sandwiches, Torontonians from west, north and east also flock here for scoops and pints of ice cream in both classic and funky flavours.
Must-try flavours: Caramel Macchiatto, Black Sesame, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Peanut Butter

Honey’s Ice Cream
Address: 1448 Dundas St. West, Toronto
After starting as a baker, the founder turned their tastes to ice cream, with delicious results! Try their ice cream bars, tacos, sandwiches, pies and pints.
Must-try flavours: Peanut Butter & Saltine Crackers, Sweet Cream, Double Chocolate Chip Brownie, Birthday Cake

Ice Cream Junction
Address: 3103 Dundas St. West, Toronto
This classic ice cream features many flavours, as well as floats, sundaes, cakes, sandwiches and shakes.
Must-try flavours: Moose Tracks, Blue Bubblegum, Salty Caramel Truffle

Kawartha Dairy
Address: 888 Danforth Ave., Toronto
This beloved dairy company from the Kawartha Lakes are of eastern Ontario has now finally opened a location in Toronto! Not only can you find numerous ice cream flavours available by the cone, there’s also a massive freezer with hard-to-find flavours plus other delicious locally-made treats.

OOPS Ice Cream
Address: 261 Coxwell Avenue, Toronto
Newly opened in the Gerrard Indian Bazaar neighbourhood, small batches of ice cream are made right in the store! Pints are also available to take home.
Must-try flavours: Cinnamon Sugar, Dark Chocolate, Wild Blueberry Cheesecake, Praline & Coffee

Roll Me Up Ice Cream and Desserts
Address: 62 Overlea Blvd. Toronto; 31 Rexdale Blvd Unit C3109, Etobicoke, plus Markham, Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill
Across the GTA, you’ll find plenty of satisfying options here, including rolled and scooped ice cream, waffles, cakes, shakes, smoothies and falooda (a South Asian dessert that is hard to find in Canada!).
Must-try flavours: Smore’s Campfire Memories, Birthday Cake, Pink Lady, Mango Falooda

Ruru Baked
Address: 659 Lansdowne Ave., Toronto; plus Markham
In Bloordale, Ruru Baked makes small-batch custard ice creams and treats in fun new flavours at their modern shop.
Must-try flavours: Orange Dreamsicle, White Choco Deluxe, Black Sesame, Oolong

Summer’s Ice Cream
Address: 101 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto
Serving customers in Yorkville since 1984, Summer’s serves high-quality homemade ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbets.
Must-try flavours: Toronto Pothole, Credit River Turtle, Pecan Chocolate Swirl, Coconut Cream

Soft-Serve

Eva’s Original Chimneys
Address: 454 Bloor St. West, Toronto; plus Port Credit and Square One in Mississauga, CNE Food Building (during the CNE only)
Ever heard of a chimney cake? It’s a baked pastry, filled up ice cream! It’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Must-try flavours: Oreo Chocolate, The Dream Cone, Berrylicious

The Fix Ice Cream Bar
Address: 207 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Get your *fix* down at Toronto’s waterfront, with crazy sundae concoctions plus scoops, sandwiches and plated desserts.
Must-try flavours: Love Is Love, Like a Sir, Campfire

iHalo Krunch
Address: Trinity Bellwoods: 831 Queen St. West, High Park: 2114 Bloor St. West (temporarily closed), Danforth: 602 Danforth Ave. Unit B; plus Unionville
iHalo is famous for its Asian-inspired flavours and unusual black cones, naturally coloured with activated charcoal and made from coconut husk. Very instagrammable!
Must-try flavours: Ube, Matcha, Black Coconut

La Diperie
Address: Nine locations around Toronto – Bay Street, Bayview, Beaches, Danforth, Etobicoke, Harbord Street, High Park, John Street, Yonge & Lawrence; plus Ajax, Burlington, Halton Hills, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Pickering
Originally from Montréal, this chain serves dipped cones and pretty much any topping you can dream up. They are plenty of interesting combinations to try!
Must-try flavours: Kid At Heart, Après Match, Le Rocher, The Montrealer

Milkcow Café
Address: 2651 Yonge Street, North York
Uptown in the Yonge & Eglinton area, Milkcow makes organic milk soft ice cream and desserts, sourced without preservatives.
Must-try flavours: Mango croffle, Pineapple Chamoy Soft Serve, Watermelon sandwich, Brown Sugar soufflé with boba

Sweet Jesus
Address: Locations across Ontario here
The sweet side of the La Carnita taco empire, Sweet Jesus started the trend of crazy additions to cones here in Toronto, including cotton candy and cookie crumbles.
Must-try flavours: Krusty the Kone, Oh Hungry, Birthday Cake, Bangin’ Brownie

Tom’s Dairy Freeze
Address: 630 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Tom’s is absolute institution in Etobicoke, serving every old-school dessert imaginable, including cones, shakes, slushes, sundaes, sandwiches and hard scoops, since 1969!
Must-try flavours: Flavour bursts, dipped cones, sundaes

Gelato

Bar Ape Gelato Company
Address: 283 Rushton Road, Toronto
Bar Ape is Toronto’s original gelato soft-serve with a new pairing every week, often focusing on whatever seasonal fruits are available.
Must-try flavours: Changing seasonal fruits, such as sour cherries, peaches, apricots, melons

Beaches N’ Cream
Address: 2075 Queen St. East (Kew Beach), Toronto
This small ice cream hut right off the boardwalk in The Beach and gets very busy in warm weather, where beach bums can enjoy their treats on the patio beside a living wall.
Must-try flavours: Bacio, Mint Chocolate Chip, Raspberry Cheesecake

Dolce Gelato
Address: Three locations in Toronto – Kensington Market: 234 Augusta Ave., College: 697 College Street, Danforth: 414 Danforth Ave.
Brought to Toronto by an Italian ex-pat, Dolce Gelato is one of our city’s best spots to go for gelato, with cases full of delightful colours and flavour.
Must-try flavours: Caramel Crunch, Fruit Di Bosco, Blue Banana Cotton Candy, Nutella

Hollywood Gelato
Address: 1640 Bayview Avenue, Toronto
Hollywood Gelato makes authentic gelato with innovative flavours, made in-house using only the finest ingredients available.
Must-try flavours: Pistachio, Hazelnut, Lemon, Cookies nʼ Cream, Peanut Butter Chocolate Wafer, Skor

Gelato on the Danny & Espresso Bar
Address: 1772 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
This small but sweet local café on Danforth East serves all the classic favourites and also make yummy coffee products for the adults.
Must-try flavours: Tiramisu, Nocciola, Panna Cotta, Stracciatella

Lola’s Gelato
Address: 14B Brookers Lane, Etobicoke
Head to Etobicoke for classic gelato flavours, as well as vegan and dairy-free options. They even make gelato cakes!
Must-try flavours: Dubai Chocolate, Birthday Cake, Cherry Cheesecake, Chocolate Mint, Coffee, Ferrero Rocher, Lemon

Mizzica Gelateria & Café
Address: 307 Queen St. West & 2375 Yonge Street, Toronto
It’s a pretty good bet that a gelato seller that has won awards in Palermo, Italy, knows what they’re doing! In fact, when they recently opened their second location Midtown, the line-ups were down the block.
Must-try flavours: Bacio, Watermelon, Torrone Almond, Pistachio Siciliano, Vegan Dark Chocolate, Coconut

Nani’s Gelato
Address: Expanding list of locations here
Specializing in artisanal gelato in authentic Italian and nostalgic Asian flavours, Nani’s has expanded quickly since starting out in 2020 and now has five locations in the GTA.
Must-try flavours: Belgian Cookie, Mango Lassi, Ontario Strawberry

Punto Gelato Toronto 
Address: 26 Densley Ave., Unit 3, Toronto
This gelato maker create gelato flavours in the classic Italian style, homemade and in-house, and is one of the best-rated gelaterias in the city.
Must-try flavours: Pistachio, Tiramisù, Stracciatella, Raspberry

Your Gelato
Address: 2009 Avenue Road, Toronto
In the Bedford Park area, you can try some of their handmade milky or dairy-free gelatos prepared with the best natural ingredients, plus gelato cakes and smoothies.
Must-try flavours: Tiramisu, Salted Caramel, Stracciatella

Is your tummy rumbling? Then, check out our Food & Drink event list here!