The ritual of getting ice cream in the summer never loses its novelty. No matter your age, when the temperature rises, frozen treats are a must. Toronto has much to offer those in search of their next one. From hand-crafted ice cream sandwiches to sundaes-in-colourful cones to pints layered with toppings, there’s an ice cream experience you’ll want to try in the city this summer in Toronto.
Here are the best new ice cream places to check out in Toronto and the GTA.
Founder Julia Haist started selling her scratch-made ice cream sandwiches at Underpass Park Farmers Market back in Spring 2021, but opened her first storefront at Jane and Anette this year on July 1st. She was sold out on the first day. Rotating flavours that your inner child will love, like s’mores, birthday cake, black forest, PB&J are announced regularly over on their Instagram.
Location(s): 403 Jane Street, Toronto
Store Hours: Thursday to Friday 3-8 p.m.; Saturday 1-8 p.m.; Sunday 1-6 p.m. (or until they sell out)
If you’re in the mood for a treat for the eyes and the tastebuds, Happy Sundae has what you need. This new dessert boutique from Angela Phung of aka.THESTORE has become known for its ‘dessert masterpieces’ in colourful waffle cones (think: lavender, red velvet, orange creamsicle) which are featured on their Instagram with manicures to match. Soft serve ice cream is made in-house daily at the Toronto location, and non-dairy options and gluten-free options are also available.
Location(s): 85 Portland Street, Toronto
Store Hours: Monday to Friday, 1-10 p.m.; Saturday to Sunday, 1-11 p.m.
For a limited time, Daigyo Cafe is making two authentic Japanese-style ice cream offerings available nightly after 6 p.m. Try their Hatsuki Signature Matcha & Shizuki Dragon Fruit Yuzu, named after two-night animals in Japanese folklore. The nightly dessert series, called ‘Stories After Dark, Monogatari,’ kicked off July 1st, and will only be on until September. Sate your evening sweet craving here while you can.
Location(s): 4909 Yonge Street, North York
Store Hours: Friday to Monday, 12-10 p.m.;. Tuesday to Thursday, 12-9 p.m. (ice cream offerings available after 6 p.m. Monday – Sunday until September)
For a taste of the tropics, head to this unassuming new Queen St. storefront and grab a traditional Bahamian ‘soft serve’ daiquiri in a watermelon or pineapple bowl. Flavours like mango colada, pineapple float, mango, or Bahamian sunset, come in watermelon or pineapple bowls, complete with a cocktail umbrella and candy garnishes. Daiquiris are all non-alcoholic, and vegan options are available.
Location(s): 1535 Queen Street West, Toronto
Store Hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 3-9 p.m.; Friday to Sunday, 12-9 p.m.
Rex’s quickly gained a cult following for their small-batch-made ice cream pints in flavours inspired by founder Abdul Ali’s upbringing. Their signature Caramel Lotus comes layered with caramel sauce and lotus biscoff cookies, and other flavours Somali Chai, Mombasa Mango, and blueberry pancake capture tastes you definitely won’t find anywhere else. Flavours are announced on Instagram every Saturday at 1 p.m. and are available while supplies last. Set your alarm.
Location(s): 302 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto
Store Hours: Taking orders every Saturday at 1 p.m., pick-ups at their location Thursday to Saturday 1-8 p.m. (order through their website)
Vegans are in no way limited for choice at this east-end pint & scoop shop. Here, hand-made frozen custard and vegan ice cream scoops, bars, and squares come in unique flavours like Dark & Stormy, Portuguese Custard Tart, and Sesame Peanut Butter. Everything including add-ins is handmade in small batches.
Bunner’s Bakeshop founder Ashley Wittig has moved onto a new mission: perfecting her own plant-based ice cream. Honey’s scoops 12 rotating flavours daily at the shop including peanut butter cup, creme egg, earl grey, and more. Come get a scoop and stock up on bars, pints or pies, all made from a cashew-and-coconut cream base and other food sensitivity-friendly add-ins.
Location(s): 1448 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Store Hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 12-9 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 12-10 p.m.
Tim Hortons is about to make your dessert options that much better. The iconic Canadian coffee chain is launching Tim Hortons Ice Cream.
You’ll get to shop from a total of five notable flavours which are Salted Caramel Iced Capp, Double Chocolate Donut, Birthday Cake Timbits, Apple Fritter, and Fruit Explosion.
The new Tim Hortons Ice Cream will be available in the coming weeks and is made right here in Canada—we wouldn’t expect anything else!
Sourabh Malik, Vice President of CPG at Tim Hortons, said in a release, “Canadians are going to love Tim Hortons Ice Cream and how we’ve brought our unique, only-at-Tims tastes to a new dimension. These new ice cream pints are bursting with inclusions like caramel, apple, and chocolate donut pieces.”
Tim’s donuts mixed with ice cream? Count us in!
This launch adds to the already existing presence of Tim Hortons in grocery stores with its soups, breakfast cereals, granola cars, and coffee.
If you’re looking to give the frozen treat a try, you can find it in the isle of Loblaws Great Food, Maxi, No-Frills, Real Canadian Super Store, Provigo, Fortinos, Your Independent Grocery, Longo’s Metro, Sobeys, and Walmart.
Warm weather calls for frozen goodies! There are plenty of ice cream shops around Toronto and the GTA to grab a cone (or a pint) and enjoy a lovely day outside. Nothing’s better than indulging your sweet tooth with an icy treat when the temperature rises.
Here are the best ice cream shops to check out in Toronto and the GTA.
Even though it’s August, it doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy a tasty soft serve cone, right? There are plenty of spots around Toronto to grab a cone but a select few definitely stand out above the rest. There really is nothing quite like indulging in soft serve to satisfy a sweet tooth. Some of these places have incredibly unique toppings like pretzels, macaroons, churros, and more!
Here are our top 14 places to get soft serve in Toronto!
Turning out tasty small batch soft serve ice cream and striving to achieve the highest standards of quality for each and every creation it makes is Taiyaki NYC. Get your craving satisfied when you get your hands on the cool soft serve that’s presented in one of the chain’s beautiful fish waffles!
Turning out its signature hand-rolled dough that’s made with just seven ingredients is Eva’s Original Chimneys. You can build your own dream cone with choices like apple crumble, chocolate almond, PB&J, and lots more.
Petite bakery, Roselle, offers creative takes on traditional pastries, crêpes, soft serve, teas, and coffee. You’ve probably spied its Earl Grey soft serve all over Instagram too!
If you can’t get enough of your French pastries, you’ll love the the Nadege Patisserie ice cream shop that’s just around the corner from its Queen West location.
Tsujiri is a Japanese brand that’s best known for serving up all things matcha. The brand’s matcha soft serve should definitely be on your list as well as it’s infused teas and pastries.
From original soft serve ice cream to old-fashioned sundaes, milkshakes & banana splits, this iconic spot has been around since 1969 and it’s still killing it.
Not sure about the black ice cream trend? We say give it a try because iHalo Krunch’s soft serve is seriously tasty. This tiny but popular, minimalist spot offers Asian-inspired soft-serve ice cream in ultra chic black cones.
If soft serve that’s extra is what you’re after, then Sweet Jesus needs to be in your life. Choose from the mega popular chain’s assortment of cones, cakes, fraps, hot chocolates, and even take-home kits.
If your dairy-free diet is what’s keeping you from enjoying some soft serve, then head over to Butter Baker for a truly delicious treat. Run by the folks behind Butter Avenue, this spot is known for its swirly pink and white soft serve in a tasty waffle cone.
Can’t decide between ice cream and soft serve? Pop over to Home Baking Co. in Bloordale Village and you can mash up your own custom treat with a blend of the two as the shop carried ice creams from Ed’s Real Scoop. We hear the Earl Grey soft serve made with Sloane Tea is a real hit!
Most head to Wrvst for the weiners but you should really stay for the soft serve. The beer hall has two locations and both are serving up a great menu of soft serve with flavours like maple rosemary and toasted marshmallow.
As true Torontonians, we can’t wait for the warmer weather that’s (hopefully) just around the corner. One thing we miss so much during winter is ice cream but if you’re not wanting to totally indulge, then we’ve got some amazing news. In between counting your calories, meal prepping and cheat days, ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s has created Moo-phoria, a euphoric line with 150-170 calories per ½ cup serving, so you never have to miss an opportunity to indulge in a good old fashioned scoop.
Moo-phoria pints contain sixty per cent less fat and thirty-five per cent fewer calories compared to traditional ice cream. But have no fear, they are still made with the same traditional Ben & Jerry’s commitment to flavour — including the same chunks and swirls fans can’t resist!
The Moo-phoria line includes three low-cal delicious flavours that are now available in Canada just in time for summer!
Dive into this rich chocolate treat that’s loaded with gobs of chocolate chip and peanut butter!
On top of being the easiest guilt-free snack, each Moo-phoria flavour is made with non-GMO sourced ingredients and use Fairtrade-certified ingredients. Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria is now available in grocery stores across Canada for $6.99.
Yellow Pages released a list of the 15 Best Ice Cream Shops in the Country. Yellow pages took into consideration a number of factors that lead to their results. YP looked at quality, uniqueness, the flavour of the Ice Cream and the ambiance of the shop, the attitude of the staff and the value of the ice cream for the price.
With scouting over the entire country, only two Ontario based Ice Cream Shops made the list. Dairy Cream is an institution in Mississauga and has been chosen as one of the 15 Best Ice Cream shops in Canada.
We do have to concede that there is another Ontario ice cream shop that made the list. Slickers Ice Cream in Bloomfield, Ontario also made the list but let’s give some love to Mississauga.
According to Dairy Cream, the shop offers over 25 flavours and makes waffles, funnel cakes and offers great prices and awesome serving.
Everyone knows Nadège Patisserie as a major game changer in the pastry sector in Toronto. The brand has become a go-to for people who have a passion for elaborate modern and tasty dessert creations. Since the actual opening of Nadège in 2009, the brand has expanded to four locations in Toronto and recently launched their own ice cream.
The company’s first store was a street front at Queen Street West. It also has locations at Scarborough Town Centre, Rosedale, Path Richmond-Adelaide Centre and Yorkdale. They sell everything from high-end cakes to macarons. Now with their new ice cream and sorbet, you can even add tiny macaroons as a topping!
“The way we did things nobody ever done it before,” said Nourian. “There’s nothing quite like it in Toronto. Even when we were buying ingredients with the supplier we had to even educate our supplier because they didn’t even know what we were talking about. Like in terms of quality that was really new for pastries and the way we presented it and the way we packaged it beautifully. Nobody in Toronto really took the lead on that before.”
It seems like every summer there’s a new ice cream trend and we’ve officially found the next new frozen dairy craze for summer 2018. Usually, the newest creation comes from LA or Tokyo but this time we started it. Welcome cotton candy “tortilla” with ice cream to the mix – it’s about to be the new thing.
Sugar Sugar in Sarnia, Ontario went viral last summer when news spread of its ice cream burrito; an extraordinary dessert that has ice cream, candy, sprinkles and basically anything else you want for toppings. Then it’s wrapped up inside a flattened disc of candy floss.
Until now, the only way to get an ice cream burrito would be a long drive to Sarnia but someone has taken the trend to Toronto. YOSH! (formerly Sumeshi) is bringing its own take at Toronto’s Taste of Asia Street Festival this weekend. It’s supposed to be one of Canada’s largest Asian festivals. It’s located on Kennedy Road near Steeles Avenue.
Kinder, the chocolatier famous for Kinder Suprise and Bueno bars has recently sent the internet into a frenzy with the announcement of a new product line. Kinder proudly introduces three new ice cream versions of their most famous candy bars.
This summer Kinder fans will be able to enjoy the new Kinder ice cream sandwich, Kinder ice cream stick or the yummy Kinder Bueno ice cream cone. While kinder has yet to confirm if these delicious treats will make its way into Canada (we freaking hope so) the new ice cream is being described as “fine hazelnut milk ice meets a core of Kinder milk chocolate sauce embedded in a crispy croissant covered with a fine layer of hazelnut cream made from Ferrero hazelnuts”.
