It's shaping up to be on of the hottest summers on record, and that calls for the best ice cream in Toronto. After picnicking in a park, baking on one of the city's best patios or even after a long day in an ice cold office, there's no better way to cap off a summer day than with an ice cream cone — or cup, if you're messy (no judgement).
Of course, you can always eat ice cream at any time of year, but some of the best ice cream shops are seasonal, so we have to enjoy them while we can. While other cold, sweet treats like bubble tea or matcha are always around, ice cream is fleeting. Maybe that's why it feels like the most nostalgic of desserts.
Hearing the tune of the ice cream truck will always fill our hearts with joy, but Toronto is home to a lot of amazing, gourmet ice cream shops that use real ingredients and make their ice cream with heart.
From the internet-breaking Ruru Baked to the pandemic-baby masterpiece that is Good Behaviour, we've got your ultimate ice cream bucket list to check off before fall.
Summer is back, baby. And we think it's worth celebrating with two scoops of peanut butter chocolate or a towering cone of softt-serve overflowing with all the toppings.
Toronto's best ice cream: 13 shops you need to try this summer
1. Ed’s Real Scoop
Multiple locations
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Since 2000, Ed Francis has been charming us with small-batch ice cream. Now the iconic shop has four locations across Toronto (The Beaches, Leslieville, Roncesvalles and Mimico), which each select their own flavours from a recipe book of over 150 ice creams, gelatos, sorbets and yogurts. But we'll always go for the famous burnt marshmallow in a waffle cone.
2. Summer’s Ice Cream
101 Yorkville Ave.
Summer’s is a Yorkville landmark — it’s been around for 38 years, after all. You know summer has officially started when the line outside Summer’s starts to wrap around the corner. From Sour Patch Kids toppings to sprinkle-covered waffle cones and, of course, those ice cream sundaes, Summer’s feels instantly nostalgic. Not down for lines? They have pints of their famous flavours to enjoy at home.
3. The Big Chill
566 College St.
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Go back in time at this retro ice cream parlour on College Street. The Big Chill looks like it’s right out of a 1950s movie — checkered floors, shiny pink barstools, a vintage tin ceiling. Split a banana split sundae with your SO, or don’t share at all. Create your own cone with a combination of over 30 ice cream flavours and 20 toppings from hot fudge sauce to mini Oreos. Psst, they’ve been known to throw the occasional concert on their summer patio.
4. Fugo Desserts
205 Dundas St. W.
Ice cream here comes piled high with all the accoutrements. Behold the Cookie Monster: blue ice cream topped with mini Chips Ahoy cookies in an Oreo cone. Or the Skor brownie flavour coated with toasted marshmallows. While you’re there, grab a few of the specialty mini donuts that they’re known for. We like the mini donuts right on top of our handcrafted scoops.
5. Bang Bang Ice Cream
93A Ossington Ave.
It could be the rainiest, crummiest day, and there’d STILL be a line outside Bang Bang Ice Cream where decadent homemade cookies sandwich a generous scoop of small-batch ice cream. Their warm cinibun ice cream sandwich also makes for a treat worth wrapping your mouth around. Or swaddle your bundle of cold creamy joy in a puffy Hong Kong-style waffle cone.
6. Ruru Baked
659 Lansdowne Ave.
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Sweet-and-salty miso butterscotch, buttery matcha shortbread, house-made pineapple jam — each one of Ruru Baked’s custard ice creams is pure indulgence. Originally a pop-up that sold out of its imaginative flavours in minutes, you can now grab the city’s most sought-after scoops at their Lansdowne flagship where the menu changes daily.
7. iHalo Krunch
831 Queen St. W
You might recognize iHalo Krunch’s signature black cones from the charcoal craze that swept the city many moons ago. While that fad has melted away, these ice creams sure didn’t. You can still find them on West Queen West (or at Vaughan Mills) serving their unusual soft-serve flavours in hand-rolled charcoal cones. Go for that black-on-black look with the coconut charcoal flavour, or try something out of the ordinary with ube — a sweet purple yam.
8. Dutch Dreams
36 Vaughan Rd.
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Can you really call yourself a Torontonian if you’ve never been to this iconic spot? Once you’ve survived the queue, step inside the quirky house of frozen desserts and you'll be met with a hodgepodge of eclectic decor. It's wacky yet wonderful, kind of like their ice cream flavours. They've got everything from the classics (black cherry) to the over-the-top original (Toronto Traffic Jam).
9. Butter Baker
Multiple locations
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Dare we say that Butter Baker has the prettiest swirls in the city? Perfectly plump and symmetrical, the hand-crafted soft-serve here is the stuff of dreams. They’re always changing up their flavours to showcase the best of what’s in season. They even incorporate fresh fruit right into the soft-serve that’s piled high on top of a freshly baked vanilla waffle cone.
10. Roselle Desserts
362 King St. E.
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If good things come in small packages, then expect great things at this sweet spot in Corktown. After spending years honing their skills in Michelin Star restaurants, partners in life and business Stephanie Duong and Bruce Lee opened this petite pastry shop and never looked back. Their banana cream pie eclair and cake cups (cake... in a cup!) are second-to-none. But it's their housemade soft-serve topped with crunchy chocolate pearls we crave all season long. The Ontario peach parfait with buttermilk soft-serve screams summer.
11. Good Behaviour
Multiple locations
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What do you get when some of Toronto’s top chefs and hospitality pros put their bright minds together? Some damn good ice cream, that’s what. Good Behaviour was a pandemic baby that’s grown into three locations across the city. Imagination is on the menu at this chef-led creamery where you’ll find yummy creations like Torta Della Nonna with a lemon and ricotta base, Honk Kong milk tea and bourbon butter pecan.
12. Taverne Bernhardt’s
202 Dovercourt Rd.
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OK, so we know Bernhardt’s has some phenomenal rotisserie chicken (amongst an entire menu packed with seasonal goods), but this Dovercourt neighbourhood fave also has the swirliest of soft-serve ice cream. Order a twirl or two under the twinkly lights of their front patio and you’re really living this summer.
13. Nadège Patisserie
780 Queen St. W.
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While you’re chilling and sipping (ahem) at Bellwoods this summer, make sure you stop by the side of Nadège’s Queen Street location where they’ll be doling out gourmet ice cream and sorbet for the season. They’re known for their legendary macarons, which you can get as tiny toppings on your cone or cup. At their in-store locations, they have ice cream bars dipped in milk chocolate and coated with crunchy goodies.
