Regional Roundup · Toronto
Top-rated ice cream and gelato spots in Toronto for 2026. From Bar Ape on Rushton to Bang Bang on Ossington, where to find the best scoop in the city.
Toronto has a strong ice cream culture — and a deeply uneven one. The city has dozens of parlours that look great on Instagram and deliver a mediocre cone. The places worth going out of your way for are the ones that lead with quality: sourced milk, real technique, flavours that actually taste like what they claim to be. The following list is built from RankIt's Toronto data, filtered to the spots that have consistently earned high marks.
A quick note on geography: several of the best options are concentrated in the west end and the inner suburbs, which reflects where independent food businesses have found space to build something. If you're doing a summer food tour, the Ossington-Rushton corridor is worth treating as a single stop.
283 Rushton Rd, York — 4.8 rating, the highest of any dedicated ice cream or gelato operation in Toronto's RankIt data. Bar Ape makes Italian-style gelato with a serious commitment to flavour. The Rushton Road location is a neighbourhood spot that has earned a following well beyond the immediate area. The pistachio and seasonal fruit offerings are consistently praised.
307 Queen St W — 4.7 rating on a stretch of Queen West that has no shortage of dessert options. Mizzica earns its place by doing Sicilian-style gelato without shortcutting on ingredients. The cafe side of the operation adds a reason to linger. Accessible by TTC (Osgoode station is a short walk).
93A Ossington Ave — 4.6 rating, and one of the more recognized names in Toronto's dessert conversation. Bang Bang does ice cream sandwiches built on house-baked cookies, which is the format that put them on the map. The Ossington location is the original and still the best — expect a line on summer weekends. Worth it.
Note: The Toronto-adjacent location is in Oakville (312 Lakeshore Rd E, 4.6 rating). If you're in the west end or heading toward the lake, Carlotta's is consistently excellent — the same Italian-method gelato that made the Niagara-on-the-Lake location a destination. For visitors doing a Lakeshore day, this is a natural stop.
257 Willard Ave, Roncesvalles — 4.3 rating, tucked into the Roncesvalles neighbourhood where it serves as both coffee destination and gelato stop. The combination works: proper espresso, seasonal gelato, a quiet room. A stronger option in the shoulder season when the line-up crowds at busier spots thin out elsewhere.
West End (Ossington, Roncesvalles, Rushton): The clearest concentration of quality. Bang Bang, Zaza, and Bar Ape are all accessible within a 15-minute walk of each other if you're willing to cover the ground.
Downtown (Queen West): Mizzica holds the Gelateria standard on a strip that needs one. Easy TTC access makes it the default choice for visitors staying in the core.
Lakeshore / West suburbs: Carlotta's Oakville is the standout for anyone driving the QEW corridor.
The best gelato in Toronto is distinguished from the mediocre by a few things: density (gelato should be denser and less airy than soft-serve), temperature (served at a slightly warmer point than American-style ice cream), and flavour intensity. If it tastes like artificial strawberry, leave. The shops above have earned their ratings precisely because they don't cut those corners.
The full Toronto ice cream and dessert rankings, updated as more ratings come in, are at eatrankit.com/toronto.
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