Delicious Gelato at Moss Park Espresso

Moss Park Espresso
Location
: 185 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/mossparkespresso/

A random coffee shop in a vaguely sketchy part of town seems like an odd place to find some of the better gelato in the city, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at Moss Park Espresso.

Moss Park Espresso

They only had a handful of flavours on offer when I visited; mostly standard-issue stuff.  I went with the pistachio — always a good test of a gelato joint’s quality.

And this place?  They passed that test with flying colours.  It’s great quality gelato — it’s super creamy, with a really nice flavour that’s clearly from actual pistachios, not pistachio extract.  And I appreciate that they serve it at the perfect temperature, which highlights the great flavour and creaminess.

Moss Park Espresso

It also comes in a glass bowl with silverware — I noted this in my On Third Thought review, but there’s something about eating ice cream out of a real bowl (rather than the standard paper cup) that’s surprisingly delightful.

Top-Tier Gelato at Death in Venice

Death in Venice
Location
: 1418 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://deathinvenice.ca/

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Death in Venice, which I remembered being very good, but perhaps not up there with the best in the city.

Well, clearly I was extremely wrong about that, because the flavour I just had at Death in Venice?  Some of the best gelato I’ve ever had.  Crazy good.

Death in Venice

The flavour in question: cheeseboard (“made up of all the ingredients of a classic cheeseboard, brie cheese, white wine, pears, jam, honey and berry jam. Perfect balance of sweet and savoury.”)

I’ll admit that I ordered this because it sounded like a fun novelty — the type of flavour that’s more interesting than delicious.  I was 100% incorrect.  Dangerous levels of deliciousness.

Death in Venice

I thought the savoury flavour of the cheese might be overwhelming (I’ve had blue cheese ice cream that went a bit too hard on the blue cheese, making it somewhat unpleasant) but it all goes together so well.    There’s a very, very mild savouriness, but it enhances rather than detracts from the sweet gelato.

I wish I had taken a photo of the gelato once I had started eating it — the photo above makes it look a bit plain, but there was actually a pretty generous amount of tasty jam swirled throughout, not to mention walnut chunks that add some nice texture.

There was a lot going on with the flavour here, but it all works so well.  And the quality of the gelato itself was perfectly rich and creamy.  Seriously: top five gelato of my life.

Death in Venice

I should note that I came back a week or two later and tried the bourbon and smoked chocolate gelato (“For real chocolate lovers… We smoke our dark chocolate and cook it with bourbon. Once we add cream and milk this thick and dense gelato becomes the ultimate chocolate treat”).  It was just as good, with an intense chocolatiness, and noticeable pops of flavour from the smoke and the bourbon.

You’d think those other flavours might overwhelm the chocolate, but they complement it so well.  Clearly, any ranking of the best gelato in the city that doesn’t include this place is flat-out wrong.

Death in Venice

Okay, I’m going to update this one more time, then I should really post it.  I came back another couple of weeks later and tried the soft serve, which features two rotating flavours.  When I went, one of the flavours was chocolate mousse, and holy moly — it was maybe the best soft serve I’ve ever had?  It tasted just like a really great chocolate mousse, but in soft serve form.  It had a profound chocolately flavour, and was intensely creamy and rich.  Ridiculously good.

Tasty Scoops at Misfit Ice Cream

Misfit Ice Cream
Location
: 10 Stephanie Street, Toronto
Website: https://misfiticecream.com/

Misfit Ice Cream is a new ice cream spot that’s right across the street from where Mizzica used to be on McCaul.  It’s currently listed as “Misfit Ice Cream Pop Up” on Google, so I guess they won’t be sticking around (Update: I was correct about this — since the time I wrote this, they’ve closed, but will hopefully be reopening elsewhere at some point.  Keep an eye on their website, I guess) .  Based on the scoop I had, I hope they find a permanent location soon.

Misfit Ice Cream

They describe what they’re selling as “French custard ice cream,” and yeah, it’s definitely got a custardy flavour.

I got their most popular flavour, sweet cream creme brulee (“creamy custard with crunchy brûlée bits”).

Misfit Ice Cream

The quality of the ice cream itself is quite high; it’s nice and creamy, and the aforementioned custard flavour is thoroughly satisfying.  It probably could have used more of the crunchy bits, but it’s clearly an above average scoop of ice cream.

Tasty Gelato at Kati Thai Gelato

Kati Thai Gelato
Location
: 567 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/katitoronto/

Note: This location has closed since I visited, but you can check their Instagram for other locations.

As you’d guess from the name, Kati Thai Gelato serves gelato that’s infused with Thai flavours.  As you probably wouldn’t guess from the name, they also serve a variety of savoury Thai snacks like grilled pork skewers and bao buns.

Kati Thai Gelato

I stuck to the gelato side of things, and had a scoop of the Milo: “A nostalgic childhood favourite, featuring the rich, chocolatey taste of Milo (chocolate malt powder).”

They certainly have more interesting flavours here, but I have a hard time saying no to anything Milo-related.  It’s malty, chocolatey, and delicious.

Kati Thai Gelato

It’s predictably tasty in gelato form.  Why wouldn’t it be?  The gelato itself is maybe a bit thin, but it’s very smooth with zero iciness, and has a nice hit of Milo flavour.

Good Quality Gelato at Il Gelato Di Carlotta

Il Gelato Di Carlotta
Location
: 17 Lock Street, St. Catharines
Website: https://www.gelatodicarlotta.com/

Il Gelato Di Carlotta is a delightful gelato shop that started out in Niagara on the Lake, but has since expanded, with several locations in the area (apparently they used to have one in Vaughan Mills, but currently, the closest one to the GTA would be in Oakville).

Il Gelato Di Carlotta

The flavours pretty much just stick to the classics (stuff like pistachio, stracciatella, hazelnut, etc.)  — this isn’t the most exciting thing ever, but hey, they’re classics for a reason.

Il Gelato Di Carlotta

I went with gianduia (chocolate and hazelnuts — Nutella, basically), and yeah, they know what they’re doing.  The gelato is incredibly smooth and creamy, and I don’t think I need to tell you that the combo of chocolate and hazelnuts is a winner.  I wish the sweetness were dialed back a notch or two, but it’s otherwise so delicious that it’s easy enough to overlook.

Il Gelato Di Carlotta

I should note that I checked out the Oakville location a couple of months after this visit and tried the pistachio gelato bar, and was somewhat less impressed —  most pressingly, the pistachio gelato had very little pistachio flavour, and was completely overwhelmed by the chocolate exterior.