What to know
- Honey’s is the only ice cream shop on this list that offers solely plant-based ice cream. The shop has a location on Dundas Street West and a shop in Leslieville.
- Bang Bang Ice Cream and Mizzica Gelateria and Cafe both regularly experience line-ups down the block. They offer a robust selection of vegan ice cream flavours alongside their dairy options.
- Death in Venice is another small batch gelateria based in Toronto that offers vegan flavours as well as pints to go. The shop is known for carrying more experimental flavours.
- Brett’s Ice Cream is an East End shop that offers a nice selection of vegan ice cream flavours that are perfect during a weekend stroll.
Ice cream and gelato are pretty much universally loved treats in the summer months, but for vegans and dairy-free folk, finding plant-based shops can be frustrating.
With this Toronto summer shaping up to be one of the hottest on record, Now Toronto has compiled a list of ice creameries and gelaterias with some of the tastiest and most unique scoops in the city. Whether you’re looking for a scoop on the go or a pint to take home, this list is for ice cream lovers who are tired of eating just sorbets.
Here are five ice cream shops and gelaterias in Toronto worth a visit:
Honey’s
- Location: 1448 Dundas St. W. / 1026 Queen St. E.
When Torontonians crave plant-based ice cream, they go to Honey’s. Founded by Ashley Wittig, who co-founded Bunners in Kensington Market, Honey’s is for vegan and dairy-free ice cream lovers who are tired of exclusively eating sorbets.
The shop has two locations in Toronto, one in Leslieville and the other on Dundas West. Each location has 12 flavours in rotation and a freezer stocked with over 25 flavours, like Frosty & Fries, Rainbow Creamsicle, Diet Coke Float, and Neapolitan. You can also buy pints on Honey’s website.
Bang Bang Ice Cream
- Location: 93A Ossington Ave.
Located on the Ossington strip, Bang Bang Ice Cream is where all the cool kids go for a frozen sweet treat any time of the year. With lines snaking down the block six days a week, Bang Bang has become a staple in the city. Although the menu isn’t all vegan, the shop stocks a rotating menu of vegan flavours, including mint chocolate chip, almost everything blueberry cookie, and sour passionfruit sorbet.
Death in Venice
- Location: 1418 Dundas St. W.
Tucked away in Little Portugal on Dundas Street West., Death in Venice is a Toronto gelato shop that has been around for over a decade. The shop was founded by Kaya Ogruce, a chemical engineer-turned-chef-turned-gelato-expert. Death in Venice has some of the city’s most unique flavours, including a roster of plant-based options. Plant-based gelato lovers can choose from coconut and pandan, blueberry lavender lemonade, and chocolate and sour cherry, to name a few flavours.
Brett’s Ice Cream
- Location: 1007 Kingston Rd.
For plant-based ice cream enthusiasts who live in the East End, Brett’s Ice Cream is the place to go. Located in the Beaches neighbourhood, Brett’s Ice Cream serves up vegan options alongside dairy flavours. Grab a scoop of cookies and cream, vanilla, or avocado lime sorbet on your next weekend stroll.
Mizzica Gelateria and Cafe
- Locations: 307 Queen St. W / 2375 Yonge St.
Mizzica Gelateria and Cafe is another gelato shop in Toronto with lines down the block, especially in the spring and summer months. With two locations — one on the corner of Queen and John streets and the other on Yonge Street. in Midtown — Mizzica’s founders, Denise and Paolo, were determined to bring the artisanal gelato from their hometowns of Sicily and Abruzzo to Toronto. Vegans and lactose-intolerant folk can grab a scoop of dark chocolate, limone, or strawberry gelato, to name a few flavours.
