Samantha Devereux makes a perfect chocolate gelato cone at Xococava.Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
Xococava
1560 Yonge St.
Staff grin at the customers and each other as though everyone has a platonic crush on everyone else. (Either that or the whole outfit just got a gigantic raise.) The all-round good cheer feels like a miracle, almost as inspiring as the Madagascar chocolate sorbet with smooth hunks of creamy dark cocoa. The shop is tiny, but they have a courtyard patio where customers may sit and observe the regulars, downing gelato in moods as fantastic as the employees'. It's almost suspicious. I'd like to see an ingredient list.
Soma Chocolatemaker
55 Mill St., Distillery District
Soma gelato is fresh - and they can prove it. Customers can check out the Gelato Laboratory, a small room with a window and someone inside churning out the goods. Grinning tourists snap shots, then step away to read information plaques about antique chocolate-making equipment. It's like being in a frozen-treat museum, the educational seriousness muted by the funky tunes, enthusiastic staff and unconventional flavours like Ontario plum and lemon-sour-cream.
Dolce Gelato
697 College St.
Sitting on the patio of this Little Italy hot spot gives one the distinct feeling of being where the action is, like a kid who's allowed out of bed to join the party. Uniformed staff serve light, sweet and traditional flavours of gelato to beaming crowds in sensible lines. They've got CP24 on a television on the wall. They've got free WiFi. They've got beats pumping out of the speakers and into the street.
Hollywood Gelato
1640 Bayview Ave.
They have a giant patio, on which I overhear the wise words of a tourist couple: "Oh, they have pistachio too? I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow." They laugh as if they're joking, but I know they mean it. Hollywood gelato (especially the pistachio) is so rich and smooth that I completely forgive the jarring bright-orange and lime-green décor.
Il Gelatiere
647 Mount Pleasant Rd.
Italia is present in the stacks of Nutella, shouts of "grazie" from behind the counter and in the black-and-white photos of Roma on the walls. The service randomly alternates between abrasive and excessively friendly, which is mighty entertaining, if slightly disorienting. But those usually deterred by these erratic shenanigans don't seem to care. Regular customers line up right out of the store for some of the best fruit gelato in the city, and a rare and satisfying yogurt option.
Ed's Real Scoop
2224 Queen St. E. and 920 Queen St. E.
With their own distinct neighbourhood charm, both spots turn out the same smooth product, including the tasty and throat-burning (in a great way) red-hot chili choco. The Beaches site boasts the sights and sounds of permanent vacation: Freddie Mercury on the radio, flip-flop-clad customers, and pastel-coloured buildings out the window and across the street. The Leslieville location is hip: The staff have awesome hair. They also have a great sense of humour and play jazzy tunes.
Caffe Novecento
1228 St. Clair Ave. W.
Upbeat Italian music pours out onto Corso Italia and Novecento's cool patio full of beautiful families with beautiful children. Like a glorious old-world throwback, men smoke cigarettes in an outdoor corner while Italian ladies sip glasses of dark red wine. Straight-up traditional gelato is pricey in small portions, but it is thick and fresh and worth your dime (as is the astoundingly sweet and pleasant service).
La Paloma Gelateria & Café
1357 St. Clair Ave. W.
Rows upon rows of brightly coloured gelato turn adults into children - children eager to try every flavour in this Toronto institution. Servers take the gleeful chaos in stride. Noisy summer crowds, dim lighting and an incongruous soundtrack (Snoop Dogg, for example) add to the already surreal experience of this west-end Corso Italia joint. I feel like I'm in the middle of a vague but comforting childhood memory from Coney Island.
Special to the Globe and Mail