I usually do an ice cream summary at the end of summer, with a list of the best places I went to over the course of the season. This year being 2020, I waited quite a while before deciding to venture outside and as a result, did not go to as many ice cream parlors as I would have hoped. But, there are nonetheless a few spots I’d like to discuss here.
swirl
I have been OBSESSED with Swirl since they opened their doors last year! They are hands down the best ice cream place in Montreal. Their formula is super simple : one new flavor every 2 weeks, made with the freshest, available local ingredients. You have the choice between, the flavor of the moment, vanilla-coconut or a mix of both. I highly recommend that you choose the mix of both favors so that you do not miss out. Their soft serve is so light, so fresh and refreshing, not to forget so beautiful! And, because they are made with coconut milk instead of cream, they are perfect for those of us who are lactose intolerant! Swirl is the best remedy against a hot summer day.
From top left to bottom : raspberry, blood orange, blueberry and honeyberries. Full disclosure, I’ve only had time to go to Swirl twice this year (for honeyberries and blueberry) but their ice creams are so beautiful that I used some of last year’s photos.
unicone
Unicone is another great lactose-free ice cream place. They too have a different flavor of the moment every two weeks but with a different spin. Unicone takes you around the world as each flavor is representative of a country or city. Each cone usually combines two separate flavors, mixing ice cream and sorbet, which is great but I must admit that some combos don’t necessarily work out as well as expected. All the cones, without exception, though, are beautiful. I love this place, but I must say that some flavors are a bit heavier than others, so they are not always as refreshing as we’d hoped.
From top left : butter pecan and berries, gianduja and red berries, mocha sanani and cherry, pina colada. Again, since I’ve only been there twice this summer, I shared photos I took last year.
iconoglace
Iconoglace opened this year and took over Rachid aux milles saveurs. What I love about this place is that it also offers a vegan (no lactose) option, and it’s really not far from my home! They too have flavors of the moment, but they really are not as strongly developed as Swirl or Unicone, so the flavors do not always pop as much as one would hope. However, what they do have, on the other hand, is a menu offering wide variety of tasty treats like slushies, milkshakes, sundaes, affogato, kombucha floats, etc. On a hot, humid, summer day, their slushie floats really come in handy!
From top to bottom right : the Brownie Supreme (vanilla soft serve, brownies, local fresh strawberries, hot fudge, strawberry/ rhubarb jam, whipped cream, hazelnut) with a mango/ lime twist sprinkled with cayenne pepper; passion fruit slushie with vanilla soft serve; honeyberry slushie with a vanilla soft serve.
Dessert Café Momo
Two years ago, I ate a bingsoo for the first time and it was a revelation. Never had I tasted something so deliciously refreshing as a bingsoo and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. These are Korean dessert made of frozen condensed milk shaved into the lightest, weightless little cloud, with the topping of your choice, my personal favorite being red bean. The best place in Montreal to get this is undoubtedly Dessert Café Momo. Sadly, they’re a bit far from where I usually am so I rarely get an opportunity to get my much craved frozen dessert. Their red bean bingsoo has corn flakes inside, as well as mochi bites, which provides a texture diversity that other flavors lack. That being said, strawberry is also pretty awesome.
On the top left corner : strawberry and red bean bingsoo. That photo was taken this year and since the take out version doesn’t provide a good enough representation of what bingsoos are, I am sharing photos from previous years. Strawberry, red bean and on the bottom, matcha and mango.
Unfortunately, that’s all the ice cream I ate this summer. I couldn’t do the ice cream tour I normally do every year, discovering new places. Hopefully, next year will be better and I’ll be able to do more! In the meantime, if you haven’t tried any of the above places, take advantage of the final days of summer to check them out!