Review - Arte Gelato: delicious pizza & gelato in Toronto

A former coworker recommended Arte Gelato (946 Bloor St. W in Toronto) to me a while ago, and I finally had the chance to go earlier this week. At first glance, you would assume that it's just a gelato shop - but it is, in fact, much more than that!  Authentic Italian food, served fresh to order, is available if you make your way to the back of the store.  You'll find anything from lasagna to gnocchi, including some daily specials, posted on a sandwich board outside the door.  You'll also find friendly and knowledgeable staff.

My coworker recommended this place as one of the best places for pizza in town, so of course, I had to give it a shot!




I decided to go for the deluxe pizza, which had Italian Sausage, Chicken, Green Pepper & Red Pepper atop a thin, but not crisp as a board, crust. My friend ordered the meat lovers pizza.  Both of us agreed that our pizzas were incredibly delicious, and had just the right amount of toppings.  Many times when you order a meat lovers', it's loaded down with so much meat that you can barely eat more than a slice.

We both polished off half of our medium (12") pizzas, and brought the other half home for lunch.  At less than $10 each, they were delicious and affordable.

We sat and digested for a bit, before deciding on our dessert.  The staff will let you sample various flavours of gelato before making your final choice.  I sampled some cheesecake and cookie dough, but ultimately, I had to go with one of my favourite gelato combinations:  Lemon, Raspberry (which happened to be the special of the day, on the day that we went), and Donatella (which is a mix of hazelnut and chocolate - tastes like frozen nutella!).  My friend went with white chocolate and gingerbread.  They will let you put as many or as few flavours into a cup (or cone) as you wish!

We sat around talking and catching up for a while (it wasn't too busy, just two other tables and a few customers that didn't dine in) - so after a little while, one of the staff members actually brought us a complimentary treat that they were trying out.  It was a warm croissant, filled with some chocolate (or maybe hazelnut) gelato, and it was absolutely delicious!

This place is definitely one of my new favourites in Toronto, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's in town!