Futura Granita + Gelato — Restaurant in Toronto

Toronto ... this is possibly the best true gelato in our city and you've been sleeping on this place. This is the real deal gelato and made by owners who are passionate about it. They even went to Bologna Italy to do the Gelato University (yeah... a real thing lol).

So I thought I went to all the best ice cream spots in Toronto and good god, did I get it wrong. So Kekou, Put a Cone on It, Bar Ape, and Soma topped my list.. with some special mentions to other spots. Somehow Futura opened last September on a quiet part of St. Clair and I was oblivious to it. What drove me crazy was that there was a fake gelato shop down the block that had more people eating there cause their 'gelato' was all exposed in piles to entice you. Guys! The better stuff is just over there!!

This particular spot was opened by a couple who flew all the way over to Italy to learn the art of gelato. They don't believe in artificial flavours or colours so you won't find crazy greens, blues, or red shades here. Though the gelato maybe muted in shades... it BURSTS out in flavour. I honestly think their flavours are better and stronger than Kekou and Soma. Bold claim but I havent tasted a pistachio this good since my time in Italy.

The store itself is minimalist, clean, and a bit rustic with the exposed brick walls and white washed surfaces. There are a few spots to sit by the wall and on bar stools. Generally it's take out but I feel the moment I step out the door with my scoop, I want to head back in and get more.

Service here is warm, friendly, and genuine... they are happy seeing you fall in love with their flavours and gelato. Just happy smiles all around. How could you not want to cheer them on to be successful? They did allow us to try a few different flavours but honestly, it was so hard to choose cause everything tasted amazing.

Pistachio - I was just surprised at this one. Pistachio is more subtle and light in flavour compared to other nuts. Though it is buttery, it tends to be lighter and more delicate. When you first put a scoop in your mouth, the creaminess and light sweetness hits you first but ... wait for it. As the ice cream melts and coats your tongue, the pistachio intensity hits you in a bold burst. It's almost like eating a pistachio ganache. Just ... incredible. I also love how they didnt add any fake colour. This gelato is a muted light tinged creamy green. This is possibly one of the most creamiest gelato I've had in the city. 5+/5

Peanut Butter & Jelly - Another nut flavoured gelato and if possible, this is bolder than the pistachio. This is just an wonderful roasted peanut flavour the first second you take eat this. Lightly sweet with a jammy undertone, this is more delicious sweet PB over and over again. Like the pistachio, it's super creamy and no fake colouring. It's a simple beige colour but true to what a good peanut should look like. If you love nuts, this and the pistachio would be your game changer ice cream in Toronto. 5/5

Bourbon with Caramel Swirl - A rich smooth creamy base is the perfect background to the thick ripples of caramel in this gelato. The caramel is a nice golden hue that looks like liquid glass drizzled through the light creamy gelato. The flavour is a bit light on the bourbon and the caramel takes the centre stage ESPECIALLY when you get a big scoop of it. It's a nice deep brown sugar note. I would think the addition of the swirl keeps it above the regular caramel ice gelato and ice creams around the city. 4.5/5

Espresso - Bold and full bodied deep coffee notes is wonderful in this one. You can see the darker brown specks of the coffee in this... unlike the Bang Bang, the coffee is so fine grind that it's just a super creamy texture while giving you the strong kick of coffee that you need. It has a good balance of sweetness to the coffee. Definitely my favourite coffee version in the city...

Hot and Humid? No problem, come to Futura for some delicious very delicious granita/gelato!!

A small shop that's got a couple of stools, a nice wall with drawings (picture perfect wall), and a little corner where you can sit (on the floor) with plants, in what I'm guessing are wooden wine boxes (i could be totally wrong).

Service was great - the lady that served us was patient with us while we were deciding what to get. By the time we decided on what we wanted, she was quite surprised that we didn't "dig in" the second she handed off our desserts to us (I guess she's used to customers devouring it right then and there)!  Anyways, just wanted to make a note on how sweet and friendly she is:)

Okay, so the granitas and gelatos...

So, here's how I would describe Granita (if you have never had it/never heard of it like me).  It's a slush/gelato mix. At least in my opinion, that's how i would describe it. it's pretty much a snow cone with that BIG gelato flavor.

So, in order to understand WHY it costs more for Bronte Pistachio, please check out my photo (where it gives you the reason behind its price- and then you can come back and read the rest of my review :)

I STRONGLY, STRONGLY suggest that if you're here, get their Bronte Pistachio - as previously mentioned, you will need to pay extra for it as it's one of two listed under their Premium category...but believe me, this is unlike any other pistachio gelato/ice cream that's available!! It's creamy and it's like having a million pistachios all in your mouth at once (as i'm remembering the taste of it, i'm drooling).

I wasn't a huge huge fan on their Niagara Strawberry NOT because I don't support local, but it's cause it was literally very strawberry-ish for me. Strawberries for me are sour - no matter how "sweet" it is, i still find it way to sour for my liking.

Friend got the Sicilian Almond and Coffee, and man oh man, when you mix the two together, it literally tasted like almond milk+coffee!!

I'm hoping I can find time to come back while its...

Though the Gelato is amazing and I would say one of the best in the city, the customer service here is nothing short of horrible. My Fiance and I chose Futura as the Gelato vendor for our wedding as a gesture to support a local small business by our home and 2 months before we went in for a tasting. Upon our arrival we were met with a very nice woman (who I think was the wife of the owner) who sat us down and asked us a few questions about the day. We tasted everything and went on to make our final decisions, it was pretty seamless. We discussed how the Gelato would be served which was between 2 different options and mentioned that we would let them know a month before the wedding (which didn't make any difference in the process what so ever). We received an email on June 3rd at 9am (Monday) stating that we did not tell them how the Gelato would be served by May 31st (Friday) and therefor that are cancelling our wedding and not to reply to the email. This above date of May 31st was 6 weeks before our wedding and regardless of if you're serving it in a round or long container does not require more than a week according to the woman we spoke to. This man (Carlo) did not answer and rather ignored all of our phone calls, emails and any source of communication. Now, 4 weeks out, we are left hanging to find another vendor. I will spare all of the other odd things that happened in between but needless to say, not only is this wrong from a mistreatment perspective but how does one operate their business stating "don't reply to this email" after not event trying to call us once or communicate that we were on a tight timeline. Extremely...