Ruru Baked — Restaurant in Toronto

Firstly let's give credit where it is due: the ice cream is fantastic and worth the return back given how rude the staff are...and I am not talking about in an "unwavering passion for your craft soup - n**i type of way".

Some History: I have been in love with this ice cream even before they had a storefront when they used to do drops out of a window on College st. I ordered, stood in line, and picked up pint after pint. Then they opened a store and I frequented it quite often with my wife as a special summer walk or winter escape. People are usually in a good mood after getting ice cream but I continually found myself saddened and frustrated after leaving the store. Regrettably, the joy of each visit was consistently marred by encounters with the staff who seemed perpetually aloof and discourteous.

The simple act of ordering became an exercise in frustration, with staff members failing to meet even the most basic standards of engagement. Questions regarding flavors were met with condescension, particularly if one was not well-versed in the ingredients or names commonly found in Southeast Asian cuisine. Even when the store is not busy the staff are more interested in talking to each other with their backs facing their customers than paying attention. The pretentious nature of the staff mixed with the apparent lack of customer service ruins an experience that should be the highlight of someone's day. Staff fail to even look you in the eye when you are ordering, act like all questions are a burden then have the nerve to pass the payment terminal over with tip options in your face.

Today was my last straw. Three years + after my first visit I finally decided to write a review. Everyone has bad days but I feel like I have given this place more than just the benefit of the doubt. We noticed a flavor we like was available online and went in and asked for it when we didn't see it on the board... Without even looking up the employee replied "If its not there we're out". I double checked a few flavors for nuts (as I have an allergy) and was told that the information is up on the board. I always make the habit of double checking as I am allergic to all nuts (not just peanuts)... So I double checked. The staff make it seem like taking an ice cream order is harder than all the work it took to create the flavors, market the product, develop cool swag and establish the storefront. If you ask me, it feels like fumbling the ball at the 1 yard line.

These things may seem small but an ice cream store should be a wondrous happy experience and although the ice cream is sweet, I somehow always leave with a slightly bitter taste...

My first experience with Ruru Baked during their first weekend of scoopable ice cream was a 6/10, and truthfully, I was surprised by that. Not fully disappointed, but was genuinely let down.

I got a double scoop - banoffee pie and CTC. The banana flavor was very good, and the texture of the graham cracker was still very crunchy and added a lot of depth. However, in my entire scoop, there wasn't any caramel at all, which is advertised within the ice cream on the window. I can see how that would be more of a risk with scoops then pints, however. To mitigate, perhaps a caramel topping instead of swirling it it. With that said, I'm sure it wouldn't be a frequent occurrence and I'm sure I just got a caramel empty scoop.

The CTC I had a poor experience with, and I know it's a popular flavor with Ruru. The ice cream itself was good, as I'd expect, but the pieces of CTC that were in the ice cream had the texture of wet cardboard and it was truly off-putting. I would not order it again if that wasn't changed.

The texture of the ice creams themselves were smooth and creamy as one would expect with a custard ice cream, which is obviously a plus, but I don't think it puts it over the top in any way. Just well executed, and obviously uses high quality dairy (Hewitt's I believe).

I really don't want to come off sounding like a hater! The ice cream is great, but it came with some big misses for me, and even then I couldn't possibly give it lower than a 3/5 or a 6/10. I'm also just really stoked you have a lovely new store front, and with all that said, I'll still...

It was/still is one of Toronto’s most faved independent businesses, custard based ice creams are super creamy and sweet in general, so even if you get a flavour that isn’t mixed well it’s still custardy so you’re not missing out on the sweet galore of what’s expected.

I do wish though, if you’re going to pay $13-16 (no tax) for a 500ml you should be able to try a sample as is in every ice cream shop. Even the scoops are debatable for $7-10. I want to emphasize this as I had an incident with the Asian Pear flavour. My neighbour who introduced RRB to me gave it to me since she literally gagged when she had it, and I laughed it off. We both expected the resemblance of it being like the Korean pear ice cream-and were proven very very wrong. She paid too much already so she tried to force herself to eat it and failed which I followed suit after the first spoon, with a gag reflex and decided to give it away to a friend to which they decided to throw away as well. I’ve never gagged from eating ice cream before so……that’s a fun story. Either way, I still love the special flavours and the treats which are available on weekdays too now.

I don’t have social media but my friends who first recommended the shop to me when the store first started as a home business has shown me the many ways the owner tries to offer a good working environment for the staff from the team’s ig. As a customer and a human being, I take that in such high regard, so a big big hug to the team and the management for their continuous effort. Ruru’s is must try for...