T.O.'s Best Fro-Yo

[Sarah Cat]

I just got back from a week in Los Angeles and while I was there, I became completely addicted to Pinkberry frozen yogurt. It's kind of sour, like actual yogurt is, and comes with fresh fruit toppings as well as other choices like crumbled cookies or carob chips. I don't mind Yogen Fruz, but it is nothing to write home about.

What is the yummiest fro-yo that our fair city has to offer? I'd prefer suggestions in the west end or downtown. I'm no snob — chains are fine if the frozen yogurt is yummy.

I need a fix!

[sgogo]

We tried Monberri last night (hi!), it was very good. Lots of toppings, friendly staff, and it tasted great. I tried the regular, but they have mango, chocolate and strawberry.

[Sarah Cat]

Anyone else notice the fruit flies buzzing around the toppings, or is that hopefully not the norm??

[missy77]

I actually looked for that when I came, after your review. Glad to say that I have went a couple of times and no flies in sight. I am guessing that sometimes that is unavoidable when you have ripe fruits. Coast is clear :)

[Sarah Cat]

Great! Thanks!!!

[Platoputas]

I am also a HUGE fan of fro-yo. Whenever I'm in the states, I always try to find the closest Pinkberry or Yogurtworld or whatever other delicious clone I can find. In Toronto, we were definitely slow to jump on this band wagon (which I believe may even already be past its prime in the U.S.)

From what I've found, Blushberry is definitely the closest to a clone to Pinkberry. It definitely is more expensive - the way they get you is they charge per topping, whereas at Pinkberry, all your toppings are included in one price. At Blushberry the price increases as you get one topping, two topping, three or more. And they also charge more if you get their chocolate, Blushberry (pomegranate I think) or green tea flavour, over the original.

My other gripe with Blushberry is their containers are all too small. I salute them for using all biodegradable stuff, but when your small sized yogurt barely fits into the tiny cup, there's literally no room for toppings. What Blusberry does so well is serve you in an over-sized container so there's tons of rooms for toppings and it's easy to eat without everything falling over the sides as soon as you dig your spoon in.

With all this said, from what I've tried, Blushberry is your best bet. They also have way more toppings hidden below the counter. You can ask for the "dirty toppings" and they will pull out all sorts of goodies like gummy bears, reese's pieces, etc.

The tiny place at the front of the Blue Banana Market in Kensington isn't bad, but they have limited topping selection. The one day I went, they pulled out a container of strawberries that were clearly going rotten and I had to make sure to cancel that topping before she started slicing them.

I will have to try Monberri. That sounds like a good contender.

www.platoputas.com

[missy77]

Wow I love google! I found this site while looking for some froyo.... I moved in from LA recently , from a place which is over saturated with froyo shops to Toronto which has only Yogen Fruz :( I will try to help give my 2 cents since I am thankful to all of your suggestions.

I checked out the suggestions BnC Cafe, Blushberry, Cefiore and Mon Berri and here is my take on this.

BnC Cafe, love the texture of the "yogurt ice cream" as the worker called it. It tasted a bit like yogurt but at the same time I think it may be a mix of yogurt and ice cream?? It tasted too sweet to be a healthy "yogurt" in my opinion but it was pretty good!, one peeve they were really stingy with toppings...

Blushberry way overpriced, the workers are quite pleasant,yogurt seems to also come out quite melted, their yogurt is creamy like BnC though I do not like the melty factor (made up the "melty" word). This place needs a larger space in my opinion so that people can sit inside.

Cefiore, I have been to Cefiore in LA plenty of times but this one is definitely not the creamy Cefiore which I am used to, it seems quite icy and melts fairly quick. The server was pleasant as well. My favorite topping "mochi" was a bit too hard for my liking

Mon Berri, This place was is my favorite yogurt place for the time being. Friendly staff who seemed to know a lot about the product. The yogurt texture for the original was just right, though I agree with Sarah that it could be a bit more tart (I like the tart level @ yogurtland personally) but it is acceptable. They have a large selection of toppings and great mochi! Overall this is my go to place for froyo in the T dot. Oh yeah they also do "boba tea" ask them for boba in your yogurt its great!

Hope this has been a comprehensive breakdown for you! and post more stores if they start popping up! I love my froyo =)

[missnomer]

Has anyone tried the fro-yo place on Bloor, near St. George yet? I was walking by there a while back and they weren't open yet. I think it was on the south side of the street near a bar?

[mgualt]

Monberri sells frozen yogourt from a 2001-esque futuristic storefront on the south side of Bloor just west of the Bata shoe museum. I live nearby and have tried it a number of times.

The original frozen yogourt is certainly close to a pinkberry style. It is more yogourty and less milky than, say, yogen fruz, and it is much better than the nearby Ce Fiore (just off of Bloor on Wallmer road, west of Spadina) which I find is usually a bit icy and less tasty.

The fruit available at Monberri is also fresh and ripe. I recommend original flavour with banana, strawberry, and kiwi topping.

I haven't paid enough attention to other flavours, only the original style.

In short, I would rate Monberri above Yogen fruz, Ce Fiore, and the small frozen yogourt stand in Kensington market in the arts and crafts place.

My only criticism of Monberri is that the yogourt is not tart enough.

[Sarah Cat]

Ooooo that is a compelling enough review to send me directly into my car and downtown to get me some fro-yo!!!!

Cé fiore is pretty good, but it's a bit too faux-ice-creamy for me.

[Sarah Cat]

I went! I loved it! The yogurt is much better than Cé fiore's, you're right. It's yogurt, but could be a little more sour, I agree with you there, too. The toppings were pretty good — there were a few fruit flies buzzing around, which is never that appetizing, and some of my strawberries were half-frozen, but I will definitely go back. Overall, I was satisfied! This might become my new Pinkberry!

[FoodieGirl29]

I am also addicted to Pinkbery and here's what I found in TO that was comparable:

Cultures - Does a decent fro yo with that tart taste
Freshii - Some of them do fro you as well and also tart with good toppings
Yogen Fruz - Is OK if you're having a desperate fro yo craving, but I find that their toppings somewhat limited.

I am dying to try that place north of Queen but it's been too cold still! Good luck!

Lisa - The Hip & Urban Girl's Guide
http://www.hipurbangirl.com

[Sarah Cat]

I tried the frozen yogurt at Cultures at Sherway Gardens and it was great! It might be the closest that I've found to the Pinkberry taste. It's yogurty-tasting for sure! Only they didn't have any toppings for it, which was sad. The woman offered me trail mix as a topping, and it seemed like a weird choice at the time, but sitting there with my toppingless yogurt afterwards, I was kicking myself. Are there any locations that have toppings?

[julesrules]

Is it still that soft-serve, pink and/or white stuff they served years ago?

[FoodieGirl29]

I think they changed their recipe and didn't see that pink stuff. Though I kinda liked the pink one too. See? I'm a sucker for fro yo!

Lisa - The Hip & Urban Girl's Guide @ http://www.hipurbangirl.com

[Sarah Cat]

The one at Sherway also had strawberry. And yep, it was soft-serve alright!

[julesrules]

It's ironic to me if Culture's, which peaked in the late 80s I think, has the closest yogurt to trendy Pinkberry. But come to think of it, frozen yogurt in general used to taste more like yogurt. Sometime in the 90s it became more of a low-fat substitute for ice cream rather than its own delicious thing.

[Manybears]

They still have the pink (strawberry), vanilla, or twist (both) frozen yoghurt at the Cultures in the PATH (Standard Life I think).

[chalenegirl]

DON'T GET TOO EXCITED.
Blushberry is pricey and not really worth it. it doesn't ever seem to be open (there are no regular hours, it seems like they just open whenever the owners want to go in). i walk past the store to go home and the schedule is totally inconsistent. however, the guys serving are often the owners so they are knowledgeable about their product and pretty friendly.

[ChalkBoy]

Cefiore is an LA-based Pinkberry clone with an outlet on Walmer just north of Bloor next to Burrito Boyz.

http://www.cefiore.com/

[Sarah Cat]

Oh. My. Goodness. Thank you SO much. I will try all of these, gain ten pounds, and live a life of bliss, other than the odd brainfreeze.

[Sarah Cat]

I went to the Cake House this evening but it was closed. It is Sunday so I wasn't that surprised. Got back in my car and headed to Céfiore and was totally thrilled with it!! The yogurt doesn't taste quite as sour as Pinkberry's, but it's pretty darn close. I got my three favourite toppings of mango, blueberries and granola. The service was friendly. The withdrawal symptoms have finally subsided! I'll try the other spots as soon as possible.

[Yum2MyTum]

Sarah Cat: there's a new Fro-Yo place modeled on Pinkberry opening on Queen West, near John. I don't remember the name unfortunately. They were giving out free samples and the yogurt was very yogurty, rich and they had several fresh toppings to choose from...

[gregclow]

It's called Blushberry, and will be on John just north of Queen.

Based on the photos & promo material I've seen online, it looks like a TOTAL Pinkberry clone/rip-off. They've even gone so far as to import some Fruity Pebbles cereal from the US, which is one of Pinkberry's signature toppings.

I smell a lawsuit...

[Sarah Cat]

I'd better try it! And fast!

[AJMC791]

anybody try this place?

I am totally hooked on the frozen yogurt from pinkberry, and need a fix here in TO.

[Yum2MyTum]

I've tried it and it is Pinkberry-esque for sure.

[stet]

It's next door to where I work. I found it expensive and not really amazing. There aren't a huge selection of toppings, and I wasn't even a fan of their yogurt.

[Sarah Cat]

The Cake House doesn't have fro-yo anymore! I finally got in there when it was open! So sad.

Must try Blushberry. I never get downtown that far anymore, feels like. This calls for a wee trip! Céfiore is good but it's not quite sour enough for me.

[zengirl18]

From what I have heard, Pinkberry is now in Canada (B.C.) of course and is coming to Toronto. Not sure when though...
The Village Chill at Spadina and Lonsdale has a great frozen yoghurt that is tart...I don't recall the name of it but maybe it was called Mangosteen??? Anyhow, it's addictive!

-----
Village Chill
325B Lonsdale Rd, Toronto, ON M4V1X3, CA

[ttran88]

there a place in Pacific Mall in Markham called Yutopia (located near the back where the cellphones are). they have i believe vanilla and taro flavor i think and a variety of toppings. worth a try for sure... they are busy.

[Yum2MyTum]

I like the taro flavour for sure. they had green tea before but it was... off-tasting.

[jennjen18]

is this the one where you create your own yogurt...?

[suddenly susan]

I'm also a fan of the Pinkberry/ Red Mango-style frozen yogurt that oddly has no presence in Toronto. I managed to find a similar strain at BnC Cake House on Bloor Street's Korea Town.

It's a small Korean bakery that dispenses "Yogoberri" frozen yogurt.
A small (5 oz.) is $2.97 + 95 cents per topping. Medium (8 oz.) including three toppings is $4.99.

They don't have a zillion toppings but do have a small selection of fresh fruit, nuts, and cereal.

BnC Cake House
631 Bloor St W
between Euclid & Palmerston

[Full tummy]

I have to say that the frozen yoghurt at Swiss Master Chocolatier - I think they have only one flavour per day during the summer - is amazing. Nice and sour, really fruity. They're located at Bayview and York Mills, so not in your area, but if you're out that way, it's worth a try.