Bar Ape

What is Bar Ape? Tucked onto a quiet residential side street just north of St. Clair West at 283 Rushton Road, Bar Ape is Toronto’s essential seasonal gelato walk-up. Founded by James Carnevale and Nick Genova—who started out slinging frozen treats from a vintage three-wheeled Piaggio Ape motorcycle—the brick-and-mortar storefront operates strictly during the warm weather months. There is no indoor dining room; patrons order directly from the curbside takeout window and snag spots on the sidewalk wood benches to eat before their cones melt.

Bar Ape Menu & What to Order The kitchen bypasses powdered mixes entirely, pouring scratch-made, traditional Italian gelato recipes straight into calibrated soft-serve machines to achieve an extraordinarily dense, velvet swirl. The weekly soft-serve feature rotates continuously, spotlighting peak seasonal fruit pairings like Niagara stone fruit, roasted apricot, or blackberry alongside dairy staples like toasted almond and Fior di Latte. The hand-dipped gelato bars on a stick—notably the pistachio, chocolate hazelnut, and lemon—are masterclasses in texture, while dairy-free patrons will always find at least one bright, vegan soft-serve or bar option on the board.

Know Before You Go Bar Ape is strictly walk-up, non-reservable, and cash-only, with flat pricing that includes tax. Peak summer evenings bring long sidewalk lineups, but the window service is remarkably fast and efficient. The shop operates seasonally from spring through mid-autumn, closing Tuesdays and Wednesdays and opening earlier on weekend afternoons.