Bloor is one of the hippest streets in Toronto, and its food joints are no exception. This summer, Bloor is all about self-serve frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt shops let you choose from a variety of rotating flavours, and then add any topping from cinnamon toast crunch and peanuts to cheesecake bits and goji berries. Special options are available, including non-dairy, gluten-free, kosher, and fat-free (this last option is suspiciously reminiscent of a certain Seinfeld episode, but let’s just assume that frozen yogurt is fine in moderation). Finally, your creation is weighed — you pay by the ounce. The Annex’s addiction to frozen yogurt has fostered three froyo options along Bloor, but only one can reign supreme as the number one froyo destination for students.
WYATT CLOUGH/THE VARSITY
3. Yo Yo’s Yogurt Café
417 Bloor St. West
Monday–Sunday, 11:00 am–11:00 pm
Yo Yo’s is the least imposing frozen yogurt joint on Bloor Street, with its key strength being proximity to the St. George campus. Yo Yo’s features a patio and cute indoor egg chair seating. But geographic advantage is not all Yo Yo’s has to flaunt over its competitors; the frozen yogurt here is healthy and high quality, with new flavours and new toppings rotating regularly, along with many vegan options. Yo Yo’s also lives up to its “café” title, serving coffee and fostering a friendly environment for frozen yogurt first-timers with welcoming, helpful staff.
However, the café’s emphasis on fruity flavours and toppings may leave the more chocolate-minded customer dissatisfied. More importantly Yo Yo’s fails to measure up taste-wise, compared to its competitors. Its hours also render Yo Yo’s unavailable for a late night snack if you’re out after a rowdy night roaming the bars on Bloor. Yo Yo’s may satisfy the inexperienced froyo consumer, but those with a more sophisticated palette will shudder at its simplicity.
2. Menchie’s
511 Bloor St. West
Monday–Thursday, 11:30 am–11:00 pm; Friday 11:30 am–1:00 am; Saturday 12:00 pm–1:00 am; Sunday 12:00 pm–11:00 pm
Strolling a little further down Bloor will take you to this next dessert destination, which immediately proves superior to Yo Yo’s, with more flavours, far more toppings, and its own, larger patio. Menchie’s is also simply adorable, with a big pink sign, cute decor and a smiling logo that pulls at the heartstrings of a froyo connoisseur like myself. The Menchie’s “smileage” program is a satisfying points program for regular customers, and like its competitors, Menchie’s makes the nutritional information of its yogurt readily available. One possible turn-off is that Menchie’s is a global brand based in California, unlike Yo Yo’s and Yogurty’s, which are both Canadian franchises. The damning pitfall of this otherwise excellent froyo stop, however, is its new neighbour on the next corner over.
WYATT CLOUGH/THE VARSITY
1. Yogurty’s
527 Bloor St. West
Sunday–Thursday 11:00 am–12:00 am; Friday–Saturday 11:00 am–1:00 am
About a thirty-second walk from Menchie’s is this newly established frozen yogurt haven, which occupies the first floor of a building painted baby blue. It has no patio, but its walls are left completely open during the summer. Unfortunately for its competition next door, it seems that everything Menchie’s can do, Yogurty’s can do better. It boasts more and better flavours, which will fully satisfy both the ‘fruity’ and the ‘desserty’ (technical froyo terms) yogurt lover. Its toppings will appeal to those who want to cover their froyo in berries and nuts, and to those who want cake bits, Reese’s, and mini waffles. Yogurty’s also boasts friendly and enthusiastic staff, plenty of seating space, and low prices. Yogurty’s is also open to meet all your late-night cravings (don’t believe the store’s official hours; it usually stays open past 2:00 am on Friday and Saturday). Yogurty’s may be furthest froyo joint from campus, but it’s definitely worth the extra travel time.
