Les Givrés Montreal

Posted By Jennifer Ho May 21 2012 · 0 comments · Snacks & Street Food

After a delightful dinner at Kaza Maza with Diana, fellow food blogger of Foodology and her friend Jess, we decided to walk off the meal by heading towards Les Givrés for a cold treat. I had been to Les Givrés before around Christmas time, in search of one of their famous bûches de Noel or the unique igloo/marshmallow ice cream cake. At the time they were all out, and would be for the rest of the season, probably a good indicator of their wild popularity. Known for their handmade, artisanal products, Les Givrés takes ice creams to a whole other level. Everything is home made, from the cones to the bases of the ice creams to the treatment of the toppings, endeavouring to make ice cream a permanent fixture in the household, -20 degree temperature come winter be damned! And it seems as if they’re succeeding.

Homemade Marshmallows

Stepping into the ice cream parlor, the open brick wall and huge, colorful photographs hung atop them immediately caught our attention. With each panel explaining the different steps to making fresh cones, the base for the pistachio ice cream and other interesting parts of the process to making ice cream at Les Givrés, we stared at them in wonder. Only from those pictures did we recognize the seemingly foreign looking cone making machine placed at the head of the place, occupying prime space by the windows facing onto St. Denis. In the summer, Les Givrés is known to make their cones fresh, attracting curious passerbys and those powerless to resist the scent. If you ever wondered what that sweet, enticing smell was wafting out onto St Denis and Pins, now you know.

Coffee, House Pistachio and Matcha Suisen Ice Cream

Without further ado, we chose our flavours: coffee, pistachio and matcha suisen. These were all well made. The first tasted distinctly of coffee – I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount of caffeine in that one could actually give you a mini boost of energy! As a non-coffee drinker, this one was too strong for me; I took only a spoonful for the taste. The individual who actually ordered it is a coffee fanatic, so this one was right up his alley. The same sort of approach can be taken for the pistachio and matcha suisen. Both were very intense in their respective flavour profiles – in the pistachio, you could tell that the nuts had been previously roasted before being mixed in with the ice cream. Similarly, in the matcha, the green tea came through strong.

Apple Pie Ice Cream

Once we finished these off, we couldn’t help ourselves but get another scoop, this time of the baked apple pie. As promised, this one tasted almost exactly as it is advertised to be. A cold version of your favourite homemade apple pie – it’s weird because you expect the flavours to be restricted to what you expect a typical apple pie to be (hot and gooey with a flaky crust), but instead you get this smooth and consistent melting version that is just totally surprising. Oh, and it’s good.

Don’t forget to check out Diana’s food blog Foodology right here!