Yonge and Eglinton is so incredibly busy and becoming more crowded every day with high rises sprouting like plants in a garden; you’d think there would be numerous gelateria but there aren’t. For some years, at 2076 Yonge St., there was Punto Gelato, and now Francesco Bisignato took over the site, now calling it Gemma Gelateria.

It’s a lively strip with Mariachi’s Mexican, Dave’s Hot Chicken, St. Louis Bar and Grill on the west side and Hokkaido Ramen and Little Sister Indonesian across the street. And there are more restaurants and bars heading south to Davisville. There is also XO Gelato, 647 Mt. Pleasant, a few blocks away; we’ll cover that outlet soon. Previous experiences have been positive.

If you’ve ever had a scoop at Punto Gelato and liked it, then you won’t go wrong at Gemma; it’s exactly the same; nothing has changed, except the name and the lively, friendly staff. It’s a bit strange to go in a place that has changed its overall identity but nothing else. Same art on the walls, same tables, same authentic flavours. And not just the usual suspects, nocciola and chocolate; others like melone, biscotti and fico (fig), which I tried for this story.

The fig expressed its genuine fruit origins with small fig bits studded in the scoop, with a strong connection to its essential flavour; I was very impressed. Pistachio is another one of those flavours that is a lodestone for whether a gelateria is authentic or not.

Gemma’s pistachio was among the best in the city: deep, balanced nutty flavour, a real exemplar of how this flavour should be, although it was a bit too green in colour to be totally natural, though maybe it was, given Gemma’s devotion to natural flavours. Lastly, one of my all-time fave flavours is banana in whatever form, fruit, yogurt and gelato. Gemma’s banana was very fruit forward, with the flavour more on the ripe banana side, which many recipes advocate. Even so, it had a strong banana profile and was presented beautifully in a cup with a mini cone on top. If you are around Yonge and Eg or Davisville and Eg, Gemma’s is worth a trip; it’s very rewarding. And there’s really good espresso, too; another mark of an authentic shop.