Local Food

Get the Scoop: Vancouver’s Best Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we’re talking ice cream. Check out these tasty locally made frozen treats

By Janine Verreault /

Credit: Clinton Hussey

BCLiving scoops up eight of Vancouver’s best ice creams and gelati

Food styling by Jennifer Stamper

Click through to learn more about Vancouver’s best ice cream shops.These are the flavours and shops you have to try this summer.

Pictured from top to bottom: Toasted Pecan with Maldon Sea Salt (have it topped with maple syrup) from Bella Gelateria, Pink Grapefruit from D’oro Gelato and Caffe, Death by Mango from La Casa Gelato, Pistachio from Gelateria Dolce Amore, White Chocolate Raspberry from Mario’s Gelati at Amato Gelato Café, Strawberry from Yaletown Gelato, Salted Caramel from Earnest Ice Cream, Coconut Chocolate Chunk from Rain or Shine

This is not Photoshopped!
It took dry ice, a hot poker and an emotional toll, but this ice cream cone is real. Want proof? Here’s the video.



Credit: Flickr / YVRBCbro

Bella Gelateria

‘Hoods: Coal Harbour and Yaletown, 1001 West Cordova Street at the Fairmont Pacific Rim and 1089 Marinaside
Price per scoop: $5.50 cup, $6.75 cone
Website: Bella Gelateria

The Meryl Streep of Vancouver ice creams, Bella Gelateria has won numerous local, national and international awards, including first place at the 2012 Florence Gelato Festival. Bella’s gelato has full, robust flavours and is served with a spatula – not a scoop – the way it’s traditionally done in Italy.



Credit: D'oro Gelato and Caffe

 

D’oro Gelato and Caffe

‘Hood: West End, 1222 Robson Street and 1094 Denman Street
Price per scoop: $4.85 cup or cone
Website: Doro Gelato and Caffe

Vancouver is spoiled to have two D’oro Gelato and Caffe storefronts, as you’d have to travel around the world (Rome and Beijing) to find them otherwise. Using Italian ingredients and equipment, D’oro Gelato and Caffe offers up the best of both worlds: international flavours (Ferrero Rocher, mango, coconut) that are made locally at the Robson Street site.

 



Credit: Flickr / Beth Taylor

La Casa Gelato

‘Hood: East Village, 1033 Venables Street
Price per scoop: $5 cup or cone
Website: La Casa Gelato 

Everyone has played a game of dare during a visit to La Casa Gelato. That’s because with over 200 flavours, you’re bound to discover some pretty adventurous choices, including taro root, curry and wasabi, just to name a few. Of course, La Casa also offers favourites like hazelnut, strawberry and butter pecan for those who prefer the classics.



Credit: Gelateria Dolce Amore 

Gelateria Dolce Amore

‘Hood: Commercial, 1588 Commercial Drive
Price per scoop: $4.29 cup or cone
Website: Gelateria Dolce Amore

Can you do a list like this without mentioning the gelato star of Commercial Drive’s Little Italy? We think not, and Dolce Amore is the perfect place to scoop up traditional Italian flavours like pistachio, Nutella and lemon. Just a heads up: find the nearest ATM first as Dolce only accepts cash money.



Credit: Flickr / iwona_kellie

Mario’s Gelati at Amato Gelato Café

‘Hood: Olympic Village, 88 East 1st Avenue
Price per scoop: $4 cup or cone
Website: Amato Gelato Café 

Mario’s Gelati has an ice cream family history that dates back to 1929 when Mario LoScerbo’s grandfather began to experiment with the delicious treat back in Italy. Now, the LoScerbo ice cream empire’s main plant at 1st and Quebec churns out gelato that supplies most of Vancouver’s restaurants and hotels.



Credit: Janine Verreault

Yaletown Gelato

‘Hood: Yaletown, 122-1208 Homer Street
Price per scoop: $4.10 cup, $4.65 cone
Yelp page: Yaletown Gelato 

Tucked away inside a Yaletown mini-mall, this unassuming café becomes a vibrant gelato shop as soon as you walk in the door. There are plenty of fruity and creamy flavours to choose from (guava rose, panna cotta), and we recommend getting the party started by adding a splash of booze to your gelato. (Yes, you read that right: you can add booze to your dessert).

 



Credit: Flickr / Rick Chung

Earnest Ice Cream

‘Hood: Fraser and Mount Pleasant, 3992 Fraser Street and 1829 Quebec Street
Price per scoop: $5 cup or cone
Website: Earnest Ice Cream 

Can ice cream go viral? With Earnest, the answer appears to be yes. Perhaps no ice cream shop in Vancouver gets the same amount of buzz, and it’s completely well-deserved. Seriously, just ask the person sitting next to you about Earnest’s salted caramel ice cream right now – we’ll wait. Have they stopped raving yet? We told you: people love this stuff.



Credit: Rain or Shine

Rain or Shine

‘Hood: Kits and Riley Park, 102-1926 West 4th Avenue and 3382 Cambie Street
Price per scoop: $4.50 cup or cone
Website: Rain or Shine

Nothing says summer like a sunny day in Kits, although Rain or Shine encourages their dessert on grey days, too. If you’re looking for an updated take on the ice cream sandwich, pop by on Taco Tuesdays for a waffle-cone taco shell filled with one of Rain or Shine’s standard (chocolate, peanut butter, honey lavender) or seasonal ice cream flavours (yellow plum, summer berries).