Summer is coming to a close so we’ve been busily licking our way through mountains of Vancouver ice cream (in the name of research). These are our picks for the best spots in town, presented on a map and in a poll for your ranking consideration. Happy spooning!
– top image via Welcome Ice Cream –
Though they specialize in chocolate it should be noted that they also make damn good ice cream, as evidenced by their themed, super fun Ice Cream Socials and outstanding ice cream sandwiches.
They do some pretty tasty vegan soft serve here. Creamsicle and cookies & cream have both made appearances this summer, but it’s the peanut butter and jelly swirl that we’d line up for.
The focus at this Gastown sweet-tooth magnet is soft serve made with organic milk. Lots of topic options. Go for the basic twist with honeycomb or coconut with chocolate syrup.
Tiny little Rooster’s is down the block from my VW mechanic so it’s where I go to feel better about life after dropping off my van (that has stopped working for the umpteenth time). Lemon poppyseed is my current balm.
Where the hell was this place when I was a kid? Ice cream sandwiches, soft serve, sundaes, ice cream cakes, milkshakes — the lot! Salted caramel bars are pure heaven.
Located on the edge of Olympic Village, this sliver of a people-watching spot offers 70+ flavours of creamy deliciousness. Grab a cone and walk the seawall west toward’s Stamp’s Landing, where you can buy another cone at Uno for the sake of comparison.
This trio of new gelato shops opened last summer and the quality is extraordinarily good. Aim for the salted caramel of vegan “midnight chocolate”.
The gangbusters success story of the local scoop game, Earnest – first launched in the Fraserhood back in 2010 – has expanded to include three other locations, which we’ve listed below. Secret weapon: sundaes.
Dairy-free ice cream? Yup, and it’s fantastic stuff. We’ve been fans since day one. Love the look of the Chinatown shop, too. Wish their were more locations. Flavour: Dark Secret (sour cherries brewed in port wine with chocolate walnuts and quince).
Wait…vegan ice cream in cubes? Yup, Naomi Arnaut’s little company makes delicious stuff from coconut milk, agave nectar and cashew milk. If it’s on offer, pounce on the marshmallow flavour.
La Casa Gelato has been a neighbourhood institution in Strathcona for 35 years, serving up a dizzying array of 238 flavours, everything from gorgonzola and pear to strawberry cheesecake.
There’s a good reason why the tiny sidewalk parklet outside Rain or Shine in Kits is always busy. The ice cream is fabulous! They also have locations on Cambie St. and out at UBC (listed below). Best flavour: Coffee Toffee or Honey Lavender.
Consistently excellent, decadently dense ice cream made with liquid nitrogen in-house. Mister uses all-natural, mostly locally sourced ingredients, and is a good reason to skip the dessert menu when out for dinner in Yaletown. Hot tip: Smores Bar.
Want the best version of Rocky Road you’ve ever tasted in your life? Head to this small batch North Shore gem for a scoop or two.
Our go-to when looking for something sweet in the Little Mountain neighbourhood. They specialize in gluten-free ice cream cookie sandwiches. Multitude of flavour combos to choose from. Aim for the Butter Cup (chocolate ice cream between the peanut butter cookies).
Mmm, this place is dangerously close to home. They use grass-fed milk, organic cane sugars and homemade nut butters to do their tasty thing. White chocolate coconut is ridiculous. Superb affogato.
The multiple award-winning, internationally celebrated bell of the gelato ball is famed for its consistent awesomeness across all flavours. The stuff is flawless. Current favourite: Wickedly Burnt Caramel.
A rebrand of the old Tangram Creamery, this new spot has some of the best coffee-flavoured ice cream we’ve ever tasted (among several other flavours).
A small liquid nitrogen operation that compliments its mainstay flavours with must-try oddities like Oolong and Sweet Maple Corn. Secret weapon: strawberry milkshakes and lemon cookie ice cream sandwiches.
Arguably Vancouver’s most attractive ice cream parlour. They don’t rest on their aesthetic, however, as the French-style product is superb. (In my personal opinion, this stuff has the best mouth-feel of any Vancouver ice cream.)
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What about Rainbow Icecream Truck that comes to your neighborhood
Nuvola in Burnaby Heights.
You missed Elephant Garden, def one of the best
And Passione, best gelato in YVR
The Pie Shoppe has the best vanilla ice cream in the city hands down
How can you try to rank and compare Ice Cream and Gelato when the two are so different?
There are other great Gelato shops like D’oro and Passione and others that are not even on your list let alone tested or tried.
Perhaps you should identify first what are you scouting for best Gelato or best Ice cream? Then be methodical!
This is poor!
Hi Giueseppe. Fair point. Gelato and ice cream are different, but since they are enjoyed and celebrated in the same manner I thought it appropriate to include gelato in the ice cream poll. Also, in the past we have not included gelato in ice cream stories and been burned by it. It’s a scylla and charybdis. Sorry to disappoint.
Say Hello Sweets is by far the best ice cream I’ve EVER had! I love it so much that my wife and I had their ice cream truck come to our wedding to surprise the guests with desert. We didn’t tell anyone it was vegan, and literally no one noticed the difference, with people going back for seconds and thirds!
Nice – some new places to try, some old favourites. The Sun just did a feature where they anointed Sweet Barrel as “the best,” a fool’s errand, but mentioned many of the same venues you do.
Utterly out of scope – forgive, if you will – is Mallard in Bellingham, in about the center of the gourmet ghetto downtown on Railroad. They fire on all cylinders, with great mouthfeel and genius flavours. We bring as much of their stuff back with us as fits the cooler. Dairy-based and sorbets only, though.
I regret that I misspoke – Vancouver Sun anointed La Glace, not Sweet Barrel. Sorry.