6 Vancouver Ice Cream Shops to Beat the Heat
Scoop of happiness.
Rain or Shine
Image via Instagram @rainorshineyvr.
Rain or Shine’s chocolate honeycomb flavour—studded with hunks of honeycomb candy and accented by a hint of malted barley in its base—is like a big, goofy smile; easy, lovable, and universal. Who doesn’t crave something crunchy, creamy, salty, and sweet? While one could easily put away a pint of this chocolaty treat on its own as it foam-ishly melts, trying the company’s signature British Columbian blueberry balsamic flavour is worth it too, especially if the sweet-savoury dichotomy is of personal interest. Shout out to their bad-mood-busting peanut butter flavour (doused with house-made hot fudge) for making our day on more than one occasion.
Mister
Image via Instagram @madebymister.
Mister churns its ice cream with liquid nitrogen to ensure the formation of smaller-than-usual ice crystals, and a resultant cashmere-smooth mouth feel. A double Oreo flavour with micro-pulverized cookie in a milk chocolate base and big cookie pieces throughout is easy to fall in love with—a childhood favourite effectively elevated.
Gelateria Dolce Amore
Image via Instagram @thegelatomafia.
The exacting standards of the Little Italy gelato bar Dolce Amore are epitomized by their classic chocolate flavour, which is dark, dense, cocoa-y, not too sweet, and decidedly “adult.” While the company does offer some mildly zany flavours (think lavender and pumpkin pie), their classics, including nice renditions of pistachio and hazelnut, shine. Pick up one of their pretzel-studded cookies, too. Italian? Maybe not, but definitely delicious.
Birchwood Dairy Farm
Image via Instagram @birchwooddairyfarm.
Birchwood Dairy crafts old-fashioned, fluffy ice cream in retro-flavours your grandpa would love (as would you). Think soft tubs of coffee crunch veined with chocolate shingles, and black raspberry cheesecake ribboned thickly with sweet-tart raspberry sauce; un-gimmicky old-school goodness, fresh from the 120 milk cows that dot its 220-acre farm.
Earnest Ice Cream
Image via Instagram @earnesticecream
With four Lower Mainland locations Vancouver and retail in countless stores, Earnest Ice Cream is legendary. Its combination of salty and sweet approaches perfection. Its constantly changing flavours include the zany-but-delicious Chewy Pretzel Blondie and Spruce Bud as well as more staid, dependable ones like Mint + Chip. This Vancouver ice cream shop has plenty of vegan options as well.
Yum Sweet Shop
Image via Instagram @yumsweetshop.
In Mount Pleasant, this jubilant location is bound to pull you right in from then street. With a brightly-coloured shop reminiscent of a 1950s parlour, Yum Sweet Shop sells all sorts of candies, soft serve, and ice cream by the scoop. This ultra-curated selection is bound to make anyone in your party happy.
For the best ice cream sandwiches in Vancouver, click here.
