7 new ice cream spots to try this summer in Vancouver

Vancouver is obsessed with ice cream, so much so it seems like every other day a new scoop shop is opening up its doors.

Stepping up their game with artisanal delights and vegan finds, here are seven new ice cream spots to hit up this summer in Vancouver.

Mister

This recently opened ice cream shop in Yaletown serves nitrogen-churned artisanal ice cream, which boasts noticeably smaller ice crystals thanks to a rapid freezing process. Not only does the chill blast of liquid nitrogen emit an impressive evaporating mist (get it “Mist-er”), which customers can view from across the glass counter, but it also creates an ultra smooth scoop.

Address: 1141 Mainland Street, Vancouver
Twitter: @madebymister

LIK

LIK opened in mid-May and brought with it the popular craze of using freezing cold liquid nitrogen to create deliciously creamy ice cream in seconds. In addition to signature creations, the ice cream shop offers an array of rotating flavours, including Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Vietnamese Coffee, and Matcha, which can be topped with all kinds of delicious offerings, think home-baked choc chip cookies and red bean. Available in a cup or cone, customers can opt to administer a syringe load of chocolate ganache or condensed milk into their ice cream creations if so desired.

Phone: 778-728-0672
Twitter: @LIKN2IceCream

Editor’s note: LIK closed their shop in December 2016

Popbar

Gelato on a stick, that’s what you’ll find at Popbar, a New York-founded company. The trendy dessert shop, which has a location at Metropolis at Metrotown and a soon-to-be opened shop at Abbotsford’s Highstreet Shopping Centre, offers all of the Popaholics’ favorite popGelato and popSorbetto flavours, like vanilla, chocolate, coffee, passion fruit, green tea, and banana. Each of these frozen creations can be dipped (in premium dark chocolate) and topped with a range of “Poppings,” including almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, coconut, chocolate sprinkles, and Caramel Corn.

Address: Metropolis at Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway–Unit 1139C
Twitter: @popbar

Tangram Creamery

This gourmet ice cream shop on Arbutus offers a flavour lineup that includes 10 regular flavours, like Green Tea, Black Sesame, Coffee, London Fog, and Houjicha (a type of Japanese roasted tea), in addition to a handful of rotating seasonal specials. Tangram’s cool, creamy offerings are available in cups and cones. While run-of-the-mill cones are on hand, Tangram also features their own unique handmade cookie cones.

Address: 2729 Arbutus Street, Vancouver
Twitter: @tangramcreamery

Nice Vice Creamery

Vancouver’s first dairy-free, plant-based micro creamery, Nice Vice uses only top quality and ethically-sourced ingredients, for its 0% dairy, plant-based “vice cream.” While the menu at Nice Vice changes from time to time, customers can expect to find flavour combos like Banana Fudge, Matcha Avocado, Lemonhead, Blueberry Sage, Strawberry, Mango, Peach Green Tea, Chocoholics Anonymous, and Vanilla Vice. Ingredients used include fresh fruit, natural colours and flavours, and locally supported plant-based products (like avocado and sweet potato).

Address: 1022 Mainland Street, Vancouver
Phone: 778-379-6423
Twitter: @nicevicecream

Editor’s note: Nice Vice announced Jan. 12, 2017 they are closing their creamery.

720 Sweets & Etc.

This dessert-focused shop in Kitsilano is dedicated to crafting smooth tasting soft-serve ice cream. The Instagram-friendly, eye-catching frozen treats are finished off with a range of creative toppings, like crushed Graham Crackers, sweetened condensed milk, toasted marshmallow, fluffy cotton candy, and espresso grass jelly. While the toppings are impressive the real novelty is the nitrogen smoke factor.

Address: 3278 West Broadway, Vancouver
Phone: 778-229-9278
Twitter: @720sweets

Fluffy Kittens

This soon-to-be opened ice cream shop should be on everybody’s radar. Projected to open mid June, Fluffy Kittens will stock a collection of high quality artisan ice cream, gelato, and vegan frozen dessert products. While Fluffy Kittens won’t be making its own ice cream goods it will offer local brands, including Nice Vice, Brown Paper Packages, Artisto Gelato, Salt Lick, and Johnny’s Pops.

Address: 611 Gore Street, Vancouver