29 ice cream shops across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Summer's coming—or at least the occasional sunny day that feels like it should be—and that means one thing in Vancouver: ice cream season.

The city's ice cream landscape has matured well beyond the corner shop. You've got spots like La Casa Gelato on Venables (which holds the world record with 238 flavors), Mister Artisan Ice Cream doing liquid nitrogen magic on Mainland and Robson, and Mario's Gelati on East 1st Ave., a pioneer since the 1970s with 72 rotating flavours.

For adventurous eaters, Rain or Shine (three locations across the city) regularly experiments with unexpected flavors—they've done chili oil ice cream and something called Wet Dog. Earnest Ice Cream, with four locations, rotates small-batch offerings that keep regulars coming back. Tutto Belle on West 4th makes viral mochi gelato in limited quantities (show up early).

Little Spoon Ice Cream opened its first Vancouver brick-and-mortar this year after years on the Sunshine Coast, serving flavors like Brown Sugar Vanilla and Earl Grey Lemon Curd. Plain Jane on East Hastings reopened after a 2025 rebrand, serving New Zealand-style soft serve made with organic French vanilla and real frozen fruit.

For the neighborhood vibe, Kobo Ice Cream on Main St. does small-batch runs with flavors like Tahini and Roasted Walnut. Elephant Garden Creamery on Commercial Drive serves sundaes that look almost too good to eat. La Glace on West 16th is an award-winning French parlour with options like brown butter pecan pie and coconut pandan.

If you're hitting Granville Island, Popina Canteen has the world's first soft-serve cream puff (though watch the seagulls). Up in North Vancouver, Earnest and The Gelato Mafia by Dolce Amore both anchor their neighborhoods.

Whether you're after experimental small-batch, traditional Italian, or just solid neighborhood soft serve, Van's got the goods—and at least one of these places will be worth the queue.