Matcha Cafe Maiko

A bright Alexandra Road patisserie where a Mont Blanc and a chiffon cake photograph better than either of you.

Downtown's chocolaterie-patisserie on Alberni: thick drinking chocolate, a macaron case that looks like jewellery, and cheap enough to be completely spontaneous.

A pastel Parisian parlour making obscenely rich creme-anglaise ice cream, where sharing a jar counts as a whole date.

An actual world-champion gelatiere turning out four-litre artisan batches a block from English Bay, ideal after a seawall stroll.

A Steveston gelato shop with flavours like Hong Kong milk tea and miso caramel, steps from the boardwalk.

A thirty-year Dundarave corner bakery where the butter smell hits before the door, and the cinnamon buns sell out before noon.

West-side favourite churning honey-lavender, salted-caramel, and rotating seasonal flavours from local dairy, a block off the Kitsilano-Point Grey stretch of West 4th.

Hand-churned small-batch since 1997 in Port Moody, with banana fudge, espresso flake, and a doggie scoop for the third wheel.

Vancouver's beloved small-batch ice cream in reusable glass jars, a short stroll from the Olympic Village seawall.

The only place on earth with 238 flavours of gelato under one roof, which turns dessert into a genuinely fun decision-making adventure.

The Vietnamese street food that made Anthony Bourdain misty on television now has a permanent home on The Drive.

The sunny tiled downtown room with legendary Belgian waffles, a lavender dark chocolate situation, and a line that is genuinely worth it.

The only dinner where eating with your hands from the same plate is not just allowed, it's the whole point.

Lantern-lit West End izakaya where the sake list rewards bravery and stone-grilled beef keeps arriving until you've forgotten your plans.