Pie & Coffee at Savary Island Pie Company

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

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.

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

A layered Uji-matcha parfait engineered for two spoons and one 'that bite was mine'.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Six or eight tables, Ethiopian art, and a tradition called gursha where you hand-feed each other, which is romantic on purpose.

The Fraser St bistro that locals call FauxBo, guard jealously, and can't stop recommending despite the notoriously tough reservation.

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