Vivo! Gelato

*This location is now closed*

After a satisfying meal at Hapa Izakaya, I was messaged by Miss Y on my Blackberry. She was with a few of my softball teammates at The Eatery and wanted me to drop by to say hi. Well, having nothing better to do, I went there and said hi. Not sure why I actually drove there to say hi, when I could've called or just texted. Now being well into the west side of Vancouver, we decided to go visit my favourite gelato place, Vivo! Gelato. I personally think Vivo is better than most of the other gelato places in town (La Casa, Bellagio, Amato); however, I do think that Mondo Gelato is good too.

Just like all the other popular gelato places in town, Vivo makes their gelato fresh in small batches with fresh ingredients. Unbeknownst to many people, gelato is made with milk, not cream. Thus, the milk fat is only around 10%. The reason gelato is so creamy is that air is limited it is being churned in the machine, resulting in a more dense, richer product. I've tried most of the flavours at Vivo and I've liked most of them. However, it's all personal preference, I may like some flavours that some other people may not like and vice versa. The flavours I do like are coconut, tiramisu, pistachio, white chocolate raspberry, blueberry cheesecake and green tea. The sorbetto at Vivo is very good too, it's so creamy you'd think it was made with milk ingredients, which it's not. I like the passionfruit, pineapple, green apple, lemon and lychee. However, some flavours are on rotation and you might not see it all the time.

The thing I look for in a gelato or sorbetto is that you can taste the flavour of the main ingredient and it's not too sweet. Vivo achieves this with strong flavours, balanced tartness (in the tart flavours) and just enough sweetness. Another positive of Vivo is that there are ample and comfortable places to sit (similar to a Bread Garden). I can't really stand places like La Casa and Amato where there are limited places to sit. Unlike some people, I am not a big fan of standing/sitting/squating outside and eating my gelato. Although the Oakridge location of Vivo has limited seating as well, it's in a mall, so you have plenty of other options. If you are in the neighbourhood, I wouldn't hesitate to try it out.

The Good:
- Creamy, good tasting gelato and sorbetto
- Comfortable seating (mostly Kerrisdale location)
- Reasonable prices

The Bad:
- Locations not centrally located for the rest of GVRD (need one East Van/Burnaby)
- Some flavours are not available all the time

Vivo! Gelato
5395 West Boulevard
Vancouver, B.C.
604-266-7637
www.vivogelato.com

Business Hours:
11:00am - 9:30pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 10:30pm (Fri - Sat)
1:00pm - 9:00pm (Sun)