Bella Gelateria Handcrafted Gelato - Vancouver, BC

It's no longer a secret but we Vancouvertites have the best gelato in the world.  How is a not a secret?  And how do we have the world's best?  Well, that's because A) Bella Gelateria, located at the bottom of the Fairmont Pacific Rim Suites, has been featured in every printable and social media site known to man (Vancouver Province, National Post, CBC News and other various newspapers and sites from all over the world in different languages).  And B) they've won the following awards:

2012 Florence Italy Gelato Festival - Winner People's Choice Award
2012 Florence Italy Gelato Festival - Winner Technical Jury
2012 Gelato World Cup, Team Canada member - Gelato Master
2011 Gelato Pioneer Award "The Father" - Carpigiani Group, Italy

So there.  Now you know.  So why did it take so long for us to get here?  Because of this:

The lineups are constantly massively long.  We were here at 10 at night and the lineup was unrelenting!  I gave Mr. Piglet the puppy-dog-eyes combined with the guilt-trip of a lifetime (i.e. "we never go on a date!") and it was only then he was willing to wait.  He had no idea what he was getting into and believe me, he's glad he waited.  30 minutes later, we finally get inside the door...

Look at all the accolades and stories on the wall!  And the other walls are full of framed articles of praise and awards as well!  Yup, James, gelato master of BG, is the conductor of this culinary orchestra.  He's a master at what he does and all of the praise is justified.  How you say?  Like this:

Earl Grey Tea - Mighty Leaf (top) and Espresso "La Futura" Milano Coffee (bottom) - $6.92

This, my dear piggie readers, is THE BEST GELATO you'll ever have HANDS DOWN.  The Earl Grey is just jam-packed with real Earl Grey flavour including a few flakes of tea as well.   It's like you're licking a cold cup of Earl Grey tea!  The Espresso is just the same.  Deep rich coffee flavour that just permeates your whole palate when you chomp some down.  It's like we're alternating between a cup of tea and cup of coffee and it's awesome!  And the texture???  Smooth like silk…  Mr. Piglet has just mentioned for the third time that this is the best gelato he's ever had.  Yes, we know dear.  

Chocolate & Belgian Brownie and Black Sesame - $5.98

After trying a few flavours, I decide on none of them and just blurt out Chocolate & Belgian Brownie and Black Sesame.  The CBB has that depth of flavour that the other flavours have and also super rich and super smooth.  I will be using "super" a lot in this posting but that's just it - everything about the gelato here IS super.  Black Sesame has an intensity of flavour that I have never experienced before - there is just so much black sesame blended in there that I feel as though I'm also eating sesame seeds at the same time.  I can't wait to try some more flavours…  As I'm sitting here eating this gelato, I'm already planning my next visit with Mr. Piglet and what flavours (yes, that is plural) I will be getting - that's a good sign.  My advice?  Get the cone over the cup because you get WAY more gelato that way.

Lesson here?  Come try the gelato here!  It's not cheap but it's quality gelato like you've never had before, I promise.  They don't even scoop it up because it's so smooth!  They have to gently coax and swirl it onto your cone…  Ah, yes, I can't wait for the next visit.  Bon appetite!

Pros:

• THE BEST GELATO you'll ever have - do you need any other reason to come??
• Friendly service
• Reasonable portion size

Cons:

• Long line ups at any time of day
• On the pricey side