There is no stopping to Vancouver’s love for artisanal ice cream. Opening this Friday, August 4th is Vancouver’s newest and most romantic ice cream parlour, La Glace Ice Cream. Founded by pastry chef Mark Tagulao, La Glace started out three years ago as a pop-up ice cream cart for special events with clients like Holt Renfrew and Williams-Sonoma. Now at its bricks and mortar location at 2785 West 16th Ave (16th and Macdonald), La Glace is an elegant ice cream parlour and salon de thé serving ice cream and pastries meticulously handcrafted in the French method. I was invited to their media event this week. Here’s a look at what you can expect at La Glace Ice Cream.
Disclosure: All food in this review was complimentary. Opinions are my own.
Video Recap
Here’s a recap of the tasty treats doled out at the media event.
La Glace Ice Cream Menu
On the menu at La Glace is premium French ice cream with dreamy flavours like Cafe à La Lavande (coffee cream with lavender); Chocolat à la Menthe (mint ice cream and dark chocolate flecks); Matcha Noir (green tea cream with black sesame swirl) and more. La Glace ice cream is made in the French method with cream, egg yolks, and sugar using minimal aeration.
The parlour is also vegan-friendly with speciality vegan flavours made with house-made cashew milk or coconut milk. made with house-made cashew milk or coconut milk. Vegan flavours include Coco Pandan (pandan infused coconut cream); Chocohuète (peanut butter and dark chocolate flecks); and Chocolat à la Menthe (mint cream and dark chocolate flecks). Customers can enjoy a single scoop ($5.50), two ($7.50) or three ($8.50). Vegan flavours are an extra ($0.50) and waffle cones are ($1.50).
For an even more elevated experience, La Glace has a selection of parfaits topped with seasonal local fruit and house-made marshmallows and meringues. Delightful pastry pairings will include regularly rotating flavours of cookies, macarons, and profiteroles. Parfaits range between $9 – $12.
Elegant Interior
Designed by Arithmetic, La Glace’s interior space was inspired by Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras. The space incorporates elements such as brass, marble, a curved bar and, most of all, the colour mint the nostalgia of those eras of art. The custom banquette and hand-painted gold-leafed mural integrating Chinoiserie elements with the La Glace mascots—a pair of peacocks—add Paris-inspired elegance to this space.
What I Tried
At the media event, I tried a variety of their flavours including Ganache (dark Valrhona Chocolate), Crème de la Crème (vanilla bean), Pretzel Crémeux (sweet and salty pretzel cream), Matcha Noir (green tea cream with black sesame swirl), and Cafe à La Lavande (coffee cream with lavender), and Vegan Coco Pandan (pandan infused coconut cream). I was enthralled by rich and ultra creamy style of La Glace’s premium French ice cream; it’s a melt-in-your-mouth sort of deliciousness that soothes your palate. The ice creams were not overly sweet with elevated flavours, richness, eye-yolkiness if you will and creativeness to match the overall elegant experience. Stand-outs to me were the Pretzel Crémeux with a beautiful balance of sweet and saltiness and the heavenly flavours of the Vegan Coco Pandan (I highly recommend it).
I also sampled the Gourmandise parfait which has 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, 1 scoop chocolate, chocolate ganache, Valrhona chocolate chips, feuilletine and topped with fresh whipped cream.
I enjoyed one of their affogatos featuring a scoop of vanilla ice cream doused in espresso and grated tonka. Very delicious with a lovely balance of espresso and vanilla flavours.
And to make the ice cream extra Instagram-worthy, La Glace has a variety of toppings like puffed rice infused with pandan, hibiscus, marshmallows and meringue kisses. I can attest to the deliciousness of the marshmallows and meringues.
Overall Impression of La Glace Ice Cream
The neighbourhood looks to have embraced the opening of La Glace Ice Cream and rightfully so. Their French-style ice cream is certainly worth the drive from wherever you are and their elegant atmosphere makes it a lovely place to gather with friends and family. La Glace has certainly got me lingering for more.
La Glace Ice Cream
Address: 2785 W 16th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Website: www.laglace.ca