Paradiso Gelato Bistro

Ending my food date with C'est la vie a Maggi, we headed to Paradiso Gelato Bistro which is a place I have wanted to try for a while. At least for a couple of weeks! The gelato shop is located right across from Kitsilano beach and I cannot believe that I have never been here! As for the interior, seating is limited which is likely not an issue since most will walk out with gelato rather than staying. In addition, asides from gelato, the Vietnamese owned shop offers banh mi! If we did not have froyo earlier, we would have probably tried one.

As we were checking out the flavours, one of the kind owners offered us a sample of choice. Furthermore, the sample was a generous size and more than enough for the both of us to have a taste.

KIDS SIZE $3.25, SINGLE $4.00, DOUBLE $5.00, 1/2 LITRE $10.50, WAFFLE CONE $0.25

The sorbet flavours are passion fruit, lemon, strawberry kiwi, pina colada, mango, pomegranate, banana & chocolate, cherry, lychee, strawberry and mandarin.

As for the gelato, there is mango, rum & raisin, chai, hazelnut, pistachio, cookie monster, ferrero roche, cappuccino, coconut, matcha, maple walnut, bubble gum, chocolate, vanilla, mint & chocolate, and butter & chocolate.

Fresh - > Walked to the beach for a poser photo.

DOUBLE, COOKIE MONSTER AND MINT & CHOCOLATE ($5.00).

Maggi went for the cookie monster because well, she tends to order things that seem popular which was the case here, being one of the soon to be empty bins of gelato. The cookie monster tastes rich as well as sweet, and has crushed oreo as well as graham folded into the gelato. In addition, the topped crumbs provide more taste and a slight crunch. It was quite impressive, every lick has a taste of crumbs. Although I did find it too sweet for me.

Up next, the mint and chocolate tastes like what it supposed to be, mint chocolate chip. The gelato tastes creamy with a refreshing taste of mint, and sweet mini chocolate chips. Although having been spoiled by Rain or Shines' use of shredded chocolate in their ice cream rather than chips, I do prefer shredded.

DOUBLE, LYCHEE SORBET AND HAZELNUT ($5.00) ON WAFFLE CONE ($0.25).

Moving to mine which tastes ten times better than Maggi's, I chose to start with the lychee sorbet and end with a richer hazelnut. As for the sorbet, there is a faint lychee taste which was unfortunately ruined by the large amount of ice crystals. In almost every lick.

Continuing along, the hazelnut gelato is definitely the highlight. The gelato tastes amazingly flavourful and has a light creaminess. Emphasize on an amazingly flavourful hazelnut taste. How good was the hazelnut?

So good that when I saw a strand of hair, I did not walk back for an exchange. To be honest, when I told Maggi about the hair, I was kind of curious to see her reaction and was pretty confident it was my eyelash… but nope, I pulled it out and it was curly. Am I embarrassed to admit I still finished the gelato? LOL a bit… 

TOTAL: $10.75.

Four days later after having dinner at Q4 Ristorante, I had to come back. I needed to confirm with BF that the hazelnut tastes so good, it justified me finishing it despite the hair situation. 

DOUBLE, WATERMELON SORBET AND MATCHA ($5.00)

DOUBLE, PISTACHIO AND HAZELNUT ($5.00).

Starting with the watermelon sorbet, it does not taste too sweet and has a syrupy watermelon taste. In addition, there are no ice crystals like with the lychee sorbet. Next, the matcha gelato tastes exactly like how it should, a flavourful as well as creamy, rich matcha taste.

Heading to my cone, the pistachio tastes rich and has a real pistachio taste. Honestly, it tastes like you are eating pistachio. If anything, there would be bonus points if there were a bit of crushed up pistachios. Continuing along to the highlight, the only reason for revisiting, is the hazelnut gelato. The hazelnut tastes creamy and flavourful, just like the first visit. Heh, no hair this time too...

TOTAL: $10.25.

Overall, most of the gelato tastes like how they should. Furthermore, the gelato has a rich as well as creamy consistency and the flavours are pretty much on point. As for the sorbets, meh… In the end, I will travel to come here and perhaps be more open minded when trying out some restaurants in Kitsilano, just so I can feel like Paradiso was "on the way".

POSITIVES
- Prices are a steal
- Pretty good gelato
- Friendly staff
- Housemade gelato (unlike some places that order from Mario)

NEGATIVES
- Hair situation
- Sorbets are meh
- Gelato could be a lot creamier but is more than good enough for the price

LITTLE THINGS
- C'est la vie a Maggi's post [here]
- On my revisit, I mentioned the hair situation out of good heart and the owner seemed angry or annoyed with me… not sure why. And this was after I paid

Food: 2.5/5 (matcha, hazelnut, pistachio 3-3.5/5)

Service: N/A