Amato Gelato

Likes: free wifi, location, space
Dislikes: only two plugs
Background: After half a day of looking for a place to finally write my article (nope, Starbucks, Waves and Blenz were all taken), I barged in here on a Sunday afternoon in February 2013, in desperate need to plop my laptop at table nearby any wall outlet that would provide the energy that I otherwise lost throughout my café hopping.
Ambience: The shop is very well-​lit, with bar stools and posh pleather seat. Such a convenient and easy-​to-​find location in No. 3 Road, where London Drugs is. When I came here, it was empty that I doubted if they were even open. But alas, they were open until 10 pm that Sunday. There were a few other people who came by, such as a very noisy family of 20 (or what felt like 20 people), and cutesy couples. But I won as the longest-​staying customer of the night… a whopping 3 hours!
Food: I didn’t order much, except for a large mocha and two pre-​sliced cheesecake (they come in twos). The mocha was quite strong, which I liked. It kept me typing away and working on the by-​product of my procrastination. The cheesecake was frozen, and tasted store bought. It was a very small slice, but there was two of them.
Service: The cashier was polite and left me alone throughout my written journey. She seemed almost sad though, when I was leaving… our 3-​hour non-​speaking relationship with the occasional «Can you please watch my laptop?» interaction came to an end.
Value: The mocha and the cheesecake cost me $ 9. Meh.
Verdict: If I can’t find a spot at one of the other cafes, I would love to go to this gelato shop again. I just wish that they had other choices of non-​gelato food such as pastries. I know they’re a gelato place, but still! Maybe if this is the case, they’d attract more students then?

extra star for the free wifi ;)
since i have a sweet tooth, gelato is gelato to me, i crave it more during a hot summer day, the orange here is good.
also tried their signature «gelato expresso’, recommend if you like coffee & gelato together – obviously.
If you don’t find parking in that dark, dim parkade behind it, & don’t mind jaywalking across No.3 Road, I park at the boston pizza nearby.

Serving not only a wide range of gelato flavors, Amato Gelato also sells cakes and a other varieties of dessert. But you don’t really come here for the other desserts. No, you come here because the name of the shop is Amato GELATO. Get ready to take your sweet tooth on a sugary ride because their gelati is delicious! It honestly took me so long to pick just one flavor (I must show refrain from selecting too many or I’m going to see an increase in waist size.) so I can get my scoop. But that’s the dilemma I face every time I visit this store: «Oh can I try this? Mmmm. Can I try that? Yum! Oh I didn’t see that, I wanna try that. Wow this is good! What’s that one? Yes I would love to try it. I love it!» next thing you know, I’m ordering a three scoop cup of Pecan Pie, Coconut Sorbet, and Maple Walnut. I actually wonder how the people working there stay slim. Honestly, I’d be doing some serious damage to my paycheque if I worked there. Don’t roll your eyes at me, you would do it too!
It’s an awesome place to just hang out with your friends, especially on a warm summer day. You’d just have to be lucky to get a table and some chairs because there aren’t a whole lot. In addition to that, it’s in a central area. The mall is within walking distance and the Canada Line is nearby, so it’s accessible to anyone willing to make the trek.
The prices are a little high ($ 4.50 for ONE scoop? …) but I’m not sure if these prices are competitive as I haven’t been to many gelato places in the city. I don’t have gelato often, so I guess it’s reasonable.
Review #29 — 30 Day Unilocal Challenge

Yummy cone. There are so many flavors of gelato and ice cream.

Now I have gone here a handful of times and to be honest their gelato is much better than their sorbetto. They have a multitude of flavours to choose from ranging from sugar coma sweet, to mildly sweet, to almost no sweetness at all.
I have tried many of their gelato flavours ranging from vanilla, nutella, hazelnut, matcha, double chocolate, mint, cookie dough… and more! But since I do not eat dairy anymore, this time I opted for a strawberry and chocolate sorbet. The strawberry was actually quite good. It had the right amount of sweetness, but the chocolate on the other hand, tasted quite odd… this sorbet tasted literally like cocoa powder, with a little bit of sugar – frozen. The chocolate taste was there but it tasted quite bitter in a way, so refrain from getting the chocolate sorbetto!
Anyways if you have allergies or can not eat a particular product (like moi!) you can specifically as them what ingredients are in them, and they will take out out the container and look for you!
Also I asked the man working where the gelato came from… he said it’s all from the brand which is Mario’s Gelati. Mario’s and Amato have a store on E 1^st, so this store is just a off-​spring of those two.
Amato apparently sells coffee drinks as well… and savoury items. :/​
It was $ 6.25 or $ 6.50 for 2 scoops of gelato in a cup, if I had gotten a cone, it would have been way more expensive… I’m glad I don’t like cones!
If I am in the area and have a yearning for some expensive, okay gelato, I might come again… otherwise I won’t be rushing back here.
*They only accept debit & cash!*

Amazing atmosphere and great gelato! What else do you want? the wafer cones were crispy and light while the gelato were rich and satisfying. The service was excellent, friendly staff.
I wanted something different so i went with their recommendation of green tea and mango combo, wow amazing, the green tea was a subtle flavor of the mango was amazing, it was like biting into a fresh mango. I am a fan!

[Actual address: 5951 No. 3 Road, Richmond, BC, V6X 2E3, Canada]
I was a bad boy during my trip in Richmond, B.C.
How so?
Well, I was on my way to dinner when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the neon sign of Amato Gelato beckoning me.
Uh, dessert BEFORE dinner?
My inner child spoke up, urging – nay, forcing me to be naughty: I’m out and about in a different city from my mommy and daddy. Heck, I was in a whole different country!
Mommy, daddy, your little boy has grown up and become a man – a man who could have dessert BEFORE dinner if he so chose; a man who can now (as of last week) go wee-​wee by himself without Mr. Tinkle and his pee-​pee jingle, thank you very much.
…
Ahem.
…
Me: *looking around* «Guess a little pre-​dinner ‘palate cleanser’ wouldn’t hurt.»
Wow. Pfft, Baskin Robbins, with your measly 31 flavors. There must have been 32, maybe 33 flavors at Amato! Wow. I would still be standing there now trying to figure out which flavor to order if I didn’t see taro root and, more importantly, rum raisin!!!
The flavors were amazing. The gelato was sweet but, unlike a child actor, not overpoweringly so. The taro gelato had chewy bits of taro, which perfectly set off the creamy texture. As for the rum raisin? The room felt like it was spinning and I was floored after the first spoonful! Not from alcohol, but with the kick-​ass flavor that the rum soaked raisins imparted to the Amaretto-​kissed gelato.
Darn it, worth every second of the timeout I’m sure to get for being naughty.