There are certain tried and tested ways to get yourself into the spirit of Halloween quickly:

1. Accidentally walk through a cobweb while exploring a shadowy attic.
2. Use a Oujia board to contact a restless spirit only to have it to run amok while you flee from your home.
3. Eat spooky-themed treats!

While the first two we don’t recommend, the third is our bread and butter! 

Fair warning though, we know there are a few of these lists on other Vancouver sites, so to differentiate with SEO, we will be using absolutely NO Halloween-related puns. That’s right, this is a hard-hitting look at the Vancouver snack scene, so forgive us if we’re all business. Here’s our list of essential YVR spooky eats, without further a-BOO! Ok but seriously, no puns starting now.

Temper Chocolate & Pastry

This off the beaten path bakery keeps West Vancouver well stocked with spooky delights. Whether you’re digging into tombstone chocolates, carving up candy jack o’ lanterns, or indulging in all things pumpkin flavour, this is a sweet tooth destination that’s well worth the cheat day.   

@temperpastry
temperpastry.com

Metate Bake Shop

If your October snack routine needs a little more flavour, then we highly suggest ordering from Metate Bake Shop. Home-baked Mexican treats that will have you marking Day of the Dead on your calendar from now on. The Pan De Muerto (Day of the Dead bread) is orange blossom infused deliciousness finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. Orders are done weekly with pick-ups done on Saturdays, so if you order now, you can be sinking your fangs into them on Halloween day!

@metatebakeshop
metatekitchen.ca

Pure Bread

We admittedly have a love-hate relationship with Pure Bread. It’s hard to maintain any sort of regular meal plan while they’re flaunting their outrageous wares in their window display. It’s despicable! However, we’ve decided to put our feelings aside for the sake of journalism and say only this: pumpkin whoopie pies.

@purebread_canada
purebread.ca

Swiss Bakery

Vancouver’s leading authority on the Frissant (when a donut and a croissant love each other very much), this Mount Pleasant favourite is offering terrifying takes on all their best treats. Fancy a peanut butter bomb eyeball? How about a slice of MARSHMALLOW WEB GHOST CAKE?! Apologies for the caps lock, but with a name that terrifying, it deserves to be shrieked with your hand over your mouth in shock.

@swissbakeryyvr
swissbakery.oftendining.com

Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery

If you’re traumatized by visions of gluten chasing you through the woods, then consider Lemonade Bakery a safe place. On a weekly basis, the bakery brings a medium in to banish all gluten spirits back to whence they came. From this bizarre ritual, delectable baked goods are born. For you skeptics, we need only refer you to their ghostly sugar cookies, and ghost campfire cupcakes. This Cambie Village shop is a rite of passage for any self-respecting sweet tooth. 

@lemonadeglutenfreebakery
lemonadebakery.ca

Baker & Table Cafe

This Japanese specialty bakeshop has been Fraser Streets’ best-kept secret for years… On second thought, we may delete this entry later to keep it that way. Order a fluffy melon pan (melon-shaped sweet bun covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough) or take home one of their signature mochi cookies, now decorated with edible costumes like a pumpkin, Pikachu, and even Baby Yoda! Just don’t be surprised if buying one makes you want to raise it as your own and stoically protect it as you wander into the horizon.

@bakerandtablecafe
bakerandtablecafe.com

Bon Macaron Patisserie

Wade through the sights and smells at Granville Island, and you’ll find one of the markets’ sweetest stalls. Bon Macaron Patisserie has made a name for themselves in one of Vancouver’s top food districts by offering one thing exceptionally well. Pop by for a few pumpkin-flavoured bites, or learn the tricks of their trade by joining their Halloween macaron workshops!

@bonmacaronpatisserie
bonmacaronpatisserie.com