When the heat strikes, fresh faces on the gelato scene and well-loved names alike are ready to serve. There’s sorbet served in a frozen lemon cup, chocolate with salty pretzel sauce, and a scoop that heroes summer’s peaches.
Haymun Win
Melbourne’s gelato scene is growing in both size and choice, with more tropical fruits, plant-based flavours and shops emerging in both city and suburbs. New openings include Italian diner Universal Restaurant’s companion gelateria on Lygon Street, bayside favourite Okay Lucy’s second shop − still by the beach but closer to Melbourne − and vegan-friendly Suga Rays from the founder of hit Melbourne cafes, Tori’s and Humble Rays.
As competition intensifies, shops are casting the net wider in their quest for exciting flavours. You can find a spicy version of Thai mango sticky rice pudding, a Greek pastry turned into a scoop, and fruit flavours that go way beyond strawberry, like Africa’s kiwano (or horned) melon or the refreshing mangosteen.
Aside from cones and cups, punters can spring for ice-cream sandwiches, sorbet served in frozen fruit, and plant-based icy drinks rooted in Thai tradition.
Okay Lucy, Black Rock
Beloved by Mornington regulars since 2019, Okay Lucy has opened a second coastal store close to several popular Melbourne beaches. Red velvet, cookie dough and raspberry meringue are among the more nostalgic flavours. A dedicated pastry team elevates them by baking all elements from scratch.
Must-try scoop: Specked with crushed espresso beans and swirled with house-made caramel, a salted piccolo will perk you up after a day at Sandringham Beach or Half Moon Bay.
614 Balcombe Road, Black Rock, okaylucy.com
Glo Gelato, Carlton
The family behind Carlton’s legendary Universal Restaurant has debuted a sweet sibling. Flavours swing from classic to capricious, but all are underpinned by traditional gelato-making techniques. Previous specials have played with pumpkin and pavlova; by mid-January look out for peach sorbetto spotlighting Murray River peaches. If gelati isn’t calling your name, the tight range of doughnut-shaped cakes might.
Must-try scoop: Pistachio Mayhem, a deeply nutty flavour studded with salted pistachio crunch, is a recipe that was only perfected after 100-plus attempts.
131 Lygon Street, Carlton, glogelato.co
Suga Rays, CBD
Vegan-friendliness is more than just a box to tick here − Suga Ray’s ethos is inspired by founder Tinee Su’s upbringing in Thailand, where ice-cream is made from coconut milk. Eight rotating flavours, such as Thai milk tea, nutty injeolmi and even wasabi edamame, can be spun into sundaes, shokupan sandwiches and banana splits. The raved-about matcha from sister venue Tori’s also makes an appearance in a strawberry ice-cream float.
Must-try scoop: Ube, the purple-hued yam, is satisfying solo, but there’s a wafer option that cranks up the yam factor with ube chips and ube powder.
8/120 A’Beckett Street, @sugaraysmelb
Anita Gelato, CBD
This expanding gelato-maker has been ticking off Australian capitals and its latest outpost just landed in Melbourne. A mint green facade leads into one of its more intimate shops, with pink geometric flooring. Most flavours come dressed with matching toppings: strawberry jam pairs with mascarpone-ricotta, toffee cream is folded through salted caramel gelato, and a classic milk chocolate scoop is cut with a pretzel-spiked sauce.
Must-try scoop: Tart lemon sorbet blended with fresh mint is inspired by refreshing limoncello.
273 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, anita-gelato.com/au
Frisco Creamery, Caulfield
To gelato or to froyo? Newcomer Frisco dares ask: why not both? A self-service frozen yoghurt bar sits alongside 18 innovative gelato choices. Ube meets the citrus fruit calamansi in a tangy mashup, and co-founder Jereon Cools is working on deep-fried ice-cream inspired by Belgian-style fries − it’s going to be beer-battered and shaped like a chip.
Must-try scoop: Mango sticky rice, which starts with a sweet Thai-style sticky rice that takes more than three hours to make. Once it’s churned into gelato, mango and chilli jam is swirled through for a tropical treat.
2/6 Caulfield Boulevard, Caulfield North, @frisco.creamery
Taste of Amalfi, Carlton
Couple Milos Kalajdzic and Nada Mandic visited the Amalfi Coast in 2023 and were enamoured with the tradition of serving lemon sorbet in real, hollowed-out lemons. Back in Melbourne, they started with a sorbet cart and pop-ups before opening this shop, where fresh fruit such as strawberries and mango are turned into sorbets and served in a frozen fruit cup. Coming up next: plum.
Must-try scoop: The sorbet that started it all, made from locally grown lemons (occasionally from customers’ backyards).
89 Grattan Street, Carlton, tasteofamalfi.com.au
Good Daze Canteen, Fitzroy
This globetrotting spot has featured the likes of mangosteen, custard apple and cactus since opening last summer. Right now, experiments are underway with soursop − a tangy yet creamy tropical fruit − and Kiwano melon that “almost tastes like a banana”, according to co-owner Bharathi Ghattamaneni. All sorbets are vegan-friendly − a bonus.
Must-try scoop: Not technically a scoop, but an ice-cream sandwich that riffs on Greece’s galaktoboureko. Frozen custard is tucked into a pocket of filo pastry, amped up by walnuts and drenched in orange blossom syrup.
316 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, gooddazecanteen.com
Fluffy Torpedo, Brunswick and Fitzroy
If the eclectic artwork and floors laid with lollies don’t tip you off, the flavours will: this ice-cream shop is out there. Behind the counter at the Fitzroy store, 36 whimsical choices are embroidered on the fabric menu, from buttered baguette to salted chilli pineapple with coconut vinegar.
Must-try scoop: Sour watermelon and whipped cream sorbet combines watermelon with the acids found in tart fruits, resulting in a flavour reminiscent of Sour Patch lollies.
213 Sydney Road, Brunswick; 5/159 Smith Street, Fitzroy; fluffytorpedo.diamonds
Gelato Messina, various locations
On warmer days, prime real estate is measured by proximity to a Messina. The always-busy gelateria releases five new rotating flavours every Tuesday. Expect the usual decadent add-ons over summer. January features ginger-lime sorbet; lemon cream gelato studded with English lemon cake; and a chunky passionfruit cheesecake gelato.
Must-try scoop: Try a weekly flavour or pistachio praline, which emerged as customers’ favourite of 2025.
Various locations, see gelatomessina.com
Coming soon:
Mondo Gelateria, CBD
Opening early January, this central sweet stop features a sleek glass bar under a sun-shaped light installation. Decadent gelati flavours − 28 in total − include dark chocolate fudge brownie and boozy black forest. Ice-cream layer cakes, pastries and cold brew concoctions (including one infused with matcha, yuzu and miso caramel) are also in the mix. Owner Rio Olivetti honed his craft at Bologna’s Carpigiani Gelato University and also runs bottled cocktail business Numero IX.
Must-try scoop: Raspberry, lychee and lime gelato will be a triple threat on hot days.
215 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, @mondo.melb
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