Our previous visit to 1565 was on a beautiful hot summer’s day – perfect for enjoying great gelati. Eighteen months later, it was cold, bleak and wintry. Brrrr. But Benny and I eat gelati all year round – rain, hail or shine – so a chilly day did not put us off.
The dark and narrow shop is in the village-like atmosphere of Kensington, just around the corner from Macaulay Road near the railway crossing. The outside is deceptive – the shop extends way back, past the shelves of artisan bread, past the display counters with tempting arancini, cakes and cannoli, past tables for diners, right back to a snug parlour with comfy couches and large fireplace. No need for a fire on the day of our visit, as the shop was warm and cosy despite the weather outside.
Gelato is just one small part of 1565’s menu, which focuses on fresh Mediterranean food. Everything is made on-site, including the gelati. Based on all-natural ingredients and seasonal fruit, 1565 uses no flavour enhancers or colourings in its gelati. The flavours are traditional, but with a modern twist.
Unfortunately, we did not pick a good morning to visit. There was very little gelati remaining – most of the tubs were almost empty. As our friendly server scraped the bottom of the tubs for our selections, we could see that the gelato was quite firm, and definitely not freshly made.
My choice: chocolate orange gelato, paired with a raspberry and rosewater sorbetto. Benny had an orange and fennel gelato. The flavours were good, but the textures were very icy and hard, which was a major disappointment.
The array of artisan bread proved very tempting and we took home a crusty ciabatta – it was fabulous.
Why is it called 1565? In that year gelato was invented in Florence (according to signs on the wall).
In the past we’ve had great gelati at 1565, but we were very unlucky this time. All flavours were running very low and were past their best. Winter may not be the best time to visit 1565 for gelati.
1565
3 Gower Street
Kensington Vic
T: (03) 9376 1965
W: 1565.com.au
