The sun is shining, and our thoughts turn to gelato. We were not the only ones. Arriving at Ivanhoe’s Boca Gelato early in the afternoon, the queue of eager customers already extended out on to the footpath.
It’s a popular place. Opening in 2021 (mid lockdown!), Boca is a collaboration between chef Adam D’Sylva and pastry chef Monika Frkovic.
Located right in the heart of the busy Ivanhoe shopping strip, the gelateria is decorated in shades of cool green. Shiny lidded pozzetti – the traditional way to store gelati and keep it fresh – are set into the wide terrazzo counter.
Everything at Boca is made from scratch, using natural flavours and dairy products coming from one of our favourite places, That’s Amore (love its cheeses!). The gelato is served in cups, cones or tubs to take away. Want some extra pizzazz? Add a topping – cookie crumbs, house-made honeycomb or liquid chocolate from the chocolate fountain. There are also shakes, some mighty luscious-looking cakes and smaller sweet treats – freckle pops, honeycomb and cookies.
Boca’s collection of core flavours has a good representation of the gelato classics with quirky specials appearing from time to time. For lucky pooches, there is even a dog gelato – a round of blueberry jelly, oat and yoghurt gelato, topped with a honey biscuit.
A warm sunny day calls for summer flavours. My choice – mango sorbetto paired with passionfruit sorbetto. Awesomely good – smooth silky texture and intense fruity taste.
Benny’s choice – a classic pistachio gelato paired with black forest gelato. His only quibble was that his black forest was a bit sparse with the kirsch soaked cherries.
Servings are super generous. And a special shout-out for the skilled staff – despite a very long line of customers, the friendly servers operated like a well-oiled machine, cheerfully motoring along and rapidly progressing through the queue, keeping everyone happy.
Gorgeous gelato, great service – keep an eye out for events and Boca specials!
Boca Gelato
183 Upper Heidelberg Road,
Ivanhoe Vic 3079
T: (03) 9497 4276
W: https://www.bocagelato.com.au/
