Melbourne

One thing that German-born Mascha missed when she moved to Australia five years ago, was spaghettieis – spaghetti gelato. The solution – she made her own, and so Madame Spaghetti was born.

Spaghettieis is very much a German thing. It was invented in 1969 by Dario Fontanella, a third generation gelatiere (gelato maker) based in the German city of Mannheim. Dario was looking for alternative ways to serve gelati. He found that when the right sort of gelato is extruded through a spaetzle (noodle) press, served with strawberry sauce and a topping of grated white chocolate, you have something that looks uncannily like a serve of spaghetti napoli with grated parmesan. Add chunks of chocolate brownie or chocolate truffles and you have spaghetti with meatballs. And for extra indulgence the spaghettieis sits on a bed of whipped cream. Continue Reading

During a very welcome respite from our super hot summer, we visited an old haunt at Docklands – Limonetto Gelati.

Limonetto has been around for many years, with the current owners taking over from Limonetto’s founder around three years ago. Do they have a family history of gelati? Nup, according to the friendly current owner, they just love ice cream. We can relate to that! Continue Reading

Brunetti is a Melbourne institution. For more than 40 years, part of inner Melbourne life has been to meet friends over coffee and cake at Brunetti’s Carlton café – now in Lygon Street but for many years operating in Faraday Street. There are even two Brunettis at Melbourne Airport.

In late 2017, Brunetti opened a huge flagship café in Flinders Lane. It stretches way, way back over what seems like hundreds of metres, passing counters offering luscious-looking cakes, paninis, pizza, a large kitchen with chefs whipping up plates of food, a deli with huge legs of prosciutto and cheeses and a spritz bar. Espresso machines, obviously. And of course, a gelateria. Continue Reading

Lavezzi is, hands-down, one of our favourite Melbourne gelaterie. Made fresh every day from raw ingredients, the gelati is everything that gelati should be. Gorgeous intense flavours, beautiful elastic texture. If we ever find ourselves in the outer east, very little arm twisting is required to drop in to Lavezzi Ringwood.  And we have dropped in many, many times.

Gelato and the Lavezzi family have a long history – churning in Italy since 1870. Based in Formia – a city halfway between Rome and Naples – in 2015 the family opened its first gelateria outside Italy in the Town Square part of Ringwood’s Eastland Shopping Centre. Then its second gelateria, in Carlton’s Lygon Street, followed in 2018. Continue Reading

With warm sunny days signalling the end of a cold winter, our thoughts are shifting towards summer fruit. More specifically, fruit-based gelati and sorbetti. And what better way to start spring than to sample the handmade sorbets from Lemon in Lemon Sorbet.

Chris and Laura’s yellow and white striped cart has been popping up at various markets around Melbourne since April 2018, serving up all-fruit based, totally natural, vegan sorbets made from 100% Australian ingredients. The cart holds a small range of flavours from Lemon in Lemon’s repertoire – all lovingly handcrafted from fresh fruit. Continue Reading

Just a few minutes and a world away from the hurly-burly of Lygon Street, the quaint atmosphere of Rathdowne Village is a revelation. Great food stores, gorgeous cafés, village vibe. And right in the middle is Yumbo’s, a little family-run gelateria.

For 30 years, Yumbo’s has been churning out Italian gelati, based on natural ingredients and fresh fruit, with no artificial flavours or preservatives. The gelato cabinet holds around 20 flavours – including vegan sorbetti – served in cups or cones, or tubs to take away.  There are also luscious looking choc tops, smoothies and a range of gelato cakes, all made in-house. Continue Reading