Gelato Messina HQ, Rosebery

Messina without a queue? Messina gelato cakes at the drop of a hat? You can get both at one of Gelato Messina's lesser known outlets in Rosebery. The Rosebery store is Gelato Messina HQ, home to a bright and shiny kitchen classroom for gelato-making workshops and gelato appreciation classes. It's where all Messina gelato cakes are made - that means you can stop by and pick one up without having to pre-order. Say what?!


Gelato cabinet 

Its location makes for a handy weekend pit-stop, with relatively easy street parking. The best part is there's rarely a queue inside. Being able to see the entire gelato cabinet without a single person blocking your view is a rare luxury.


Apple pie gelato

Like all Messina stores, you'll find 40 different flavours on offer. There are 35 permanent flavours and five weekly specials.


Passionfruit sorbet

Ten permanent sorbets include blood orange, lemon and coconut & roast almond with chocolate coated almonds. All the sorbets are dairy free and vegan. 


Gelato rainbow

I'm always befuddled by the overwhelming choice of flavours. Apparently the salted caramel and white chocolate is their biggest seller.


Weekly gelato specials

The novelty of the weekly special is usually hard to resist. Hat tip also has to go to the creativity of flavour combos and the quirkiness behind each creation name. The Messina team reckon they've made 2,500 different flavours so far.


L: Frooty Loopy, Coco Republic, and pandan & coconut
R: Honey I Burnt the Kids, salted coconut & mango salsa, and #36

We end up getting almost every weekly special on offer. The Frooty Loopy makes us feel like kids again, with Froot Loops-infused milk gelato and chewy Froot Loops rings. Coco Republic is chunkier than we expect, with large bits of pineapple cake mixed through coconut gelato and only a small amount of passionfruit curd.

There's quite a savoury note to Honey I Burnt the Kids, a burnt vanilla gelato with smoked dark chocolate fudge, burnt honey mousse and caramelised popcorn. And #36 is dense with frozen glazed doughnuts and pecan crunch mixed through peanut caramel gelato.

We also pick from their classic range. The salted coconut & mango salsa is super tasty and I still swoon over the pandan & coconut, probably my most-eaten flavour from Messina of all time.


Display area of gelato cake samples

In the back corner of the shop is a display area of Messina gelato cakes complete with mock-up samples.


Dr Evil's Magic Mushroom $85 (serves 16)
Dark chocolate gelato, peanut cookies and dulce de leche with flourless chocolate sponge, red ganache and white chocolate buttons with popping candy grass


Tiramisu $75 (serves 16)
White chocolate and coffee bowl filled with tiramisu gelato and lady finger biscuits topped with a white chocolate ball rolled in coffee bean and dark chocolate filled with a coffee and marsala gel


Bombe Alaska $55 (serves 14-16)
Raspberry sorbet and dark chocolate gelato on a flourless chocolate sponge covered in scorched Italian meringue

As one staff member told us, all the gelato cakes are made on the premises here, so chances are you should be able to pick up any cake you choose even without pre-ordering. It's also much easier to find a street park here than at Darlinghurst or Surry Hills.


Strawberries and cream gelato

Like every other Messina store, there's a distinct lack of seating, but standing around with your mates and stealing spoonfuls of gelato from each other's cones and cups is half the fun.


Gelato time!

 

Gelato Messina HQ
58 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8821 7391

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 11am-10pm
Saturday 12pm-10pm
Sunday 12pm-9pm


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