There's No Place Like Oz

This is the first post in the “Heather Eats Sydney” series and the 6th in the “my waist line is expanding while my bank account is decreasing” series.

For months I’ve tweeted about the restaurants, cafes, and bakeries I’ve visited during my time in Sydney. Some I stumbled upon during a walk, others I read about on Urbanspoon.com or Eatability.com, and many I sought out after reading about them on the sites of Sydney food bloggers.

Now that I’m somewhere between living in Sydney and touring more of the country in a campervan, I figured it was time I share some of the places I’ve had a meal, snack, or dessert in my home away from home. If you’re living in, traveling to, or planning a visit for Sydney, maybe the upcoming series will highlight a new place you’d like to eat!

First up — Sydney serves up gelato! In the next few weeks I’ll highlight cafes, bakeries, Asian restaurants, places to find a good burger, and more.

Heather + Gelato

My go-to flavor wherever in the world I may be:
Ferrero Rocher

Where to find gelato in my hometown of Charlottesville:
Splendora’s Gelato Cafe

Favorite place for gelato in Sydney:
Gelato Messina

Favorite flavor sampled in Sydney:
Salted caramel with white chocolate

I love the colors and flavors!

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Gelatissimo

With a handful of stores across Australia (mostly in Sydney suburbs), Gelatissimo is perhaps the most familiar of of the gelato shops. I visited Gelatissimo when I was in Australia in 2006, and I’m fairly certain I had a scoop of gelato on my first day in Sydney eight months ago.

If you visit the Sydney CBD and Harbour, you can’t miss the Circular Quay location. Situated just across from the ferry terminals and in between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, it’s an easy way to have a quick, cold treat while viewing some of the nation’s most iconic sights.

Gelatomassi
262 King Street, Newtown

Gelatomassi is the favorite of one of my friends so I popped by during my last few days in the city. I didn’t find the two scoops we shared particularly special, but the staff was very friendly with every customer.

Gelato Blue
318 King Street, Newtown

Like Gelatomassi and the next two shops, I only tried Gelato Blue in my last month in Sydney. The outside of the shop promised dairy free, vegan treats, so I had to pop inside on one of the warmest days of the summer. Gelato Blue has gelato with dairy but they have a larger selection of sorbets than some of the other stores…so of course I had to buy a couple of scoops and eat them on the long walk home.

Cow & Moon
181 Enmore Road, Enmore

Thank goodness for friends you can share dessert with so you can try more flavors without eating too much!

On my first visit we shared passionfruit, some variety of chocolate, and a cherry with some chocolate bits in it — seriously, if I don’t jot down the details while I’m eating, I’m hopeless! Whatever the exact flavors were, they were heavenly. This one’s worth a visit.

Gelato Messina

And then there was Gelato Messina, which easily took the prize from Cow & Moon for my favorite gelato spot. Just take a look at the shots my food blogger & photographer friend Simon took while I was eating:

The salted caramel with white chocolate was THE BEST flavor of gelato I’ve ever had. Even better than my go-to flavor Ferrero Rocher. And the coconut & pandan flavor was a VERY close second. We also tried the cardamom & apricot puree flavor that was on special. And I practically drooled when I learned they rolled out an Elvis-inspired peanut butter gelato with banana jam flavor. I should be glad I wasn’t around to try it or I would have been in serious trouble.

Gelato Messina wins a coveted “Heather’s Best of Sydney Eats” award. I don’t know what that really means, except that I’ll be back for one last visit in April and you should go too if you find yourself in Sydney.

If you use Gowalla, you can bookmark and eventually complete the Gelato in Sydney trip!

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