As the temperature progressively rises in Melbourne, it's time to turn our eyes to the hot-weather saviour that is gelato.
My current favourites are as follows: Il Dolce Freddo for the best damn Roche-flavoured gelato (they do a really authentic Durian and a punchy Pandan, too), Gelato Messina for rich and creamy options, and Spring St Grocer for all-round, can't-go-wrong icy treats. Spring St Grocer is my absolute favourite, because they do the most incredible and interesting flavour combinations. Everything across the board is good. So, during a recent weekend in Northcote, I decided to see how Il Melograno measures up, in comparison to the big boys of the gelato game.
My current favourites are as follows: Il Dolce Freddo for the best damn Roche-flavoured gelato (they do a really authentic Durian and a punchy Pandan, too), Gelato Messina for rich and creamy options, and Spring St Grocer for all-round, can't-go-wrong icy treats. Spring St Grocer is my absolute favourite, because they do the most incredible and interesting flavour combinations. Everything across the board is good. So, during a recent weekend in Northcote, I decided to see how Il Melograno measures up, in comparison to the big boys of the gelato game.
The flavours change, and are based on seasonal ingredients, so there's always something new to come back to. We were mostly attracted to the richer, creamier gelatos than the fruity sorbets, and on the whole I'd say it was a bit of a hit or miss situation. Now, the flavours you will find here aren't quite as innovative as the ones you'll find at Messina, for instance, and when we visited we sampled some gelati that really fell flat. That said, there are a few odd flavours that do hit the mark, like the ones we ordered - hazelnut, pistachio and coconut. All three were delicious.
These melted pretty quickly, in comparison to other gelatos I've had, but I was happy to see that they had the type of ice cream cones that I liked. Are you a waffle-cone fan, or a wafer-cone fan? I am all about the wafer-cone, for sure!
Nothing beats the light and slightly chewy wafer, and these were perfect - strong enough to hold up the gelato, without going soggy in your hands.
These melted pretty quickly, in comparison to other gelatos I've had, but I was happy to see that they had the type of ice cream cones that I liked. Are you a waffle-cone fan, or a wafer-cone fan? I am all about the wafer-cone, for sure!
Nothing beats the light and slightly chewy wafer, and these were perfect - strong enough to hold up the gelato, without going soggy in your hands.
We couldn't resist ordering a slice of the apple cake, too, and were sorely disappointed with the size of it. The slice more or less registered the width of three fingers, and it was a dinky, deflated looking cake. While it was small in size, it was big on satisfaction, and quite possibly the lightest, fluffiest cake I've had. It was almost like a chiffon cake, with bits of apple filling here and there, which was such a treat to bite into. I was thoroughly impressed with it, but I couldn't help but wish there was more of it to go around.
Il Melograno
76 High St, Northcote
VIC 3070
Tel: 03 9482 4971
Il Melograno
76 High St, Northcote
VIC 3070
Tel: 03 9482 4971