If you’ve traveled to as many places as I have, you’ll know truly great gelato isn’t easy to find. But Sydney? It just might be the gelato capital of the world.
From world-champion scoops to artisanal yogurt swirls and international chains, Sydney offers gelato with serious flair — often served late into the night. Whether you’re a purist or love experimental flavors, you’re in for a delicious ride.
Here’s a curated guide to the best gelato, ice cream, and frozen yogurt in Sydney based on real visits, updated for 2025. Let’s dig in (literally).
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Gelato Messina Surry Hills
Address: 389 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
I finally returned to the place where my love for Messina began—on the day of the Mardi Gras parade.
Back when Messina wasn’t as widespread as it is now, I always came to this Surry Hills location. I looked it up—Messina was founded in 2002, and around 2012–2013, they only had four stores, none of which were in the city center. It wasn’t until 2016 that they began opening in central areas like Newtown, which I love.
I stayed in Ace Hotel Sydney this time. My full review can be found here.
Now they have shops across Australia, and in 2021, they opened their first overseas location in Hong Kong! But from the looks of it, the gelato scoops there are much smaller and more expensive. It’s located in Central, near the Peak Tram terminus.
Also I went to their newly opened branch in Singapore when I was there for Lady Gaga’s concert but it was such a disappointment, despite the long queue and the fact that the gelato are made onsite.
Their website is really well done, with pictures for every flavor—it all looks so delicious! All the toppings on their gelato, like caramel sauce and cookies, are house-made. They even grow their own hazelnuts, and by the end of 2024, they had started selling a few popular flavors in mass production at Woolworths.
This time, I had Messina twice. On the parade day, I passed by familiar Surry Hills, and it happened to be empty when I walked in, though a crowd followed right after. I sampled a few flavors—usually, I go for two scoops and try two to three flavors depending on how busy it is.
I also went to Messina twice in 2023, and my impression was that their gelato had become sweeter. I saw similar comments on Reddit, though I’m not sure if it was because I picked sweeter flavors, so I didn’t try the pistachio this time.
First round: Nicky Glass and Strawberry & Cream. Nicky Glass is coffee and caramel. Strawberry milk is a guaranteed hit. There’s a small seating area here where you can listen to music while enjoying your ice cream. After finishing her cone, my partner said, “Let’s get another one!”
That’s when I noticed they had special Mardi Gras flavors! For this week, 20% of the proceeds from special flavors go to Minus18, an organization supporting LGBTQIA+ youth.
I sampled several of the Mardi Gras flavors. The names were all super cute. My favorite was Hello Sailor (pink grapefruit + Aperol cocktail), and Tantrums and Tiaras was unbelievably good—rosewater cheesecake with strawberry puree.
I also saw what looked like a high school teacher bringing students to the parade. They were draped in different pride flags—so cute!
Gelato Messina Newtown
Address: 258 King St, Newtown NSW 2042
On the last day, I made sure to visit Messina in Newtown. I actually walked past it at first—it had been renovated! I had just been there in 2023 and was surprised it already looked different. I even ran into some tourists who seemed to be from Italy.
What makes Messina so impressive is its creative and constantly rotating flavors. This time, the flavors I sampled were on the sweeter side, so I chose my go-to blood orange sorbet plus a special flavor—super refreshing! They paired beautifully.
Later, when I was browsing their website, I saw they offer factory tours. I’m not sure if it’s available every week, but the tour costs AUD $170. I really want to go next time I’m in Sydney! They’re also opening a restaurant called ERIN on March 20, 2025, using gelato as a core ingredient. It’s located at their Marrickville headquarters.
Viator: Hunter Valley Wine Tour from Sydney incl Lunch, Cheese, Chocolate and Distillery
Anita Gelato Manly
Address: 46-48 The Corso, Manly NSW 2095
I finally tried the very popular Anita this time and thought its quality was on par with Messina.
I’d love to try more of their flavors if I get the chance! We visited the Manly branch, but they also have locations in Barangaroo, Bondi, and more. The brand originally came from Israel and launched in Sydney in 2014.
The gelato display is really eye-catching. Their most popular flavor is Cookieman—packed with mix-ins and quite memorable. Delicious! The other flavor I picked was Strawberry Mascarpone, which was solid and enjoyable.
The store has plenty of indoor seating, and you can also get coffee or add toppings (though I’m not sure how much extra that costs).
The portion sizes are generous, but the gelato melts fast and is a bit sweet. Some people got a cookie added on top, but for some reason, I didn’t get one. Still, the staff added a tiny bonus scoop on top, which was cute. The cookie was crunchier than Messina’s, but I thought Messina’s had more fragrance.
Cow & The Moon – World Champion Gelato
Address: 181 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW 2042
This is a famous gelato shop that once won a world championship, located in Enmore, right next to Newtown. I was lucky to arrive when there was no line, though people kept coming in afterward.
I specifically chose award-winning flavors. The Miso & Malt flavor was great—malt and milk go really well together, and it wasn’t overly sweet like caramel. Mandorla Affogato is their most well-known flavor.
The last one I tried was Lotus Biscoff, which was on the sweet side. As the name suggests, this shop is known for its milk-based gelato. I had three different milk-based flavors and didn’t feel overwhelmed.
Their coffee is also excellent—my partner said it was the most memorable cup of the trip. I thought the latte had great depth. A local chatting with his friend next table even mentioned he had tried Din Tai Fung in Taipei and I almost said hey I am from Taiwan!
If you’re visiting Macelleria, which I highly recommend, stop by Cow & The Moon too—you won’t regret it!
The wall is covered with award plaques. I also saw their Passionfruit Cream flavor had won a prize. I forgot to ask for a cone, so mine was served in a paper cup. Pricing was the same for cups and cones.
FREO Town Hall (Frozen Yogurt)
Address: 115 Bathurst St, Sydney NSW 2000
This is a super trendy frozen yogurt spot in Sydney. Every few years, froyo makes a comeback, and this place is the current hot pick. The staff and customers were mostly Asian. It was so popular that there weren’t any seats available. FREO’s owner is a fine dining chef, and the shop emphasizes quality ingredients.
While we were still deciding, the staff enthusiastically asked if we’d like a sample. I tried Japanese Strawberry and Original Yogurt, and they gave us a huge swirl—much bigger than expected! It tasted even better than I thought. Japanese strawberry was light and refreshing. After finishing, they offered to let us sample another. I think I tried their gelato next, but I can’t remember the flavor.
It’s priced by weight, so you decide how much to get, whether to go for one or two flavors, and how many toppings to add.
Personally, I’m not that into piling sweets on top of ice cream, it just feels odd. From what I’ve seen, most people spend around AUD $10. Ours was $8.62. Worth it for the experience.
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Venchi, World Square
We passed by World Square on our last day and realized there’s a Venchi here! Out of curiosity, I went in and found that the prices were quite reasonable—similar to other gelato shops. A medium size was 9 AUD. It was pricy in Taiwan.
The first time I had Venchi was in 2013, in Florence, and I’ve loved it ever since. But in Taiwan, it’s really overpriced—a medium size costs around 40% more.
I think the best combo at Venchi is one chocolate flavor and one non-chocolate. Their chocolate is very rich. The other flavor I picked was passionfruit, which was also delicious! Unfortunately, they were out of medium-sized cones, so I had to get a cup.
The portion here seemed much bigger than in Taipei. I went with the hazelnut chocolate.
Anderson’s Ice Cream, Coogee
Address: 208 Arden St, Coogee NSW 2034
I seriously regretted trying this one XD. It’s right next to Betty’s Burgers in Coogee. I thought the reviews looked decent so I gave it a try, but once I saw the colors of the gelato, I got a bad feeling — they looked artificially colored like old-school ice cream.
I tried one or two samples, didn’t love any of them, but I was the only customer in the shop — so I felt bad just walking out…
In the end, I got the caramel flavor. It was super average. Both the cone and the ice cream were underwhelming. I don’t know why locals love this place. Within 5 minutes of Coogee Beach, there are two branches of it, and apparently the brand originated in Denmark. I really didn’t get the appeal.
Ice Kirin Bar
2023 photo
Address: 486/488 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000
I didn’t try this last time, and I didn’t try it this time either! It’s in a bustling food court on George Street filled with Asian eateries — it felt like I was back in Taiwan. There’s even a Coco store there, whic is a bobba tea shop from Taiwan.
A local friend recommended it to me last time, saying it’s super popular. I have no idea why I didn’t try it then, and although I marked it on my map this time, I still ended up skipping it (because I went to Venchi instead).
When I was doing research, I found a Reddit thread asking “Which gelato in Sydney is best?” and this shop got many upvotes XD. Now I totally regret missing it.
I’ll just recommend it here and encourage others to give it a try. Ice Kirin is known for incorporating Asian flavors and being less sweet. Some of the most recommended flavors are pistachio, white peach oolong, and matcha.
Rivareno Gelato Barangaroo
Address: 4/33 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo
I visited this place in 2023 after brunch with a friend, during our long day walking around Sydney. My friend told me it was famous, so I went in and asked to sample a flavor. The Italian staff said no samples were allowed, but he made an exception for me — and repeatedly emphasized that they normally never give samples.
I tried it and thought it was honestly really sweet. But since my friend had treated me to lunch, I wanted to treat her to ice cream, and since the staff was kind enough to let me try one, I felt obligated to buy. The scoop was huge. I thought it was even sweeter than Messina, with a softer texture.
When we walked past their other branch during this year’s Mardi Gras parade, we didn’t go in again. Later, I looked it up and found out Rivareno is a chain from Italy, known for traditional gelato flavors.
Final Thoughts
Sydney really is overflowing with gelato options. Prices are reasonable, portions are generous, and everything tastes amazing. I’m so jealous! Now I can only drool over photos.
If you’re headed to Sydney, make sure to indulge in as much gelato as you can!
Thanks for reading and I have many other articles about Sydney on my Mandarin site, if you don’t mind reading it via google translate, please click here for these Sydney travel articles!
Also Read:
Sydney Restaurant Guide 2025｜Top Steakhouses, Cafés & Eats You Shouldn’t Miss
Ace Hotel Sydney Review 2025: Trendy Design, Vinyl Players & Stylish Stay in Surry Hills
What to Buy in Sydney (2025): T2 Tea, Fish Oil & Affordable Souvenirs
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2 comments
Yumm. I will be in Sydney soon and even though it’s winter, I will definitely be enjoying some gelato – Yumm.
Enjoy your trip with yummy gelatos!