Messina

So during a Sunday jaunt around Sydney I was craving gelato… bad. I’d done a bit of research prior to coming into town, and it appeared as though there were two reasonable options in relatively close proximity to one another. I think you might know where this is going…
Obviously I went to both one right after another, which means that I get to do one of these heads up comparison reviews that I love way more than I should. Let’s meet the contenders:
RivaReno Gelato —
Messina —
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
So right from the get go we had a tale of two styles, and on top of that a tale of two experiences.
RivaReno, the Italian gelato chain (akin to Grom if you’re familiar) brought over from Italy has adopted the very traditional metallic and clean cut feel of what you might find in Europe or the States. However, while I appreciated the clean atmosphere, the service was lacking. After walking in to find no one behind the counter I stood for a good five minutes before another customer walked behind into the back area to inform the staff that someone was there. Not very impressive, but shortly after I had my gelato.
Messina was essentially the exactly opposite in every way. Close quartered and with a line out the door, Messina is an Australian chain that brings about a very hometown and cozy vibe. The staff are enjoying themselves while tending to anxious customers in a fast and friendly way, and the overwhelming selection of flavors has children cramming in between customers in line just to catch a glimpse of what they may want to order. Even with that being the case, I was in and out in only a few minutes, and that was partially the fault of my own indecisiveness.
RivaReno — No Star Granted (0)
Messina — Star Granted (1)
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
Both RivaReno and Messia charge just shy of $ 5.00 for a single scoop of gelato in a cup ($ 4.90 and $ 4.80 respectively), but of note here is that Messina has at least twice the selection that RivaReno does. While RivaReno sticks to the classics with renditions of chocolate and vanilla primarily, Messina mixes it up with yogurt flavors, fruity mixtures, and routinely rotating specials. From a price point, however, these two are essentially identical.
RivaReno — Star Granted (1)
Messina — Star Granted (2)
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
Depending on which review you’re reading here the picture at the bottom will change, but if you were to look at both you’ll quickly be able to figure out how this went.
My RivaReno Salted Caramel was mostly melted even as it was dished into the cup, and the picture below was honestly taken not seconds after I got it. The flavor was mediocre at best, but little bits of something or another threw it off and the fact that it was melted was a huge turn off.
In contrast, my salted caramel yogurt and chocolate peanut butter fudge flavors at Messina were excellent, with great flavor and consistency all around. It wasn’t the best gelato I’ve ever had, but it was certainly in the top 10.
RivaReno — No Stars Granted (1)
Messina — Single Star Granted (3)
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
It’s an easy one here folks. Messina has better service, a better selection, ever so slightly better prices, and a better product. I very rarely give one star reviews, but RivaReno was absolutely blown out of the water here and there’s no reason you should go with Messina so close.
RivaReno — No Star Granted (1)
Messina — Single Star Granted (4)

I had the salted coconut & mango, coffee & hazel praline, and pandan & coconut.
Best part: ALL OF THESE WERE VEGAN.
Fear not, there were gelato/​dairy options for those who would prefer them. I, however, was not only amazed by the presence of vegan options that were not fruit sorbets, but by the fact that they actually tasted amazing. Vegan ice cream has a bad rap, but these flavors were mind-​boggling. Pandan & coconut was my favorite. I got it both times that I went. Pandan is used in a lot of Malaysian desserts, so it is very nostalgic to me. I’ve never had it in ice cream form, but the flavor was on point. Not overwhelming but not skimpy. The coffee & hazelnut praline was amazing too. It was light but still flavorful. Salted coconut & mango was a little too savory + sweet for me, but still a solid option. Another amazing part about these vegan ice cream options was that I didn’t need to take lactaid and it didn’t make me feel groggy. 100% recommend.
This place was packed both times that I went, and I wish I had gone a few more times before I left Sydney.

Stands up to its reputation. The mint chocolate flavor is uniquely vegetal, almost like chewing on fresh mint leaves.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about this ice cream paradise before? Probably not much. My tip is ask for a taste before making up your mind and remember that it is cash only. My favourite is salted caramel with white chocolate and the best cake I think it the peanut butter log :)

I usually head straight to the Messina Ice Cream shop, but today my eye caught the attractive sundaes displayed on a large poster on the shop next door. Another Messina? Yes it is, but it is the one and only Messina Dessert Bar and Gelato Cake shop in Sydney.
I remembered trying out one of these Messina Dessert Bar products at last year’s Food and Wine Fair in Hyde Park; and now I had the chance to sample it again at Messina’s own dessert shop in Darlinghurst.
The owners of Messina have always wanted to have an ‘adventure sundae bar’ where customers can have an input into the creative process of mixing and matching a range of combinations to create their own unique sundae. In the Dessert Bar, it’s all about soft serve gelato and what other imaginative ingredients you can put together to create your own sundae with. The choice is yours or simply choose from the suggested sundaes available. There are 8 suggested sundaes to choose from with names such as Pis-​tached Out, Getting Toasted, I Chouxs You, Tea Time Treat, Rainbow Time, Holy Choc, Caramel Love Pocket and Anti Yoga. The cost for any of these is only $ 7! Two scoops of ice cream next door is $ 6 — so this is definitely a better option and I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Since I had already spied the ‘Caramel Love Pocket’ on the suggested sundaes poster I ordered it. Caramel Love Pocket was made up of a single serve of origin dark chocolate gelato with vanilla custard topped with short bread and gianduia fudge. The picture looked very good and the ingredients tasted even better. I loved the dessert pastry Puff with the oozy caramel filling. Wait till you sink your teeth into that one!
Next time I visit I want to be more adventurous and make my own creation.
A blackboard helps first timers decide by giving the following steps as a guide.
Firstly, choose your own kind of base — maybe a special edition waffle cones, a crêpe, a doughnuts or any of the other in-​house bases available. Next add a soft serve gelato of your choice. Every 6 weeks, the dessert bar makes a new flavour of soft serve gelato or sorbet to choose from.
Finally, get creative and decorative by picking your handmade additions to add on top and then devour with pleasure.

Wow, was für ein geniales Eis!
Umzingelt von tollen Bars und Restaurants bietet diese Eiskathedrale unweit des Kings Cross atemberaubend gutes Eis.
Direkt neben der Eisbar gibt es die Fabrik, wo man einen Blick in die Produktion werfen und ausgefallene Produktionen bewundern kann.
Zu den regelmäßig wechselnden Eissorten kann man nur sagen, dass sie für deutsche Verhältnisse sehr abwechsungsreich und extravagant sind.
Crème Brulee mit Rhabarber, Kokos-​Baisser, Meersalz-Karamell.die Liste lässt sich fast endlos fortsetzen.

Really really heavenly gelato at really accessible prices (4.90 for 2 scoops)