On the recommendation of one of our readers, we travelled down to Black Rock to check out Davey Mac’s Artisan Gelato. After our visit to Tutti Frutti in Mornington, Benny and I had set ourselves a challenge: to sample the best gelati Melbourne has to offer. Can we match the high profile Sydney outlets of Gelato Messina and Anita Gelato? Yes, absolutely!
It was a hot Saturday – perfect gelato weather. Not for us the distraction of the brilliant blue Bay waters just a few steps away. We were on a mission.
With pale pistachio green walls, Davey Mac’s décor is fairly stark, just a few bench seats and retro posters as decoration. Not really a spot for lingering. The focus is totally on the gelato.
Coconut and Ferrero gelato
All the gelati is made on the premises in small batches, with 20 flavours available at any time, both dairy and non-dairy options. This means that the selection will be constantly changing, and so there is no guarantee your favourite flavour will always be there.
On the afternoon of our visit, there was a steady stream of customers, however the three staff ensured that no-one waited for long. Tastings were available on request.
Options are one, two or three scoops, in a cup or a waffle cone. Takeaway tubs of 500ml, 1 litre and 5 litres are also available (although you need to pre-order the biggest size).
As usual, both of us opted for two scoops in a waffle cone. Benny had Coconut and Ferrero, I had Pistachio and Passionfruit. Serving sizes were perfectly acceptable (although nowhere near the massive serves from Anita Gelato). All the flavours were fantastic and not overly sweet. The Ferrero was smooth and milk chocolatey, but had none of the crunchy nutty bits you would find in the original chocolates – however Benny said he was happy with or without nuts. The other flavours were totally true to their descriptions: the coconut was luscious and creamy, the passionfruit fruity and the pistachio nutty. And the gelati was firm enough not to drip in the heat.
Our other observation was that the subtle colours of the gelati – in contrast to the in-your-face luridness found in some other establishments – suggests that no colouring enhancements other than the original flavour sources are used.
A few weeks later, with some careful forward planning, I was again in the vicinity, this time accompanied by Broadhands – a perfect opportunity to check out some more flavours. On this second visit the flavour options were very different to that of our earlier tasting. My choices this time: Brownie and Mandarin. Brownie was a smooth velvety dark chocolate, flecked with small pieces of chocolate brownie, and for any chocoholic it would hit the mark. Hard to top, but the Mandarin was even better – it was fruity and refreshing, just like eating a mandarin (exactly as our reader described). Extra zing from pieces of candied mandarin peel made it something truly special.
Broadhands had Mandarin and Lemon. In his view, Mandarin totally outshone Lemon – while the latter was good (very lemony), Mandarin was without doubt the absolute star, packing a strong punch of flavour true to the actual fruit.
Verdict
Overall
Excellent gelati – we will definitely be returning (again) to work our way through Davey Mac’s other flavours. We suspect the small shop could get very crowded at peak times, but the high quality of the product is well worth any wait.Find it at
Davey Mac’s602 Balcombe Road
Black Rock Vic 3193
Telephone: (03) 9589 0636
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