Joylati, Prahran by Bilby Blue

Chapel Street is spoilt for choice when it comes to gelateria. So you have to wonder about the wisdom of launching a new artisan gelato place within easy walking distance of the likes of Pidapipó and Gelato Messina. However, after running a gelateria in Piedmont, northern Italy, the proprietors are clearly no strangers to gelato competition.

With such a pedigree, Benny and I were keen to try Joylati’s gelato – how will it compare with Melbourne’s best?

Located in the Prahran Central building, right at the tram stop on the corner of Chapel Street and Malvern Road, it must be a huge temptation to duck in for a quick gelato fix while waiting for the tram. For those staying a little longer, there are several tables where you can relax.

The gelato is made in-house, from natural ingredients, with no preservatives. It is stored in lidded pozzetti to maintain its freshness.

On the day of our visit, Joylati had 26 flavours on its gelato menu. Unlike the other gelato places we have reviewed, sample tastings were only grudgingly offered – a prominent sign stated that any samples would be strictly limited. So we tried only a couple of flavours in addition to our final choices. The mango was ok, but not nearly as intense as ones we have tried elsewhere. The passionfruit was quite sweet, without the acidity of the fruit needed for balance.

As usual for our gelato reviews, Benny and I each had two flavours in a waffle cone. Joylati also adds a wafer biscuit to the cone.

Benny’s choices were Italiano vero and coconut. Italian vero was the highlight of the day – ricotta cheese, pistachios, orange zest and chocolate chips. Truly stunning. The coconut was acceptable but not nearly up to the same standard – Benny thought it a bit watery.

My choices were nocciola and chocolate with orange. Joylati’s nocciola (hazelnut) is made from Tonda Gentile delle Langhe – reputed to be the best hazelnuts in the world. It had a beautiful flavour, and was an excellent pairing for the richness of my second flavour. The chocolate was very dark, with the orange adding a lovely fresh note.

While our chosen flavours were in general quite good, the serving sizes were relatively modest in comparison with other establishments – see for example our photos for Gelato Messina, Zero Gradi, Miinot Gelato and Pidapipó. In particular, my chocolate was a surprisingly small smear. While it is probably a good thing to limit my gelato intake, value-for-money works out much lower given that prices at all establishments are similar. Student discounts are available.

Joylati also has a range of very attractive gelato cakes (see first pic).

Verdict

We really liked it but small serving sizes meant that the gelato was relatively expensive.

Overall

While the best of the flavours were truly excellent, this quality was not consistent across the full range we tasted. With so many other excellent gelateria in Melbourne, our preference would be to return to establishments with more generous attitudes to sampling and serving sizes.

Find it at

Joylati
Shop G07
325 Chapel Street
Prahran Vic 3181
Telephone: (03) 9939 4922