Cremeria De Luca

Cremeria De Luca doesn’t show off its gelato in a glass display case. The creamy, inventive flavours are kept in insulated pots (collectively known as pozzetti) that maintain the gelato at a perfect minus-12 degrees.

The shop isn’t the De Luca family’s first foray into the gelato business. Dessert has been in the family since 1937, when nonno Salvatore De Luca drove his three-wheeled Vespa Ape truck around the streets of Messina in Sicily.

Salvatore’s son Luigi followed in his footsteps, opening a gelato shop in Sardinia. Consulting with gelato brands in Australia in the ’90s brought the De Lucas to Sydney, where they stayed and opened a shop in Leichhardt. It thrived until the financial crisis forced it to close in 2009.

In Five Dock, siblings Sal and Virginia are the third generation of De Lucas to make gelato. They balance experimentation and a great respect for their family’s tradition of gelato making.

Gelato and granita made from Salvatore’s original recipes are served alongside a new generation of gelato. Cinnamon gelato and rose-petal gelato are menu staples. Other flavours are inspired by current events. On Australia Day, beer, Vegemite and pavlova flavours are popular.

The Gelato Burger is an Instagram star. Scoops of gelato are sandwiched between two halves of a sweet brioche bun. The dish is finished with spoonfuls of Nutella and panna, an Italian-style whipped cream.