Gelato Messina Marrickville

Since launching in Sydney in 2002, the east coast’s favourite gelato chain, Messina, has expanded to more than 30 stores across the country, including one in Hong Kong.

But Messina’s sprawling headquarters and production facility in Marrickville is the heard and soul of the operation. It’s four times the size of the old HQ in Rosebery, and serves everything the brand is known and loved for.

The full 40-flavour cabinet is available – including 35 signature flavours and five rotating specials – along with eight gelato cakes. You can also grab shakes and bottles of Messina Milk produced from the brand’s own jersey farm in Victoria.

It’s also the first time Messina is offering take home desserts, including Bavarian cream pies (Iced Vovo, malt chocolate, lemon meringue and tiramisu), cookie dough pies (fairy bread, peanut butter and dulce de leche, choc chip and “Messinatella”) and dough to make your own cookies at home.

There’s also a fully fledged chocolate shop stocked with a range of bars, blocks and bark handmade on site with single origin cocoa and cocoa butter from Ecuador and Peru.

Best of all, the entire production facility next door is encased in glass – which means you can watch all Messina’s goodies being churned, whipped and baked before they hit your lips.