Messina Creative Department Pop-Up

Overview

The folks over at Gelato Messina know how to whip lovers of all things sweet and frozen into a frenzy, and they've done it again, moving their Sydney degustation bar south to Melbourne — this time for the whole month of November. After a five-night stint in August, the Messina Creative Department will once again be setting up shop for 14 nights in a secret room at their Windsor store from November 4-23.

An offshoot of the famed gelato parlour, the Messina Creative Department offers an epic seven-course degustation, complete with non-alcoholic drink pairing. Since opening next door to their OG Darlinghurst venue in April to rapturous response, the tiny eight-seater space has proved to be immensely popular, with places booking out almost as soon as they're released.

So it's no surprise that their first visit to Melbourne was met with a massive response; Melburnians booked out those $130-per-head spots at the ice cream sorcery table in record time. This time, they'll be here for 14 nights all-up, with three sittings available each night, at 4.30pm, 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. So there's a much higher chance you'll actually be able to nab a seat this time.

And judging by their previous creations, you'll want to. Their Sydney dessert dinners have seen the likes of garlic gelato, a sugar egg filled with delights and an amazing matcha and pistachio cake concoction. One of their recent offerings included a lemon-like globe filled with liquorice gelato, yuzu curd and olive oil pastry accompanied by a muscatel grape, dill and black pepper oil cold pressed juice. It's dessert meets art meets one helluva tastebud adventure.

To nab a seat, head to the Messina Creative Department page. We suggest booking stat.