Piccolina is one of a handful of gelato and ice cream stores that I rate in Melbourne, and it recently opened its third store in Acland Street St Kilda.
The gelateria offers the same high-quality Italian-style gelato you can find in their Hawthorn and Collingwood stores, but now the clientele is more to the tourist hordes (and locals) looking for a beachside treat.
It’s a petite shopfront in the middle of the Acland Street strip. You’ll need to push your way through the crowds gawping at the continental cake store displays to get to it. Blink and you’ll miss it, as the interior and exterior colour scheme designed by Hecker Guthrie is a subtle mint, white with pops of forest green.
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On the pristine white bench there are gleaming pozzetti tubs ready to reveal their secrets. Owner Sandra Foti uses her family’s recipes to churn gelato, sorbet and even experiment with vegan options. The menu is much the same as the other stores and you can buy one of their amazing gelato cakes too.
Everything is made in-house from natural ingredients, without industrial premixes or pastes. That’s why you won’t see the gelati piled into high swirls – natural handmade gelato won’t survive the outside air for long enough.
The mini store is more of a grab and go affair. There are a few high stools against the wall and a couple of chairs on the pavement. Take it to St Kilda Beach and enjoy your gelato in the sun.