Everyone loves a sweet treat and Melbourne does them as good as anywhere, with lines formed at buzz-worthy spots all over town. The city suffered a loss recently with the much-loved North Melbourne cake shop Beatrix closing its doors to the public (you can still pre-order full cakes though). But sweet tooths fear not, there are plenty of incredible cake, pastry and dessert options throughout the cafe capital, you just have to know where to look.
So in honour of Beatrix’s closing, we’ve put together a list of our favourite dessert shops in Melbourne. Whether it be world-class croissants, Italian cannoli or Japanese cheesecake, you’ll find something irresistible on this list. Get ready for a sweet Melbourne pilgrimage!
Established in Sydney in 2008, this world-famous pastry shop arrived on St Kilda’s Acland Street back in 2017 with a social media bang. Dubbed the world’s most Instagrammable cake, the strawberry watermelon cake was declared “the world’s most Instagrammed cake” by the New York Times.
Black Star is a must-visit spot for any serious sweet tooth. The strawberry watermelon cake consists of two layers of almond dacquoise, rose scented cream, and watermelon, then topped with strawberry, pistachios and dried rose petals. Black Star estimates they serve nearly one million slices of the cake annually.
If you have had your fill of strawberry watermelon cake, Black Star has plenty of other sweet options available, with the zen cheesecake, mango yuzu cake, and dragon cake among popular favourites. If you are feeling overwhelmed by all the options, grab one of Black Star’s all-star boxes, with seven of their most popular cake slices taking the fomo out of what to choose.
Location: 2C Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Website: https://www.blackstarpastry.com
Popping up during the pandemic, Tarts Anon began as a way for founder Gareth Whitton to keep busy during the lockdowns. The former head pastry chef at Melbourne’s dinner by Heston thought it might be a nice idea to bake and sell some tarts to the local community within his five kilometre radius. Word travelled and his tarts became so popular they would sell out daily.
With over fifteen years experience in the gourmet pastry world, Whitton’s creations are something special. Tarts such as spiced caramel and pumpkin, berry and lemon cheesecake and their signature pear flavours keep customers coming back. The tart that really stands out though is the smoked pecan and butterscotch, which is so good, Whitton was invited onto MasterChef to present the tart for a pressure test challenge.
Tarts Anon has also moved into a Collingwood location for those wanting to get their tart hit up on the northside. You can also pre-order full tarts for home and events if you want to really indulge.
Location: 29a Gwynne St, Cremorne VIC 3121
Website: https://www.tartsanon.com.au
Arguably the best spot in Melbourne for cannoli’s, Cannoleria is one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets. With a fresh, creamy cheese-based fillings and sweet, crispy shell, these little beauties have become something of a cult hit amongst Melbourne sweet tooths in the know.
The idea for the business was dreamed up by award-winning cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti and Chef Dario Di Clerico, who shared the same passion for the Sicilian dessert. The pair create classic and interesting cannoli recipes using That’s Amore cheese with flavours such as blood orange, pistachio and coffee, along with a range of specials.
Cannoleria has expanded in Melbourne to now have several outposts in Melbourne, including spots at South Melbourne and Preston markets and Spotswood’s Grazeland. You can also take home DIY kits to make your own cannoli’s at home, and if you’re hosting an event, try the mega cannoli cakes, which come in two sizes, and can hold up to 50 individual cannoli’s wrapped in one giant cannoli shell.
Location: 322 Coventry St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Website: https://www.cannoleriabythatsamore.com.au
If Willy Wonka and Prada met up and decided to open a sweet store, you might end up with something that resembles Bibelot. This stylish and refined sweet shop pays homage to French patisseries with a luxe design and store made sweets that look almost too precious to eat.
The cafe serves artisan chocolates, cakes and macarons, all handmade in store and presented exquisitely, making it very difficult deciding what to get. Cakes come in single portions and full take-home sizes and include flavours such as honey, macadamia and mango, hazelnut praline crunch, jasmine exotique and blackforest. The chocolate and macaron flavours are too many to list here, so you’ll just have to trust us that they are incredible (this applies to their gelato also).
Bibelot is an extension of the local favourite Chez Dre, an all day French cafe, who’s cakes and treats became so popular they decided to dedicate a stand alone store to them. All of Bibelot’s treats are available to take away, but it’s a very nice experience to sit in and enjoy the atmosphere along with a coffee.
Location: 285-287 Coventry St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Website: http://www.bibelot.com.au
One for the gelato fans out there, Gelato Messina is the biggest name in Australia for gelato, famous for using only the highest quality ingredients. Opening its first store in Sydney, the gelato empire expanded into Melbourne several years ago and hasn’t looked back, with four sites in Melbourne.
With flavour combos like coconut and lychee, milk choc peanut fudge, panna cotta with fig jam and amaretto biscuit, you’re going to have a hard time picking just one. These are just a handful of the 40 freshly churned flavours they have on hand daily.
Incredibly, Messina sources key gelato ingredients from a number of farms they own and run throughout Victoria and New South Wales. The strawberries, hazelnuts, milk and cream that you find in their gelato all come from their very own produce. They also offer some pretty amazing cakes, with weird and wonderful flavours and designs. Along with gift packs and cooking classes, this place covers all gelato bases.
Location: 237 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Website: https://gelatomessina.com
The doughnuts at Windsor’s Bistro Morgan are Instagram-worthy dough delights fit for true indulgence. With the right texture combinations of soft dough, gooey filling and crunchy toppings, eating a doughnut from Bistro Morgan is as much an experience as it is a treat.
The bakehouse and cafe was founded and owned by young pastry wunderkind Morgan Hipworth when he was just sixteen. Since then his star has been rising with over half a million fans on TikTok and 100,000 Instagram followers.
With colourful flavours like crème brûlée, nuts-about-tella, cookie monster and Bruno Mars, you can tell this place is all about having fun. They also have a rotating menu with flavour of the week doughnuts and serve coffee and toasties for your usual cafe fix.
Location: 19 High St, Windsor VIC 3181
Website: http://bistromorgan.com.au
Born and raised in Japan, Uncle Tetsu’s founder Tetsuki Mizokami grew up helping his parents in their sweet shop from the age of five years old. Having built a small empire across Asia, Uncle Tetsu’s landed in Australia to much fanfare, serving eager locals and expats alike.
Loyal fans are prepared to wait hours to buy one of these 6-inch marvels, stamped with a seal of approval caricature of Uncle Tetsu himself. The main drawcard here is the cheesecake, a fluffy cream coloured cake that jiggles all of its eggy goodness as crowds await their turn in line. This simple cake is world-renowned and brilliant in its simplicity, flavour and texture. It is made from only six ingredients: flour, eggs, cream cheese, sugar, butter, and milk.
This cheesecake isn’t the only thing the crowds line-up for either, with melt-in-your-mouth madeleines and triple-baked cheese tarts just as popular. Look out for specials such as the crème brûlée cheesecake crêpe, which sounds just too much, but you can’t get enough of.
Location: 3/55 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: https://uncletetsu.com.au
Brunetti is a household name amongst Melbournians, renowned for serving Italian classics, this place is always packed with shoppers, movie-goers and post-dinner diners dropping in for a coffee and a sweet treat before they head home. Walking into Brunetti’s is an experience in itself, where it feels like being transported to the wonderful cafes of Rome, Venice and Florence.
This place has plenty of eye candy for sweet tooths, with a window full of cakes and pastries that would take months to get through. Freshly baked on-site by Brunetti’s passionate chefs, you can choose to eat in or grab a gift box to take home. Some of the locals favourites include the panzerotti, cannoli, tiramisu and ricotta & nutella cheesecake. This is just the tip of the iceberg though, with dozens of sweet treat options as well as freshly made gelati on offer for those wanting something refreshing on a warm day.
People don’t just come here for the sweets, the mega-cafe serves pizza, pasta, panini and every other imaginable Italian staple, along with wine and cocktails if you want something a little stronger than coffee. Brunetti’s also offer an exhaustive range of delicious cakes you can take home to enjoy for special events or a sneaky treat curled up on the couch.
Location: 380 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053
Website: https://brunetticlassico.com.au
Beginning as a small hole in the wall beside a chemist in the leafy beachside suburb of Elwood, locals would line up at five in the morning on weekends for a chance to snap up a box of this patisserie’s exquisite croissants. Lune has now expanded and become a household name for foodies both in Melbourne and across the globe, garnering international acclaim after being written up in the New York Times as possibly the best croissant in the world (and that includes France!).
If you can believe the story, owner and founder Kate Reid worked in aerodynamics designing F1 vehicles before falling in love with baking and using her unique technical skills to reverse engineer the croissant. The results became a smash hit, with three stores in Melbourne and two in Brisbane. Along with a cookbook and state-of-the -art headquarters in Fitzroy, this croissant empire is quietly growing.
The croissant itself takes three days to prepare and has the perfect balance of softness, flakiness and a slightly sweet buttery taste that makes you want to eat several. This show-stopping croissant is just one of the items that sells out daily, with almond croissants, ham and gruyere filled croissants and lemon curd cruffins all establishing cult status. This is a place you need to plan your day around, so get in early and be sure not to miss out.
Location: Shop 16/161 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: https://www.lunecroissanterie.com
There are so many different sweet treat options in Melbourne, you are going to be busy getting through all the croissants, gelato and desserts. With our list of the best dessert shops in Melbourne for sweet tooths , we hope we have managed to give you a few extra things to add to your foodie bucket list.
If you feel like doing some stall hopping, check out our guide to the best of Queen Victoria market, right near Veriu Queen Victoria Market, which is a foodies delight and packed full of places with amazing treats, including jam doughnuts from the American doughnut truck and chocolate brownies from M & G Caiafa. Be sure not to eat too much, too quickly!
