With more than 11 locations in Sydney, three in Melbourne, two in Queensland and one in Canberra, Messina Gelato might just be the country’s most prolific scoop (and gelato cake!). This gelato powerhouse is known for their bombastic weekly specials – Robert Brownie JR, perhaps, for those who like milk chocolate gelato with chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge – but they have all bases covered when it comes to making authentic gelato. Messina has their own farms where they produce all of their own Jersey milk and produce for classic flavours, from hazelnut to strawberry. gelatomessina.com

This cult gelateria has three locations across Melbourne – Windsor, Carlton and a pastel-pink outpost in the CBD. Why not visit them all to taste your way through the rotating menu of eclectic flavours, made with artisan ingredients and designed to slake all gelato cravings, from a refreshing hit of blood orange granita to the sensual embrace of ricotta and fig gelato. pidapipo.com

You’ll have to dodge the food bloggers at this futuristic house of frozen that turns out nitrogen gelato and desserts worthy of any science lab or Instagram feed. Complete with syringes of syrup and avant-garde garnishes, the menu spans gelato versions of your favourite desserts – Not Your Granny’s Apple pie has chunky apples churned with luscious milk gelato, served in a cone with house-made warm apple chunks and velvety cream dusted with cinnamon sugar – alongside waffles, crepe cakes and iced matcha lattes. 377-379 Little Bourke St, Melbourne; dex2rose.com.au.

Established in 1980, this Lygon Street institution is one of the country’s first boutique gelato bars. The ‘authentic taste of Italy’ boasts more than 60 flavours, including solid dairy-free options. 163 Lygon Street, Melbourne; casadelgelato.com.au

It was a big deal when pastry chef Christy Tania opened her artisanal frozen dessert bar in a yellow submarine in Windsor. After stints in the kitchens at Vue de Monde, Om Nom and the Ritz Hotel Paris, Tania’s gelato, petit gateaux and large ice cream cakes – did somebody say blackforest s’mores cake and Snickers log? – bring a cheffy brilliance to an already ice cool line-up. 1A Peel Street, Windsor; glacefrozen.com

Cow & The Moon has been cooling off Sydney’s inner-west since 2011. Gelato master John Crowl’s silky scoops have trumped their Italian counterparts at world gelato competitions, which would explain the queues that snake down Enmore Road on a hot summer’s night. 181 Enmore Rd, Enmore.

Artisan techniques and real ingredients are hallmarks of the silky selection at Bellingen Gelato, which claims to have ‘the best gelato this side of Sicily’. The original gelato bar, established in Bellingen in northern NSW in 2006, has a sister venue in Sydney’s Rozelle, where you can get your gob around their most popular flavour, burnt caramel. 688 Darling Street, Rozelle; bellingengelato.com.au

What’s a beach holiday without an ice cream melting in your hand after a hard day at the beach? Massimo’s Gelateria on Hastings Street has the full spectrum of creamy (tiramisu, amaretto, chocolate) and fruity (lychee, mango and passionfruit) to fuel you from the beach back to the house for your afternoon nap. 75 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads; facebook.com/Massimos-Gelateria-Hastings-St-Noosa

Out of the box flavours served in a traditional chequerboard-floored ice cream-parlour is what you can expect at Gelateria Cremona. Beat the heat of the Sunshine State summer with scoops of milk tea gelato and pineapple sorbet piled into a golden waffle cone. 5-151 Baroona Road, Paddington, Brisbane; gelateriacremona.com.

A New Farm institution for an afternoon cone or an after-dinner scoop, Re Del Gelato on Brunswick Street is frequently referred to as Brisbane’s best gelato. What are you waiting for? 702 Brunswick Street, New Farm.

The wall of framed awards is as extensive as the gelato counter at this roomy cafe. Take a seat in the shade on the terrace out front and savour one of 40 flavours, made fresh in-house daily, from a simple scoop of Turkish delight to one of their OTT ice cream sundaes or ‘coppa’ (cups) as they say in Italy, loaded with gelato, roasted nuts, sauces, syrups, fruit and other flamboyant garnishes. 4/53 Racecourse Road, Hamilton; milanigelato.com.au.

Inspired by the gelato of the owner’s homeland Sicily, when Gelato Bello first opened in Glynde in 1996, there were only six flavours on the menu. Today that number has shot up to 40, so deciding between the salted caramel popcorn or Bailey’s and scorched almond is serious business. There’s now a second store in Semaphore, too. 87 Glynburn Road, Glynde; gelatobello.com.au

Born in Adelaide Central Market, 48 Flavours pushed the envelope with an extensive selection of Asian-flavoured and vegan scoops, including durian, black sesame, pandan, and taro and coconut, 12 dairy-free sorbets and vegan gelato made with soy, almond or coconut milks. In 2017, this family-run Adelaide gelato bar took out the People’s Choice Award at the Gelato World Tour in Italy for their gorgonzola, pear, fig and walnut flavour. Bravo! 78 Gouger Street, Adelaide; 48flavours.com.au

Gusto Gelato in Leederville and Elizabeth Quay has 24 flavours on rotation at any time, including two bombastic weekly specials, which might include The Kramer – vanilla bean gelato loaded with salted caramel sauce and chocolate-coated pretzels. This is seriously good artisan gelato made from rich Jersey milk, with substantial dairy-free and vegan options to boot. gustogelato.com.au

With its roots firmly in Italy, this mod, minimalist gelato bar seamlessly blends old and new. The only things on the shiny marble counter are a chocolate fountain (because, who doesn’t need their cone filled with liquid chocolate) and rows of iconic Italian gelato lids ‘pozzetti’ hiding the likes of malted milk cornflake cookie, macadamia with white chocolate, spiced pumpkin gingersnap and Pimms cucumber and ginger. Summer’s speciality is Sicily’s breakfast of champions, ‘granita con brioche’, freshly baked brioche to shred and dunk into your granita of choice (coffee or fruit?) topped with cream. 180 William St, Northbridge; chichogelato.com