An Insider’s Guide To The Best Ice Cream In Bondi

If you want the best ice cream in Bondi, three names do the heavy lifting: Gelato Messina, tucked just off the beach on Hall Street; and Anita Gelato and Mapo, near-neighbours on Campbell Parade a stone's throw from the sand. I've queued at all three between swims, and each earns its line for a different reason - Messina for playful, made-in-house specials, Anita for sheer dizzying choice, and Mapo for purist Italian gelato. Here's how I'd choose between them on a hot beach day, plus a few more spots for a specific craving and some practical notes before you go.

Most flavours

Anita Gelato (around 150)

Most inventive

Gelato Messina

Best purist gelato

Mapo

Where

Hall St & Campbell Parade

The three I'd send you to

Gelato Messina - Hall Street

Messina is the Sydney gelato name everyone knows, and the Bondi shop on Hall Street - just back from the Campbell Parade beachfront - delivers the same thing that built the brand: a cabinet of well-made classics alongside a rotating run of weekly specials that can be genuinely absurd, the kind of dessert-in-a-scoop creations dreamed up in their own kitchen. Come here when you want something you can't get anywhere else and don't mind a queue on a Saturday night. I won't quote a flavour count, because the specials change constantly - check the current lineup on Messina's own site before you set your heart on one.

Anita Gelato - Campbell Parade

Anita started as a small gelateria in Tel Aviv and now runs on one overwhelming premise: choice. The Bondi Beach counter on Campbell Parade (there's a second store up at Bondi Junction) advertises around 150 hand-made flavours of gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt, with a broad spread of sugar-free and vegan options - so it's my pick when a group can't agree or someone's avoiding dairy. The move is to ask for a few tasting spoons before you commit; the staff are used to it.

Mapo - Campbell Parade

Mapo is the Bondi outpost of a well-regarded Newtown gelateria, and it's the one for purists. The focus is old-school Italian technique and natural ingredients - a short, serious menu built on things like Sicilian pistachio, Piedmont hazelnut, single-origin chocolate and a fior di latte that tastes of little more than very good milk. Because they skip stabilisers, the texture is softer and more fleeting than the big chains', which is rather the point. Come here when you care more about the gelato than the spectacle.

How to choose

• Can't agree, or need vegan/sugar-free: Anita, for the sheer breadth of the counter - and our vegan & vegetarian Bondi guide covers dairy-free meals for the rest of the day.
• Want a wild, only-in-Bondi special: Gelato Messina.
• After a purist, grown-up scoop: Mapo.
• Travelling with kids: any of the three, but Anita's tasting spoons make the great debate easier - and our family-friendly Bondi eats rounds up where to feed everyone first.

A few more, for a specific craving

The big three earn the headlines, but they aren't the only cold thing worth chasing down here. If you want a fourth scoop with the same purist streak as Mapo, Rivareno makes Italian artisan gelato in small batches - a good back-up if the Mapo queue is long, or if you simply want to compare pistachios across town. For something lighter, Yo-Chi does self-serve frozen yoghurt where you build your own cup and pile on the toppings - the easy win with kids and a cheaper, choose-your-own alternative to a scoop. And when you'd rather have fruit than dairy after a swim, OAKBERRY blends açaí bowls with granola and fresh fruit - not ice cream, exactly, but the same cold-and-restorative job on a hot afternoon.

Ice cream is half the appeal of a Bondi summer evening - swim, dry off, then wander up to Hall Street or Campbell Parade for a scoop as the light drops. For more on eating around the beach, see my Bondi eat & drink guide, and for the rest of a day here, things to do in Bondi.