Gnocchi with potato gelato? Pork pie with ketchup sorbet? Welcome to Messina's new restaurant

Gelato Messina is aiming for the savoury side of things with restaurant and wine bar Erin.
Erin is now part of Messina HQ in Marrickville.
Interesting offerings include gnocchi with roast potato gelato and a Negroni with pepperoni-washed Campari.
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Now that they’ve got the official Gelato Messina HQ sorted in Marrickville, the dessert deities have revealed the next step in the brand’s sugary evolution: Erin, a restaurant and wine bar with one big difference.

Much like a director attempting to write a book, having a business predominantly known for gelato enter the world of savoury substantials is a bit unexpected. But the Messina crew have done this before. The dynamic dessert scientists opened Messina Creative in Darlinghurst a few years ago, pushing for a concept that would serve a set of savoury dishes with each having a frozen element. It didn’t work.

Messina Creative was shortly replaced by a similar concept, Snackbar, with a more casual atmosphere once the brand’s Marrickville HQ was up and running. It was better received, taking a drop-in-and-snack vibe as opposed to forcing diners to sit down to a full degustation. It was popular, but still felt undercooked.

Erin is the third iteration for Messina’s foray into lunch and dinner, riffing off Snackbar with a selection of Messina Creative dishes in a very relaxed, approachable format. There’s an eight-course menu on offer, and it’ll change regularly, but there are also quick a la carte options or just snacks for anyone who wants to pop in for a quick Negroni or a glass of Doom Juice.

The lively, clubby ambience aligns with Messina’s playful identity. Everything down to the cocktails reiterate the business’s thoughtful flavour experiments. When you opt for a negroni, for example, you aren’t just getting the classic Italian cocktail. You’re getting parmesan-infused gin mixed with pepperoni-washed Campari. The watermelon Margarita is just as surprising, served as a frozen scoop with a spoon instead of a straw.

*Would you try a pork pie with ketchup gelato? (photo: Instagram).*

Savoury highlights each have a reference to ice cream, beyond just serving a scoop on the side. A bowl of pickled vegetables ($5) comes on a bed of broken waffle cones that have been dusted with a savoury spice blend. Prawn toast ($16) is topped with tomato sriracha sorbet. A pork and wild mushroom pie ($21) is disrupted with ketchup gelato. Gnocchi is strewn with enoki mushrooms, dehydrated potato starch and… roast potato gelato. There’s even a cacio e pepe cookie sandwich ($14) with caramelised honey and parmesan gelato.

And some of Messina’s most popular flavours have then been reimagined as signature cocktails. The popular coconut & mango gelato, for example, takes the form of a salted coconut & mango daiquiri with dark rum built onto a clarified salted coconut and mango sorbet. The gelato base is used to fat wash the spirit.

Erin’s name is a nod to Erindale, the name for Messina’s most productive dairy farm in regional Victoria. And while the name may not be as edgy as the concept, it’s clear Messina has finally landed on an idea that they’re satisfied with, furthering their attempt to be much more than just that sweet treat you’ve been waiting all meal for.

It also seems there’s a constant flow of interesting collaborations coming through for Erin. For instance, Messina teamed up with New Zealand’s Heilala Vanilla for their first limited edition menu, with everything from brioche served with vanilla honey and black garlic gelato, to creme fraiche gelato served with vanilla consomme and avruga caviar.

Erin Restaurant & Bar

Address: 1 Rich St, Marrickville NSW 2204
Contact: 0489 951 972
Opening Hours: Thursday – Friday (4pm – 9pm); Saturday (12pm – 9pm); Sunday (12pm – 7pm)

gelatomessina.com