Gelato Messina Surry Hills — Restaurant in Sydney

My partner and I always go to Messina, and we love it as we think it is the best ice cream shop in Surry Hills. Today (29/08 at 6:02 PM), I brought a friend so he could try their ice cream at least once before leaving Australia.

We arrived at the shop, and there weren't any other customers besides my friend and I. The guy behind the counter ignored us, even though we were literally the only customers in the store. He even left the counter and went to the little kitchen to chat with the other staff while we were looking at him and waiting for someone to come and take our order.

Another staff had to leave the prep room and ask him to step aside so she could take our order - all this happened, and he had his back facing us the entire time. It was a really bad experience, especially after building up expectations for my friend to try their tiramisu ice cream.

Having worked with hospitality, I am conscious of how bad reviews can hurt small businesses, so I think four times before doing so. I know that hospo workers can also have bad days at work, etc., but this employee did not provide a bad or grumpy service, he completely ignored us - and as a regular customer of that particular shop, I think the manager or owner should be aware of this type of behaviour, as it might have happened with some...

I dropped in here to get my 5 year old daughter an ice cream. I didn't mind having to wait behind customers who were there first etc but when it was our turn the girl walked straight past me without a word and proceeded to serve man who'd only just entered the store. I also don't mind if for whatever reason she couldn’t or wouldn't serve me.. but she not only refused to serve us, she didn't even look at/to talk/acknowledge me in any way whatsoever! Another girl then proceeded to serve me and when i voiced that they should be mindful of customer placement and that manners are free.. she proceeded to tell me that they had to serve people who were before me before they could get to me but she pointed at two other couples which I had no issue with completely ignorant to the man next to me and when I pointed him out as the example she just ignored me and said "well I'm serving you now.."

My main issue remains why did the first employee completely shun us so...

Honestly, when it comes to fancy ice cream, these folk hit the bullseye more often than not. At the worst, it's been a nice ice cream but a bit weird. Usually, because I tried one of their experimental flavours so that's on me. Normally, it's awesome.

Today, I stuck with an oldie but a goodie.. choc orange. It was without a doubt the absolute BEST choc orange ice cream I have ever had. The chocolate was not to dark and not too sweet, the orange had a depth of flavour that complimented the choc perfectly. The waffle cone was delightfully crisp, in fact the only problem is that if its available next time I go, I probably won't have something different....

Oh, and my companion said the Italian Nougat was also to die for, but I was too busy swooning over the choc orange to attempt to...