Dulwich Hill is the talk of the town.
Earlier this month, the inner west’s newest hotspot welcomed popular dessert cafe, Tella Balls. Tella Balls joins The General, Zeus, Strawberry Fields and Campos, to solidify Dulwich Hill’s place among Sydney’s foodie neighbourhoods.
Why not celebrate Easter with a sugar binge?
When we paid a mid-week visit shortly after the grand opening, the place was packed. Rumour has it that by 9pm, queues stretch around the corner.
Tella Balls is the brainchild of Aki Daikos and Simon Kappatos, the fathers of Foodcraft Espresso and Bakery in Erskinville. These guys were responsible for the social media storm that erupted following the invention of the Tella Balls Shake – a milkshake-doughnut hybrid.
The famous Nutella shake is a sell-out item at the new cafe, but don’t be conned by the endless jars of the hazelnut spread, Tella Balls is far from just a Nutella cafe. It celebrates all things chocolate, sugary, and slightly ridiculous. The complete menu is almost the size of one of their pancake stacks. With everything from waffles to cronuts to chocolate lasagne, this place embraces “OTT”.
We kicked the decadence off with a Gelat-dough Stick – vanilla gelato encased in a doughy outer layer coated with hundreds and thousands ($7). Sure to go down a treat with the kids (… and adults).
Next we tried one of the House specials, Tella Lasagne. Made with layers of Nutella flavoured mousse cake sandwiched with fresh cream on a chocolate biscuit base served with house made vanilla ice-cream ($15).
As we indulgently stuck our fingers into a selection of Tella Balls’ namesake Brioche Style Donut Balls (injected with flavours including salted caramel, three berry jam, Boston custard… and naturally, Nutella), the Choc Art Belgian Waffle arrived. This beast of a waffle came dripping with milk chocolate and white chocolate hot sauce decorated in an intricate spiderweb pattern ($16).
The best selling pancake stack topped with a precariously balanced Nutella flavoured Tella Ball was the finale. We watched from the open kitchen as the crepe makers spiralled sauces and chocolate flakes to decorate the final dish.
With plenty of seating room outside, Tella Balls is an ideal place to enjoy a gelato served in a sugar -ready-doughnut-cone on a warm summer evening. And in a few short months, swap that ice-cream for a rich, house made hot chocolate.
Tella Balls Dessert Bar
Shop 5, 370 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill
Open daily 11am-10pm
Thursday-Saturday open till 11pm