Best Summer treats for the holidays

From old favourites, like strawberry ice-cream, to gelato worth screaming for and Insta-worthy acai bowls, here is where to take the kids for a cool treat over the summer holidays in the Shire.

D.Bowls

Acai is very high in vitamin A and full of antioxidants. But that’s not why the cool kids flock to this cult café in Cronulla. It’s the place to see and be seen after wandering back from the beach in your bikini or boardies for reggae beats and good vibes as well as velvety bowls of acai. The health-focused café makes a killing on whipping up the frozen berry native to Central and South America and blending it into a divine, earthy concoction, heaped with peanut butter and slices of banana and pelted with nuts. Here’s the scoop: you can also pick up D.Bowls’ home-made peanut butter and granola to go. Check out the D.Bowls Insta feed for #inspo.

Hazelhurst Café

This hip, happening café in Gymea is a great place to take the kids to let them get their wiggles out. After playing in the sandpit and spotting birds and butterflies on the lush grounds of Hazelhurst estate, head to a shaded spot on the verandah to share a pretty plate of strawberry ripple and coconut pavlova. This colourful café, one of the best places to brunch in the Sutherland Shire, also doles out scoops of Gelato Messina. Our best-loved sweet treat for summer is the Hokey Pokey honey gelato with chocolate-covered honeycomb. hazelhurstcafe.com.au

Marvelicious

Secure your status as the best auntie by treating your nieces and nephews to a range of decadent desserts that can be enjoyed day and night at Cronulla’s only dessert bar. Let the little ones indulge their sweet cravings with the Smiley Face, which is a pancake decorated in chocolate sauce, whipped cream, chocolate freckles and strawberries or a stack of waffles smothered in maple syrup and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. While it’s a great place to throw a party for kids, the French-trained chef and chocolatier also showcases her passion for patisserie with a food and drinks menu aimed at grown-ups. marvelicious.com.au

Gelato Messina Miranda

Serial chillers unite. The gelato store has a roster of crayon-bright flavours made with freshly churned jersey milk from the Palumbo family farm in country Victoria. What really distinguishes Gelato Messina – named after the city Nick and Danny Palumbo’s parents are from in Sicily – is the fact every one of the 40 flavours you’ll see in the cabinet – from blood orange to bounty and boysenberry – is made using a unique base. The gelatieres even make their own chocolate using the highest single-origin Ecuadorian cacao. gelatomessina.com

I & Cream

Those dedicated to the creamy confection of gelato should head to Heathcote after huffing and puffing through one of the walking trails in the Royal National Park. While the ice cream shop is best known for its gelato and sorbets, it also deserves a holler for its coffee made from house-roasted beans and jars of crowd-pleasing cookies. The gelato flavours run the gamut from café latte to banana smoothie. Feeling festive? Check out the rum and raisin. facebook.com/iNCGELATO

The Ice Creamery & Espresso Bar

There's a mix of unique and traditional flavours at The Ice Creamery & Espresso, from Golden Gaytime ice-creams and oreos to raspberry swirl and chocolate. Order whatever takes your fancy and enjoy while strolling through the park in South Cronulla to the ocean. The Ice Creamery is a nod to nostalgia, all Barbiecore colour and retro finishes. Treat the kids to a double scoop after a day on the beach spent under blue skies. facebook.com/icecreameryandespressobar/

Carla Grossetti is an award-winning local journalist who writes for top-tier publications such as Australiantraveller.com and Internationaltraveller.com, Escape, delicious magazine and Explore Travel. Follow her food and travel adventures at @food.travel.stories or at @austtraveller