‘Baklava’ gelato is an actual thing! Mavi Gelati brings handmade gelato to Woden

Posted on 18 December, 2025

Summer just got a whole lot sweeter on the southside.

For those craving something cold, creamy and delicious in the heat, the news that vibrant Ulladulla gelato bar Mavi Gelati is expanding to Woden’s Hellenic Club couldn’t come at a better time.

And wait until you hear about the flavours they’ll have.

Opening in 2024 in Wason Street, Ulladulla, the beginning of Mavi is as sweet as its offerings. Aslan Akbayir, Nick Vasiliou, Chris Herd and Odul Dagseven (of Brew and Brew Café and Bar and Li’l Brew Espresso Bar), sat down at the beach one day and began discussing how they could work together, deciding that gelato would be the perfect place to start.

When they created a three-, five- and seven-year plan for Mavi – which involved opening more locations on the coast before making their way to Canberra, Sydney and even Melbourne – they never imagined the brand would grow so quickly.

Mavi is now known as one of the ‘must-visit’ stops in Ulladulla, and is poised to replicate its success in the ACT market. Odie says that being approached by Hellenic Club was a kismet moment.

“Canberra was always our number one choice because two of our business partners live here, but we never thought it would happen before three years,” he explains.

“We realised that coastal towns are very seasonal…that’s when friends from the Hellenic Club came down on holiday, they ate and they said ‘We want gelato in our club. Why can’t we have you guys?’. They instigated it, they pushed us. They said they wanted the concept at the Hellenic Club before anywhere else.”

The not-so-secret ingredient that caught the Hellenic Club’s attention? Tilba Real Dairy Full Cream Jersey Milk.

“Gelato needs to be made from fatty milk. It has to have that texture of fatness in the product and Tilba Jersey has been amazing,” says Odie.

“When you use something else, you can taste the difference straight away. It’s not bad, but you can see why people are like ‘Wow’…that was a game changer for us.”

Taking the concept of the Ulladulla store and placing it near the entrance of the Hellenic Club, the Canberra iteration of Mavi mirrors the Aegean blue and unmistakably Mediterranean branding of the original.

There’ll be 14 flavours of gelato and six sorbets on offer, as well as acai (which comes with strawberry, banana, granola and your choice of Biscoff, peanut butter, Nutella or pistachio sauce), milkshakes, thick shakes and soft serves.

Using fresh, high-quality ingredients and making the gelato fresh in-house, Odie says that all the staple flavours will be there – think pistachio made with real nuts – but they are also planning on playing with more unique options as the seasons change.

One key difference between the Canberra and Ulladulla stores? In Canberra, there will be three special flavours paying tribute to its location: Baklava, Mastika and .

“In the beginning we played around with a lot of flavours and there were over 50 different flavours we were doing constantly. We then narrowed that down to 14 gelatos and six sorbets,” explains Odie.

“Baklava and Mastika are very Greek and Mediterranean flavours. They will be in gelato form, and it is solely directed at the clientele that we’re serving at the Hellenic Club.”

Don’t worry – you don’t have to be a Hellenic Club member to get your hands on a scoop. With plans to also have their gelatos and sorbets available on Uber Eats and DoorDash (hello, lazy night dessert), anyone can pop in to try them.

With plans to turn their attention to Sydney next, Odie says that the summer opening in Canberra is very well-timed, but Mavi is an ‘anytime’ stop. And with many people associating gelato with hot weather, they want to hit the sweet spot all year round.

“People have this misconception that if it’s too cold, you shouldn’t eat gelato. When you eat it, cold and then warmth should prevail.”

“Everyone should be eating it winter, summer, night and day – it doesn’t matter.”

We won’t argue with that.

Open seven days a week (except for Christmas Day) from 12 pm, bring your sweet tooth, pick your flavour and enjoy. Good luck choosing just one…