The lowdown

Small-batch artisan ice-cream from Clinton and Karina Serex, the masterminds behind the suburb's nostalgic and perpetually popular Tuck Shop Take Away. They've rejigged their retro Karton Milk Bar a few doors down from their burger joint. We're not just talking simple scoops. We're also talking picture-perfect, cherry-on-top ice-cream sundaes with your choice of house-made syrups (salted chocolate fudge, orange caramel) and crunchy textures (brown-butter peanuts, caramelised rice bubbles), plus ice-cream sandwiches with your choice of cookie, and old-fashioned malted thickshakes.

Why should you care?

Because dessert queen Karina spent weeks with Sam Mason at OddFellows Ice Cream Co. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, studying the art of fine American ice-cream and bringing that sweet knowledge back. She's making ice-cream like the BBBB (bacon, banana, brown butter), Spice Road (tastes like chai), strawberry and black pepper sherbet and the BOM Jesus, a coffee ice-cream with a crunch that riffs on the flavour notes of nuts, toffee, chocolate and orange. Plus they're keeping their schoolyard neat and clean – the cups are edible, tastings are given on real teaspoons and the takeaway tubs are recyclable.

If you only order one thing …

Does everything count as one thing? It's all house-made goodness here, so perhaps start with a double scoop for research, before going on to build your dream ice-cream sandwich.

Bottom line

Single scoop $5.50; double scoop $7.50; 500ml tub $14; ice-cream sandwich $7.50; sundae $10.50; thickshake $8.50.

Open Fri 3pm-9pm, Sat-Sun noon-9pm.

261 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North, 03 9994 8984