Just like New York—where Sex and the City-famous Magnolia Bakery made tubs of banana pudding go viral—Melbourne is now hopping aboard the trend.
This plush, nostalgic dessert harks back to the NYC bakery’s OG creation (which even spawned a dedicated banana pudding bar and a collab with cult beauty label Glossier), but local chefs are giving it their own spin.
While its southern hemisphere debut isn’t as loud as Melbourne’s matcha or tiramisu takeovers, you’ll already spot banana pudding swirled into matcha lattes, baked into croissants and reinvented on menus from Fitzroy to the CBD.
The nostalgic American classic is simple yet indulgent: layers of fresh banana slices and biscuits bound by a creamy vanilla custard. In the late 19th century, when bananas were still considered “exotic” in the United States, banana pudding became a Southern delicacy that was proudly presented at potlucks and church gatherings. Today, it remains the crowning dessert of Mississippi.
The first banana puddings were made with Gros Michel bananas that yielded a more decadent pudding than today’s Cavendish varieties, and Nilla wafers, which are now often swapped for other biscuit brands. Modern experimenters like Magnolia Bakery have dressed the dessert up further with buzz-worthy flavours like blueberry crisp, strawberry shortcake and carrot cake.
Here Are Six Spots In Melbourne Serving Banana Pudding To See What All The Fuss Is About
Puffy’s Bakehouse
382 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
Puffy's Bakehouse transforms brunch spot Tomo’s into a cake parlour after dark. It’s a pop-up run by four sisters who serve scoops of cake in delicate silver goblets, like you’re at a Marie Antoinette tea party. Cakes aside, the banana pudding here is a decadent dream—custard cream studded with banana slices and a buttery biscuit crumble that’s equal parts Biscoff and Chinese egg biscuits.
Its popularity inspired the equally crave-worthy iced banana bread latte. For now, the pop-up will be around every Friday and Saturday until the end of October.
Nimbo
119 Hardware Street, Melbourne CBD
Nimbo is run by Ting Chian, cousin of Raya’s Raymond Tan, and the two shops share the same Asian-inspired DNA. This laneway spot is best known for late-night Korean shaved ice desserts, but the spiced banana pudding croissant is a cosier winter pick.
The seasonal special riffs on English bread and butter pudding, mixing in memories of banana fritters Chian finds at night markets around Southeast Asia. Croissants are torn up, soaked in a banana-spiced vanilla custard and layered with banana slices. It lands on the table on a retro silver tray—warm, gooey and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Bakehouse by Vic
2 Railway Walk, Brighton
If you're looking for tubs of the good stuff, this Brighton local is the best place to start. Owner Victoria Kyzintas takes cues from NYC food trends and points to Magnolia Bakery as the blueprint for the bakehouse’s lush banana pudding, and it’s been lauded by enthusiastic food influencers as a reliable “dupe”. Other mainstays at Bakehouse by Vic include uber-chunky cookies reminiscent of Manhattan-born Levain Bakery and bodega-style bagels.
Local Goods
50 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington
Bianca Meneghetti and Moe Merhi have been perfecting their matcha recipe for five years at Coburg’s Grounds of Eden. After encouragement from regulars (the matcha deserves its own space, they cried) and a research trip to Japan, the duo launched a small matcha bar at Newmarket Station this July. Local Goods adds fun to your matcha run, with playful options like brown sugar and coconut or a custard-raspberry swirl. The banana pudding matcha is on the lighter side, with a cold pudding foam blended with actual bananas, plus Biscoff crumbs and banana chips for a nutty crunch.
Kata Kita
266 La Trobe Street, Melbourne CBD
What makes banana pudding pair so well with matcha? “It’s creamy, soft, nostalgic, and layered with textures that pair beautifully with the earthy, slightly bitter edge of matcha,” explains Gideon Sanusi, co-owner of Kata Kita.
You wouldn’t expect to get a matcha latte at an Indonesian restaurant, but the owners of Kata Kita have a soft spot for Japanese cuisine. (We can relate.) The restaurant started serving ceremonial-grade specialty matcha drinks in May and their latest banana pudding matcha drop was a surprising hit. The housemade banana pudding is scooped generously atop the latte, leaving it up to you to mix or sample separately.
St Burgs
1042 Western Highway, Caroline Springs
Melbourne is nothing if not cosmopolitan, so naturally you’ll find banana pudding with an Asian twist here. At Filo-style burger joint St Burgs, you’ll find colourful tubs from Grand Central Pudding lined up at the counter.
These puddings are infused with well-loved Filipino flavours of pandan and ube, layered with softened honey graham crackers and topped with shredded coconut. The names carry cheeky nods to boroughs in New York—think Bronx Buko Pandan and Central Park Ube Coconut. If you’re feeling freaky, stack them on a matcha shake.
Grand Central Pudding also offers a banana pudding cart for hire—a playful alternative to the usual gelato cart—with a rotating menu of New York-inspired flavours including red velvet and blueberry crumble. Pop by St Burgs on 22 August for the full line-up, plus free tastings, for one day only.
Main image credit: iStock | Supplied
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