Pidapipo Gelateria to open second store in Windsor

Need more proof that Windsor is white-hot on Melbourne's food heat map? Pidapipo Gelateria is opening a second store opposite Hawker Hall in early 2016.

Pidapipo Windsor will be larger than the Carlton store, with a bigger menu to match. Expect things like gelato sandwiches, raspberry-rose meringue, cardamom biscotti and granita to come out of the onsite "laboratory". Even the gelato range will expand – 24 flavours, compared with 20 in Carlton.

Melbourne designer Rabindra Naidoo will work on the interior, drawing inspiration from Italian design of the 1950s and '60s using materials such as brass, marble, terrazzo and tiles.

Lisa Valmorbida launched Pidapipo as a Faraday Street pop-up in summer 2013 before settling into permanent digs at 299 Lygon Street last year.

Handmade daily, the gelato range includes flavours such as Nutella swirl, fior di latte and pistachio.

Windsor has sprung back to life this year with the likes of Gelato Messina, Tokyo Tina, House of Hoi An and newly relocated Abbondante joining Hawker Hall in the neighbourhood.

Pidapipo Windsor, at 85 Chapel Street, Windsor, is tipped for a March opening.