I nearly gave up looking for this place. I was walking from Central towards UTS, past the McDonald’s on George Street, when I noticed a narrow laneway I’d never actually gone down before. Half out of curiosity and half because I’d seen the name somewhere and couldn’t place it, I turned in. That’s how I found Kiki Dessert, and it’s fair to say the location does it no favours.
Where It Is and Why You’ll Miss It the First Time
Kiki Dessert sits at Shop 12, 849 George Street, Ultimo, tucked inside a small arcade a few minutes from Central Station. There’s no big signage pulling you in off the main road, so unless you know it’s there, you’ll walk straight past the laneway entrance. I did, once, before doubling back.
Once you’re inside, it’s a small, warm little space. There’s a shelf of picture books dotted around that you can flick through while you wait, which is a nice touch if you’re in no rush. It has a homely, unhurried feel that’s a bit different from the grab-and-go cafes on the main strip, which tracks with what I later found out about the place: it was opened by Jenna Choo, who moved to Australia from Korea and wanted to recreate the slower, hang-around-a-while dessert cafes she missed from home, according to a Broadsheet profile of the shop. Even the name is a nod to Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, which explains the faint whimsical feel to the place without it ever tipping into twee.
What I Actually Ordered
I went in mainly for the canelés, since that’s what had caught my eye online, but I ended up ordering more than I probably needed to.
The canelé was the standout. Good canelés live or die on that contrast between the dark, slightly bitter caramelised shell and a custardy, almost eggy centre, and this one had both. It wasn’t dried out in the middle, which is the thing that ruins most canelés I’ve had around Sydney.
The Dubai chocolate ball was the other reason I’d come. It’s the pistachio-and-kadayif style chocolate that’s been everywhere this year, and I went in half-expecting a version that was all crunch and not much else. This one had a proper pistachio filling running through it, and I found myself wanting another one before I’d finished the first, which is usually a good sign I’m about to overspend.
I also tried the Dubai-style soft cookie, which I’d assumed would be sickly given how sweet some of these viral pistachio treats have been lately. It wasn’t. It was rich without tipping into cloying, and I liked it enough to buy a couple extra to take to friends, which is not something I usually bother doing with a cafe cookie. On the side, I picked up a fig choux pastry, more out of curiosity than expectation, and it turned out to be one of the better bites of the visit — light choux, and the fig filling wasn’t overly sweet the way some fruit-cream pastries can be.
What to Know Before You Go
Kiki Dessert is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 8am to 6pm, so there’s no point turning up on a Sunday or Monday expecting it to be there. It’s genuinely small inside, so if you’re going with a group, don’t expect a big table to appear. And do look for the laneway entrance rather than George Street itself — if you’re walking from Central towards UTS, keep an eye out just past the McDonald’s rather than relying on spotting a shopfront from the road.
Is It Worth the Detour?
For a single visit, yes. The location works against it, and I suspect plenty of people who’d genuinely enjoy this place never find the laneway in the first place. But the canelé alone is worth seeking out, and between that, the Dubai chocolate ball and the fig choux, I didn’t have a single dish I regretted ordering. If you’re already in the area for other reasons, it’s a short detour that’s easy to justify — and if you’re planning a bigger day out around Central or Ultimo with the kids, it’s worth checking our things to do around Sydney page, or reading about Sugar Trend Dessert in Chatswood if Kiki has you chasing more of Sydney’s current dessert-shop wave.