It’s a big call, but critic Dani Valent reckons Dulce Bakehouse has perfected the humble classic – all thanks to a South American twist.
Some quests are endless: the meaning of life, say, or Carlton playing four quarters. Other important quests – such as seeking the perfect vanilla slice – can be concluded in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs, specifically at Dulce Bakehouse, a South American store that also nails Aussie high-street classics and French pastries.
Since 2017, the Delahey shop has been the only place with a queue on a low-key shopping strip that’s also home to a laundrette and Asian grocer. The vanilla slice is a bestseller, with custard shimmering and quivering between crisp, light puff pastry.
In a genius South American twist, the bottom layer is spread with dulce de leche, the rich milk caramel cutting the slice’s creamy sweetness with a touch of bitterness and tang. The flavour balance is sublime and the construction is adept. You can cut or bite into this pastry without custard spurting out the other side. It’s so fresh too, made several times a day, production in constant battle with demand.
Dulce’s story starts in 1960s Uruguay, where 14-year-old Washington Segovia took a bakery job, learning how to make bread, croissants and biscuits. In 1972, aged 21, he brought his skills to Melbourne, and he and wife Juana eventually opened South American Bakery – first in Yarraville and later in Sunshine – with a 10-year baking sabbatical in Chile in between.
Segovia’s son Eddie and his wife Gaby opened Dulce in 2017 (she threw in a legal career to do so). Dad is on deck too, with the family working between the Delahey shop and a second outlet in Essendon. An obsession with quality and process is evident in everything the bakery produces. You can sense the pride in culture and tradition, alongside a very Australian aptitude for the creative mingling of influences.
There are three styles of croissants. The Uruguayan horn-shaped cuernito, made with a filo-like lard pastry, is sweet, flaky and sturdy. Plump, buttery, dense Argentinian croissants are made with honey and vanilla-laced dough – have them plain or stuffed with quince jam or custard. The classic French croissant stands up to Melbourne’s best with its shatter-crisp shell and whorled interior.
Meanwhile, the marraqueta is a Chilean yeasted white roll with a crunchy crust and soft centre. Formed in a long, pull-apart loop shape, it’s like a hot dog roll given a schmick makeover, great for sandwiches and dunking into dips, soups or stews. They’re baked all day, too – if you’re hanging about at one of a handful of outside perches, you may see (and smell) them carried straight from the oven to the shelf.
You must also try the empanadas. I love the beef version, with braised, paprika-spiced topside wrapped in lard pastry, along with the quirky and satisfying Chilean-style inclusions of one black olive, two sultanas, and a slice of boiled egg. In an effort to look after halal customers, Dulce will soon swap pork lard for beef – just one example of local community outweighing recipe lore.
There’s often a queue, and it can be intense when you get to the front of the line with so much to choose from, many items unknown in mainstream Melbourne baking, and staff not always equipped for a detailed rundown. If it helps, I’ve eaten most of the offerings and haven’t struck any duds.
My advice is to forego hyped on-trend products such as Dubai chocolate (on a croissant, maybe), Biscoff (in a tres leche cake) and Basque cheesecake, and aim for treats you can’t get elsewhere – maybe the chilenito butter biscuits sandwiched with dulce de leche, dipped in meringue and air-dried overnight to create dazzling white, crispy two-bite marvels. And of course, you should close the quest for the perfect vanilla slice.
Three more South American spots to try
Caminito La Boca
You’ll see the brightly painted building long before you enter the doors of this new Argentinian bodegon, a family-run restaurant with empanadas, schnitzels and asado (barbecue) on weekends. Come for the Argentinian Independence Day celebrations on July 13.
205-207 Nicholson Street, Footscray, caminitolaboca.com.au
La Bodega
There’s a Dominican angle here. House-made chorizo comes with grilled cheese, olives and garlic bread; the yaroa is a street-food fries dish loaded with pulled beef; and there are frequent free Latin dance classes. Winter is much less chilly when you’re shaking a tail feather.
12 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, labodega.com.au
Onda
Fully gluten-free, this friendly corner restaurant reels in groups for $59 bottomless brunches with unlimited tacos and cocktails. Think fusion fun with dishes such as roasted cauliflower with chipotle glaze.
280 Bridge Road, Richmond, ondamelbourne.com
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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