Lukumades on Bunda Street. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Sitting among popular dessert venues Anita Gelato, Via Dolce, Brooklyn Donuts, Max Brenner and Oliver Brown, a new Greek doughnut store has opened on Bunda Street in the city – Lukumades.
Is there no limit to the insatiable sweet tooth of Canberrans?
Lukumades have a history dating back to Ancient Greece, where they were awarded as honey tokens in the Olympic Games.
The sweet balls of dough have come a long way in 3000 years, thanks, in part, to the Lukumades chain of shops, which started in Melbourne as the brainchild of entrepreneur Exarhos Sourligas. It’s now franchised globally, selling a modern spin on this ancient dessert.
“In our quest to come up with the best recipe for our own lukumades, we begged shop owners, our friends and relatives in Greece to part with their tightly held secrets and share their insider tips for the best doughnuts,” says founder Exharos, who likes to be known as Mr Ex.
Inside the new Greek doughnut cafe, Lukumades. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Along with their secret recipe, which Mr Ex says hinges on the best quality ingredients, and their philosophy of cooking to order and serving them hot, Canberrans can experience the strong aesthetic that comes with the franchise.
Diana Zakout, a Canberra local, opened the Canberra edition of Lukumades. She used to travel to Sydney to get her fix of the mouth-watering Greek sweets.
Stepping into the new Bunda Street location is like taking a mini-Greek vacation. Vibrant orange motifs and signage stand boldly against white walls. Hanging plants (fake but effective) drop from the ceiling, the counter is lined in terracotta, and even the travertine-like floor is themed to the brand colours.
The lukumades are cooked, topped and filled in the front of house. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Flavours range from the original ancient lukumades flavour, which is covered in a honey and cinnamon glaze to nutty options like Snickers, pistachio and peanut butter. There are also fun flavours like Oreo, Twix, and jam-filled. My personal favourite is bougatsa, which is a hybrid with another Greek dessert of the same name, a semolina custard-filled filo pie.
With all orders being cooked fresh, this isn’t super fast food, and neither should it be. The business model has been designed around cooking to order as it’s traditional to eat lukumades hot. It’s also by far the best way to experience the dessert as it means you get a crispy shell and soft, warm, fluffy dough.
The cooked-to-order service is reflected in the price, with boxes ranging from $14.50 to $16, but they do contain enough doughnuts to be a good size for sharing with a friend.
Classic gelato is also available in flavours like pistachio, vanilla, hazelnut, tiramisu, cookies and cream, and salted caramel. To wash it all down, there are icy drinks in a range of fruit flavours and a choice of shakes that use ice cream as the base.
Bougatsa lukumades. Photo: Tenele Conway.
The cafe has tables and chairs, and I recommend making this an eat-in experience. During my visit, two orders were placed in front of me, and the wait was around 10 minutes. Sitting in the cafe also allows you to watch the whole process as the lukumades are deposited into the oil and fried in front of customers. Each batch takes about five minutes to cook.
Once cooked, the performance continues as the toppings and fillings are applied from the containers embedded in the front counter.
The whole experience reminds me of a time when hot, fresh cinnamon doughnuts were always cooked to order and there was no better way to eat them.
Lukumades is located on Bunda Street in the city and is open Sunday to Thursday from 12 pm until 10 pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 pm.
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