Apollo Bay's ice cream, in Torquay
Dooley's Premium Ice Cream is at Shop 4, 8 Gilbert Street, in the middle of town and a minute's walk up from The Esplanade. It's about five minutes' drive from north Torquay. The shop opened at the end of 2024, the second for a family business that has been making ice cream in Apollo Bay since the early 2000s.
Dooley's is a father-and-daughter business. Dooley came from a dairy farming background, and his daughter Alyciandra joined a few years after it started. Both spent time in Italy learning the trade. The ice cream is still made in Apollo Bay and brought up the coast, so what's in the Torquay cabinet is the same as in the original shop on the Great Ocean Road.
The awards
Dooley's started entering shows in 2008, when its mint choc chip took gold at what's now the Royal Melbourne Show. The Apollo Bay shop has more than 500 awards on the wall, according to Visit Great Ocean Road. At the Australian Grand Dairy Awards it won best ice cream in Australia for its licorice in 2013, its vanilla in 2015 and its chocolate three years running, from 2016 to 2018. Its strawberry has won gold at the Dairy Industry Association of Australia awards every year since 2016.
What to order
There are more than 40 flavours in the cabinet each day, and they change, so the list below is from the flavours page rather than a promise of what's on today.
The award winners
Chocolate, vanilla, licorice and strawberry are the ones with trophies behind them. Salted caramel, honeycomb and coffee are on the regular list too.
The unusual ones
Vegemite, pepperberry, chilli chocolate, honey malt, and panna cotta with a fig jam ripple. The gelato list has lemon meringue cheesecake, taro, and peanut butter with a chocolate hazelnut ripple. Reviewers single out the honey malt and the lemon meringue cheesecake.
For the kids
Unicorn Poo (with M&Ms), Milo, Oreo, cookies and cream, and bubblegum gelato.
Sorbets, sundaes and shakes
The sorbets are blood orange, lemon, raspberry and strawberry. As well as scoops, the shop does sundaes, milkshakes and thickshakes.
Dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free
Dooley's says it always has flavours for gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free diets, and the staff will tell you which ones suit. The sorbets are the obvious dairy-free choice.
Hours
The Dooley's website listed the Torquay shop as open seven days, 11am to 8pm, for the September school holidays, and in late October its Google listing showed 11.30am to 8pm. Hours change with the season, and the shop posts changes on its social pages.
Gilbert Street
Gilbert Street is Torquay's ice cream street. Augustus Gelatery is a few doors down, so a group that can't agree can split up. Get fish and chips from Captain's Catch at number 34 first, or lunch at Mortadeli. Then walk down to the lawns above Front Beach with your cone.
If you're driving the Great Ocean Road, the original Dooley's is at 89 Great Ocean Road in Apollo Bay, about 1 hour 50 minutes from north Torquay. That's the shop with the wall of awards, and it makes a good stop before the drive home.
Dooley's Torquay FAQ
Where is Dooley's in Torquay?
Shop 4, 8 Gilbert Street, Torquay, a minute's walk from The Esplanade and Front Beach.
Is it the same as the Apollo Bay shop?
Yes. It's the same family business, and the ice cream is made in Apollo Bay.
What flavour should I try?
One of the award winners (chocolate, vanilla or licorice), or something you won't find elsewhere, like the honey malt or the Vegemite.
Is there anything dairy-free?
Yes. The sorbets are dairy-free, and the staff can point you to gluten-free and nut-free flavours too.
For the other scoop shops in town, see our Torquay ice cream guide. Staying in north Torquay? Check dates at Holyday House.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 22 October 2026. Opening hours, patrols, rules and closures change — check with the source before you go.
- Dooley's Premium Ice Cream — Dooley's (official)
- Flavours — Dooley's (official)
- The Inside Scoop on Dooley's Premium Ice Cream — Visit Great Ocean Road
- Multi-award-winning flavours now in Torquay — Surf Coast Times
- Dooley's Ice Cream Torquay — Visit Great Ocean Road