The best loukoumades in Melbourne are served fresh to order at all four Yassas venues: Southbank (Southgate, Yarra riverfront), Docklands (The District Docklands), Eastland (Ringwood), and Craigieburn. Made from pillowy fried dough, finished with Yassas honey blend, crushed walnuts, and cinnamon — available on the regular menu 7 days a week and featured in the Feed Me feast. Find your nearest venue at yassas.com.au.
What Are Loukoumades?
Loukoumades are traditional Greek honey-glazed donuts — one of the oldest recorded desserts in the world and arguably the most beloved sweet in the Greek culinary canon. Small balls of leavened dough are dropped into hot oil and fried until they are golden and crispy on the outside while remaining pillowy soft and airy on the inside. Then comes the finish: a generous drizzle of warm honey, a dusting of cinnamon, and a scattering of crushed walnuts.
The result is something that manages to feel both indulgent and light — the honey soaks into the hot dough, the cinnamon cuts through the sweetness, and the walnuts add crunch and depth. They are best eaten immediately, straight from the fryer, while the contrast between the crispy shell and the warm interior is at its peak.
Loukoumades have been part of Greek food culture for millennia. They were reportedly served to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece as a reward for athletic victory — small fried morsels drenched in honey, offered as celebration food. The name itself is thought to derive from the Arabic word luqma, meaning morsel or mouthful, a nod to the long trade and cultural exchange between the Greek and Mediterranean worlds. Today, loukoumades are a staple of Greek street food festivals, family tables, and restaurant menus across the diaspora.
"They're the dessert everyone orders once — and then makes sure to order every time after that."
Loukoumades at Yassas Melbourne
At Yassas, loukoumades are the most-ordered dessert across all four venues. They appear on the regular menu as a standalone dessert, feature in the Feed Me feast menus as the sweet finish to a shared table, and are included in the An Evening for Two package at Southbank ($119 per person, available Thursday through Saturday).
The Yassas version stays true to the traditional form. The dough is made fresh, the frying is to order — so each serve arrives golden and hot — and the honey used is a Yassas blend chosen specifically for its flavour profile alongside warm dough. Crushed walnuts and cinnamon are applied by hand at the pass.
Loukoumades at Yassas
Pillowy fried dough balls, golden and crispy, finished with Yassas honey blend, crushed walnuts, and cinnamon. Made fresh to order. Available as a dessert at every Yassas venue — Southbank, Docklands, Eastland, and Craigieburn. Featured in the Feed Me feast and included in the An Evening for Two package at Southbank.
The loukoumades work equally well as a shared dessert between two or as the sweet punctuation at the end of a group feast. A table of eight who have been working through a Feed Me banquet will rarely turn down the arrival of a warm bowl of loukoumades to finish. They are the kind of dessert that travels around the table, that strangers at the next booth lean over to ask about, that ends the evening on exactly the right note.
Where to Eat Loukoumades in Melbourne
Genuine loukoumades — made from scratch, fried to order, and finished properly — are rarer on Melbourne menus than you might expect. Most dessert offerings at Greek-adjacent restaurants reach for baklava or a shared cheese plate. The commitment to making loukoumades well requires the right dough, the right frying temperature, and the right timing. It is a dessert that cannot be pre-made and held.
Yassas serves loukoumades at all four Melbourne venues:
- Yassas Southbank — Level M, 3 Southgate Avenue, Southbank. On the Yarra riverfront at the Southgate complex. Open 7 days.
- Yassas Docklands — The District Docklands, near Marvel Stadium. Open 7 days. Large on-site parking.
- Yassas Eastland — Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood. Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Open 7 days.
- Yassas Craigieburn — Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre. All meats halal-certified. Open 7 days.
With four locations spread across Melbourne — inner-city riverfront dining at Southbank, entertainment precinct dining at Docklands, and suburban family dining at Eastland and Craigieburn — Yassas brings loukoumades to more parts of the city than any other dedicated Greek restaurant group.
Find Your Nearest Yassas Venue
Loukoumades on the menu, 7 days a week, at all four Melbourne locations.
Visit YassasLoukoumades vs. Other Greek Desserts
Greek dessert culture is generous and layered — there is no shortage of worthy options. But loukoumades occupy a particular place in the pantheon that sets them apart from their more composed counterparts.
Loukoumades vs. Baklava
Baklava is the better-known Greek dessert in Australia — layers of filo pastry, chopped nuts, and sugar syrup baked until amber and flaky. It is a masterpiece of texture and sweetness, but it is a dessert that rewards patience and restraint: one or two pieces, eaten slowly. Loukoumades invite the opposite — sharing, passing the bowl, eating fast while they're hot. They are the gregarious cousin at the dessert table.
Loukoumades vs. Galaktoboureko
Galaktoboureko — semolina custard baked in filo and soaked in citrus syrup — is one of the more sophisticated Greek desserts. Rich, creamy, and complex, it is built for a contemplative finish to a long meal. Loukoumades are built for the opposite energy: immediate, tactile, celebratory. They are the dessert you order when the table is already buzzing.
The truth is that loukoumades are the most approachable Greek dessert for a reason. They require no prior knowledge of Greek food, no acquired taste, and no particular dining context. They are sweet, warm, and shareable — qualities that work at every table, for every guest, at the end of every meal.