Devilled eggs, crudités and bombe alaska. In the world of food trends, the adage “what’s old is new again” holds true.

This summer, one classic ice-cream shop drink seems to be making a cool comeback. The spider, as it’s known in Australia and New Zealand, combines soft drink with ice-cream. Once the two make contact, a chemical reaction reminiscent of that good old baking soda and vinegar junior school science volcano takes place, creating a creamy, foamy texture.

The drink, also called an ice-cream float or an ice-cream soda, has been popping up around Melbourne lately. From Japanese ice-cream shop Kori in Hawthorn and the CBD to Sundae School in Fitzroy North and Matcha Mate in the city, here’s where to find four of our favourite dairy and non-dairy versions – whatever floats your boat.

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Sundae School

This ice-cream shop from former Tuck Shop Take Away owners Clinton and Karina Serex is modelled after an American-style scoop shop. The duo top lemonade, cola, creaming soda, Kirks Pasito (passionfruit soda) or ginger beer with a generous scoop of Sundae School’s creamy vanilla ice-cream. Karina’s favourite? “Pasito and vanilla ice-cream all the way for me.”

Kori, CBD and Hawthorn

Spiders are called “fizzy fruit sodas” at pastry chefs Bernard Chu and Joanne Yeoh’s pair of Japanese-inspired ice-cream shops. The fizzy fruit sodas are only available during summer, and each marries sparkling water with two scoops of ice-cream or vegan sorbet of your choice, which at Kori includes flavours like strawberry and sudachi (Japanese lime), nashi pear and mango kinako (roasted soybean flour). The drinks are then topped with a cocktail umbrella for extra summery fun.

Matcha Mate

Once a pop-up, now a permanent Hardware Street shop, Chian Ting and Raymond Tan’s matcha and dessert spot is home to a matcha float that combines lemonade, matcha cold brew and a scoop of matcha ice-cream. The result is a verdant green drink that is both creamy and refreshing.

Skinnys

This retro diner is in a former milk bar, so you can enjoy a classic spider in a classic setting. At Skinnys, the team lets you choose any soft drink and “make it a float” with the addition of vanilla ice-cream. The team recommends the classic Coke float, but is also fond of a float-ified Dr Pepper.