The 17 best cafés in Brisbane

Merlo coffee – bang! Friendly service – bang! Eggs with jiggly, sunshine-yellow yolks – bang-bang! Welcome to the Gunshop, where they hit all the café targets like the sharp-shooters they are. Tucked around a quiet corner away from the frenetic hubbub of Boundary Street, the Gunshop’s original West End café serves up a mean breakfast that’s worth every shot. Long-time fan favourites, like the potato and fetta hash cakes or green eggs and ham, sit above worldly specials, like pumpkin pie French toast and Szechuan-style fried chicken on waffles. Whether you're here for a casual catch-up or a special occasion, you'll find fine wines and beers on tap ready to complement your meal.

This quirky Vietnamese café in Annerley is probably one of Brisbane’s few spots where you can enjoy a steaming bowl of pho or a freshly baked banh mi at 7am. The menu is all about uncomplicated, home-style Vietnamese cooking, with some subtle Western influences. Everything is made in-house, from the rich 48-hour beef stock to the lemongrass pork sausages and vegetarian spring rolls, and served with the vibrant energy of a bustling hawker-style eatery. Don't leave without trying the Vietnamese affogato. Espresso is slow-dripped Vietnamese-style before being poured over vanilla ice cream and a nest of coconut tapioca pearls – it's Ô-Mai's signature happy ending.

We don’t have enough fingers to count the number of reasons why this darling, multigenerational café in Teneriffe ranks among Brisbane’s best. Kin’s Cuban single-origin coffee beans hit all the right notes, with delicate shavings of real milk chocolate adding an extra special touch to your cappuccino. (Top tip: BYO cup or dine-in for a dollar off your morning cuppa). In summer, settle under the footpath umbrellas with a tropical acai bowl, dressed to impress in seasonal fruit, house almond butter and crumbly granola. Come winter, you’ll want to wrap your hands around their seasonal sourdough toasties, including one with wood-smoked ham off the bone, one with roasted mushrooms and gruyere, and a sneaky daily special. 

All-day vegan breakfast? Count us in. Dicki’s has proved so popular since it opened in 2018, that it now boasts two outposts: the OG New Farm café and the newer Ascot venue. Both serve up comforting plant-based breakfasts, including burritos, waffles, corn fritters, salad bowls and smashed avo with macadamia feta. For something out of the ordinary, try their sticky ‘duck’ toasties, mock meat baos, and green 'eggs' on Turkish bread. Wash it all down with exceptional coffee, protein-packed smoothies and a range of healthy cold-pressed juices. PS: Dicki’s Ascot is pet-friendly! 

Pick your day carefully and you might just get to meet Bowie or Mate, the small, dusky canines that give Little Black Pug Café its name. You can grab a streetside table or a place at the long bench just inside, but you’ll likely want to head through to the bright main dining room out the back where most of the café action happens. The Little Black Pug prides itself on a (very punny) menu that's 99 per cent gluten-free (quite an achievement), as well as 60 per cent vegetarian and 30 per cent vegan. And while canines are not allowed near the kitchen, your pooch isn't neglected either: the menu includes frothy puppyccinos, plus meatballs for them to chew on.  

What do you get when you serve authentic Middle Eastern fare in a quintessentially Queenslander-style corner café? The answer is Naïm, one of Brisbane’s favourite all-day breakfast spots serving modern Australian takes on Arab-world classics. Perch yourself up in the quaint dining room overlooking Paddington’s jacaranda-lined streets and be transported to Tunisia with their most popular dish, a traditional shakshuka (baked eggs). Other Middle Eastern-inspired meals include a brekky pita board with light and fresh housemade hummus, and a souvlaki octopus skewer plate – add zhug for a spicy hit. If it’s something closer to home you’re craving, Naïm also serves a mean smashed avo toast with an unexpected pomegranate gel, plus quality coffee by Blacklab. There’s also the option to turn any of the dishes into a plant-based alternative – yep, even the meatballs.

It’s worth hunting down this hole-in-the-wall coffee nook, taking up residency at the base of the 1917 heritage-listed warehouse it’s named after. Just follow the rich, nutty aroma of freshly brewed coffee to the entry on Elizabeth Street, where you’ll often find a line of suits gathering for their pre-work fix. John Mills churns out the wake-up potion at pace across three tandem grinders, offering a house blend, featuring single origins and special filter roast coffees. The hot chocolate deserves a shout-out, with white, milk or dark chocolate shaves decorating the velvety milk foam. Pair your poison with pastries from Chouquette and iced cakes from Neighbour in Milton for the ultimate morning excursion.

Doughnuts for breakfast? Get your hands on freshly baked rings of happiness from one of Nodo’s seven fully gluten-free cafés in Brisbane. At their original Newstead spot, you can relax with table-service brunch, featuring savoury options like a salmon bagel bun, mushroom cheeseburger, potato and cauliflower hash, or avo toast with native dukkah and lemon myrtle. Don’t go home without a six-pack of doughnuts in seasonal flavours, such as lemon meringue pie, coconut caramel and raspberry white chocolate.

It’s a battle to see whether the lines down Brisbane’s hipster Burnett Lane are longer at Lune Croissanterie or Felix For Goodness. Many out-of-towners find themselves returning to this CBD brunch hotspot multiple times during their stay in Brissy because the food is just that good. For something clean and green, try the seasonal Felix Bowl with your choice of avocado, halloumi, falafel or sausage as an add-on. But if comfort food is calling your name, answer those cravings with a grown-up twist on bubble and squeak, a hearty beef ragu and two cheese toastie, or a decadent matcha French toast.

Humans have two hands for a reason – one to hold a steaming coffee and the other to hold a freshly baked bread. Head to this bright and sunny suburban bakery in Fortitude Valley for some of Brisbane’s best pastries and sourdough. Just like their renowned parent restaurant, Agnes, the bakers here harness the power of fire to add complexity of flavours into both their sweet treats and savoury loaves. While you may come for a loaf of their famous smoked potato sourdough from Agnes, you’ll likely end up leaving with a couple of croissants, sausage rolls, scrolls and a slice of their heavenly Basque cheesecake.

Woolloongabba's Paw Paw café seamlessly blends the nuances of Southeast Asian cuisine with a contemporary twist on breakfast classics. The usual suspects – from omelettes to fritters – take on an Asian variation with ingredients such as Worcestershire caramel and spicy chilli jam dressing. If a slow start is on the cards, the lunch menu – available from 11am onwards – includes a Massaman beef cheek curry or chilli popcorn tofu tacos with Thai laab spices. The venue itself is light, bright and modern with ample space for groups or cosy corners for two. You can’t miss the white weatherboard cottage located conveniently on Stanley Street, just a few kilometres southeast of the CBD.

During the day, Brisbane’s oldest laneway bar serves up strong espressos and creamy lattes, alongside chilli scrambled eggs, smashed avo, waffle stacks and BAE rolls. As night falls, the fairy lights and DJ booth come out to play, with craft beer, fine wines, creative cocktails and gourmet burgers served until late. 

There’s no need to travel the globe when Anouk brings international flavours to your doorstep. This bubbly café’s menu takes you on a culinary adventure from Vietnam to Italy via Thailand and the Middle East. Stamp your food passport with crispy chicken banh xeo (crepes), pesto prawn linguine, halloumi and fattoush salad, or traditional zeppole (doughnuts) with lemon and ricotta. As for drinks, expect everything from masala chais and affogatos to frozen fruit shakes, blood orange Spritzes and French wines. 

Here’s an idea: breakfast carbonara. A wobbly 63-degree egg is dying to burst and coat fat lumps of gnocchetti in rivers of yolk. High fives to Morning After’s champ chefs for that variation on the Roman classic. The menu at this West End café, run by a mother-and-son duo, is cleverly divided between – you guessed it - ‘morning’ and ‘after’. Early risers can find comfort in honey-buttered French toast, truffle mushroom and leek croquettes, or a rather indulgent buttermilk chicken benedict. For the sleep-in crew, there’s Caesar salad, squid ink spaghetti and beef rendang available from 11am-3pm. If you had a rather rusty one last night, then a Ginger Ninja elixir or Super Smoothie will fix you up in no time.

True to its name, Coffee Anthology offers a rotating selection of high-end coffee to suit any taste and occasion, with single-origin and blends from the world’s best roasters stretching from Taiwan to Rotterdam and Brisbane. The friendly baristas will talk you through the flavour profiles (which range from chocolate and nutty to fruity) before matching your chosen roast to the best brewing method. With Fika and cult patisserie The Whisk also under the same roof, this sophisticated industrial space is the perfect location for a chic city brunch date.

We’d gladly camp out for a table at this charming café and deli housed in a historic corner store in Camp Hill. Take a peek at Florence’s Instagram account where you’ll find an album of their artfully crafted brunch dishes, like sourdough flatbread topped adorned with roasted potatoes and macadamia cream, cavolo nero and white bean mafaldine pasta, and a seasonal bowl overflowing with greens and pickled veg available from the pantry. Save room for a sweetie treatie, such as the perfectly moist strawberry and raspberry buttercream cake, baked in-house with love by Floss.

Hiding down a little laneway off Elizabeth Street, this cosy CBD café serves some of Brisbane’s best coffee. The coffee crowd pours in early, lining up for a hot flatty or latte made with Strauss’ very own house blend. They rotate the single-origin beans for their long blacks and espressos, and also offer a bottled cold brew for those on the run. Have time for a feed? You’ll find a tight and rather old-school menu of brunch classics, ranging from house-made walnut banana bread and honey granola to smoked trout bagels, ham and bacon croissants, and an almighty Reuben sandwich with pickles AND sauerkraut.