The best cafés in Melbourne

Convoy is a bright, airy corner café and takeaway coffee shop in the heart of Moonee Ponds, recently opened after an ambitious 18-month renovation. The team behind the project is responsible for the success of fellow brunch darlings Terror Twilight, Hi Fi and Tinker, with Convoy fast joining those ranks. The menu is a little more left-field than your average brekky spot, with featherlight cinnamon-scroll pancakes, king prawn rolls and okonomiyaki-inspired waffles enticing regulars on the daily. There’s also a steak-frites roll with sliced rump and bone marrow gravy – the ultimate holy grail hangover cure – and plenty of familiar crowd-pleasers, too. Don't skip out on the caffeine hit, either. Convoy has a reputation for making an insanely good brew.

Despite Lygon Street’s popularity with tourists and locals alike, there are probably only four venues on the famous Carlton end of the strip that regularly garner a long queue outside: ice cream shop Pidapipo, rooftop bar Johnny’s Green Room, Universal Restaurant (probably for its monster cheap parmas) and finally, Good Measure. The latter is an all-day coffee shop that transforms into a lively cocktail bar in the evenings, and it’s home to arguably the city’s most famous signature coffee order right now: the Mont Blanc.

Higher Ground is so hot right now, but that's been the case ever since it opened. The big café-restaurant from the team behind Top Paddock and Kettle Black is incredibly ambitious. With 130 seats across three levels, 16 chefs who can put Pope Joan, Supernormal and Jacques Reymond on their CVs, and a squad of smart, unflappable wait staff, Higher Ground takes breakfast, lunch and dinner to vertiginous new heights. 

Cibi translates to ‘little one’ from Japanese and the unfussy dishes on offer at this concept store and eatery certainly suggest an air of innocence. But it's precisely this simple approach to food and drink that allows the freshness and quality of the ingredients to shine through. All of the green tea is sourced from organic farms in Japan, and the fragrant delicacy of these infusions is alone worth a visit. But if you're hungry, tuck into a warming udon noodle soup and a yuzu pound cake before checking out all the beautiful homewares on display. A silver thread of Japanese philosophy ties both the cafe and store together. Fun fact: Harry Styles was once spotted here!

Sunhands is keeping it local. The new kid on the block has transformed the former site of Carlton’s Ima Project Café into a sun-drenched corner shop that’s equal parts café, deli, wine bar and general store. Dine in on dippy eggs or baked ricotta with agrodolce, grab a seasonal salad to go, stock up on homemade pickles and sauerkraut, or pass the time with an outdoor afternoon vino.

Couple Nerissa Jayasingha and Hiran Kroon own and run Lankan Tucker in a quiet pocket of Brunswick West. Their cosy place has all the trappings of a Melbourne café – St Ali coffee, laidback vibes, lots of greenery, service-with-a-smile – but look closer and you’ll discover a menu jammed with Sri Lankan classics. 

Tucked away in West Melbourne, there's a café dishing up some of the most beautiful and authentic breakfast dishes from across Thailand's various regions. Make a booking early to try the gingery rice and pork congee porridge with egg, pork balls, puffed rice noodles – it's a comforting treat. There's also a range of other dishes, aesthetic drinks and desserts such as the young coconut pandan chiffon cake.

This cafe is a serious brunch destination, offering up our favourite comfort foods with a twist. They’ve got both the early operators and late risers covered with an impressive all day breakfast menu; try the breakfast tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, aged cheddar, herb oil, sweet corn and salsa or if you’re a sweet tooth go for the vanilla sago with rhubarb compote, raspberry foam and rose meringue. If you’re in the mood for more of a lunch brunch, they’ve got main meals like the pressed lamb shoulder and belly to keep you going.

Auction Rooms is where you go when you want A-grade coffee and a satisfying brunch without the BS. Dunk garlic bread into a dish of baked chorizo eggs. Nibble on housemade granola with yogurt or porridge. Sink your teeth into a simple grilled beef and bacon burger on a brioche bun. Or if you're feeling so inclined, there's a confit duck leg risotto that begs a glass of grenache to cut through the fat. Heck, you'll even spot fruit toast with butter on the menu if that's all you want. The difference at Auction Rooms is everything here is done spectacularly well, marking it the undisputed North Melbourne favourite since 2016.  

Brunch shouldn't just be an affair for the morning, and thanks to the likes of Emil's Café, it doesn't have to be. Once their childhood home, brothers John and George El-Khoury have refurbished their family's corner milk bar into Emil's Café, a licensed all-day brunch spot with a nostalgic, homely feel. Chef Sam Pinzone sits at the helm of the kitchen, serving up an Australian-Arabic menu alongside Code Black Coffee and a selection of cocktails, juices and smoothies.

A light year measures approximately 9.5 trillion kilometres, which is no small trot. Happily, you only have to set the GPS to Hawthorn to enjoy the delights of Light Years café. The breakfast and lunch menu – eggs scrambled or benedict, bircher muesli, burgers or fish and chips – may sound standard; its execution is anything but. 

Ona Coffee is known across Australia. The roastery and café chain offers up its beans for many cafés around the country, and we're fortunate to have one of its cafés smack-bang in the middle of Brunswick. Owner Saša Šestić is so serious about coffee that he even won the 2015 World Barista Championship with his Raspberry Candy coffee. The blend in question is suited to those who prefer white coffee and its flavour profile is of raspberries and a touch of candy. Fear not if you're not in the market for Raspberry Candy, as the venue offers upwards of 20 coffees at any time for you to sample. 

Au79 stands for gold on the periodic table and it’s also the name of an ambitious café in Abbotsford that boasts an on-site bakery, coffee roaster and mini retail space selling sweet treats and coffee. The CCC Group (which manage Sir Charles, Addict Food & Coffee, Liar Liar and Prospect Espresso) have converted a motor garage into an absolute humdinger of a café. 

Oasis Bakery, a three-in-one bakery, café and supermarket deep in suburban Murrumbeena, has become a bit of a cult foodie destination. It celebrated its 18th anniversary in 2016 and marked its coming of age with a renovation that transformed the suburban shop into a one-stop-shop modern Middle Eastern open-air marketplace.

Jason M Jones, the owner of cafés such as Friends of Mine and Porgies + Mr Jones, has opened his latest venture in a quiet Eltham backstreet. Inner-city faint-hearts may gasp at its remoteness, but Second Home is really just a shortish canter down the Eastern Freeway, and what awaits the intrepid traveller more than justifies the journey. The menu is approachable and exerts enough temptation to make you wonder if the place would have been more appropriately christened Second Stomach. 

Calēre is run by Alicia Feng, whose partner, Mo Zhou, runs fine-diner Gaea (situated next door). What you might not realise is that this tiny hole-in-the-wall smack-bang in the heart of Gertrude Street dishes up some of Australia's best coffee. A huge claim to make, but one that's deserved. The café uses beans from Ona, and the result is a smooth coffee with varying flavour profiles. There's also a selected range of cakes, sandwiches and pastries available to accompany your coffee too.

It may not immediately occur to you that you’re nibbling your Californian superfood salad in an environment inspired by a design movement known as tropical modernism. But, in this café named after its founding father, you are. Architect Geoffrey Bawa’s big vision was to break down the barriers between inside and outside; thus, jungle images decorate the walls here and plants perch above the central light fitting, dangling their friendly fronds towards the bustle below. 

The owners of Tall Timber, Marquis of Lorne and Rustica Canteen (among others) have opened up Left Field on a residential stretch of Koornang Road. Judging by the number of people willing to stand for their supper until a space becomes free, the Left Field team are kicking goals.

The practitioners of Captains of Industry are "Practical Men of Wide Experience" – and as such, they offer a one-stop gentleman’s shop complete with a barber, shoemaker and bistro. But we are mostly here for the sandwiches (try the three-cheese toastie!) and great coffee.

At 9am on a Tuesday morning St Ali is pumping like it’s spring break. Between the business chatter and weekend debriefs, the espresso machine, roaster and kitchen cacophony meshes with Mark Morrison’s 'Return of the Mack', Massive Attack's 'Angel' and some East Coast hip hop care of Mobb Deep. It’s a hell of a soundtrack to your morning. St Ali on Yarra Place was one of the original café-roasteries back before everyone was taking the DIY approach to coffee beans. And the upmarket warehouse space looks much as it always has – big tables and industrial coffee paraphernalia everywhere.

Sugar might be the latest dietary villain, but we’re not the only ones barracking for the bad guy in Spotswood’s sleepy neighbourhood shopping strip. Candied Bakery’s siren song pulls serious crowds to this Aussie bakery with an American twist. Marshmallow choc chip cookies, hot dogs and shakes are a salute to the red, white and blue; lamingtons and sausage rolls may as well be wearing a Southern Cross tattoo they’re so flamin’ Australian; and the croissants, and fresh pancetta and provolone-stuffed panini, are a gap year in Europe for your lunch hour. 

This dark and cavernous warehouse conversion caters to strict coffee enthusiasts, brunch crowds and the hungover alike. Strong, comforting aromas from the barista's workspace are an instant mood boost, while creative dishes on the menu make perusing it an actually interesting experience. At a glance, you’ll spot a spring onion waffle with five-spice confit duck, an orange and almond love cake with spiced syrup and burnt butter mascarpone, and an eggs benny with gruyère and sautéed red cabbage. Code Black’s food may be a little fancier than your local corner spot for a bacon sanga, but the cafe’s still generous with its serving sizes. And if you loved your macchiato, you can also grab some Code Black Coffee to take home on your way out.

We all know that job hunting is tough. How much tougher, then, when you’re a refugee on a temporary visa and with less-than-perfect English? Eager to do something to address the daunting inequalities that face such people, Jane and François Marx decided to open a café where they could employ and train refugees. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, the pair opened their social enterprise venture, Long Street Coffee.

It started out as one of the first cool, third-wave cafes in Melbourne. Now it’s a coffee empire. Proud Mary, she wears many fancy hats: unbelievably popular warehouse-style café in Collingwood, wholesale coffee roasters stocking some of Melbourne’s best venues and training ground for award-winning baristas (alumni including Kris Wood of South Melbourne’s Clement and John Vroom of Kew’s Ora.)

Like an eager kid sister keen to hang out with the cool crowd, the Kettle Black aims to match – if not outshine – Top Paddock and Two Birds One Stone, her overachieving older siblings in Richmond and South Yarra. The setting is a clever mix of old and new, spread across a chic Victorian terrace house and the ground floor of a shiny apartment complex in South Melbourne. 

You may recognise Top Paddock as the café that never fails to grace your Instagram feeds every weekend. The big brother café to the Kettle Black, this stylish Richmond brunch spot is often frequented by the pilates brigade but is also a great pitstop if your morning – or night before – has been less salubrious. Get the self-titled Top Paddock: chorizo, bacon, green tomatoes, and poached eggs number on toast and you'll be right as rain.

Industry Beans is a roastery-come-café by the Penny Farthing dudes. It's since moved from its original location behind Rose Street Artists' Markets to new digs on Westgarth Street, but they're still serving up the same tasty brews. Attentive staff hand you your bible as soon as you take your seat: a fifteen-page coffee menu featuring single origins from as far afield as Honduras, El Salvador and Burundi.

So, you could stomp around South Melbourne Market, overwhelmed and in search of a feed, or you could sit down at Shop 13-14 in the food hall and sink your teeth into a juicy Proper and Son roast roll instead. Opt for the signature brisket roll. A brioche bun stuffed generously with meltingly soft Wagyu brisket. Mustard mayo, radish, red cabbage, red sorrel, white onion and a side of pickles counteract the meat's richness. This is not a pretty thing to eat: bits and bobs will fall from the bun and brisket juice will spill onto the steel plate – embrace that. 

Inside the brightly light, cream-hued Workshop Brothers café lives delicious coffee. Axil Roasters has been providing the blends and Monk Bodhi Dharma providing the single origins, but Workshop Brothers have branched out and created their own everyday blend called the Huntly. There’s a discount when you bring your own reusable coffee cup, and Workshop Brothers also sell Frank Green brand cups for those late adopters who don’t have one yet. Hungry? Grab a Nutella croissant to go.

The name may conjure up visions of babies sprouting from giant pea pods, but we checked, and found that the Children’s Farm is more kid-friendly than a science fiction plotline. It never ceases to amaze us that a mere hopscotch jump away from Abbotsford Convent, you can be facing off with a pig called Typhoon. Play with the chooks (and keep your breakfast away from them) while you sip on your coffee and stick around to explore the farm after your meal.

All you need to do is ask a longtime Clifton Hill resident their recs to discover that here is a fantastic foodie 'burb. From the Fermentary and fishmonger Argo, to newcomers to the neighbourhood like Hyderabaadi restaurant Magan and tip-top ice cream shop Sunday School, locals are lucky to have these gourmet gems on their doorstep. Brunch spots are no exception, and though there are a fair few to choose from along the main strip, our fave has to be Uncle Drew. Hidden in one of the peaceful back streets, it's got everything you need to start the day in a good mood: Dukes coffee, Istra bacon, Tivoli Road bakery, Rooftop Honey and the brekky burrito of your most hungover dreams. Feel like something fresh and healthy? Try the delicious ponzu soba salad!

Melbourne has a way with shipping containers. We’re used to drinking in them (see Section 8 and Arbory) and now we can eat in them. Rudimentary – a cream-and-caramel-coloured shipping container conversion – has sprouted up like a metallic mushroom on the site of a former car park in Footscray. 

This spot is a beloved local gathering place – not just for its friendly, community focus but for its approachable Persian fare, which is hard to come by in Melbourne. Iranian food is not well represented here and when it does appear, skewered meats are often the focus. This is no doubt a core component of the cuisine but overshadows the fact that it's vegetarian-friendly and characterised by its use of floral, sweet and sour flavours, adding complexity and balance to each dish. (For context, Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, is also Persian.) 

There’s a new brunch destination making a buzz at the Rialto, the first flagship cafe from Cremorne’s lauded Square One Coffee Roasters. It’s the latest venue from The Mulberry Group (TMG), the trailblazers behind some of Melbourne’s most happening cafes and bars in recent years, including Top Paddock, Higher Ground, The Kettle Black, Lilac Wine Bar and Liminal. The eclectic menu here includes Liong’s cumin lamb pancake with Lanzhou chilli and garden herbs and a crumbed lion’s mane mushroom schnitzel with green garlic and macadamia hummus. 

This CBD wholefood eatery shows you don’t need to wear hemp and patchouli to eat conscientiously. The whole room is decorated in rich cream paint with marble tabletops, white enamelware jugs and maidenhair ferns tipping the look into landed gentry territory. And land is a big focus here. The fruit, vegetables, cheese and charcuterie on the menu are locally sourced and as close to organic and free-range as possible. 

The café’s decor is minimal to the point of clinical: it’s an uncluttered space set in a beautiful Victorian terrace house with a stained-glass period window, pale walls hung with mirrors, and exposed filament bulbs. You could call it anaesthetic chic – we can think of worse places to have an appendectomy over brunch. 

Despite its name, there's certainly enough room to sit down in this breezy, light-filled coffee spot – and outdoors, too, on a sunny umbrella-studded patio. Not only is the coffee here sensational, but the light food menu is worth a look-in, too. Think hearty chicken and salad sangas, silky folded eggs, pastries and one of the most delightful Basque cheesecakes you can find. Doggos are welcome and the vibes and coffee aromas are guaranteed to get you in the right morning mood.

We dare you to gaze into Alimentari’s deli cabinet and resist buying something special to take home. Whether it’s a wedge cut from a wheel of Grana Padano cheese, thin slices of cured salumi or a handful of marinated peppers, you can be sure that every Italian delicacy is premium quality. Choose from an impressive selection of Italian wines to take home, or sit down in the small adjacent café and enjoy a glass with a bowl of pan-fried ricotta gnocchi. Oh, and the meatball subs here are epic.

When the Rosso Roastery Co crew opened a new concept store and café in North Melbourne, we were excited to see what something with the descriptor "Coffee Experience" would have in store. Well, it's a lot cooler than we even expected. It's got a make-your-own-coffee bar (the first of its kind globally) where customers can learn to make their own coffee, and the food from chef Michael Bernerger Kevin is definitely not playing second fiddle. There's even a roastery out the back and the space is lit by a dynamic LED ceiling panel to add to the super cool vibes all 'round. If you're a true coffee lover, this is a bucket list Melbourne experience.  

How lucky are North Melbourne dwellers to have Lumen People on their doorstep?! Alerted to the new all-day eatery and wine bar by a colleague who's a resident of the area, I wasn't sure what to expect. But after having a lovely meal here (and one of the yummiest dirty Martinis I've had in some time), there's no doubt that Lumen People is a class act. Fresh produce from Days' Walk and locally supplied ingredients are magicked into brunch, lunch and dinner plates that go wonderfully with the natty-leaning wines. The crew here are just as passionate about their vino as they are their food and you'll always be offered something interesting if you're not sure; on my last visit here, I had a King Valley savagnin here that tasted just like a birthday cake!

Is it a coffee shop? A sandwich bar? A dessert bar? This blink-and-you'll-miss-it nook on St Georges Road is technically a kissaten, which is a type of Japanese café that translates to 'tea drinking place.' It's tiny, light-filled, and aesthetically one of the most unique spots you'll discover in these parts, hidden at the base of an apartment complex. If you like your iced lattes creamy and sweet instead of bitter, you'll be in heaven here. There's also tea, toasts and desserts – in fact, one influencer even reckons you can get the best matcha in Melbourne at Taiyo Sun. And after 11am, you can get authentic omurice, soba noodles and other lunch-y dishes.

Surviving a decade in Melbourne’s hospitality industry is no easy feat. Thriving in it is even harder. Hardware Société has managed to do the latter. Opened by husband and wife Di and Will Keser in 2009, who now reside in Paris, the legendary café bid adieu to its eponymous location on Hardware Lane in February and made the move to a bigger, brighter space on a laneway a stone’s throw away from Southern Cross Station. A smaller second venue on Hardware Lane is still standing and the Kesers even opened an outpost in Montmartre, Paris in 2016.

Inspired by Asia's bustling vendors and street food culture, the team behind Coracle aim to give Melburnians an authentic taste of the most vibrant flavours from Hong Kong, Vietnam and beyond. Step into the decidedly minimal space to enjoy elite Vietnamese coffee, premium matcha and hojicha from Japan, and espresso by Small Batch. The menu also shines a light on Taiwanese and Korean cuisine, with bibimbap and bulgogi, ramen and more. A highlight is picture-perect Japanese breakfast, which comes with grilled seasonal fish, rice, pickled vegetables, soup, tea and other sides.  

The sandwiches here may be simple, but in a city where simplicity isn’t always so easy to find, French Fix remains a source of comfort for city workers and curious tourists alike. It’s a soulful slice of Paris on a street where your soul sometimes feels like it needs it. And if nothing else, it’s somewhere you can buy an affordable lunch, freshly made in front of you and served with sincere love. What else could you possibly ask for?

This small Europe-inspired eatery is still a newcomer to the scene, but it sure stands up to the big kids on the block. That's not exactly a surprise, given it's owned by the masterminds behind another café on this list, Florian. Open all day long and serving up crowdpleasing brunch dishes with a seasonal bent (thanks to nearby South Melbourne Markets), Juniper is the perfect spot for brekky with great coffee to match. Try its standout chicken sandwich and stop in for a latte, but just be sure to get in before 11am if you want to avoid rush hour. 

Named after the owners' late father, Elio's Place is a 90-seat homage to Italian hospitality and European energy, nestled in the historic Flinders House. From early-morning espressos to late-night suppers, Elio’s aims to be a versatile spot for CBD dwellers and visitors alike.

Whether you like to eat at hip cafés or homey ones, sleek wine bars or spenny fine diners, you’ve probably noticed that the katsu sando – panko-crumbed, deep-fried meat in crustless white bread – is defying the laws of our attention-deficit dining scene. The sandwich's interminable rise finds its latest launch pad at Saint Dreux, a standalone coffee and sandwich bar on the lower ground level of the Emporium. A strong cakes and drinks game and slick aesthetic also help to mark this sneaky food court a standout. 

Sitting back with a coffee and fresh crumpets in an adorable café in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges might well be the best way to start the day. Lorna Melbourne is the perfect brunch destination for Ferntree Gully locals and Melburnians on a jaunt to the Dandenongs, and it's only a ten-minute drive from the ever-popular 1,000 Steps.