The perfect bacon and egg roll.
Ricotta hotcakes.
An Acai Bowl with Bloody Mary’s.
There’s nothing like starting the day with great breakfast options at the best breakfast spots.
We all know Melbourne is the place to be for coffee, but what about brekkie? Well, we’re here to tell you that breakfast restaurants in Melbourne are damn hard to beat. Whether you’re looking for a good place for some quick fried eggs and smashed avo in the Melbourne CBD or South Yarra or a french toast and some great coffee along Fitzroy’s Rose Street or Flinders Lane, Melbourne has the breakfast spots in Australia.
Here are five places to drop into for the best brunch spots, or a week-day bite to eat if you need an eggs benedict before the work grind starts.
1. Vertue Coffee Roasters / 8 Raffa Place, Carlton
Tucked away just off Lygon Street in Carlton, Vertue is an great place for a unique and delicious breakfast experience. Alongside delivering the classics, Vertue also offers dishes like tamarind prawn toast, and even a fried chicken burger if the Monday blues are getting you down. As the cafe is first and foremost a specialty coffee roastery, you can guarantee you’ll get a smooth coffee with your meal. The place smells amazing from the moment you walk through the doors. Take a friend here and impress them with your unusual yet scrumptious taste for Melbourne cafes.
Recommendation: Poached eggs with a side of avocado, cashew cheese and beetroot dust.
2. St Ali Coffee Roasters / 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne
St Ali is the go-to breakfast spot you didn’t know you needed. Again, you have to venture down a side street to find the old warehouse space, but once you’re there the open room beckons you in. Like Vertue, St Ali likes to push the boundaries of breakfast food, offering an all-day breakfast menu and brunch menu that includes Banh Mi, Mexican corn fritters, Japanese tofu and all-American pancakes. No need to book those overseas flights when St Ali gives you that worldwide experience.
Recommendation: “The Dirty Eggs” – poached eggs, roasted bull horn peppers, crispy fried potato gems, potato & smoked paprika mouse, crispy potato noodles, padron pepper sauce and chorizo.
3. Seven Seeds / 114 Berkeley Street, Carlton
Seven Seeds is a bustling, energetic cafe with an exciting menu to match. Melbourne University is only a block away and the constant stream of students lining up for brekkie and some of the best coffee is a testament to Seven Seeds’ reputation. Whether you’re living healthily (charred broccolini salad or the wild mushrooms perhaps?) or indulging (beef brisket hash or wagyu burger), this is the place to be.
Recommendation: “Fried Eggs and Waffle Benedict” – Smoked pulled pork and cheddar waffle, poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise.
4. Green Refectory / 115 Sydney Road Brunswick
Green Refectory is one of the best spots for breakfast if you want a cheap and delicious feed for the most important meal of the day. In a city that thrives on overpriced coffee, getting a piece of cake and a coffee for $3.50 is unheard of – except at this place. Its other major advantage is that it’s bloody massive. You can sit inside at a cute wooden table for one, at a bench for 6, or at a small table for 3. If you’re loving that summer breeze, the outside tables rest under sprouts of greenery and patches of sunlight. Drop in for some of the best breakfast meals, or stay for an hour – no one will bother you either way.
Recommendation: Breakfast Stack with potato pattie, bacon, tomato, spinach, halloumi, basil and a poached egg (for just $12). Or try any delicious cake from the display…
5. Alimentari / 251 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
If upon walking down Brunswick Street you feel overwhelmed by vintage stores and trendy cafes, pop into the Alimentari deli for a slice of old-fashioned tranquillity. Open from 7 AM during the week, you are guaranteed a perfect rendition of all the classics – corn fritters, bircher muesli, as well as sneaky favourites avo & pea smash and Persian scrambled eggs. Feeling more of a brunch vibe? Grab tasty rice and sultana salad from the display, or perhaps a panini. Alimentari is unassuming and gorgeous to experience.
Recommendation: Rice bowl with chickpea, onion, coriander, dill and sultanas.
“Melbourne is a real leader in breakfast and brunch venues. There is no shortage of exceptional coffee, and breakfast classics available.” – Anna Elliott, Marketing Manager at Vectron & Bepoz.
Honourable Mentions
- Rustica Sourdough
- Kettle Black
- Hardware Societe CBD
- Higher Ground CBD — or their sister cafe the Darling Group
Final Words
So there you have it, a few delicious cafes to indulge in before the 9-5 begins. I’ve incorporated a mix of classic dishes and ones that are funkier, so take your pick! (Or invite three friends and steal all their grub). So go ahead and pick up some baked eggs and avocado toast over at these amazing restaurants. Happy breakfasting!
