Food & wine
Cafes
Immerse yourself in the best of Melbourne’s coffee – at cafes down cobblestone laneways, and beyond, to laid-back neighbourhoods from Fitzroy to St Kilda.
The League of Honest Coffee, Exploration Lane
Overview
Melbourne is the coffee capital of Australia. In the CBD, the cobblestoned laneways are filled with the aroma of espresso, wafting from the many cafes, as they serve a busy hubub of loyal customers. Further afield, Carlton, Richmond, Fitzroy, Prahran, South Melbourne and St Kilda, also offer great cafe strips, with a distinct neighbourhood feel.
Top picks
Brother Baba Budan
Cafes
Have your caffeine and drink it too in a café named after a legendary coffee smuggler, where chairs hang high and the beans are roasted with pedigree.
Code Black Coffee
Cafes
Eschew the frantic takeaway coffee for the relaxed sip-in experience at Code Black Coffee, with its slick fit-out and and mouth-watering cafe menu.
Cup of Truth
Cafes
Go underground for coffee so smooth you'll never want to get it at street level again, made even better with the addition of morning pastries.
Krimper
Cafes
Get a dose of Australian architecture and design history alongside your Proud Mary coffee and sophisticated breakfast and lunch options.
Manchester Press
Cafes
Get in line to praise Manchester Press, the huge lucent space softened with old timbers and quirky junkyard installations where coffee reigns supreme.
Operator 25
Cafes
Purveyor of specialty coffee from Code Black Coffee Roasters, open for breakfast, lunch and everything in between, Operator 25 answers your call.
Patricia
Cafes
Stand around with a serious but simple brew. The coffee here, roasted fresh every Thursday, comes three ways: black, white and filter.
Stagger Lee's
Cafes
Settle in at Stagger Lee's cafe on Brunswick Street for the kind of hearty breakfast that'll last you through until dinner, and great coffee too.
Higher Ground
Cafes
Flee to Higher Ground for breakfast, lunch or dinner and taste for yourself what happens when the Top Paddock crew takes it to a whole new level.
Discover
Unable to get data
You may also like...
Coffee
Food & wine
Get a taste for Melbourne's serious coffee culture with a perfect brew or take-home beans from favourite local coffee roasters and cafes.
Best breakfast spots
Food & wine
Make getting out of bed worthwhile: rise and shine with connoisseur coffee and mouthwatering meals at Melbourne's favourite breakfast spots.
Breakfast in the CBD
Food & wine
Whether it's for weekday wheeling and dealing or a weekend crossword marathon, Melbourne's CBD has a breakfast venue to meet your morning needs.
Cake
Food & wine
What's coffee without cake? Only half the story: that's what. If sweet spots are what what you seek, Melbourne has you covered in pastry and cake.