A good day starts with a cup of coffee in hand. A great day starts with a long lazy brunch, with perfectly fluffy pancakes, runny eggs and fruit bursting with freshness. Sydney’s breakfast game is stronger than a double-shot espresso, and we’ve found the best places to grab a flat white and a smashed avo to set your day up right.
A café, distillery and bistro housed in a dramatic glass atrium, what more could you ask for? Buckle in Artarmon blends seamlessly from breakfast straight through to dinner, with house-distilled vodka, whisky, and gin if you want something harder. With a brewery slated to open in late 2024 too, we suspect this box-fresh brewhouse will be the spot for recovery brunches to come. 1 Frederick St, Artarmon; bucklecd.au.
Blink and you’ll miss it, but this tiny nook crammed with tables flowing out onto Llankelly Place serves some of the best coffee in Sydney’s east. The menu stars toasties, perfect scrambled eggs, and a rather excellent kale lentil salad with yoghurt dressing and spiced lamb. “Brekkie rice” flies off the menu in the morning; it’s creamed red rice, quinoa, walnuts, pepitas, stewed rhubarb and dukkah. For lunch, local punters go for a slow-cooked brisket sandwich with slaw, pickles, mustard and onion jam. Owner Andrew Hardjasudarma has used Mecca since opening in 2010; if it ain’t broke, right? 10 Llankelly Place, Potts Point; roomtenpottspoint.com.au.
If you haven’t perched at the Valentina’s counter and dug greedily into a sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, you need to fix that and fast. The American-style diner may be kitschy but don’t be put off by the queues and a gimmick: Valentina’s has the goods to back it up. Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich is richly complex and savoury, and a slice of pie du jour is best washed down with a steaming cup of black coffee. 132 Livingstone Rd, Marrickville. valentinassyd.com.
A bit over the eggs Benny and smashed avo? Check out Tento, Surry Hills’ all killer, no filler Japanese brunch spot. Hearty bowls of salmon tonkotsu ramen, and a dedicated ochazuke (a soup of steamed rice with green tea) menu shakes up the usual breakfast fare in the most refreshing way. Small plates of chicken karaage; sashimi; and fresh oysters with an ever-changing granita dressing move brunch from the breakfast camp and firmly into the lunch end of the spectrum to great effect. 8 Hill St, Surry Hills; tento.com.au.
Rarely can bakery dangerously flaunt the rules of the croissant with such success as Rollers. The Manly patisserie is the brainchild of James Sideris AKA Butter Boy Bake, and he’s not shy about experimenting with flavours that span from spicy ‘nduja brioche rolls to sticky honey, ham and gruyere pastries riffing on a croque monsieur. Yes, there is coffee available (very good coffee, in fact) but it’s the flaky buttery creative croissants that will have you coming back for more. 19 Rialto Ln, Manly; rollersbakehouse.com.
It’s fair to say that Michael Mu Sung did his market research when it came to flipping his Sydney cafe into a deli. The restaurateur lives right around the corner from the new concept deli, Ken’s Continental, which borders both Rushcutters Bay and Potts Point. There’s no menu, just a chalkboard divided into three sections: breakfast, breakfast muffins, sandwiches, salads and plates. While Jeremy & Sons was known for its sandwiches and soups, Ken’s Continental is more about specialty meats and pastries and giving off cool Euro deli vibes. But it’s not all about the pickles and pastrami either. 3/40 Bayswater Rd, Rushcutters Bay; kenscontinental.com.au.
Until 11.30am, dig in to the likes of sourdough crumpets with macadamia butter, eggs Florentine croissants, sausage and egg muffins or fluffy pancakes with maple syrup (and bacon, if that’s your vibe). After a morning tipple? From 10am, you can also grab a martini, available three ways; mimosas; or a twist on a pina colada made with matcha. 4A/8 Locomotive St, South Eveleigh; thegrounds.com.au.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, with Room 10’s little sister cafe Piña just 30 metres around the corner in Potts Point. The two cafes may share the same DNA with harmonies of Western Europe, China, Japan, Latin America and the Middle East – but it’s Piña’s all-day breakfast of familiar but elevated dishes that sets it apart. Fluffy scrambled eggs on toast are brought to life with chilli-infused oil. Sicilian caponata is intensified, as soft eggplant and tomato is reduced to the point of no return and topped with an egg and stracciatella. The wait for a table might be long but there’s no denying, it’s worth it. 4/29 Orwell St, Potts Point. room10group.com.
Havenstone isn’t looking to break the breakfast mould, with a whole menu of beautifully presented and familiar brunch classics. What this heritage sandstone stunner does, however, is serve all day breakfast in one of the most charming settings in the city. Restored to its 1800s glory and situated on manicured grounds where oak trees cast cooling shadows, Havenstone is a destination on its own – but a cardamom-spiced mocha in hand doesn’t hurt. 5 Fleet St, North Parramatta; havenstone.com.au.
With its bright pink exterior and crowds streaming in and out of Marion Street’s best squeeze, Dom Panino is hard to miss. It’s also a sandwich shop and cafe that you’re not going to want to miss. Subs inspired by Nonna’s of yore and absolutely banging coffee, Dom Panino’s is worth getting up early for. 122 Marion St, Leichhardt; dompanino.com.au.
Circa Espresso is a true tapestry of warmth: warm service, warming food, and a quirky and welcoming atmosphere. The fact that there’s some seriously delicious eats and seriously good coffee are just the cherry on top. For nearly 15 years, Parramatta locals have flocked to the Wentworth Street cafe for its blend of European-Middle Eastern breakfasts like baked eggs with spicy beef sujuk, maple-glazed French toast, and crispy-skinned barramundi with pea puree and fresh veggies. Can’t decide on your coffee today? Don’t worry, there’s even a coffee flight for the indecisive and adventurous. 19 – 21 Wentworth St, Parramatta; circaespresso.com.au.
Chef and restaurateur Michael Rantissi and Kristy Frawley (Kepos Street Kitchen) have joined forces with Andy Bowdy and Maddison Howes (previously Saga Enmore) to open Salma’s Canteen in Rosebery. The eatery features an abundance of Bowdy’s pastries and cakes alongside Rantissi’s signature salads, which will change with the seasons, as well as vegetables and proteins and dishes to take home for a DIY dinner. The canteen also features a selection of Bowdy’s signature treats such as salted honey tart and yuzu cheesecake. Modelled on a casual, yet contemporary canteen, Salma’s also features a carefully curated array of offerings such as grab-and-go sandwiches and dips. 2/797 Botany Rd, Rosebery; salmascanteen.com.au.
Marrickville has more great cafes than you can poke a stick at, so to stand out from the crowd it takes some real chops. Enter: Superfreak, the homely coffee shop by Soulmate’s Michael Ico and Dan Harrison. With a menu by Aplenty’s Michaela Johansson that’s all about nourishing wholefoods that’s heavy on the preserves and salads, Superfreak is where you go when you’ve just finished meditation and a stretch session next door at Scout Pilates. 333 Enmore Rd, Marrickville; superfreakco.com.
If you’ve grabbed a latte to go in a hip Sydney cafe, you’ve probably already tasted Mecca’s coffee. The roastery has been going strong for nearly 20 years. But what’s good coffee without a great breakfast? Mecca’s Alexandria outpost is the place to be for brunch classics like egg and bacon rolls, and seasonal specials like spring pea salad with smoked whey ricotta, with cranberries, a parmesan wafer, and herby pomegranate dressing. Daily rosters of filter coffee highlight producers and collaborators, and house-made seasonal sodas of blends like strawberry and thyme will leave you feeling oh, so refreshed and ready for the weekend. 26 Bourke Rd, Alexandria; mecca.coffee.
When chef Robin Butler headed out of the kitchen and took over the running of Rolling Penny in 2020, things went from good, to great. Butler’s breakfast fare wouldn’t be amiss at some of Sydney’s best restaurants, with slow-cooked enoki mushroom jerky perched on whipped feta and poached eggs; Brickfields focaccia, Ortiz anchovies and the mellow heat of ‘nduja with fresh zucchini flowers; and of course, really good coffee from the Little Marionette team. 583A King St, Newtown; rollingpenny.au.
