It might be difficult to pronounce before you’ve had coffee, but the kaiserschmarrn is the go for anyone looking to jazz up their boring old breakfast routine. These Austrian-style scrambled pancakes are a deconstructed delight, served here with blueberry compote and yoghurt. If you’re swinging more savoury, they also make a mean Comté omelette and an eggs benedict with potato hash. Grab a stool at the window of this Euro-chic venue that could easily have been occupying its slice of Flinders Lane real estate for 50 years instead of one, and consider whether you’ll stay on for lunch, dinner and post-dinner drinks. 1/238 Flinders Ln, Melbourne; eliosplace.com.au

Few things hit the spot the morning after a big night out than the hearty dishes at this community-minded Carlton cafe. A congee-esque silken rice with braised wagyu brisket, a goopy poached egg and the all-important chilli oil is just what the doctor ordered. Plenty of the dishes here nod to co-owner Nesbert Kagonda’s Zimbabwean heritage (goat curry for breakfast, anyone?), anchored in produce grown on the cafe’s own organic farm. Take your Fenton love further by joining the cafe’s running club (pro tip: don’t eat breakfast before hitting the streets), or checking out its regular evening events. 158 Rathdowne St, Carlton; fenton-farmhouse.com

If the words ‘breakfast ramen’ don’t get your heart beating just a little faster, you don’t deserve to visit this delightful Japanese brunch spot in Alphington. Think noodles in a soulful broth with pork sausage, roasted tomato, mushrooms and a fried egg. It’s the love child of a Western big breakfast and ramen (you can expand your mash-up horizons further with the Kissaten Poke Bowl or avo on toast, which comes with avocado and edamame pea smash on toast.). Take your dog to brunch and grab a seat in the heated covered courtyard out back. 538-540 Heidelberg Rd, Alphington; kissatenalphington.com.au

Fly to Phuket on the wings of Roslyn’s regional specialty of boiled rice porridge punked up with wedges of caramelised pork belly, nubbles of spicy pork mince, prawns and an onsen egg. You’ll get a bowl of clarified pork broth on the side and chilli oil to dose as you please. The entire menu at this super-cute West Melbourne hangout will get your synapses zinging and your sinuses cleared – try the pan-fried eggs with Chinese sausage and pork mince. Add an iced coffee that goes to the next level with coconut ice cream and caramelised popcorn – it’s almost a breakfast in itself. 477 King St, West Melbourne; roslynthaicafe.com.au

The hotel buffet is a much-maligned beast, but no one gets out of the Langham’s Melba restaurant without being converted to the cause. This hotel grand dame that’s perched overlooking the Yarra offers a jaw-dropping buffet with cooking stations for brekkie a la minute. Breakfast is as big and bold as you make it (entry is fixed price, so you’ll want to make it big indeed). Swing to pastries, segue to eggs any which way (hello, omelette station), pay lip service to fresh fruit and don’t forget the waffles. There’s also a chocolate fountain – repeat, a chocolate fountain. Go hard or go home. 1 Southgate Ave, Southbank; melbarestaurant.com.au

Proving that eggs on toast aren’t central to a satisfying breakfast (and driving the point home with their cookbook, No Eggs on Toast), these sibling Parisian-style city-slicker cafes bring the goods with brunch cocktails and French elan. Start the day the first arrondissement way with a breakfast bellini and duck merguez sausage on a bed of orange & fennel salad. Hardware Societe’s play on the continental also satisfies the big brekkie theme with its perfect assembly of a pistachio and chocolate breakfast trifle, mortadella, stracciatella, basil, and Via Porta croissant with a petite OJ to round things out nicely. 123 Hardware St, Melbourne & 10 Katherine Pl, Melbourne; hardwaresociete.com

For anyone craving order in their life, the breakfast sets at this Japanese cafe and restaurant anchoring the Nightingale Village are a great place to start. The teishoku – Japanese set meals – hit every pleasure receptor with their meticulously presented combo of rice, miso soup and okazu (side dishes of pickles and greens). Pick your main dish, whether that’s grilled kingfish collar, lightly fried agedashi tofu or ongiri (rice balls) with fillings of fish and umeboshi (salted plums), add an onsen egg or eggplant tempura and let the flavour parade begin. Single origin matcha and hojicha lattes make for the perfect wingmen. 1 Duckett St, Brunswick; imaproject.co

You can rely on the cafe group behind the pan-Melbourne excellence of Tinker, Terror Twilight and Convoy to start the day right. At their latest cab off the rank, they serve a picky-bits breakfast plate for the grazers in our midst: think cheese and a soft-boiled egg with pickles and smoked tamari almonds, carrot hummus and a few radishes for crunchy good measure, along with a wodge of the house-baked focaccia. Arranged with an artistic eye, it’s almost too pretty to eat. Just say yes to the optional avocado and cured salmon and consider your day’s healthy food pyramid satisfied. 85 High St, Northcote; opheliawestgarth.com.au

Their ironclad reputation of this OG Collingwood hipster hangout is founded on the specialty coffee, but Proud Mary also plays a strong suit in breakfast dishes that will set you up for the entire day. Specially, we’re talking about the ‘potato hash’, which does its thing with a fat puck of fried carby sebago potato goodness, a couple of soft-centred poached eggs, the kind of thick-cut bacon that makes anyone from England misty-eyed with nostalgia, and the curveball of a bagna cauda sauce that has a subtle anchovy kick and brings a whole heap of umami joy. Bravo. 172 Oxford St, Collingwood; proudmarycoffee.com.au