This vibey shrine to indulgence on Livingstone Road serves up diner classics dripping with Inner West cool. The pancakes arrive stacked like architectural wonders, slathered in blueberry sauce or crowned with bacon and fried chicken. Brekkie muffins bulge with sausage, bacon, egg and cheese (with a top-notch vegan version also available for those so inclined), while the breakfast burrito is a potato-gem stuffed, cheese-oozing miracle. Or go the Tina Classic – scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries served with a pancake. Valentinas is loud, fun and very good at making you forget you had planned on just having a light snack. 132 Livingstone Rd, Marrickville | valentinassyd.com/

While A.P Bakery has expanded to Newtown, Darlinghurst and the Carriageworks Farmers Market, this sunny spot on the roof of the Paramount House Hotel is where it all began. The egg roll achieves a perfect bread-to-filling harmony, thanks to its rich slab of cheese-topped egg cake; the congee is parmesan-spiked wizardry; and the deep-fried bread and butter pudding is so good, there’s a chance you’ll forget every other brunch you’ve ever had. With standout Reuben Hills coffee and city views, this is the kind of place where everything tastes better than you expect, even if you were expecting a lot. L2/80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills | apbakery.com.au/

Circa spins gold from eggs and bread, bringing Middle Eastern flavour to brunch via Ottoman eggs, poached to oozy perfection, then nestled into puddles of labneh and paired with crumbed eggplant, fried leeks and focaccia. The baked eggs bubble like tomatoey lava – fiery with harissa, chilli and sujuk, and tempered with feta. These are dishes built for flavour, with generous portions and plenty of bread to mop it all up. It’s a place where every bite feels like it was made with care, and a reminder that some of Sydney’s most interesting food is happening well beyond the inner city. 21 Wentworth St, Parramatta | circaespresso.com.au/

Fika brings a little slice of Stockholm to brunch, minus the icy commute. Here, prawns are slicked with dill and lemon and piled onto sourdough toast, and salmon is cured with a whisper of horseradish that wakes you up better than any coffee or a dawn dip in the ocean could. But the real siren call? The pastries: buns swirled with cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla or cheese; and loaves of dense, nutty rye bread that sell out fast. Bonus points for the takeaway shelves stacked with jars, loaves and pantry goods you didn’t know you needed but simply can’t leave without. 5B Market Ln, Manly | fika.au/pages/manly

Just a barefoot stumble from Bondi Beach, Rocker doesn’t make you choose between good food and a good time. Their popular bottomless brunch runs Thursday to Sunday, offering a merry-go-round of arancini, crispy sprouts, slow-roast lamb gnocchi and as many mimosas as it takes to make you contemplate renting a beach shack and never returning to your corporate existence. It’s all served in a laid-back, salty-aired space that feels like a surf shack – if surf shacks had professional chefs and very nice crockery. Come with a group, clear your schedule, and try not to schedule anything important for the afternoon. 5/39-53 Campbell Parade, North Bondi | rockerbondi.com.au/

Kurumac gently suggests that, while Tokyo doesn’t worship breakfast quite the way Sydney does, it should perhaps reconsider. Aromatic and soothing salmon congee is topped with roe and nori, a cod roe omelette arrives rolled and ready to down with rice and pork broth, and soba noodles swim in dashi with crisp prawn and vegetable tempura on hand for dunking. It’s all light, savoury and perfect for kickstarting your weekend. The drinks menu includes great coffee and a full line-up of matcha, and the place is always humming with regulars keen to dodge the smashed avocado and brekkie burger cliches. 107 Addison Rd, Marrickville | kurumac.com/

If your subconscious detects a hint of McDonald’s nostalgia at Happyfield, that’s purely coincidental – at least officially. The McLovin Muffin is a fever dream of chicken sausage, folded egg, chipotle aioli and cheese crammed into a muffin that only just holds the chaos together. The pancakes are buttery, maple-drenched pillows sent from the brunch gods, and the unbelievably crisp hash browns could double as shields in medieval combat. Add a watermelon margarita for fruit and a Hail Caesar (like a Bloody Mary, but Clamato-based) for hydration, and you’ve got the brunch of your slightly manic, but very delicious dreams. 96 Ramsay St, Haberfield | happyfield.com.au/

Blackwood is one of those places that somehow makes everyone happy, doing an equally solid job of catering to the smoothie-bowl set as it does the miso scrambled egg crowd. You could be virtuous with a poke bowl and green goddess salad, or you could serve your hangover with the spicy bacon roll with a side of life-affirming hash browns (you can even score a golden chicken schnitzel if that’s how you feel like starting your day…) There’s a Bondi sibling too, for those who need their quinoa or fish burger fix further north. Blackwood doesn’t judge; it just feeds. 5/33 Surf Ln, Cronulla | blackwoodhospitality.com.au/

Brunch has a soundtrack in this cool space just off King Street: the low purr of motorcycles being fine-tuned downstairs. Upstairs in the AM, it’s all about the breakfast ramen: a bowl of bone broth tinged with the smoky whiff of buttered toast, and filled with tangled noodles and the holy trinity of bacon, grilled tomato and egg. The breakfast plate brings together maple-glazed pumpkin, fried kingfish, a dashi egg and other Japanese-inspired umami bites; the space balances the industrial and the personal; and Single O coffee ensures you stay sharp enough to dodge any Vespas on your way out. 1C Whateley St, Newtown; risingsunworkshop.com/

This is where Sydney brunch culture was born. Before smashed avo launched a million cafes, there were Bill Granger’s silky scrambled eggs and iconic ricotta pancakes – buttery, cloudlike and completely worth any wait in line. There’s an almost mystical quality to the original cafe: sunlight pools on the wooden floors, waiters glide, and your hangover, no matter how monumental, dissipates under a blanket of maple syrup. If you’ve never been to Bills, go. If you have, you’ll know there’s something comforting about coming back to where it all began. In a city that reinvents brunch constantly, Bills remains the blueprint. 433 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst | bills.com.au/