Coffee lovers of Melbourne! This city is filled to the brim with a plethora of beautiful cafes everywhere, and if you’re anything like us, you too want to try them all! However, not all of you are blessed with the time to cafe jump whenever you want; that’s why we’ve gone around trying different cafes around the area.
Here’s a list of the four absolute- Must Try cafes of Melbourne all coffee lovers can’t miss:
Higher Ground
CBD
As the cafe super-group behind this Spencer Street behemoth are fond of saying, it’s not a cafe and it’s not a restaurant. The sibling of the Kettle Black and Top Paddock has turned into a heritage-listed former power station into a design-accolade-winning, multi-level hotspot where a smart furnishing mix-and-match imitates a stylish New York hotel lobby. Begin the day with steamed barramundi on kohlrabi noodles and charred leek in mushroom dashi; finish it with brussels sprouts, fried duck egg and XO sauce.
Wide Open Road
Brunswick
It has gone over the last nine years from Brunswick trailblazer to a good stayer of the cafe scene, but the gloss definitely has not worn off this converted warehouse with space to swing an entire family of cats. Doing double time for a coffee roastery, the beans are great enough to feature on menus across the city, while the breakfast/brunch menu is a masterclass in the way Melbourne likes to eat, from fish finger sandwiches to the thick-cut bacon and Gruyere pancake licked with chipotle mayo nearly guaranteed to put hair on your chest.
Smith & Deli
Fitzroy
Half of Melbourne transformed into veganism with Smith & Daughters, they awakened with the vegan New York-style deli we never knew we needed. But boy, the way we do want the”egg McMartinez”, which provides a certain multinational behemoth a run for its money, and the buttery-without-using-butter flaky croissants. The glass case, home to things like buffalo mozzarella which (spoiler alert) is not actually buffalo mozzarella, is a vegan’s fever dream, while standing in line is somewhat like Tinder for the V-crowd. Vive la revolution.
Seven Seeds
Carlton
Did you know that Coffee Heaven exists in Melbourne? Seven Seeds is unquestionably the bean’s high priest, husbanding the local coffee arena through its third-wave infancy at places like Ray and St Ali. The motherlode is currently located in a smartly converted warehouse in backstreet Carlton where suits and students struggle for tables. We are also confidently asserting that it is every Melburnian’s civic duty to attend one of the cupping sessions held every Wednesday (entrance is by $4 donation to charity, and be sure you book ahead).
