7 of the Best Breakfasts in Melbourne

Melbourne hits the spot when it comes to breakfast and coffee. Here are seven options worth getting out of bed for in a city celebrated for its café culture.

Feast of Merit

This community dining house (owned and run by YGAP) serves modern Middle Eastern food, with all profits directly supporting youth education and leadership programs in Malawi, Ghana, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Australia. Order the Forbidden breakfast, with beech-smoked bacon, fried eggs, rice hash, zhoug dressing and za’atar.

117 Swan Street, Richmond

The Kettle Black

Housed within a converted Victorian terrace on Albert Road, The Kettle Black produces refined breakfast fare, making it one of the most photographed cafés in Melbourne. Order the tataki ocean trout with a raw kale and pickled vegetable salad, seaweed, nuts and poached eggs.

50 Albert Road, South Melbourne

Code Black Coffee

Code Black Coffee is a café and roasting house that dishes up sophisticated food and serious coffee – there’s a seasonal blend, filter and single origin on offer. Tuck into the grilled coffee-glazed bacon sandwich with bloody Mary tomato jam, whipped goat’s cheese and a coffee-infused fried egg.

15-17 Weston Street, Brunswick

Top Paddock

Be prepared to wait. Top Paddock serves some of the most sought-after breakfast in Melbourne. Favourites include slow-cooked Kurobuta pork shoulder, pork crackling, house pickles and habanero aioli in a bao bun, and blueberry and ricotta hotcakes with berries, organic maple and double cream. Yum.

658 Church Street, Richmond

St. ALi

St. ALi’s flagship café in South Melbourne attracts foodies far and wide. Its signature dish, My Mexican Cousin, features secret-recipe corn fritters with poached eggs, grilled haloumi, corn and cucumber salsa, spicy tomato puréeand green salad.

12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

Auction Rooms

Housed in the old W.B. Ellis auction house, Auction Rooms has earned a reputation for its inventive all-day breakfast and specialty coffee. Dig in to brûlée French toast with passionfruit labne, poached mandarin, macadamia crumble and white chocolate ganache.

103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne

Two Lost Boys

Tucked behind Windsor train station, Two Lost Boys is the brainchild of Michael Almagor and Justin Kony, who’ve cut their teeth at some of the best cafés in town. Coffee is courtesy of boutique roaster Monk Bodhi Dharma, while the all-day breakfast menu includes smashed avo, baked eggs and sweet-potato fritters.

20/2 Maddock Street, Windsor