With trendy blends, luscious brews and premium barista training, artsy Melbourne sits right at the center of Australia’s ever-growing coffee obsession. For those on the hunt for the perfect flat white and a tasty bite to eat, here are our picks for Melbourne’s finest cafes where you can take in the city’s booming coffee culture.
Brother Baba Budan
Another hit from Melbourne’s famous Seven Seeds coffee roasters, Brother Baba Budan brings high-quality brews to Melbourne’s CBD with beans sourced directly from farmers worldwide. Coffee is the key here, and seating is in short supply, but plenty of people opt for take out. There’s also a selection of cakes and pastries. The café takes its name from17th century Islamic scholar Baba Budan, who smuggled seven coffee seeds out of Yemen and introduced coffee to India.
Get your caffeine hit with fragrant house-roasted espresso blends at Dukes Coffee Roasters, where skilled baristas serve coffee straight from a 33-pound Portuguese roaster downstairs. This renovated warehouse in Windsor looks directly out onto the Chapel Street action, and comes smartly outfitted with rustic timber beams, exposed red brick walls and dark wooden benches.
Named after one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in London, Fitzrovia offers a delicious mishmash of British and European cuisine and décor in lively St. Kilda. Fitzrovia’s single-estate coffee comes from St ALi coffee roasters, and all dishes use local Victorian produce. Keep an eye out for fresh, tasty sandwiches and luxurious picnic baskets. There’s a more formal dining area with an evening menu upstairs too.
The signature smashed avocado on toast at Porgie & Mr. Jones is worth the extra trek out to Melbourne’s sleepy Hawthorn area. This fashionable multi-room establishment keeps locals and clued-in visitors happy with flavorful Allpress coffee and dishes rich with herbs from its own backyard. Seek out a seat amid displays of bakery treats, wooden benches and vivid artwork, and remember: It’s cash only at Porgie’s.
Poised on the corner entrance to Prahran Market, Melbourne-born Market Lane Coffee doubles up as both café and roaster. Baristas here serve only coffee varieties that are in season, made from beans sourced directly from growers around the world. Stop by Friday or Saturday for free public coffee tastings known in the trade as “cupping.”
This funky café, tucked away in a converted warehouse, has been serving coffee aficionados every day of the year since the early 2000s, and was originally owned by Seven Seeds founder Mark Dundon. Coffee is roasted on-site, and finished off by enthusiastic baristas. There’s another branch, St. ALi North, in Carlton.
Right next to Balaclava train station, Las Chicas has become a colorful favorite on the Carlisle Street coffee scene. It’s an extremely popular spot, especially among young locals, and there can be a lengthy wait on weekends. Come for fresh all-day breakfasts, creative dishes and Allpress coffee, also sold through a takeaway window.
Crowned Melbourne’s hippest café in 2013 by “The Age,” Everyday concocts batch-brews of diverse beans and roasts on Johnston Street in Collingwood. In true Melbournian fashion, this concrete-clad coffee bar focuses almost exclusively on coffee, although a few baked goods from local suppliers have managed to sneak their way inside. Visitors can also pick up mugs and beans from the café’s retail wall.
(Main image: © Jennifer Jones, Brother Baba Budan)
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