The 11 Best Brunch Cafés in Melbourne (2026)

Updated October 2026 · 11 picks

The best brunch cafés in Melbourne in 2026 are Higher Ground in the CBD, Top Paddock in Richmond and The Kettle Black in South Melbourne, with Hardware Société for French-style brunch and Proud Mary in Collingwood for coffee. St Ali, Seven Seeds and Au79 are the roastery cafés locals rate most.

Brunch is a full-blown institution in Melbourne. The busiest cafés don't take bookings for small groups at weekends, so the queue builds from about 9am — go before 8.30am, or on a weekday. Most open from 7am or 8am and stop serving food mid-afternoon, and expect to pay A$25–35 for a main and A$5–6 for a flat white.

1. Higher Ground — CBD (west end)

Melbourne's best-looking brunch room, in a soaring former power station.

$$ Mid-range

Higher Ground fills a converted heritage power station at the Spencer Street end of Little Bourke Street, with a huge, light-filled space and a mezzanine. From the team behind Top Paddock and The Kettle Black, it serves polished brunch dishes and excellent coffee from early morning.

The hotcakes are a favourite, and the savoury plates are generous and well thought through. It is big enough that the wait is usually short, and it suits groups, business breakfasts and visitors staying near Southern Cross Station.

Good to know: Book online at weekends; it is one of the few top brunch spots that takes reservations.

650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Google Maps Website

2. Top Paddock — Richmond

The Richmond café that set the template for Melbourne's modern brunch.

$$ Mid-range

Top Paddock is a large, leafy, light-filled café on Church Street in Richmond that has been one of Melbourne's best-known brunch spots since it opened. The menu is creative but approachable, and the coffee is roasted to the café's own blends.

Its blueberry and ricotta hotcake is famous for good reason. Expect a queue on weekends; the turnover is quick, and the room is big enough for groups.

Good to know: Tram 70 or 78 gets you close; go on a weekday morning for a calmer visit.

658 Church St, Richmond VIC 3121

Google Maps Website

3. The Kettle Black — South Melbourne

A beautiful Victorian terrace café with some of the most creative brunch plates in town.

$$ Mid-range

The Kettle Black occupies a restored Victorian terrace and a modern glass extension on Albert Road, near the Albert Park Lake. It is a sister to Top Paddock and Higher Ground, with a menu that puts inventive twists on brunch classics.

Order the hotcake or one of the seasonal specials, and sit in the terrace's front rooms for the most character. It suits a special-occasion brunch, and the lake walk afterwards makes a good morning.

Good to know: Pair it with a lap of Albert Park Lake or a visit to South Melbourne Market.

50 Albert Rd, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Google Maps Website

4. Hardware Société — CBD

French-accented brunch in the CBD, with dishes you won't find elsewhere.

$$ Mid-range

Hardware Société is one of the most queued-for brunch spots in the city, now in Katherine Place in the CBD, with an open kitchen and a menu that leans French and Spanish. It is busy, buzzy and good fun.

The baked eggs and the brioche French toast are the dishes people come back for. Sweet and savoury both shine, and the coffee is solid; it suits couples and small groups more than big parties.

Good to know: Book a table online if you can; otherwise arrive before it opens at weekends.

10 Katherine Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000

Google Maps Website

5. Proud Mary — Collingwood

A Collingwood warehouse café and roastery that Melbourne coffee lovers swear by.

$$ Mid-range

Proud Mary is a long-running roastery café in a converted warehouse on Oxford Street, Collingwood, and one of the places that put Melbourne's specialty coffee on the map. It sources directly from farms and serves a rotating list of single origins alongside espresso.

The brunch menu is hearty and well executed, but come for the coffee and ask what's on filter. It suits coffee obsessives and anyone exploring Collingwood and Fitzroy's shops and galleries.

Good to know: Ask for a filter or a tasting flight to try more than one origin.

172 Oxford St, Collingwood VIC 3066

Google Maps Website

6. St Ali — South Melbourne

One of the pioneers of Melbourne's third-wave coffee, in a hidden laneway warehouse.

$$ Mid-range

St Ali's original café is tucked into a converted warehouse on Yarra Place in South Melbourne, and it helped kick-start Melbourne's specialty coffee boom. The roastery is on site, and the coffee list is long and well explained.

The brunch menu has its own cult dishes, and it is easy to combine with a visit to South Melbourne Market a few minutes away. It suits coffee lovers and groups who want a relaxed, lively room.

Good to know: Buy a bag of beans to take home; the roastery's house blends are excellent.

12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Google Maps Website

7. Au79 — Abbotsford

A roastery, bakery and café in one big, bright Abbotsford warehouse.

$$ Mid-range

Au79 is a huge, airy space in Abbotsford that does its own coffee roasting and baking. The brunch menu is inventive and generous, and the cabinet of cakes and pastries is one of the best in the inner east.

It is a great choice for groups and families, because the size means the wait is rarely long. Finish with something from the bakery counter to take away.

Good to know: Leave room for the cakes and pastries; they are as much a draw as the brunch.

27-29 Nicholson St, Abbotsford VIC 3067

Google Maps Website

8. Seven Seeds — Carlton

A Carlton warehouse café and roastery, one of the city's early specialty-coffee pioneers.

$ Budget

Seven Seeds has been roasting in Melbourne since 2007 and its Berkeley Street café, in a converted warehouse, is a pilgrimage spot for coffee lovers. It is a short walk from the University of Melbourne and Queen Victoria Market.

The brunch menu is simple and well done, but the coffee is the reason to come — try a filter. It suits a weekday breakfast or a quieter weekend morning away from the CBD crowds.

Good to know: Combine with Queen Victoria Market, 10 minutes' walk away.

114 Berkeley St, Carlton VIC 3053

Google Maps Website

9. Operator 25 — CBD (west end)

Good-value, lively brunch in a former telephone exchange near Flagstaff Gardens.

$$ Mid-range

Operator 25 is in a heritage telephone exchange building on Wills Street, in the quieter north-west corner of the CBD. The brunch menu is lively and the prices are fair for the city.

It is a good pick if you are staying in the west end of the CBD or near Flagstaff Gardens, and it is easier to get into than the CBD's most famous names.

Good to know: Come on a weekday morning; it is a favourite with office workers at lunch.

25 Wills St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Google Maps Website

10. Chéri — South Melbourne

An all-day diner opposite South Melbourne Market, with its own bakery goods.

$$ Mid-range

Chéri, from the same group as The Kettle Black and Top Paddock, sits across from South Melbourne Market on Coventry Street. It runs all day, with breakfast and brunch dishes, baked goods made on site and a relaxed, bright room.

It is an easy choice before or after a market visit, and the pastries are worth taking away. It suits couples and families, and it is usually easier to get a seat than at its sister cafés.

Good to know: Go on a market day (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and do both.

285-287 Coventry St, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Google Maps Website

11. Code Black Coffee — Brunswick

A Brunswick roastery with a strong brunch menu and a dramatic warehouse space.

$$ Mid-range

Code Black's Brunswick roastery café is a striking converted warehouse on Weston Street. It roasts its own coffee on site and serves a brunch menu that is a cut above most roastery cafés.

Order a filter alongside one of the hearty brunch plates. It is a good reason to explore Brunswick and Sydney Road, and suits coffee lovers who want to get away from the CBD.

Good to know: Tram 19 up Sydney Road stops a short walk away.

15-17 Weston St, Brunswick VIC 3056

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best brunch in Melbourne?

Higher Ground in the CBD and Top Paddock in Richmond are the two most consistently recommended, both from the same group as The Kettle Black in South Melbourne. For coffee first, Proud Mary in Collingwood and St Ali in South Melbourne are the roasteries to visit.

Do Melbourne cafés take bookings for brunch?

Many don't at weekends, especially for small groups — it is first come, first served. Some larger cafés, such as Higher Ground and Hardware Société, take reservations, so check their websites. For walk-ins, arrive before 8.30am or after 1pm.

How much does brunch cost in Melbourne?

Plan on around A$25–35 for a main dish, A$5–6 for a flat white and A$40–50 per person with coffee and juice. Weekend and public-holiday surcharges of around 10–15% are common in Australian cafés.

What should I order at a Melbourne brunch?

Smashed avocado, eggs on sourdough and ricotta hotcakes are the classics, but most cafés have one signature dish worth ordering — ask the staff. Order a flat white or a batch brew filter coffee, which Melbourne roasters take very seriously.

What else should I do after brunch in Melbourne?

Walk it off around the laneways, Queen Victoria Market or the Botanic Gardens — see our best things to do in Melbourne.

1. Higher Ground — CBD (west end)

2. Top Paddock — Richmond

3. The Kettle Black — South Melbourne

4. Hardware Société — CBD

5. Proud Mary — Collingwood

6. St Ali — South Melbourne

7. Au79 — Abbotsford

8. Seven Seeds — Carlton

9. Operator 25 — CBD (west end)

10. Chéri — South Melbourne

11. Code Black Coffee — Brunswick

Frequently asked questions

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