20 of the Best Brunch Cafes
in Sydney

First, let’s get one thing straight. ‘Sydney Brunch’ is not breakfast. Breakfast is what you eat standing over the kitchen sink before catching a train. Brunch is a ritual. It’s the reason Sydneysiders set an alarm on a Saturday morning. It’s where the week gets debriefed, where friends catch up, where you reward yourself for the run or swim you did earlier. It’s the flat white and the smashed avo and the eggs benny with bacon and the egg and bacon roll and the sourdough and the sunshine. It’s an entire cultural institution squeezed into two unhurried hours.

Which is exactly why you should cancel the hotel breakfast.

We know, we know. You’ve paid for it. It’s there. It’s convenient. But “convenient” is not how you DO Sydney. Hotel breakfast is a buffet of obligation. Sydney brunch is the whole point of the morning. One is a transaction. The other is an experience locals plan their weekends around.

Here’s the move: get up early and earn it. Sydney rewards the early riser. A coastal walk, a swim at one of the ocean pools, a lap around a harbour foreshore, this city is extraordinary at 7am, when it belongs to the joggers, the surfers, and the people walking their dogs along paths with views that frankly shouldn’t be legal. Do that first….. Then sit down somewhere brilliant, order a proper flat white, and take your time.

That’s Sydney brunch. That’s the local experience we’re guiding you toward.

My standing order at pretty much any cafe on this list is eggs benny (eggs benedict) with bacon and I often judge a kitchen on the quality of the hollandaise sauce. Ken’s is an egg and bacon roll, always on a soft roll with a smear of BBQ sauce, always with a flat white alongside it. I am originally from Adelaide, so when I say the ‘flat white’ was invented in Sydney in the 1980s, I can confirm it without any complicated loyalties to either side. I am, by birthright, neutral. Melbourne’s claim is noted and respectfully rejected.

We’ve eaten our way through a lot of this. Too much, probably. But if you’re visiting and you want to know where locals actually go on a Saturday morning and not where the generic travel roundups send you, this is the list.

One more thing worth knowing…when a great Sydney cafe is full, it doesn’t turn you away. It puts you on a milk crate on the footpath upturned, outside, on the street, with your coffee in hand and the whole suburb walking past. I know it sounds odd. It’s actually one of the more charming things about this city and they are surprisingly comfy with a small cushion. Accept the crate. It means the place is worth the wait.

1. The Grounds of Alexandria

The one everyone’s heard of, and it still earns it. What started as a converted pie factory in Alexandria is now a full sprawling precinct — cafe, roastery, florist, bakery, and a farm with an actual pig named Kevin. Don’t be shy to give him a scratch behind the ear. He loves it. The smashed avo is solid, the coffee is consistently excellent, and the garden setting on a sunny morning is a proper pleasure. Yes, it gets busy. Get there early or accept the queue. Either way, go.

Order: The buttermilk pancakes or the brekkie burger. And a flat white, obviously.

Where: 7A, 2 Huntley St, Alexandria

2. Bills, Surry Hills

The place that arguably started Australia’s love affair with ricotta hotcakes and smashed avo on toast…back when smashing an avocado was still considered a bold culinary move. Bill Granger opened this Darlinghurst original in 1993 and the scrambled eggs alone built a reputation. There are now outposts in Bondi and Double Bay, but the Surry Hills original still has the best energy.

Order: The ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter. Don’t overthink it.

Where: 433 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst

3. Porch and Parlour, North Bondi

On Ramsgate Avenue in North Bondi, two minutes from the beach, this place has been pulling weekend crowds for over a decade. The menu is tight and changes regularly, the coffee is great, and the outdoor seating puts you squarely in the middle of the North Bondi Saturday morning ritual. Joggers, surfers, dogs, and people who definitely had a big Friday night all converge here. It works.

Order: Whatever the weekend special is. And the flat white.

Where: 110 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi

4. Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills

Set inside the Art Deco Paramount House on Commonwealth Street, this is one of Surry Hills’ most photogenic cafes and it knows it. The ricotta hotcakes are some of the best in Sydney and the industrial-meets-glamorous fit-out is something to see. It attracts a creative crowd and the coffee program is taken very seriously indeed. Walk-ins only, so timing matters on weekends.

Order: The ricotta hotcakes. The coffee-curious should ask what’s on filter.

Where: 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills

5. Kepos Street Kitchen, Redfern

Chef Michael Rantissi brings a Middle Eastern lens to Sydney’s brunch obsession and the result stands apart from anything else on this list. The shakshuka is properly done, the halloumi is never the rubbery afterthought it can be elsewhere, and the hot wood-smoked salmon salad with poached eggs and tahini dressing is one of those dishes you’ll still be thinking about on the flight home.

Order: The smoked salmon salad or the shakshuka. Get a side of everything.

Where: 96 Kepos St, Redfern

6. Single O, Surry Hills

One of the cafes that helped build Sydney’s specialty coffee reputation. Single O (formerly Single Origin) has been roasting ethically sourced beans since 2003 and their Surry Hills cafe is the flagship. The coffee is the point here, but the food keeps up. Corn fritters, breakfast rolls stuffed with bacon and chilli relish, rotating menu. Come for the brew, stay for the food.

Order: Whatever’s on filter. Then the breakfast roll.

Where: 60–64 Reservoir St, Surry Hills

7. Cuckoo Callay, Newtown

The menu names at Cuckoo Callay are a warning. “Bacon Me Crazy.” or “French Toast: A Love Story.” If that kind of thing makes you roll your eyes, fair enough. But if you can get past the wordplay, the food is properly creative and the portions are serious. The colourful plating is social-media catnip, which is a side effect rather than the point. Good brunch, great coffee, fun atmosphere.

Order: The Bacon Me Crazy, if only for the story.

Where: Crown St, Surry Hills (also Newtown and Glebe)

8. The Grounds of the City, CBD

If Alexandria is too far from where you’re staying, the CBD outpost in The Galeries off George Street is the next best thing. The old-school fit-out is distinctive and a little theatrical, the menu hits the same highlights as the original, and it’s a solid contender for the better brunch options in the city centre. Not quite the experience of the mothership, but it does the job properly.

Order: The avocado toast or the steak and eggs.

Where: The Galeries, 500 George St, Sydney CBD

9. Edition Roasters, CBD

One of the more distinctive brunch experiences in the CBD. Edition is Japanese-influenced with dark, moody fit-outs and a menu that goes well beyond the standard brunch template. The soufflé pancakes are airy and excellent, the miso banana bread with yuzu curd is a standout, and the coffee program is one of the best in the city centre. Outposts at Wynyard, Darling Square, World Square, and Mid City.

Order: The soufflé pancakes or the big brekkie on shokupan.

Where: Multiple CBD locations

10. Tessuto, CBD

A 190-year-old former textile warehouse converted into an Italian cafe in the heart of the CBD, and it is as good-looking as that sounds. Carbonara scrambled eggs with crispy pancetta, pistachio croissants, tiramisu lattes, and house-made pasta for lunch. The Sicilian espresso drink ‘pistachio cream, espresso, milk froth, pistachio-rimmed glass’ is worth ordering just to look at it. Walk-ins only.

Order: The carbonara eggs. The pistachio espresso for the gram.

Where: 388 George St, Sydney CBD

11. Happyfield, Haberfield

On any given morning there’s a queue outside Happyfield, and it’s for the pancakes. Fluffy, Instagrammable stacks soaked in 100 per cent Canadian maple syrup. That’s the draw. Haberfield is worth the trip out of the city centre anyway — it’s Sydney’s “Little Italy” and the espresso culture here is old-school in the best way. Pair the pancakes with a proper Italian-style coffee and take your time.

Order: The pancakes. That’s it. That’s the whole order.

Where: 145 Ramsgate Rd, Haberfield

12. Kurumac, Marrickville

Walk-in only, Japanese comfort food, hip-hop on the speakers, and a menu with no dud dishes. The spicy cod roe melt on thick-cut Japanese milk bread is one of the better toasties in Sydney (strong competition). The eggplant katsu sando and the chirashi bowl loaded with sashimi are equally good. If you’re spending a morning in Marrickville (and you should be) Kurumac belongs on the list.

Order: The cod roe melt or the chirashi bowl. Both, if you can manage it.

Where: 286 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville

13. Rusty Rabbit, Darlinghurst

Tucked in near the National Art School, Rusty Rabbit has the kind of warm-and-slightly-chaotic energy that makes a good brunch spot great. The walls are covered in local artwork, the staff are warm and the food is creative without being try-hard. The Lamb Eggs which is their signature dish is the move. Corn fritters and fruit pancakes round out a kitchen that clearly enjoys what it’s doing.

Order: The Lamb Eggs. Take your time with the coffee.

Where: 180 Forbes St, Darlinghurst

14. Boon Cafe, Haymarket

In Sydney’s tiny Thai precinct just off the main Haymarket drag, Boon offers something properly different: a mash-up of Thai snacks and Aussie brunch that works better than it has any right to. If you’re staying near the CBD and want something other than avocado toast for the fifth time, this is the call. The coffee is good, the vibe is relaxed, and the menu keeps you on your toes.

Order: Ask the staff what they’re eating. They’ll tell you straight.

Where: 20 Campbell St, Haymarket

15. Lox in a Box, Bondi

A modern take on the Jewish deli on Blair Street in Bondi. Build your own bagel with more than 20 sides to choose from, including what may be Sydney’s best herb cream cheese. The brunch bowls are excellent and the crispy latkes with eggs and brisket are a highlight. The first dine-in venue from this originally takeaway-focused spot is now serving bagel high tea on weekends, which is objectively a great idea.

Order: The lox bagel. The latke bowl. Whatever they’re running as a special.

Where: 99 Blair St, Bondi

16. Speedo’s Cafe, Bondi

Right at the end of Bondi Beach. Small, casual, sun-bleached, and consistently excellent. There’s a reason it made CNN Travel’s list of the world’s most Instagrammable cafes. The views straight out to the beach are difficult to argue with. The vegan pancakes are the real deal, the Big Bondi Breakfast will sort you out after a swim, and it’s one of the few cafes in Sydney that stays open until 5pm.

Order: Vegan pancakes or the Big Bondi Breakfast.

Where: 126 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi

17. Rollers Bakehouse, Manly

The pastry game on Sydney’s Northern Beaches went up a level when Rollers opened in Manly. Decadent, creative, and frankly dangerous if you’re trying to keep it to one thing. Kouign-amann, cruffins, seasonal filled doughnuts, and a rotating lineup that moves quickly on weekends. Go before 10am if you want first pick. The coffee matches the pastries, which is exactly what you want.

Order: Whatever’s in the cabinet. All of it, if possible.

Where: 39 East Esplanade, Manly

18. Celsius Coffee, Kirribilli

For harbour views and a flat white in one of Sydney’s prettiest postcodes. Celsius Coffee sits on the waterfront in Kirribilli with a direct sightline across to the Opera House and the Bridge. If you are staying in the city get up early to do the walk across the Harbour Bridge. The views alone justify the trip across the harbour, but the coffee is excellent and the food menu is solid. Get a window table if you can. This one’s for a slow Saturday morning with nowhere to be. If you want to continue exploring afterwards there's some great walks on this side of the harbour. Cremorne Point walk or Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden are our recommendations. If you love exploring on foot check out our Sydney Walks Guide on the books HERE

Order: A long black. The eggs benedict. Just sit and look at the view for a while.

Where: 17 Willoughby St, Kirribilli

19. Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe, Balmoral Beach

On the esplanade at Balmoral Beach, in a heritage-listed building that’s been part of Sydney’s waterfront story since 1929. The cafe offers traditional brunch classics done properly: smashed avo, eggs Benedict, blueberry pancakes. But the setting is what makes it. Balmoral is one of Sydney’s most beautiful beaches and far less crowded than Bondi. Come for the food, stay for the beach.

Order: The eggs benedict with a view. Worth every cent.

Where: 4 The Esplanade, Mosman

20. Barefoot Coffee Traders, Manly

At the start of the Manly to Spit Bridge walk, this open-fronted cafe is the kind of place that makes Sydney mornings feel like they were designed by someone who actually likes people. Good coffee at a reasonable price, breakfast waffles, hot chocolates that qualify as an event. It’s simple. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want before a long walk along one of Sydney’s most beautiful coastal tracks.

Order: A flat white and whatever waffle situation is on the board.

Where: 1 East Esplanade, Manly

A Few Things Worth Knowing

Weekends get busy, particularly in Bondi and Surry Hills. Most of these spots are walk-in only, so arriving before 9am or after 11am gives you a much better run at a table. Card is standard everywhere now, but a few of the older neighbourhood spots still appreciate cash.

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Drop a comment if we missed your go-to brunch spot we’d be happy to add it to the list or even come and review it. We take the research seriously and we never stop eating! Ha Ha.