Melbourne is awash with some of the finest café’s this side of the equator, if not on both. And most coffee connoisseurs who’ve travelled will agree that it’s the coffee capital of the world. It’s no secret that Melbourne has a lively and diverse café culture, and it’s almost become cliché to talk about the diverse offerings available all over this sprawling culinary capital. It seems the city’s chefs are constantly working to outdo one another with new, ingenious creations and this is partly what makes Melbourne one of the ultimate places to enjoy a gastronomical, caffeine-infused experience.
We here at the Espresso Corp would like to share with you the cafes we think tantalise our senses with the greatest effect.
Give them a try – you shall not regret it.
Our Staples - Coffee & Food
Sir Charles
Sir Charles has the best eggs benny in the market! There you go, we’ve said it! If you like panko crumbed eggs on roti with sriracha sauce, then this is a must have. The rest of the menu is exceptional too. The coffee is also amazing as they have good roots in the trade. Their foundations were Axil coffee and they now use AU79. They also have their own roaster where they do small batches. They serve great single origins on filter and espresso and their blend is solid. You will often find queues out the door on the weekends here. It’s a place that we take most of our guests when they come to town.
Stagger Lees
Stagggerrrs! This was one of our first locals when living in Fitzroy and still remains a local today. These guys are the cool kids in town while serving ridiculous coffee and food. The whole menu is epic and lots of unique stuff in there. They serve Proud Mary coffee on a sick white neon lit Synesso machine. You will find 2-3 single origins here and cold brew on the reg’s during summer. Great milk and black coffee. Their burger and craft beer Friday dish is one to lock in. You can also buy bags of Proud Mary here to take home.
Faraday’s Cage
Best. Sausage roll. Ever. You can’t not go here now! This is one of our un-assuming favourites tucked down a one way in the backstreets of Fitzroy. They’ve got their own bakery as well as solid menu that they change up every now and again. But do try their baked goods, if you are not into sausage rolls, try the ham and cheese croissant - arguably the top 3 in town! And their yummo cakes. Dukes coffee, served up to Melbourne standard. The owner is also a lovely lady.
Monsieur Truffe & East Elevation
The cafe with the red door. What’s behind this door is quite unique! Inside is a micro/artisan chocolate factory glassed in inside an epic high roof East Brunswick cafe. The menu is top notch. We can not recommend the croque-monsieur highly enough. Wow. This is another place we often take guest staying in Melbourne. They have good coffee with Padre, but only a blend and sometimes it’s hit and miss depending who’s on the tools. But it’s all about the hot chocolates here - single origin chocolate with precise percentages of cocoa. Then just pop down the road a few mins to Padre’s roastery for a brew.
Our Other highlights for coffee & food
Seven Seeds, Carlton
Axil Coffee Roaster, Hawthorne
A few other place the Melbourne cool kids hang out…
Higher Ground
The Mack Daddy of Melbourne eateries, Higher Ground cannot be described as anything less than a dining institution. Whilst the waits can be long, they can most certainly be worth it, with the refurbished power station creating a vibrant and relaxed atmosphere for dining on Berkshire bacon sandwiches with gribiche and brown sauce, or the sensationally sweet whole poached mandarin with vanilla cheesecake, chocolate brownie and coco nibs. Cheesecake and brownie in the one sitting? Yeah, sounds good.
Bang Bang at the Rifle Club
We had the pleasure of checking out this nifty dining hall in Elsternwick. Bang Bang RC takes Asian brunch to the next level with outstanding meals like the turmeric omelette and congee with master stock pork. At night, sou red curry ocean trout and crispy half duck keep the French Indochinese pleasures coming. It’s a real treat.
AU79
AU79 has everything you could want in a café. A fabulous bakery with pastry kitchen, an aromatic coffee roastery and food that will keep you coming back to Abbotsford time and time again. Mouth-watering offerings like crispy skin pork belly, Cone Bay barramundi or spicy chicken bao are some of the most flavourful on the Northside.
Dumbo
We couldn’t forget the west. The area has sprung up some of the most unique eateries in recent times, and Dumbo is no different. The abandoned milk bar has been turned into a go-to for people looking for taste creations in Footscray. Try the banoffee doughnuts with coffee mascarpone – it’s simply delectable. They haven’t forgotten the building’s milk bar roots, and classics like potato fritters and beef brisket burgers keep the good eating rolling along in the west.
