Long known for some of the best coffee in town, Atomica is the real deal- great coffee, not frills and certainly no gimmick.

It’s a bit scruffy round the edges, but what long-standing Fitzroy cafe isn’t? It’s a darkish den, with chequered floors, open brickwork from before it was trendy and a certain skater-boy aesthetic making it cool to wear t-shirts and avoid the corporate crush.

Owner Toli Avgerinos has been running this ship for over 12 years, keeping regulars coming back. Roasting and blending their own coffee on site, they know what they’re doing; supplying beans to other cafes, often as tailor-made mixes. Choose from 10 or so blends and a flux of single origins to take the magic home, or pull up a stool at the bar and swing your sneakers while baristas turn out perfectly smooth lattes and capps- all while jostling and bantering with colleagues.

It’s not flashy, but when the cup is this good, you really don’t need window dressing. That’s all part of its reputation as the unpretentious kid on the Brunswick Street block.