Tucked away from bustling Little Bourke Street, Manchester Press is surprisingly spacious and tranquil – a prized rarity for inner-city cafes. Coffee-mad owners Nir Kalif and Issy Shaked (of Elsternwick’s Loco Cafe) have transformed this former gallery into a CBD coffee destination.

It’s the kind of place you could be perfectly comfortable spreading out an entire newspaper without drawing irksome glares from your fellow patrons. The décor is fashionably distressed, rustic and warm. Weathered wood softens the predominantly white space while idiosyncratic pieces scavenged from scrap yards give the space its character.

The menu is small and simple (and features some excellent bagels), but with a cafe it’s the coffee that must matter most. And in this regard Manchester Press brings the same consideration to your flat white as they do to the welcoming surrounds – it’s top notch, well up to the rather stiff competition in the area.