The Best Breakfast in Adelaide
Breakfast might even be the closest thing we have to a national cuisine. Here we pay tribute to Adelaide’s best; places shaping the very definition of the pre-midday meal. Others we’ve selected for consistent performance – they’ve nailed the classics and learnt how to handle the crowds that follow. Go on, get that morning started.

Cafe
My Grandma Ben
Sustainability is the bottom line at this beloved cafe and workshop space. Come for a no-waste menu of mainly vegetarian dishes, and take home jars of Ben’s pickles and preserves.

Cafe
Exchange Coffee
Occupying an iconic corner in Adelaide’s East End, Exchange Coffee has long been at the front of the pack in the city’s specialty coffee scene. Come for Market Lane coffee brewed every which way, produce-driven brunch dishes and a signature sandwich worthy of its cult status.

Cafe
Bloom
A woodfired hearth powers the kitchen at Bloom, with most dishes (and some cocktails) informed by the flames. This place is great for groups, and the setting is special: an old tram barn surrounded by the river and ghost gums.

Cafe
Peter Rabbit
One of Adelaide’s buzziest cafes holds a lush garden and a shipping-container-turned-eatery. When the weather’s fine, it's hard to beat a spritz on the deck.

Restaurant
Ballaboosta Burnside
A Levantine-inspired diner on a leafy suburban street serving up creative breakfasts and local small-batch wines. There’s also wood-fired pita and pizza, and a Mediterranean Bloody Mary with za’atar and hot sauce.

Cafe
Topiary
A garden centre in the verdant Tea Tree Gully foothills is the unlikely setting for one of Adelaide’s culinary gems. Enter a 140-year-old cottage for a thrilling five-course lunch menu informed by foraged produce – plus one of the city's best breakfasts.

Cafe
The Banksia Tree Cafe
A brunch spot in a historic building in Port Adelaide with a focus on sustainability.

Cafe
Hey Jupiter
A little corner of France in the East End. Hey Jupiter has been throwing down champagne breakfasts and Bloody Marys for more than a decade.

Cafe
Fred Eatery
Let Fred treat you to some really comforting food.

Cafe
Whistle & Flute
Whistle and Flute’s lush courtyard is one of Unley’s major attractions. Whether you’re looking for uppers or downers, this cool cafe and bar has you covered.

Cafe
Abbots and Kinney
Pastries from Italy and beyond, made fresh every morning. The sfogliatelle – a strudel-like Italian number – is unmissable, equal only to the house croissant.

Cafe
Pickle in the Middle
The plant-centric pop-up so good, it progressed to permanence.

Cafe
My Kingdom For A Horse
A short gallop from Adelaide Central Market, this colourful venue does food all day, roasts coffee on-site and seats 100 patrons in comfortable retro-Danish style.

Cafe
Bond & Lane Canteen
A community-focused cafe with a modern industrial feel.

Cafe
Leisurely Coffee
This cafe in the former Paddy's Lantern site opened in October 2020. The interior’s had a refit and a new kitchen installed, but the trusty Synesso espresso machine that served Paddy’s so well for over a decade remains. Come for the “barista’s breakfast” (a potent coffee trio); handmade dumplings; a croissant with soft-shell crab and scrambled eggs; and halal bao buns with “beef bacon” and egg.

Restaurant
Thelma
A bijou bistro-style dining destination with a former Summertown Aristologist chef in the kitchen and produce-led plates on the menu.

Cafe
Bora
The laid-back coastal spot brings coxinha and Caipirinhas to the former Cooks Pantry spot, alongside smashed avo and Bloody Marys.




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