The Best New Cafes in Melbourne

Updated 3 days ago

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This is our edit of Melbourne’s best new cafes, updated monthly. Some are highly invested in serving excellent food and following the latest coffee trends, while others are just trying to become great neighbourhood catch-up spots. Here’s where we’re going for coffee, pastries and all-day eats right now.

  • This daytime hangout from the team behind north-side favourite Florian offers fresh sandwiches, nourishing salads, a next-level mushroom congee, and a no-fuss takeaway menu.

  • A cafe by day and izakaya by night. Mornings are for bowls of salmon- or Wagyu-topped rice with an umami-rich broth. And in the evenings, sake cocktails and snacky bites like mirin-dressed oysters come out.

  • The ambitious cafe – by the hospo heavyweight behind Dessous, Hazel and Liminal – features a menu from 10 star chefs. Find cumin-lamb pancakes with chilli oil, a Portuguese pork sanga and an ube waffle with whipped Pepe Saya butter.

  • This inviting old-school deli is inspired by those found across New York. You’ll find a bagel bar, wine and bottled cocktails to take home, ready-made roasts, dips and salads. And of course, a killer Reuben sandwich.

  • The team behind Good Days is serving up excellent banh mis, pillowy bao and pastries. Come for chewy baguettes stuffed with xiu mai (saucy Vietnamese meatballs), crunchy porchetta and turmeric fried fish. Plus, Vietnamese iced coffee and nitro tea.

  • This Instagram sensation cake shop is selling Asian-inspired treats and classic fruit-forward cakes. The hole-in-the-wall has a monthly-changing menu of seasonal layer cakes by the slice, custard tarts and community feels.

  • This casual Korean eatery serves up lesser-known dishes like yukhoe bibimbap and mandu-guk. The menu runs the full gamut of flavours and textures, from fermented and fiery to crisp, cool and refreshing.

  • A light and bright cafe serving stacked breakfast buns with pillowy omelette and cheese, and Swedish-style cinnamon buns. Plus, Seven Seeds coffee, key-lime-pie shakes and natural wines.

  • This Indonesian sandwich and coffee shop (by an ex-Navi sous-chef) serves Aussie cafe favourites with Indo flair. Find gado gado sandwiches, sambal-spiked Filet-o-Fish and sweets like kaya crullers. Plus, Dukes coffee all day.

  • From the food to the decor, everything at this day-to-night cafe is simple and community-minded. By day, find pastries from Ovens Street bakery, comforting breakfasts, and rotating soups and salads. By night, expect DJs and good drinks.

  • Borrowing its name from a favourite Breaking Bad character, this spot serves up fresh bagels inspired by New York City. Load yours with classic fillings like cream cheese and house-made jam, or mix it up with beetroot-and-gin-cured salmon or harissa-roasted pumpkin.

  • You might’ve noticed the fans lining out the door to try the internet-famous soufflé pancakes. Inside, try its famously rich and fluffy pancakes, including the bestselling Boba Brûlée Bomb, which is finished with blowtorched caramelised custard.

  • This cheery cafe offers up a playful brunch menu, grab-and-go pastries and hot coffee from Dukes. Its creative brunches might include Reuben sangas (with an unexpected combo of kangaroo pastrami and pineapple sauerkraut) or cured salmon mille-feuille on a New York-style bagel.

  • Post up on a bench seat for kaya (coconut jam) squiggled on toast, espresso banana bread and espressos brewed on one of three machines – not from Italy, but from Silicon Valley.

  • An Indigenous-owned cafe and bar serving lunchtime standards, pre-show drinks and grazing platters with a native twist. Expect a menu dotted with lilly pilly berries, red wine kangaroo salami, bush tomato relish, pepperberry olives and more.

  • A vibrant corner shop that combines a cafe, wine shop, deli and general store. Enjoy its dippy eggs and morning plates, or grab a bottle of wine and bouquet to-go.

  • Named after an iconic Paul Kelly song, this neighbourly cafe turns out spicy, buttery Turkish eggs and thick-cut French toast behind a baby-blue facade. It’s also pouring hot coffee from Inglewood Coffee Roasters.

  • It’s all about the standout cinnamon scrolls at this corner store. Expect oozing, super-soft layers of dough, cinnamon and caramelised brown sugar with a heaped layer of cream cheese icing. Plus, savoury scrolls, hot chocolate and coffee.

  • In the site once home to one of Melbourne’s best-loved cake shops, you’ll find knafeh, “Melburnian cheesecake”, Nutella cookies and pizza made with 96-hour slow-fermented dough.

  • Community comes first at this homely cafe, which celebrates the tight-knit scene around it. Come for a best-selling vegan sando, a coffee in the sunny courtyard, or a browse of the local art for sale on the walls.

  • Come for pour-over coffee from 10 different Japanese roasters and espresso from local suppliers. Pair your brew with yuzu cheesecake, emoji-perfect chiffon cake and prawn katsu sandos.

  • Order up at Walrus, a low-key spot inspired by America’s west coast diner scene. It boasts a menu of pancake stacks with whipped butter, crisp US-style bacon, pecan pie by the slice and more in a lo-fi, *Twin Peaks*-style fit-out.

  • A tiny, 16-seater coffee and sandwich window by day and petite wine bar by night. Stop by for oysters with hibiscus mignonette, buttery pastries, cocktails, and a 50-bottle wine list.

  • This beloved bakery was a hit in Collingwood before branching out to the south. Come for slow-fermented breads, hazelnut babka and loaded focaccias. Take your treats home or enjoy them in the park across the road.

  • The sisters behind this neighbourly spot grew nearby, and now serve up pastries, coffee and take-home goods from their favourite local suppliers. Expect house-made chai, cinnamon twists and Mediterranean dips.

  • Cubano sandwiches are the hero at this Cuban-inspired diner, from the owner of Atlas Dining. Stop by the neon-coloured shop for five takes on the sanga, plus salads and sides.

  • The couple behind it lived in Copenhagen for three years, and wanted to bring their love for Danish bread to Melbourne. Find sticky-sweet cardamom buns and an artisanal loaf as big as a cushion – served with a hearty helping of hygge.

  • From the son of a beloved pie-maker, this shop serves pies that have been perfected over generations. Head in for cakes, coffee, classic vanilla slices, ready-made meals and – of course – standout family-recipe pies.

  • This sleek sandwich deli brings the bustle of Manhattan to a sleepy suburban street (without annoying the locals). Stop by for Italian-inspired sangas, handmade bagels and coffee.

  • A day-to-night bakehouse and brasserie serving sourdough and laminated pastries in the mornings, and refined dishes by an ex-Gimlet chef around lunch. It’s by the group behind Sunda and Aru.

  • At this nostalgic corner spot, all-day dining spans loaded toasts in the morning to slow-smoked lamb shoulder for lunch. Bring your dog and perch in the courtyard or stop by the takeaway coffee window.

  • Opposite the Queen Vic Market you’ll find vegan, pork or slow-braised beef curry, served over rice or stuffed into deep-fried kare pan. The curry shop also has house-made mochi cookies and canelés, as well as specialty-coffee tonics and Japanese craft beers.

  • Look for the rabbits to find this small bakery, which nods to Korea’s many self-service cafes. Head in for dramatic pastries and theatrical drinks. Think “lava” pandoros, matcha-chocolate canelés and purple sweet potato lattes.

  • This panini spot takes cues from Italian paninotecas and old-world Mediterranean delis. Build your own panini or choose from classic combos such as mortadella and crushed pistachio, or prosciutto, pesto and fior di latte.

  • Two ex-Long Chim chefs are behind this cosy Thai spot, which offers standout breakfasts, snacks and sweets. Come for congee, and green curry with fried chicken. Afternoons call for milk tea and a slice of pandan cake.

  • Watch the bakers in action at this queue-worthy bakery, where creative croissants are made over three days. Try those alongside picture-perfect cakes, triple-cheese toasties, Basque cheesecake by the slice and more.

  • This bagel-slinging food truck makes great use of an old car park. Come for Montreal-style bagels filled with all the fan favourites – like smoked salmon, dill and caper cream cheese, chicken salad and brisket pastrami.

  • Welcome to matcha heaven, where cookies, chiffon cake, babka and more are all given a splash of green. There’s also ceremonial-grade matcha and ice-cream from Kori.

  • This pasta spot has big nonna energy. Come for rigatoni doused in rich Napoli-style ragu, Italo-disco tunes and a yarn with the two owners – who draw inspiration from their upbringings in southern Italy.

  • This Sydney-born bakery quickly became a Melbourne favourite. Try inventive croissants (think pina colada; rose and pistachio) and savoury bites like Japanese chicken pie. And, of course, the mega-famous strawberry-watermelon cake.

  • Familiar with piononos, glaseados, doblegats or xuixos? You’re about to be. This one-woman show specialises in regional sweets and pastries, from syrupy sponge cakes filled with custard to one of the oldest desserts in Spain.