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Best Unconventional Breakfast in Sydney

Updated February 10th, 2020

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Non-Indigenous Australia has a pretty short culinary history. The First Fleet arrived here in 1788, when Chinese cuisine was already well over a millennium old. But while many of our chefs can't draw on generations of tradition, they're also not constrained by it. They can experiment as much as they like.

Despite this, Sydney's superb breakfast menus can sometimes get a little samey. At heart, many dishes are just clever iterations of toast, eggs or granola.

If you're nodding, you'll appreciate this collection of non-conventional options. For many people, pho, congee or spanakopita are a normal way to start the day. For most Sydneysiders, they're totally novel. And we think that's exciting.

  • X23 Asian Fusion Cafe

    Cafe

    Go here for Malaysian-fusion dishes such as sambal-egg-stuffed croissants, waffles with pandan, and nasi-lemak burgers.

  • Cafe Monaka

    Cafe

    Decked out in raw oak, this breezy spot is one of a few Sydney cafes serving traditional Japanese breakfasts, plus brunch classics. The tea-house aesthetic is fitting – artisan green teas from Japan are brewed here daily.

  • Hungry Paulie

    Shop

    Peppery pork buns and Taiwanese congee with doughnut dipping sticks for breakfast

  • Lankan Filling Station

    Restaurant

    The Toasted Godamba Roti is one of the killer dishes on Lankan Filling Station’s recently launched brunch menu. Flaky, buttery roti enveloping melted cheddar cheese, and bacon if you want. Green chilli and red onion give it a little kick, and aromatic curry leaves are like flavour bombs exploding with every bite.

  • Saint Peter at the Grand National Hotel

    Restaurant

    The Saint Peter menu changes all the time, but there are two constants on the breakfast menu: it will be weird and it will be delicious.

  • Rising Sun Workshop

    Cafe

    Rise with a hearty bowl of ramen.

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  • Balkan Oven

    Restaurant

    Burek from 6am, every day of the week.

  • Fika Swedish Kitchen

    Cafe

    Get acquainted with the Swedish way of life.

  • Boon Cafe and Jarern Chai

    Cafe

    Get some Thai in you.

  • Cairo Takeaway

    Restaurant

    Enliven your weekend with some Egyptian street food.

  • Battambang

    Restaurant

    Try the nom banh chok - a Cambodian dish of fermented rice noodles, fish paste, fresh fish and veggies in a thin curry.

  • Albee's Kitchen

    Restaurant

    Some of the best Malaysian breakfast in Sydney.

  • Brainwave Cafe

    Cafe

    A playful mix of Thai cuisine and old-school cafe grub. And it's 100% vegetarian.

  • Sokyo

    Restaurant

    Here, there's a continental buffet with some great Japanese options (spicy salmon udon, mushroom omurice).

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