Best Cafes in Surry Hills

Depending on when you visit, Surry Hills can feel like two totally different suburbs. During the week it's an extension of the CBD, where suits hurry by and takeaway lunch spots barely get a break. But when the weekend comes around, the pace slows down and sit-down cafes such as Reuben Hills and Cuckoo Callay are populated with chatty groups of friends. As such, there's a diverse range of options here that suit almost any occasion.

Reuben Hills

Cafe

Coffee backed by a 15-country coffee research trip.

61 Albion Street, Surry Hills

Paramount Coffee Project

Cafe

New beans and new international roasters every four to six weeks, plus an inventive menu.

80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

Single O Cafe and Sideshow

Cafe

It's a leader of the coffee scene, but the affordable meals are just as much of a drawcard.

60-64 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills

Neighbourhood

Cafe

A tiny hole-in-the-wall operation serving some the city's best coffee.

16 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills

Artificer Specialty Coffee Bar & Roastery

Cafe

A minimal fit-out matched with a minimal menu.

547 Bourke Street, Surry Hills

Cuckoo Callay Surry Hills

Cafe

mac'n'cheese croissants and cocktails for breakfast.

413 Crown Street, Surry Hills

Suzie Q Coffee & Records

Cafe

Inspired by the music of yesteryear, with records to take home a slice of Woodstock.

1/18 Hutchinson Street, Surry Hills

Sample Coffee Surry Hills

Cafe

This nifty little spot knows its specialty coffee.

118 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills

Veneziano Coffee

Cafe

A part-cafe and part-workshop for experts and budding barista amateurs.

352 Bourke Street, Surry Hills

Meet Mica

Cafe

Innovative brunch dishes by an ex-fine-dining chef.

5 492-500 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills

Book a Table

Orto Trading Co.

Cafe

Like a greenhouse, but without the humidity.

Shop 7 38 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills

Don. By Tokyo Bird

Cafe

The Surry Hills corner cafe formerly known as Sando Bar continues the space’s Japanese lineage with donburi, ramen and Japanese curries. And it still wields its predecessor’s famed menu item: a formidable katsu sando.

1/226 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

Verd Surry Hills

Cafe

A fast-food salad bar.

3 118 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills

Kentaro

Cafe

Kentaro is Oratnek spelled backwards – a nod to its sister venue in Redfern. You can get Oratnek’s signature katsu sando here (“worth the 15 minute wait”), but there’s also hard-to-find Japanese classics such as omurice. It’s restaurant-quality fare, set within an industrial fit-out.

616 Bourke Street, Surry Hills