We all think it’s getting out of bed, but the first task of every morning is seeking out breakfast. Without the promise of crisp waffles, gooey eggs, or even just a strong cup of (decent) coffee, Brisbane would cease to function. What can we say? We’re a bunch of early rising, coffee chugging, nourish bowl-loving brunchers. Perhaps it’s all that non-weather of ours…
Lucky for Brisbane locals, then, that this town plays a strong hand when it comes to breaking the fast. Don’t DIY, here’s where you’ll find the best breakfasts in Brisbane.
Morning After
West End
The hype around Morning After sets it apart from the upturned milk crates demarcating most West End cafes. The astroturfed clad cafe on the corner is most easily recognised on weekends by the queue of people snaking down the block. And while queuing certainly doesn’t denote merit or a guarantee a good meal, in this case it absolutely does. Morning After is worth the wait (plus, locals know to stick it out—the queue moves fast). On their minds are a cup of 5 Senses coffee and one of Morning After’s signature breakfasts: the breakfast MaMuffin (just like Macca’s, only fancy) and the breakfast carbonara.
Scout
Petrie Terrace
It’s been eight years since Scout first flung open its doors on their café-come-living room-come-workers cottage, and the local love has never once wavered. The specialty here is bagels; a menu resplendent with schmears and stuffings all destined for your belly via the iconic vehicle that is the bagel. Homemade brownies fresh out the oven are piled high at the counter, and a juice menu written on brown butchers paper hangs happily by the cash register. Serving serious coffee by Supreme, come for the brekky, stay for the quality banter; breakfast at Scout feels like breakfast at your mate’s place.
Plenty
West End
Thanks to their reliance on seasonal harvest there’s no such thing as an old faithful at Plenty. Omelettes with organic greens and pumpkin puree, poached eggs on thick-cut sourdough, French toast specials (recent iterations include sherry poached pear, candied pecans, House made chocolate halva, sesame tuille, and orange crème fraiche) and loaded sandwiches stuffed with locally cured pastrami, the all-day breakfast menu changes constantly, flirting with new flavours but sticking firmly with the hearty classics. The Plenty kitchen has a sweet tooth, baking enormous cakes sold by the slice—think, chocolate mud cake, lemon chiffon, and mango coconut. Serving specialist coffee, selling a fantastic array of house pickled veggies and condiments, you just have to go in and spin the wheel with the trust and faith that it will always land on something seasonal, sustainable, and made entirely from scratch.
Florence Cafe
Camp Hill
Part café, part pantry, Camp Hill lucked out when Florence moved into the neighbourhood. With a commitment to sustainability, low waste, and local produce, their breakfasts and daily counter spread are known for bringing freshness and vibrance to the morning. The menu changes according to the local produce available, but dishes of note include the omelette with zucchini, piquillo peppers, goats curd and pangrattato, or the savoury mince of calamari and sobrasade ‘bolognaise’ heirloom tomatoe, buffalo curd and seaweed vinaigrette. Don’t forget a jar of pickles from their selection of house picked veg for the road.
Naïm
Paddington and South Brisbane
When Adi Shabtay and Guy Frawley opened their little Paddington café, Naïm (previously named Shouk) in a gorgeous old Queenslander, they set the bar high. Neatly walking the line between tradition and innovation, Naïm introduced the incredible colour, delicacy of flavour and rich history of Middle Eastern cuisine to the city fringes. Turning out Tunisian shakshuka alongside corn shawarma ratatouille and decadent waffles, it’s been named one of Brisbane’s best cafes countless times. It’s so popular in fact, that a second, larger venue, now graces the streets of South Brisbane, dishing up its famous dishes both sides of the Brisbane River.
Hellenika
Fortitude Valley
While trips to Europe are still off the table, breakfast at Hellenika is the closest we’re going to get to a Mediterranean summer. Housed on the rooftop of The Calile Hotel, book a table poolside (the only Brisbane breakfast joint to boast views poolside) and go full Hellenic with the rizogalo (rice pudding), crab omelette, or firm favourite ‘eggs on eggs on eggs’—lashings of taramasalata, salmon roe pearls, and perfectly boiled eggs on house bread, all washed down with a strong and syrupy Greek coffee.
Kiki
South Brisbane
Trading exclusively in Bellissimo coffee, Doughluxe doughnuts, Chouquette pastries and a short menu of banh mi, Kiki’s little brick kiosk breaks up the banality of the commuter coffee route.
Huddled in a newly refurbished nook of Fish Lane, it serves as the perfect commuter pit-stop, its lush plants spilling out across its alfresco courtyard. The perfect spot to demolish a banh mi.
The Maillard Project
CBD
A specialty café, roastery and training hub, The Maillard Project is an ambitious one, recently opening its doors in the CBD. An offshoot of Adam Wang’s wildly popular Coffee Anthology (one of a handful of highly specialised coffee shops in Brisbane) it offers seven different blends daily (four espresso and three filter) and a neat menu of breakfast options. The chilli scrambled eggs, or pork congee get top billing, with a selection of house made croissants and pastries for grab-and-go option.
Bear Boy Espresso
Windsor
A favourite Gold Coast café come north, Bear Boy has been welcomed with open arms by Brisbane’s breakfasting community. Everything from the décor, the exceptional service and seasonal menu elevates Bear Boy Espresso’s weekend breakfast. Settle in for chicken and waffles, or grab your coffee, croissant, and some merch to go.
Corner Store
Toowong
Evoking the same convenience and reliability as their suburban namesake, locals flock to Corner Store from right across town whenever they need a break from the malaise of the city. Executive chef Dylan Brace and head chef Jordan Mckenzie have a laser-sharp focus on the locality of ingredients, the bulk of their produce coming straight from said garden; the dedicated organic herb and veggie patch out the back. Corner Store’s approach to their menu is slightly fancy comfort food, served generously, in a revamped, century-old cottage, complete with a garden overlooking the property’s gardens.
Cafe O Mai
Annerley
Cafe O Mai’s traditional Vietnamese breakfast dishes have patrons lining up round the street seven days a week. A southside institution, Café O Mai serves up fresh pho, seven types of banh mi, and condensed milk iced coffees like a well-oiled machine. Also up their sleeve is classic breakfast dishes like baked eggs and French toast (what’s known as ‘range’ in the biz)—all with a Vietnamese spin. So popular are their French-style baguettes that they even put in a pop-up window for banh mi and coffees to take away. Perfect for recovery mode.
Industry Beans
Newstead
Industry Beans is one of those roasters that takes an almost surgical approach to their execution of the perfect brew. The precision and dedication to flavour looms large over this Melbourne-born, light-filled Newstead café, their breakfast menu undergoing equally impressive attention-to-detail. Reading like a fine dining banquet, dishes like the pandan bubble waffles with blueberry gelato, coconut gel, sesame brittle and banana coconut foam, and the sous vide Coral Coast barramundi folded omelette with sambal oelek, crispy chilli, soybean oil, mango coffee togarashi, native succulents, bonito flakes and sourdough, needless to say, are as delectable as they are delicious.
Miss Jones
New Farm
A vision of pink on Brunswick Street, the doyenne Miss Jones has charmed the pants clean off the Brisbane breakfast set. Head chef Emily Bartholdt is hot on the tools, tweaking an already abundant menu with classics (the eggs benny loaded with hickory smoked pork shoulder) to lofty new heights. Get amongst instant classics like mango Weiss granola, kiss my peach açai, and the Australian icon that is smashed avocado, only sexed up with maple pepitas, roast beetroot, garlic hummus and snowpea sprouts. Wash it all down with Single O Paradox Blend coffee. That Miss Jones, she’s a real morning pulse-racer.
King Arthur
New Farm
James Street in Fortitude Valley is known for its swanky offerings, but while King Arthur may rub shoulders with the high end of town, this Brisbane bolthole keeps things real when it comes to morning meals. They know you want a fresh, tasty refuel at any time of the day, which is why their brunch menu is available from open to close.
Think classic breakfast buns with chilli jam, haloumi, and fried egg, nourish bowls, and indulgent dishes like red velvet waffles, yuzu custard semifreddo, poached stone fruit and crumble. Even with two storeys and outdoor seating, this small but mighty cafe still has people spilling into the street for want of their daily cakes and pastries piled high behind the counter.
Paradise
Fortitude Valley
If the checkerboard fit-out of Paradise doesn’t provide enough intrigue, then perhaps the oddity of a breakfast cafe beside empty nightclubs will. Owners Dutch and Becky Brills resurrected the old Alf’s Pizzeria building, turning the once vacated lot into an elegant Brisbane café fit to rub shoulders with the best pancake slingers in town. Ex-MasterChef contestant, Chloe Bowles is behind the pans, focussing on a tidy menu of classics – but you’ll fall for their classic breakfast fry-up and coffee made on Padre specialty beans.
Felix For Goodness
CBD
Finding somewhere decent for breakfast in the CBD is a sensation similar to hitting the jackpot. Finding somewhere slinging specialty coffee, homemade jams, and a seasonal and nourishing all-day menu—all under the same roof (!) – is almost unheard of, so the fact Felix does all three so well make it quite the catch. Hidden along Burnett Lane, Felix’s all-day brunch is varied from indulgent blow-outs to considered vegetarian and vegan.
Chocolate sourdough hotcakes with salted caramel cashew cream, roasted pears, and buckwheat brittle, chimichurri scramble with scrambled eggs, chimichurri salsa, daikon, and chilli pickle and paprika oil, and vegetable-stuffed ‘hippy bowl’ of veggies, seasoned nuts, and seeds, and served with a creamy vegan dressing. If you drop in for a coffee, be prepared to leave with an arm full of impulse buys, notably their irresistible cakes which adorn the counter and their displays of glass jars, full of pickled veggies, jams, and condiments, just aching to be taken home.