Where to drink coffee in Melbourne

Melbourne’s love of coffee has been touted to the point of cliché but, like many of the best clichés, this one’s embedded in truth. Originally fuelled by a post-second world war immigration boom from southern Europe that introduced the joy of chrome-bedecked espresso bars to a tea-centric culture, Melbourne’s coffee obsession was turbo-charged around the turn of the 21st century with a second boom, this time centred on micro roasteries, single origin beans and independent cafes, rather than international chains.

The quality of the coffee in this city is truly remarkable and while some places might venerate the bean to the point of fetish, the trickle-down effect from these obsessives is that a bad cup of coffee is a rarity, particularly if you choose your neighbourhoods carefully. Your best bet is to stick to the city and its inner suburbs like Collingwood, Fitzroy, Carlton, Brunswick and Prahran, where the smell of roasting beans is often the signature scent, and plenty of shops, bars, restaurants and places to stay can be found.

Melbourne CBD

Brother Baba Budan

Best for: Feeling like a local
Location: 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

One of the OGs of the new-wave Melbourne coffee scene, Brother Bada Budan has a vibe that’s more clubhouse than cafe. The proportions help: with only 15 seats at a bar and communal table in a compact shopfront, its ceiling bedecked with an installation of wooden chairs, there’s plenty of standing around in close proximity with fellow coffee travellers waiting for takeaway or a seat. Conversations inevitably ensue. The always excellent coffee, made with beans from Brother’s roasting mothership Seven Seeds, is served in espresso, filter and nitro-brew form, accompanied by a short sharp food menu of toasted sandwiches, cakes and pastries.

Dukes at Ross House

Best for: Eco-aware coffee fanatics
Location: 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

Dukes’ flagship store ticks many boxes on the Melbourne coffee bingo card. The long, narrow shopfront in heritage-listed Ross House on one of Melbourne’s premier food streets is sleekly decked out in timber, tile and flattering lighting and accompanied by unflappable and friendly staff. The espresso, batch-brewed filter and French press coffee is precision-made using all-organic, ethically-sourced beans from their own roastery, and is served alongside a selection of pastries. Limited seating means Dukes often bustles with the takeaway crowd but outside of coffee rush hour it’s a serene space, perfect for contemplating the complexity of the bean.

Patricia Coffee Brewers

Best for: Charming laneway location and tightly-focussed coffee.
Location: Rear, 493-495 Little Bourke Street (cnr Little William Street), Melbourne
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

It’s standing room only at Patricia. Cleverly blending traditional European cafe style with new-world coffee obsession, this laneway outlet keeps things simple with a menu listing just white, black and filter coffee. Milk choices are kept to a minimum too (full cream, skim, oat, soy) as is the food offer (a tight collection of excellent pastries) but Patricia is a no-bad-decisions situation. The team roast beans to their own exacting standards and handle the almost constant crush with grace, charm and skill. In balmy weather, the lane fills with Melburnians enjoying two of their favourite things, coffee and sunshine.

Pellegrini’s

Best for: Heritage-listed charm and hangover-busting lasagne
Location: 66 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Price: 4.5 AUD / 2.9 USD

Pellegrini’s coffee might not reach the heady standards of Melbourne’s later-wave coffee outlets, but its status as one of the city’s original espresso bars make it a must-visit for Melbourne coffee completionists. On style alone it’s unique. Opened in 1954, Pellegrini’s has remained almost entirely intact, including the heritage-listed neon sign, mirrored walls, red vinyl stools and brass and timber menu board. Melburnians love the joint for its menu of simple homestyle Italian food and watermelon granitas as much as its coffee, which is a pretty straightforward espresso situation. The biggest buzz comes from the charming rush of nostalgia.

Square One

Best for: Coffee and food with a social conscience
Location: 525 Collins Street, Melbourne
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

This two-level cafe at the foot of a skyscraper belongs to The Mulberry Group, which has a history of pushing the Melbourne coffee envelope. Square One, the name of the cafe and its roasting business, sticks to that script. Ethically sourced beans are roasted with an eye on smooth easy drinking and fewer choices (it serves just black, white, filter and cold brew coffee) with 10 per cent of every sale going to the Common Ground Project, a regenerative agriculture social enterprise. Many ingredients on the all-day menu are sourced from the farm, ensuring you leave feeling both satiated and virtuous.

Traveller

Best for: Pretty laneway vibes and smiley service
Location: 2/14 Crossley Street, Melbourne
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

Traveller might teeter towards cuteness overload with its pint-sized proportions and Airstream-channelling decor, but its combination of skilfully and swiftly brewed coffee and always affable service ensure it never oversteps the mark. Part of the Seven Seeds family (the glass shelves behind the counter are stacked with their beans and merch), Traveller features a rotating selection of single origin filter coffee alongside house blends for its textbook espresso. Check out the glass cabinet for a short sharp selection of pastries and toasted sandwiches and then head outside to drink your coffee in the singular ambience of one of Melbourne’s most charming laneways.

Brunswick

Code Black

Best for: Brunch as tasty as the coffee
Location: 15-17 Weston Street, Brunswick
Price: 5 AUD / 3.25 USD

Code Black has seven locations across Melbourne but it’s the original in Brunswick that delivers the most bang for your buck, particularly for those as hungry as they are caffeine depleted. The large former warehouse, painted in dramatic black, seats more than 100 inside and out, and also houses a roastery, retail space and barista school. Code Black features seasonal blends and a rotating single origin offer, all sourced globally from sustainable and ethically run growers. Barista skills are impeccable, as is the brunch menu that runs the gamut from eggs and ricotta hotcakes to Reuben sandwiches and crab pasta.

Carlton

INI Studio

Best for: Tokyo-style minimalism and creative combinations
Location: 225 Queensberry Street, Carlton
Price: 5 AUD 5 / 3.25 USD

INI Studio owner Kiyong Jung is an award-winning fixture on Melbourne’s coffee scene and his minimalist Carlton cafe makes it easy to understand the accolades. Sourcing beans both locally and internationally, INI serves expertly pulled espresso but is most loved by local fans for its pour over filter coffee, including unique variations like a fruity citrus number spiked with lemon zest. For those seeking sweet relief on a hot day, INI’s cream ice latte or honeycomb affogato will cure what ails you, particularly when downed in the all-white space with its box-like furniture, softened by indoor plants.

Seven Seeds

Best for: Extensive choice in coffee and cuisine-hopping food
Location: 114 Berkeley Street, Carlton
Price: 4.5 AUD / 2.9 USD

Mark Dundon is one of Melbourne’s coffee culture pioneers. His original Seven Seeds venue was among the first to coin the local coffee scene’s much-emulated vernacular of roastery and cafe housed in a former warehouse. But it’s not just the setting that’s sustained Seven Seeds’ status as fan favourite. Its commitment to quality is matched with a love of variety. Alongside black and white espresso, batch brew, bottomless filter and pour over offerings, there are gems like Vietnamese-style iced coffee and a no-alcohol Old Fashioned made with coffee concentrate, bitters and orange. The all-day food menu is extensive too, embracing both Asian and European brunch dishes.

Collingwood

Aunty Peg’s

Best for: Out and proud coffee geeks.
Location:200 Wellington Street, Collingwood
Price: AUD 5, USD 3.25

Aunty Peg’s is a coffee Wunderkammer. Housed in a two-level industrial warehouse in the heart of Collingwood (arguably the spiritual home of Melbourne coffee geekdom), it’s a combination roastery, coffee bar, beans-and-paraphernalia retail outlet and barista school. Peg’s is also entirely milk-free, allowing nothing to sully the flavour of its meticulously sourced and roasted single origin beans. There’s espresso and filter coffee alongside sparkling cold brew on tap and a plethora of friendly, well-informed and non-judgmental advice and information. Grab a stool at the concrete bar, check the tasting notes and be prepared to expand your mind about the bean’s seemingly unlimited potential.

Fitzroy

Industry Beans

Best for: Fans of natural light and multiple choice.
Location: 70-76 Westgarth Street, Fitzroy
Price: 4.9 AUD / 3.15 USD

Being at the top of the Melbourne coffee tree brings a minimum expectation of varied brewing methods and single origin coffees. Industry Beans, located in a meticulously renovated and whitewashed warehouse in the backstreets of achingly hip Fitzroy, does all that but mixes it up with cold brews in cans and bottles, seasonally-changing batch brews and a take on bubble tea: cold black coffee drifting with coffee-soaked tapioca pearls. The large, airy space, splashed with natural light from an abundance of skylights, offers a substantial all-day brunch menu, retail space, “tasting lab”, training facility and a substantial glass-enclosed roastery.

Prahran/South Yarra

Market Lane

Best for: Reliably excellent coffee in eight locations
Location: Shop 13, Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Road, South Yarra
Price: 4.5 AUD / 2.9 USD

B-Corp certified for its ethical and sustainable practices, Market Lane has outlets in foodie hubs across Melbourne (including the Queen Victoria and South Melbourne Markets), but the original at the Prahran Market remains a highlight. It’s the chain’s biggest outlet with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and an in-house coffee roaster working its magic on the single origin beans you’re imbibing in espresso and filter form. A substantial food offer includes pastries and excellent baguettes stuffed with ingredients sourced from neighbouring market stalls, while weekly cupping sessions are available for those looking to expand their horizons.