Melbourne's Best Cafés and Bakeries

To Be Frank Bakery is an artisan bakery that places an emphasis on sustainability and community. It offers a wide selection of baked goods, with the Argentinian pastry filled with dulce de leche being a must-try. Customers highly recommend their fougasse, panettone, and focaccia, describing them as some of the best baked goods they've ever tried.

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Pat Nourse

Food Writer – Melbourne, Australia

My local bakery - and what a lucky local I am.There's really no wrong answer here, and you could close your eyes, point at anything and pick a winner, but I particularly love Franco's fougasse, and the panettone is a banger.

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Zelda Bakery is a kosher microbakery in Ripponlea, known for its fresh sourdough bread and pastries. The bakery operates two days a week, offering handmade breads using natural leaven, flour, salt, and water, baked with traditional techniques on a stone oven. Noteworthy items include the olive twist, savoury handpies, babka, chocolate rye cookies, and a weekly special knish, all prepared with a focus on organic, sustainable, and ethical practices.

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Dani Valent

Writer – Melbourne, Australia

Prepare to queue for sourdough bread and pastries at this kosher shop window. Recommended: the olive twist, savoury handpies, babka, chocolate rye cookies and the special weekly knish. Open Wed and Fri only. Get a coffee from Spout and take your bounty to the railway station park nearby.

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Tivoli Road Bakery is a popular spot known for its fresh and delicious cakes that vary daily, offering a delightful surprise with every visit. They also offer a selection of sandwiches, including vegetarian options, chicken and ham or pork, all served on their delectable sourdough bread. It's an ideal place for a lunch break, with many customers highly recommending it.

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Thomas Carr

Journalist – Melbourne, Australia

Adore this place! Visit on​ most days. Their cakes are so delicious are different every day of the week! So it’s always a lovely surprise. Their sandwiches are my go-to, always a vegetarian option as well as a chicken and ham/pork. All made fresh on their delicious sourdough. Highly recommend for a lunch break if you’re ever in the area.

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Moon Cruller is a go-to spot for lovers of deep-fried choux pastries, offering an array of flavors from cinnamon sugar to passionfruit. They also feature a wildcard flavor that changes weekly, adding a touch of spontaneity to their menu. Additionally, they offer beverages such as coffee from Square One Coffee Roasters, hot chocolate from Mörk, and chai from Chai La Lai, making it a perfect place for a sweet treat paired with a comforting drink.

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Thomas Carr

Journalist – Melbourne, Australia

Ignore the haters. This place will kick you over the edge. Deep fried choux, smothered in various flavoured icings - what could go wrong? Absolutely nothing. Order a half dozen - you'll need it.

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279 is a fusion restaurant that combines traditional Japanese and Australian cuisines, with a unique focus on Japanese Musubi. Their menu features a variety of flavor combinations, with a special emphasis on Musubi, also known as onigiri, which is akin to an Aussie sandwich. The restaurant is also known for its rotating selection of coffee roasts from local and international roasters, and its Japanese style veggie sides that pair perfectly with Musubi.

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Pat Nourse

Food Writer – Melbourne, Australia

Hands-down one of the best coffees in Melbourne, pour-over miso soup, ochazuke. A breakfast to be reckoned with.I love you, 279 Victoria St. Onigiri/musubi with mackerel and spring onion, and with mustard greens and sesame. Throw in what I think is hands-down one of the best coffees in Melbourne plus pour-over miso soup and ochazuke and you’ve got a breakfast to be reckoned with.

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CIBI is a spacious and casual Japanese-style café known for its simple yet delicious dishes and quality coffee. It offers a variety of food items including Japanese breakfast, omelets, rice bowls, and noodles. Besides its café, CIBI also features a homeware store selling high-quality handmade ceramics, knives, and books from Japan, and is conveniently located next to a plant shop.

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Ben Shewry

Chef, Attica – Melbourne, Australia

Japanese style cafe with simple Japanese dishes and good coffee. Also a nice homeware store.CIBI is a big, casual Japanese style cafe in Collingwood. It's a cool place especially for people from out of town. They serve good coffee, Japanese breakfast, omelets, rice bowls, noodles and other simple dishes. And they have a very cool homeware store selling interesting things like high quality handmade ceramics, knives and books from Japan. The place is always busy, but you can always get a seat quite easily. Right next door is a really great plant shop.

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Tokyo Lamington Melbourne is a restaurant that puts a modern spin on the traditional Australian lamington cake. Here, you can enjoy innovative combinations such as fairybread popcorn, yuzu meringue, and lemon myrtle lime bitters, all wrapped in soft, fluffy, and sweet lamingtons. Beyond lamingtons, the restaurant also offers a menu featuring Onigiri, coffee, pies, sausage rolls, and quiche.

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Thomas Carr

Journalist – Melbourne, Australia

The humble lamington, elevated. For those who aren't familiar, a lamington is an Australian cake made from sponge cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in coconut. Sometimes its filled with a layer of cream, jam or other delicious things. At Tokyo Lamington you will find a range of modern interpretations with combinations such a fairybread popcorn, yuzu meringue, lemon myrtle lime bitters. Soft, fluffy, sweet and tasty! Check them out x

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Udom House is a homely café specializing in Thai breakfast dishes, pastries, and a variety of strong iced coffee. Their menu features housemade curry pastes and brunch options that are loved by visitors. A must-try is the pandan kaya toast, a popular choice among regulars.

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Colin Wood

Chef – Sydney, Australia

A home style cafe that is all about coffee and serving delicious Thai breakfast style dishes and pastries.Go for the pandan kaya toast, housemade curry pastes, delicious brunch dishes and strong iced coffee variations.

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Lune Croissanterie Fitzroy is a dedicated institution for all things croissant, combining science and craft to create pastries that are more than just the sum of their ingredients. The establishment is renowned for its flaky, soft, and flavorful croissants, meticulously crafted by former F1 aerodynamicist, Kate Reid. Whether you're a croissant enthusiast or just a food lover, Lune Croissanterie Fitzroy is a culinary destination that should not be missed.

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Saku Tuominen

CEO & Restaurateur – Helsinki, Finland

Pilgrimage for croissant lovers   The legendary croissant laboratory Lune in Melbourne might not be a hidden gem anymore, but don't let that disturb you too much. It is a culinary destination for a reason, with a cult-like following. Kate Reid (who used to be an F1 aerodynamicist!) creates croissants that are exactly what superb croissants should be - flaky, soft, and full of taste. Lune has a downtown branch as well, but the Fitzroy flaghip is the place to go.

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Market Lane Coffee - Sydney Road is a specialty coffee roaster with a commitment to sustainable and traceable sourcing. It operates 8 locations, ensuring that good coffee is always within reach. Besides serving excellent coffee, the business takes pride in its green bean importation, where it sources beans directly from farms, emphasizing on traceability and sustainability.

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Ben Shewry

Chef, Attica – Melbourne, Australia

The king of Melbourne coffee in 8 locations. The beans are traceable and sustainably sourced. Any visitor coming to a city knows where to get the good coffee and Melbourne is the coffee capital of the world. The king of coffee in Melbourne is Market Lane. They have 8 locations, so you can always find one in the city. But the thing that sets them apart is they also run a green bean importation business where they sourced beans from farms themselves by visiting them and they’re really strict on traceability and sustainability. I really admire them for their commitment and then they make really, really good coffee soI like spending my money there.

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