If there's one thing we know about Brisbane, it's that it is a morning city. Give us a 6am wake up and plate of bacon over a late dinner any day of the week—you can keep your daylight savings, because we're all usually in bed by eight or nine. And as a city of early risers, theBrisbane/Meanjin breakfast scene has by necessity, become quite the art form. While eggs benny is still a staple, you can now find adventurous brunch feeds on any side of town, in many an aesthetic cafe.
After much deliberation and arguing in the Urban List office, we've lined up the best spots for breakfast in Brisbane right now. By no means is this list exhaustive—in fact, a true breakfast lover will want to head over to our list of the 50 best cafes in Brisbane. But for the best of the best, here's where to get fed and caffeinated on your next breakfast date.
Pawpaw Cafe
898 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba
Woollongabba favePawpawknows a thing or two about putting on a killer breakfast in a stylish space. Our go-to dishes include the signature hash, piling poached eggs, smashed avo and haloumi atop crispy potato hash cakes, or whatever insane sweet brekky they've cooked up for the season—this season a favourite is definitely the lemon meringue French toast with soft meringue, lemon sorbet, lemon tea curd, jasmine tea mousse and berry crumb.
Petrichor & Co
Corner Allen Street & Racecourse Road,Hamilton
If you’ve never sampled a Colombian or Latin American-style brunch, then you need to head to Petrichor & Co. These guys dish up epic feasts inspired by the flavours of South America—think empanadas de Mama with spiced pulled beef, garlic, onion and potato empanadas served with aji. Of course, you can still get more familiar feeds, including spiced pumpkin pancakes, potato rostiand avocado on sourdough.
Banter Coffee
190 Radford Road, Manly
Image credit: Banter | Instagram
No need to trudge halfway to the city for breakfast, there’s plenty of tastiness on offer out in the ‘burbs, especially in the bay.Banter’sweekly specials honestly have us travelling the other way—we’d go out of our way for their inventive feeds any day of the week. But even their regular menu is delish—pineapple pancakes with charred pineapple, almond and coconut crumble, pineapple and caramel syrup and coconut ice cream? Yes to all of the above.
Cafe O Mai
15 Cracknell Road, Annerley
For something a bit further afield than your stock-standard bacon and eggs,Cafe O Mai's incredible Vietnamese flavours can't be skipped. Start your day with fragrant pho (even the vegan option is good), wholesome eggs baked in clay pots, and banh mis served on house-baked baguette. Wash it all down with a Vietnamese coffee for a sugar hit to start the day.
Farmhouse
9 Somerset Road, Kedron
Managing to give off serious country barn vibes despite being located in a quiet suburban street in Kedron,Farmhouseusually has a line snaking down the street on Sunday mornings—but if you can hang in there, it’s worth the wait. Maintain your position and be rewarded with breakfast gnocchi in chilli sauce with thick-cut bacon, parmesan and free-range poached egg or their iconic one pan ricotta hotcake.
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- Brisbane's Best Bakeries
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Morning After
Corner of Cambridge & Vulture Street, West End
Image credit: Morning After | Rachael Baskerville
They’ll take care of you in the morning and well into the afternoon. A typical brunch date atMorning Afterusually includes their iconic breakfast carbonara (pasta for brunch is always a good time, trust us) and a fancy-ass MaMuffin from the all-day menu, or maybe fried buttermilk chicken bedict on a sweet potato waffle with chipotle hollandaisefor more of a brunch feast. Their cabinet of sweets always provides the temptation for breakfast dessert, too.
To Be Or Not To Be
180 Westlake Drive, Westlake
It may be tucked away in the western suburbs, but To Be Or Not To Beis worth hunting down for their Shakespearean-inspired feeds. This unassuming cafe dishes up seriously epic feeds, like black forest pancakes, pulled lamb benny and zucchini and corn fritters. If the weekend crowds are anything to go by, they’re doing something very right.
Florence Cafe
54 Martha Street, Camp Hill
This relaxed cafein an old Queenslander cottage does breakfasts with a difference—they make all their preserves, pickles, ferments and condiments in house, and use them to full advantage in every dish. Drop in for bunch and you can tuck into the likes of their sourdough pancake with pistachio and rose feuilletine, rhubarb and wild flower bee pollen.
My Mistress
4011/515 Sandgate Road, Albion
Image credit: My Mistress | Instagram
A familiar favourite,My Mistresshas been going strong in Albion for over six years now, dishing up their tongue in cheek breakfasts to the masses on a weekly basis. Personally, we’re big fans of the ‘Oh My Geisha,’ a Japanese-style okonomiyaki pancake topped with a fried egg, but you might prefer the ‘Rendezvous,’ a classic smashed avo on sourdough with labneh, dukkah, beetroot hummus and grilled halloumi.
Andonis Cafe
Yeerongpilly, Yeronga And Fortitude Valley
You've probably seen their creations on Insta, but Andonis ticks all the boxes for a killer start to your day, whether you're team deep-fried or lean and green. Options range from the loaded croissant packed with bacon, chorizo, poached eggs, hash browns, halloumi, rocket and truffle mayo to an acai bowl topped with fruit and vegan granola.Get you a cafe that can do it all.
Smoked Paprika
2/5 Nash Street, Paddington
One quick scroll throughSmoked Paprika’sInstagram feed and you’ll be drooling excessively, already planning your visit for their next weekly special. Last week it was slow cooked beef cheeks with poached eggs and harissa hollandaise on a toasted croissant, next week, who knows? Their regular menu is pretty damn tasty too, and with their portion sizes you’ll be full until dinner.
The Green
27 James Street, Fortitude Valley
Image credit: The Green | Instagram
If you love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours, you'll love The Green. Set back off James Street, expect tasty takes on breaky classics like the Lebanese kofta and egg muffin with hummus, breakfast mezze of Persianeggs with sausage, hash browns, foul medames and manoush, or the simple avo on toast with smoked labne and za'atar. Did we mention the lush, plant-filled setting?
Chapter IV
180 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington
Take every one of your favourite breakfast dishes and give it an epically tasty twist—that’s pretty much the menu at Chapter IV. Housed in an old Queenslander complete with a verandah that offers up some pretty epic views of the city, Chapter IV dishes up hearty versions of French toast, croquettes, waffles,and eggs benny, with a veggie fry upthrown in for good measure.
Blockhouse Eat + Drink
130 Ryans Road, Nundah
Nundah favouriteBlockhousehas a moreish and creative breakfast menu that’s all over the shop in the best possible way. Corned beef, leek and potato fritters. Brekky burritos stuffed withtater tots. Avocado on toast with popcorn chicken and miso butter. We could go on. Best of all, the Blockhouse brunch menu runs allll day.
Peach Cafe
97 Haig Road, Auchenflower
Image credit: Peach Cafe | Instagram
Peach Cafefirst caught our attention with their pastel pink facade—and kept it with their epic breakfasts like strawberry milk cloud hotcakes, truffled mushroom breakfast risotto and chilli scrambled eggs. One mouthful of the mango mochi chia pudding and you too will be hooked. Hot tip: Always save room for one of their Nutella lava cookies post-breakfast.
Blue Bear Coffee House
92 James Street, New Farm
The breakfasts coming out of this cottage turned cafe on a breezy corner in New Farm are nothing short of drool-worthy. Another spot with almost too many options,Blue Bear Coffeehousehas every brunch craving covered. You want eggs benny? You got it, on a Belgian waffle with halloumi and paprika hollandaise to boot. A croissant? Try their version loaded with brisket, fried eggs, herbed aioli and grilled halloumi. Plus there’s a brekky burger, French toast, avo on toast, savoury mince, a bacon bagel...you get the picture.
Picnic Cafe
111 Boundary Street, West End
Picnic Cafe's West End location is nothing short of stunning, and will definitely put you in a good mood for the weekend ahead. Their menu is stacked with inventive plates like crab and white miso omelette, eggs benny on wagyu and potato croquettes and Hong Kong-style French toast with chai and hazelnut mascarpone and vanilla ice cream,plus plenty of weekend specials that will have you coming back every week.
Plentiful
7 Park Terrace, Graceville
Image credit: Plentiful | Instagram
Plentifulhas been wowing brunch lovers since the day they opened, thanks to their generous servings and airysurrounds. There’s so much we love on their menu, from their caramelised apple topped crumpets to the poached nashi pear served with coconut yoghurt and puffed quinoa granola.
Sister
273 Hawthorne Road, Hawthorne
We've got two words for you: Breakfast. Gnocchi. Sister have been serving up this signature dish since the day they opened thier pastel hued cafe, and we've been happily chowing down on it ever since. Other options like their pork belly benedict on potato hash and big breakfast occasionally tempt us, but usually we wind up rotating between the gnocchi and their iconic Ferrero Rocher waffles.
Bear Boy Espresso
180 Albion Road, Windsor
Tucked away in Windsor’s Colwill Place,Bear Boy Espressois the younger sibling of the Gold Coast cafe of the same name. This pastel pink spot doesn’t just get our tick of approval for their cute interiors, but also for breakfast plates that will cure even the grizzliest of hangers. The eggs benny on a crispy potato hash waffle is a classic, but we can never go past the chicken and waffles.
Looking for more breakfast inspiration? Check out:
- Best Breakfasts On Brisbane's East Side
- Best Breakfasts On Brisbane's North Side
- Best Breakfasts On Brisbane's South Side
Image credit: Farmhouse | Facebook
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