The Melbourne cafe scene reeled when Carlton’s Ima Project Cafe closed at the beginning of 2023 — but this spot was not down for long. A few months later, it respawned in Brunswick under the new name Ima Asa Yoru. 

Mile End Bagels in Fitzroy takes its name from a neighbourhood in Montreal, whose bagel obsession gives New York’s a run for its money. Boiled in water and honey and baked in a woodfired oven, these rings of dough are seriously legit.

Top Paddock has been home to some of the best breakfast in Melbourne since it opened in 2018 — at a time when Melbourne’s cafe scene was cementing itself as one of the best in the world. 

,Melbourne is no stranger to a bakery come cafe that serves up daily brunch dishes, but Faraday’s Cage has got to be one of the greatest. You can delight in fresh sourdough bread and sweet and savoury pastries alongside a selection of sangas.

,Yes, the team uses simple building blocks to create their offerings — from fresh produce grown on-site to shipping containers and recycled materials — but the end product is anything but basic and rudimentary. 

The Midas touch. It’s a thing, and the team behind Top Paddock most definitely have it — in the hospitality scene anyway. Every cafe the team opens is welcomed with awards, seriously buzz-killing weekend lines, and some incredible coffee and food. 

,Code Black has set up shop all over Melbourne, but its flagship cafe in Brunswick is still our fave. Here, you’ll find its roastery HQ — where the team is perpetually roasting ethically sourced beans.

Cibi cafe outgrew its small space back in 2018 when it moved down the road to take over a huge 800-square-metre warehouse. Here, the team can stretch and really flex their food and style muscles. 

,Sitting somewhere between a local corner store and an Italian deli, this neighbourhood sandwich shop was co-founded by two former Stokehouse chefs, Dom Wilton and Jason Barratt. 

The minds behind Northcote’s Tinker, Collingwood’s Terror Twilight and Smith Street sandwich spot Hi Fi made a foray into the inner-northwest with Convoy — a bright daytime diner overlooking Queens Park.

,One of the newer additions to the Melbourne bakery scene, Falco is the brainchild of the minds behind Bar Liberty and Capitano, who’ve joined forces with Christine Tran (Tivoli Road Bakery, San Francisco’s Tartine).

,On a sunny Chapel Street corner, Abacus has managed to nail that all-day eatery vibe that often proves so elusive. It’s a lofty, leafy space that’s bright and charming by the light of day, and the seasonal food menu is genuinely superb. 

,This Lebanese bakery and grocer has been a Sydney Road favourite for about two decades — but too many people stop by for a quick takeaway treat, missing out on the stellar dine-in options. 

,This cafe has been a Chapel Street stalwart since its opening back in 2008 under the name of Dukes Coffee Roasters — changing its name to Journeyman in 2014 to clearly define the difference between the roastery and the cafe.

,From the creators Convoy, Hi-Fi and Tinker comes this breakthrough Melbourne cafe that champions healthy dishes that are full of flavour and creativity. Standout breakfasts include the chai spiced Greek yoghurt with ruby grapefruit and walnut praline.

Located at the Southern Cross end of Little Bourke Street, Higher Ground is from the team behind quintessential Melbourne cafes Top Paddock and The Kettle Black — and boy is it a beauty. 

With a luxurious yet welcoming blue and white interior and boundless natural light flooding in from two walls of uninterrupted windows, Middletown Prahran is a brunch venue designed to relax, inspire and rejuvenate.