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Overview
Given Docklands' population of both residents and office workers, great coffee is a necessity. You'll find no shortage of top-notch cafe options calling this area home, from specialty coffee haunts heroing local beans and boutique brew methods, to Italian-style panini bars where fresh ingredients take your lunchtime feed up a level. Whatever your needs, you're bound to find a few new favourites among Docklands' growing collection of cafes.
Here, we round up the ten cafes in the area to get your caffeine fix and maybe a spot of brekkie, too.
BILLY BARISTA
The Docklands venture from Melbourne's Billy Group, Billy Barista is a smart little cafe that shares its siblings' farm-to-table approach. Rocking a homestyle vibe, it's open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon caffeine hits, seven days a week. Alongside expertly crafted espresso, a generous food menu delivers a selection of gourmet flatbread pizzas, loaded sandwiches and quesadillas with fillings running from the pesto-laden Italiano to the signature US-style cheesesteak. Breakfasters on the run will also find a tidy range of egg-and-bacon morning treats to take away.
CODE BLACK COFFEE
Well-loved, local roasters Code Black Coffee have a dapper little space at 800 Collins Street, where regulars flock to get their mitts on quality caffeinated bevs. Like the store itself, the food offering is petite, geared towards simple breakfasts, cakes and pastries for those necessary mid-afternoon coffee breaks. The true star, though, is that coffee, offered as a versatile house blend, a filter or a rotating single origin. It's all topped off with fast, cheery service and a smile.
SALUMINISTI
Off the back of a successful North Melbourne pop-up, Saluministi made its way into the hearts of Docklands' diners with a permanent home on Bourke Street. The salumi purveyors are famed equally for their old-school European sense of hospitality and their banging Italian sandwiches. A tidy range of breakfast options works a treat alongside that quick morning espresso, while come lunchtime, the focus is squarely on the generous panini creations, currently stuffed with the likes of grilled pork and fennel sausage in roasted peperonata and crumbed free-range pork cotoletta. Also a winner is the rich Italian-style stovetop coffee, served with house-made biscotti.
CAFFE BAMBINO
As the name suggests, Caffe Bambino — located on Buckley Walk next to the community garden — is a departure from the contemporary Melbourne specialty coffee house. It takes its cues instead from the cappuccino-slingers of Italy. Espresso beans are sourced from Italian company Costadoro, while a rotating selection of baguettes, sandwiches and piadini (flatbread) are stuffed with classic ingredients like prosciutto and bocconcini. Breakfast is a simple lineup of toasts and house-made bircher muesli, and sweet tooths will find it mighty hard to refuse the freshly baked cakes and muffins beckoning from the front counter.
BLENDED BEARD
Its name might be a light-hearted play on the coffee-swilling Melbourne hipster stereotype, but Blended Beard still takes its brews and beans seriously. Expect a warm, polished space with plenty of cheeky cultural references, including stools crafted from upcycled bike chains and pedals and portraits of people both bearded and man-bunned. Customers flock here for the specialty coffee, with the OX3 Cumulus from Reservoir-based roasters The Bean Alliance acting as the house blend. On top of that, you'll find single-origin options and rotating guest coffees from across Australia and New Zealand, with brew methods including V60 pour-overs, Vietnamese phin filter and AeroPress.
CAFENATICS
Like its sibling venues, the Docklands Forte outpost of popular cafe group Cafenatics offers up top-notch espresso and seasonal cafe fare, this time within a smart setting on Bourke Street. Warm timber interiors make for a comfy pit stop, whether you're swooping in for a pre-work caffeine fix, settling in over a lunchbreak bite or grabbing an afternoon treat and matcha latte. There's a range of hearty baguettes to go, single-origin coffee options and fresh juices for when you need a vitamin hit.
THE KETTLE BLACK — SOUTH MELBOURNE
Located in nearby South Melbourne, The Kettle Black is a considered operation from top to toe. Acclaimed as much for its beautifully designed interiors as for the cafe fare sailing from its kitchen, the cafe certainly plates up some of the area's prettiest breakfast situations. The food offering leans to the refined, with plenty of crafty twists on both breakfast and lunch. Meanwhile, well-made Square One coffee is backed up by breakfast cocktails, fresh juices and boutique beers and wines.
THE CRUX & CO — SOUTH MELBOURNE
It's the notion of balance that reigns supreme at South Melbourne cafe The Crux & Co, which has its home at the bottom of The Emerald apartments. Punchy Korean flavours are reworked into a lineup of clever savoury plates, while at the same time, a hefty collection of elegant sweet treats comes from the pastry kitchen. Expect the kind of fare that's almost too pretty to eat — vibrant matcha pancakes topped with caramel popcorn, zucchini and sweet potato fritters, flaky croissants, picture-perfect eclairs and dainty macarons. The space itself is every bit as sweet, featuring dreamy interiors by local practice Architects EAT.
STATION ST TRADING CO — PORT MELBOURNE
A quaint corner cafe overlooking the lush green of Turner Reserve, Station St Trading Co is a little slice of serenity in the heart of Port Melbourne. The homespun decor and cosy vibe invite you to linger longer over your coffee, breakfast or lunch. The food menu offers sweet and savoury options to tempt all palates, though those prone to indecision will find heaven in the brunch platter, decked with boiled eggs, buttered soldiers, pickles, chia pudding and an invigorating shot of green juice.
LONG STORY SHORT — PORT MELBOURNE
This well-loved Port Melbourne cafe is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Sister to the Brunswick cafe of the same name, Long Story Short Port Melbourne has a minimalist aesthetic that allows the eats and drinks to take centre stage. Replete with Insta-famous fare, the menu here runs from vibrant matcha smoothie bowls to cold drip coffee-infused pork ribs, plus some downright decadent burgers and buns. Specialty coffee is available via a range of brew methods, alongside excellent smoothies, fresh juices and even a selection of craft booze.
Surround yourself with everything Docklands has to offer at the new 883 Collins Street development. Top restaurants, cafes, bars and activities are just a stone's throw away.