Best Coffee In Melbourne’s CBD

MELBOURNE | One of the questions that we get asked most by people who are visiting Melbourne is “where can I find the best coffee in Melbourne?” It’s no secret that Melbourne has a reputation around the world for having great coffee – a reputation that’s well deserved. You can certainly find bad coffee in this city, however compared to many places around the world your chance of stumbling across a place serving excellent coffee is quite high. Generally when visitors are asking where to find Melbourne’s best coffee, they are referring to the CBD, places that they can walk to when they step out of their hotel in the morning. We’ve therefore focused this list on the CBD only, and haven’t mentioned any of the excellent places that do coffee elsewhere in Melbourne.

Want to ensure that you get a great drop of coffee every time? Well in no particular order here are 20 of the best spots for a caffeine fix in Melbourne’s CBD.

1,000 £ Bend

1,000 £ Bend is located in a former garage which is clear to see when you enter the large open space. Coffee comes from Bondi’s Will & Co and is available in a range of different brewing styles. General Johnson’s excellent Cold Brew is also available. 1,000 £ also offers a really good range of breakfast, lunch and dinner options and some rather tasty burgers. At night, it becomes more of a bar than cafe. It’s a great place to chill out in, or even hook up to the free WiFi and get some work done.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

1,000 £ Bend
361 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Brother Baba Budan

This place is practically an institution and has one of the coolest fitouts in town. We’ve been coming here since 2008 and the quality has never dropped. There’s a serious selection of beans from parent company Seven Seeds on offer and every brew method you can think of is offered. Beans can also be purchased ground or whole to take home. There’s a small selection of pastries available at the counter and a communal table and a small bench to sit out but this place is really all about the coffee.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Brother Baba Budan
359 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Dukes Coffee Roasters

Dukes Coffee Roasters‘ offering is similar to that of Brother Baba Budan. It’s a small spot with only a few bench seats, and the focus is primarily on coffee, with the only food options being a small selection of sweets and pastries at the counter. A wide range of beans and brewing styles are available, and you can buy the beans whole or ground to take home with you. If you’re serious about good coffee, Dukes should be high on your list.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Dukes Coffee Roasters
247 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Sensory Lab

Part of Salvatore Malatesta’s St Ali group, Sensory Lab is very serious about all things coffee. Located in a surprising location at the Little Collins entrance to David Jones (also on Level 1 of David Jones as of 2015), Sensory Lab draws you in with its Japanese inspired interior and display of Japanese coffee equipment. Traditional European and the more rare Japanese brewing methods are offered at Sensory Lab, and the range of St Ali beans on offer are always top notch. If you’re looking for some Japanese brewing equipment to take home with you, along with some beans, you should definitely add Sensory Lab to your list.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Sensory Lab
297 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Toby’s Estate

Toby’s Estate is a real success story. What started in owner Toby Smith’s garage in Wollomoloo in 1998 has now expanded to cafes else where in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and even New York and Singapore. The Melbourne store in the heritage listed Customs House is massive and contains a dedicated espresso bar, a retail shop, coffee school and cafe. Food wise there’s a focus on local produce with a selection of coffee infused items and more traditional breakfast and lunch items. Coffee is of course excellent – try the three process single origin coffee, which is the only one of its kind in Australia.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Toby’s Estate
325 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Cafe Vue

Cafe Vue is a modern venue offering a range of breakfast and lunch options, cakes and pastries as well as, of course, great coffee. The beans are from 5 Senses and while the options aren’t as extensive as some of the others on this list, you’ll be guaranteed a great espresso based coffee every time. Head next door to Bar Vue in the evenings if you’re in the mood for a cocktail and some tasty bar snacks.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Cafe Vue
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Sun Moth Canteen

Sun Moth Canteen is one of our favouite spots in the CBD period. They open in the mornings for breakfast, continue through to lunch and in the evenings morph into a bar that serves a focused range of simple dinner options. The food is seasonal, local and keenly priced. It’s a really cool space that doesn’t try to fit any trends – it’s simply the owners’ vision of the kind of place they’d like to hang out in. Light, casual, friendly and well worth a visit. The coffee is great, and there’s a rotating selection of natural wines and craft beers if you’re in the mood for something alcoholic after midday.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Sun Moth Canteen
28 Niagara Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Manchester Press

Manchester Press has been serving the people of Melbourne great coffee and bagels (amongst other drink and breakfast/lunch options) since 2011 and is still going strong. The house blend of coffee is from 8oz Coffee Co and a rotating selection of guest blends (single origin and batch) from other roasters is also available.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Manchester Press
8 Rankins Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Captains Of Industry

Captains of Industry describe themselves as “Practical Men of Wide Experience offering the Good, the True and the Beautiful in traditional men’s outfitting and dining.” Indeed you’ll find inside the space a barber, leathermaker and shoemaker amongst other things. More importantly for those with an appetite and looking for a caffeine fix is the fact that breakfast and lunch are available from 9am every day of the week, and that the espresso based coffee drinks that come out of the rather sexy Faema E61 are great. The place is a little tricky to find, but it’s one of Melbourne’s more unique spaces and well worth seeking out.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Captains of Industry
Level 1
2 Somerset Place
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Switchboard Cafe

This place has been around forever and you’d be excused for not even realising it existed. The space is squezed into a spot that can barely fit the 2 people working there yet somehow the team manage to pump out coffee and toasties as well as offer a small selection of cakes. The coffee choices are limited, as is the seating (which is in the display booth across from the cafe or a few stools in the laneway) but quality is always guaranteed.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Switchboard Cafe
GF Manchester Unity Building
220 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Cafenatics

Cafenatics have quite a few locations around the CBD and as they’ve expanded, have managed to maintain the quality that has made them famous since 2004. They source their beans from a variety of producers around the world and use custom made La Marzocco machines for their espresso based coffee drinks. A range of cafe style breakfast and lunch options, cakes and pastries are on offer. What’s impressive about the location specified in here is that it’s in a shopping centre food court. The quality that Cafenatics offers is certainly a cut above your usual shopping centre coffee.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Cafenatics
Emporium Level 3
287 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Bowery To Williamsburg

Bowery To Williamsburg offers the same menu across 2 locations which is in no way a bad thing. The original on Oliver Lane has more of a New York underground vibe about it while the Hardware Lane location (pictured) is more homely in its appeal. The food is excellent, and focuses on New York style Jewish items – the bagels from 5 & Dime are excellent and the latkes are a must try. Coffee is always on point, and if you’re not in the mood for a coffee, you can always try the peanut butter hot chocolate (pictured) which is super tasty and a bit unique.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Bowery To Williamsburg
16 Oliver Lane / 123 Hardware Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Hardware Societie

This breakfast favourite always has people lining up for its excellent French and Spanish inspired creations but you’ll be happy to know that the coffee is quite decent too. In a cute twist, you even get a mini Spanish donut with each coffee and tea order. The coffee selection isn’t the greatest, but what they do have always hits the spot.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd
Hardware Societie
120 Hardware Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Shortstop Donuts

Shortstop pump out some of the best donuts in Melbourne, but there’s one other thing that they do well and that’s coffee. The choice here is more limited than any other place on the list – black or white coffee. That’s it. Shortstop offer a rotating selection of fresh, seasonal coffees. Black is made in their batch brewer while white is a double shot of espresso with Schulz Organic milk. If either of those 2 types of coffee is what you want, then you’re guaranteed quality at Shortstop along with, of course, the amazing donuts baked fresh on site each day. The Earl Grey and Rose cake donut is our favourite.

top 10 best coffee in melbourne cbd

Shortstop Donuts
12 Sutherland Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Best of The Rest

Here are a few places that we haven’t yet been too that have a great reputation for coffee, and we know from people who we trust that this reputation is well deserved.

Patricia

Patricia is a modern take on the old school Italian espresso bar. It’s standing room only with a focus squarely on coffee (just a small selection of pastries are on offer at the counter). You can take your coffee black, white or filter and the rotating selection of beans are sourced from a variety of suppliers.

Patricia
Corner Little Bourke & Little William Streets
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Spriga Espresso Bar

Spriga is another Italian espresso bar inspired venue that aims to give you “the best 15 minutes of your day”. House blends and single origins are supplied by Allpress and there’s a small range of Italian food on offer such as biscotti and roman-style pizza.

Spriga Espresso Bar
Shop 3
280 King Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Little Bean Blue

Little Bean Blue is part of the Cafenatics group and is a more streamlined operation than the larger Cafenatics stores. It’s all about coffee here, with just a small selection of pastries on offer.

Little Bean Blue
15 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Market Lane Coffee

People in Prahran and Carlton have enjoyed the great brews from Market Lane for a while, and this spot gives those in the centre a chance to get a taste. It’s standing room only, with a choice of espresso or pour over filter coffee – no soy milk or skim milk either.

Market Lane Coffee
109-111 Therry Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Padre Coffee

Brunswick East roasters Padre Coffee supply some of our favourite coffee beans in Melbourne and their Queen Victoria Market outpost provides people with a convenient, central location to try their great coffee and small range of pastries. For a unique coffee, try a filter brew from their Clover “robot”.

Padre Coffee
Queen Victoria Market
Stringbean Alley Peel Street end of M Shed
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

The League of Honest Coffee

This place is also owned by the Padre Coffee team so unsurprisingly the coffee is excellent. The 2 custom made slayer espresso machines are also a thing of beauty. Like all of their venues, coffee is king here, but a small range of pastries is offered.

The League Of Honest Coffee
8 Exploration Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

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