Brunch is the best meal of the day, don’t argue with me because you have absolutely no leg to stand on. It’s part brekkie, part lunch, you can kinda get away with eating it at any hour from 10am til 3pm, and it always involves eggs as an option – the greatest of foods (again, don’t argue with me mate, I’m writing this article so I get to make wildly aggressive sweeping statements).
The only thing second to eating brunch is taking photos of it. Don’t lie – when someone plonks a particularly food porny plate in front of you, your fingers itch to grab your phone, lift it high over your head like an absolute gronk of the highest order, and snap 50 pics. You’ll then ramp the saturation up and post one to your Insta feed, refreshing every 10 seconds to ensure those likes are piling high – much like your french toast that’s now gone cold.
I’m not actually judging you. I’m also judging myself. We all do this shit in 2017, and we all recognise it for the gross waste of time and energy that it is. But are you even a human being these days if you’re not socialling your food? I doubt it. Even my dad Instagram’s his breakfast (he does a shit job and uses the Crema filter but he’s trying guys).
In the interest of making all of Australia‘s Insta feeds that much more attractive, we’ve rounded up the spots to brunch that do the best job of over-styling their food.
GAUGE – SOUTH BRISBANE
Gauge is chic as hell, and the brainchild of Jerome Batten – the dude behind Sourced Grocer, which if you hail from Brissie you’ll know of (and love).
MERRIWEATHER CAFE – SOUTH BRISBANE
This cute Brissie cafe has an all day brunch menu (the best) and work out their menu by focusing on seasonal produce. They also make heaps of their stuff in house – including their jams and relishes.
BSKT – MERMAID BEACH, GOLD COAST
BSKT is part of the wave of health-conscious eateries ion the GC – it started as simply a cafe, and now it’s expanded into a full on grocery for all your ~health life~ needs. But the food you can eat-in is still A+, don’t you worry.
BAREFOOT BARISTA – PALM BEACH, GOLD COAST
Anywhere offering a ‘breakfast board’ is bound to have your photography needs covered. Barefoot Barista has this. It also has a lot of other yummy meals, and it’s location down on the waterfront.
PORT CITY ROASTERS – SOUTH FREMANTLE
These guys blend their own coffee on site, as well as offering a sweet all-day brekkie (a must for a top brunch spot tbh).
FIKA ON BRIX – PERTH
This adorable spot in the Mills Park Centre is all blonde wood and mint green accents, so you’ll wanna IG the entire interior, let alone their perfectly presented meals.
LANEWAY SPECIALTY COFFEE – DARWIN
These guys and Besser Kitchen & Brew Bar are partner food spots, and damn do they both do a good job of churning out tasty eats that also look schmick. Get the smoked belly bacon and two egg roll. *drools*
BESSER KITCHEN & BREW BAR – DARWIN
Besser is the newest bebe for the owners of Laneway Specialty Coffee, and it’s a beaut one. You won’t know what to Instagram – the swish interiors, or your perfectly presented food.
HARRY’S CAFE – BONDI, SYDNEY
Ah, Bondi. If there’s anywhere worthy of a smug social post, it’s the iconic beach suburb – and Harry’s embodies all the things you want in a beachside cafe. Think sunny outdoor tables with blonde wood tables and summery teal crockery. Oh, and yummy as hell food.
BISTROT GAVROCHE – CHIPPENDALE, SYDNEY
If you like your food Instagrams more “make everyone drool”, this is your place. The French restaurant does a mean brunch, and everything looks rich and delicious through a camera lens.
SHUK – BONDI, SYDNEY
Israeli cafe Shuk is an Eastern Suburbs of Sydney institution, and it’s main claim to fame is the always-perfect shakshuka. It photographs like a rustic dream (I can’t believe I just wrote that) and tastes just as good as it looks.
THE TINY GIANT – PETERSHAM, SYDNEY
Instagrammers come from far and wide to this tiny Petersham cafe to order, then take pics of, the fairy floss-topped french toast. No, seriously – last time I was there, every table around had at least one of the signature dish on it, and at least four cameras angling for the best shot. Look, it is a beauty of a dish, isn’t it.
CUCKOO CALLAY – SURRY HILLS & NEWTOWN, SYDNEY
The Newtown darling now has a Surry Hills sister, and both offer delish and cool-looking meals to punters. If you’re into interiors, hit up the Surry joint – it’s all hot pink retro benches and fold-out windows.
DARLING CAFE – SOUTH YARRA, MELBOURNE
Any place doing sticky date pancakes is worthy of a visit for that alone, but Darling Cafe ups the ante with it’s impeccable food presos.
AU79 – ABBOTSFORD, MELBOURNE
Au79’s entire spiel is about good, in-house brewed coffee, excellent food, and all made by people who care about what they’re doing. Can’t go wrong with that, right? Or their painfully Instagrammable pink tables.
THE KETTLE BLACK – SOUTH MELBOURNE
This joint was named by three Melbs PED.TV staffers for this story, so you know it’s gonna be damn good. Everything is super minimalist interior-wise, and dishes are laid out with restaurant-style design precision.
KITTY BURNS – ABBOTSFORD, MELBOURNE
Considering it’s interiors have won bloody awards, you’d expect this adorable joint to have equally presentable food offerings. And that they do – although you can’t go past their different coloured lattes for perfect pics.
TOP PADDOCK – RICHMOND, MELBOURNE
Sister cafe to Kettle Black, Top Paddock has a more rustic-style brekkie on offer – think warming bowls of porridge and a pile of chorizo and bacon on toast.
CRACK KITCHEN – ADELAIDE
Crack kitchen is a foodie blogger’s heaven in Adelaide – all big ceramic plates with food piled high in the centre.
KARMA AND CROW – RICHMOND, ADELAIDE
This cool Adelaide space is part workshop, part studio, part cafe. Come for the food and cute photo ops, stay for the shopping.
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Image: Instagram / @merriweathercafe.
