Hit Me with Your Best Shot – 5 Cafes to Java Nice Day!

We all have our fave café where everyone knows your name and great service and food are guaranteed whenever you visit.

You know the place…well-loved locally and always abuzz with lively conversation as friends and family enjoy a leisurely brunch, lunch or coffee catchup. Here are five cafes you need to put on your radar:

Come into Industry & Co on Oxley Avenue in Margate for coffee with a purpose. This progressive social enterprise café uses profits from diners to provide training and employment opportunities for people in the community living with possibilities – not disabilities. Sit alfresco on high stools and watch the world pass by while sipping a morning latte, or join smiling faces indoors where a monochromatic theme, wood floors and hanging globes create a laid-back, warm vibe.

 

Choose from a daily menu of taste tempters such as a savoury quiche, with cherry tomatoes, feta, spinach, Parmesan and leek, or wrap your hands around a tuna, cheese and onion toastie. Sweet tooths are enticed by Persian love cakes and caramel macadamia slice, while those time-poor can grab a treat from the cabinet to go.

Find friendly, relaxed and personable service at modern café Brick Lane Espresso in the quiet leafy village-style shops of Philip Mall in West Pymble. With a fenced playground within sight, this locally-loved eatery is a hangout for parents looking to enjoy a caffeine fix while the kids let off steam, while indoors is warm and welcoming with exposed brick, subway tiles and polished concrete counters.

 

Early risers drop by for sweetcorn fritters, bacon, avocado, tomato salad and chipotle yoghurt, or chilli scrambled eggs, grilled asparagus, ginger, turmeric, curry leaf and Persian feta; join the lunch crowd for a green goddess bowl with pea and lentil falafels, zucchini salad, green goddess purée, crunchy chickpeas and tahini dressing, or chow down on a crispy spiced chicken burger with peri peri mayo, lettuce, cheese and chips.

Find a local escape and cosy home away from home where you can unwind at Arthur Street Café in Baulkham Hills. Enjoy great food, housemade cakes, aromatic coffee and friendly service in rustic surrounds of exposed brick, art deco posters and shabby chic door frames adorning the walls; while blackboard chalk art designates specials and new dishes to try.

 

Drop by for classics such as All I Avocado Wanted – smashed avo on sourdough, topped with tomato bruschetta mix, green leaves, feta and citrus dressing – or wrap your hands around the We Meat Again burger, with Wagyu beef, maple bacon, melted cheese, oak lettuce, tomato and house sauce, served with chips. Perhaps pick up a slice of Prawn to be Wild pizza, topped with prawns, tomato, chilli, mozzarella, tomato sauce, lemon and rocket.

Bring friends or make new ones while playing board games and enjoying a cocktail or two at Temple Arden on Arden Street in North Melbourne. This social games bar and café has a wide selection of free board games to try, plus a rotating selection of new and retro video games such as Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers and Street Fighter – there’s something for all players, experienced or otherwise.

 

Chill out with a specialty Industry Beans coffee in a cosy and relaxed vibe of wooden tables and shelves with games and plants as you devour snacks such as delicious creamy brie with sun-dried tomato, pickled capsicum and mini onions, or choose from a range of gourmet toasties such as kimchi. Fresh sandwiches, salads and sweets all entice, along with vegetarian and vegan options.

Whether seeking fresh local produce, beer, wine or a meal with family and friends, there is something for everyone at The Agrestic Grocer on Mitchell Highway in Orange. Take in shelves groaning with temptations from jams, chutney and pickles, to colourful vegetables and take-home meals for an easy dinner; or stop awhile and join the lively buzz in the courtyard as local artists entertain at the weekend.

 

Breaky-goers are spoilt for choice with plates like bruschetta with macadamia ricotta on sourdough, topped with a seasonal green veggie mix and housemade green goddess dressing; for lunch catchups, think nasi lemak with chicken rendang, sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg and fragrant coconut rice, enjoyed with an ice-cold glass of white wine. Perhaps share a ploughman’s platter of cured meat, cheese, pickles, housemade condiments, crackers and sourdough.