5 of the BEST Brisbane cafes for brunch

Just because I love travel doesn’t mean I don’t have some serious love for my hometown, Brisbane. I love living here and love the feeling of coming home to this part of the world. The weather is great, there are so many beautiful places to explore, and it’s a ridiculously chilled-out place to live. All in all, Brisbane is my home equivalent of a spirit animal.

Today I wanted to show some love for the city by sharing five of my favourite cafes. These are in no particular order, just five places I genuinely enjoy eating, sipping and slowing down in. What I’m looking for in a good cafe is a relaxed vibe, great coffee and food that caters for everyone, from committed meat eaters to the gluten-avoiding crowd and everyone in between. Brisbane’s cafe scene has changed a lot over the years, and a few old favourites have come and gone, so this list reflects where things stand right now.

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Wrapture

Located in West End, Wrapture is a super low-key spot that has an easy-going, relaxed vibe about it. It’s just far enough from the busy main streets of West End that you can unwind a little more and enjoy a slow breakfast. The coffee is fantastic, the staff are friendly and the food is absolutely delicious.

The menu puts wraps front and centre, stuffed with fresh ingredients and built around bold, balanced flavours. Meat eaters and vegetarians are both well looked after, with options spanning everything from hearty bacon and haloumi combinations to falafel-loaded wraps with tahini and fresh herbs. There is also a solid selection of bowls if you want to mix things up. It’s the kind of place you end up going back to without really planning to.

The Gunshop Cafe

The Gunshop Cafe in West End is one of those places that has been around long enough to become genuinely iconic, and it earns that status every single time you visit. Tucked off Boundary Street, the interior is all exposed brick, mismatched furniture and large-scale murals, and there’s something about the whole atmosphere that makes it feel like the kind of cafe where time moves a little slower.

The menu is built around market-sourced, seasonal ingredients and leans heavily into the kind of food you actually want to eat on a weekend morning. The green eggs and ham, a pesto scramble on fried leg ham and sourdough toast, is a long-running favourite and well worth ordering. The hash cakes with feta, sour cream and herb-roasted tomatoes are equally good. There is a leafy courtyard out the back, dog-friendly footpath tables and enough room that you don’t feel like you’re eating on top of the next table. It’s always busy on weekends, but it moves at a good pace.

Lucky Duck Cafe & Bar

If you find yourself in Highgate Hill be sure to stop in at Lucky Duck. I really like this place because it’s low-key and chilled out, and it doesn’t have that relentless weekend brunch energy that some places carry. The cafe looks small from the street but it opens up out the back with more seating space, and there’s a produce and deli store next door run by the same team that’s worth browsing before or after your meal. I really like the fit-out too, with duck-themed street art around the place and that effortlessly cool, eclectic thing going on.

The coffee is always great and the food is fresh and generous without being over the top. My go-to is the Posto Posto, organic sourdough loaded up with avocado, tomato and haloumi and served with lemon, basil and garlic olive oil. If you feel like going all out, the Canadian waffles with ice cream and maple syrup are hard to argue with.

The Jam Pantry

The Jam Pantry in Greenslopes is one of those cafes that has built a serious following over the years, and it is not hard to see why. The space has an old-style, homey feel to it that is welcoming from the moment you walk in, and the whole ethos of the place, seasonal produce, preserving, fermenting, pickling and brewing, gives it a sense of purpose that goes beyond just serving breakfast.

The menu changes regularly based on what is in season and what the kitchen is working with, which means the food always feels considered rather than routine. There’s a revolving board of specials that rewards curiosity, and the coffee is excellent. Whether you are after something hearty or something lighter, the kitchen handles both well. It’s a good one to have in your rotation.

Pawpaw Cafe

Pawpaw in Woolloongabba has been on my radar for a while and it consistently delivers. The space is stylish without being precious about it, with a menu that blends Southeast Asian-inspired flavours into a brunch format that feels genuinely fresh. It is the kind of place where you could bring people from out of town and watch them be quietly impressed.

The signature potato hash is a good place to start, stacked with turmeric hummus, smashed avo and haloumi on a crispy potato base. The seasonal pancake and waffle offerings change regularly and are usually worth whatever they happen to be that month. The service is warm and the coffee is solid. There is also a second location in Hawthorne if you happen to be on that side of the river, and both are worth a visit.

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