Currently my favourite coffee shops are:
Melbourne
Parisian Patisere & Boulangerie(19 Keilor Road, Essendon)
If you’re longing for Europe but don’t have the time or money to go, catch tram 59 and get off at stop 47. Look for the bicycle with the basket and the black and white awning and you’re there. Step inside for a little bit of Paris. Best visited on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Friends Cafe (355 Flinders Lane, CBD) Where in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD can you get a delicious, hand-crafted cappuccino, latte or flat white for $2? If you come here between the hours of 7 and 10 you can. Not only that, the service is great and the few times I’ve been the coffee has come with a complimentary chocolate.
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Sydney
2. Toby’s Woolloomooloo(Cnr Cathedral and Palmer St)
The ultimate neighbourhood coffee shop, NY style, great food as well, after you’ve been a few times people remember your name. Its the place where all of Woolloomooloo comes to have their morning coffee, especially on the weekends. Yet I have always managed to find a seat.
3. Strand Espresso
(Strand Mall, Pitt Street)
Drink coffee surrounded by pristene Victorian mall. You’re in the middle of the CBD, but it feels like you are London. A giant mug is what they mean by “large”.
4. Manetti’s
Underneath QVB, Town Hall station
Catch the hussle and bussle of City life, the rush to the train station – people watching at its finest. Great bakery smells.
5. Hyde Park Cafe
(Hyde Park at cnr of Elizabeth and Liverpool)
Genteel feel of Sydney 60 years ago. Big outdoor area, right at the apex of people rushing to work, but you’re still in the park.
