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Hole in the Wall Photo via Hole in the Wall

12 Bloody Good Australian Cafes in NYC

Say g’day to avocado toast, flat whites, and pineapple- and beet-topped burgers

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Australia’s culinary traditions are few, but the breakfast-and-espresso-centric cafe culture is strong. It’s hard to define an Australian cafe, but the overly-simple definition is that they’re restaurants with an equal emphasis on serving both top-notch food and standout coffee. There’s no core cuisine guiding these places, but the same dishes do tend to reappear across menus: ricotta hotcakes, bacon-and-egg “brekkie” (breakfast) rolls, soft-scrambled eggs, and — of course, considering it’s Australia’s invention — avocado toast is always essential.

Australians have flocked to New York City in the last decade, and some have opened cafes that embody that Aussie spirit. Happily, many of these local places feel as though they were lifted from inner-city Sydney or a Melbourne suburb. Here are the ones that rise above.

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Little Collins

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Named for a Melbourne street, Little Collins offers breakfast options, sandwiches, a few salads, and excellent coffee. It can be tough to land a seat in this tiny cafe — there are only around 14 — which might be why it feels like staff are endlessly calling out names for takeout orders. Little Collins also has a coffee-and-pastry-only outpost at the nearby Lexington 570 food hall.

Avocado toast at Little Collins
Avocado toast at Little Collins
Adam Moussa

Citizens of Chelsea

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This charming corner restaurant on Ninth Avenue fills up quickly with brunch-goers on weekends, but is worth waiting for a table. The restaurant is a favorite of Instagrammers, with its plant-heavy decor and neon sign that somewhat bewilderingly reads “home for the holidays.” For those planning a brunch on the boozier side, Citizens of Chelsea also serves mimosas by the carafe. See also: Citizens of Gramercy.

Citizens of Chelsea/Facebook

Bluestone Lane

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This rapidly expanding mini chain — it got investment from the firm that also put money into Momofuku — hits all the key Australian cafe notes: smashed avocado toast, ricotta hotcakes, flat whites, a menu with the word “brekkie” on it. Bluestone has five full-service cafes in the city serving brunch and lunch, plus 11 more pared-back coffee shops that focus on just drinks and avocado toast.

Bluestone Lane Bluestone Lane/Facebook

Banter NYC

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Banter serves an all-day menu of Aussie favorites and a night menu available until 11 p.m. most days, far later than other daytime-oriented Australian cafes. Heavier items like the big breakfast — a bacon-and-egg affair complete with halloumi, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms — sit alongside a handful of vegetable-heavy bowls. Expect to hear a lot of Australian accents in this bright West Village spot.

Ruby's Cafe

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Ruby’s serves an all-day breakfast menu in Nolita, but it’s better known for its burgers. Most are named for a beach in Sydney and include additions like pineapple and beet. The bright cafe also offers pastas, salads, and grain bowls, and has a second location in Murray Hill.

Ruby’s Cafe Vi N./Yelp

Charley St.

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Charley St. in Nolita lies halfway between the sit-down nature of most Australian cafes and the fast-casual spots like Dig Inn and Sweetgreen that dot Manhattan’s grid. The simple counter-service menu is focused on toast and grain bowls, but it should be noted: This is not the place to linger over a long breakfast.

Dudley's

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This bright Lower East Side restaurant has been a favorite of Aussie expats in NYC for a few years. Dudley’s offers an expansive all-day menu that balances Australian breakfast stand-bys with heartier dishes like rotisserie chicken. It’s also open for dinner, a rarity among the other Australian spots on this map.

A post shared by Dudleys (@dudleysnyc) on

Toby's Estate Coffee

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Toby’s Estate was at the forefront of the Australian cafe-onslaught when it opened in Williamsburg in 2012. The arrival of the mega-popular Australian coffee brand brought joy to expats and locals alike, setting up a robust roasting operation that has spawned four more locations across the city. It can be difficult to score a seat; this location in particular is filled with laptop squatters.

Toby’s Estate Coffee Toby’s Estate Coffee/Facebook

Two Hands

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While the original Two Hands in Nolita continues to be a hip brunch mainstay in the neighborhood, the cafe’s Tribeca location has a slightly expanded menu and a less cramped dining room. This includes ricotta hotcakes, smashed avocado, and the hefty burger made “Australian” by the addition of a fried egg.

Two Hands Two Hands/Facebook

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

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Otherwise known as the “pink Bushwick restaurant,” Carthage Must Be Destroyed has made more headlines for its Pantone-esque decor than its food. That’s a shame, because Carthage is turning out quality coffee and gargantuan portions on dishes like heirloom tomatoes on toast and parmesan-scrambled eggs, as well as those lesser-seen in Australian cafes, such as yellow fish curry.

Tomato and goat’s feta toast at Carthage Must Be Destroyed
‘Sumer on toast’ at Carthage Must Be Destroyed
Adam Moussa

Hole in the Wall

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Tucked into a pocket of FiDi, Hole in the Wall is a go-to breakfast spot with a name that belies its decently sized dining room. Beyond coffee and dishes like the excellent mushrooms and pesto on toast, the cafe also serves beer, wine, and cocktails to lure diners as the day goes on.

Hole in the Wall Photo via Hole in the Wall

Black Fox Coffee

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Quite possibly the best cafe in the Financial District, Black Fox rotates a small breakfast and lunch menu seasonally, and serves pastries from King Street Kitchen (a fellow Australian-owned bakery). Beyond a robust coffee offering that includes monthly featured roasts, the cafe prepares seasonal and specialty drinks, from a strawberry latte for Valentine’s Day to a brown butter-steeped cold brew milk shake in the summer. Don’t skip out on the enormous chocolate chip cookies either — they’re some of the best in NYC.

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Little Collins

Named for a Melbourne street, Little Collins offers breakfast options, sandwiches, a few salads, and excellent coffee. It can be tough to land a seat in this tiny cafe — there are only around 14 — which might be why it feels like staff are endlessly calling out names for takeout orders. Little Collins also has a coffee-and-pastry-only outpost at the nearby Lexington 570 food hall.

Avocado toast at Little Collins
Avocado toast at Little Collins
Adam Moussa

Citizens of Chelsea

This charming corner restaurant on Ninth Avenue fills up quickly with brunch-goers on weekends, but is worth waiting for a table. The restaurant is a favorite of Instagrammers, with its plant-heavy decor and neon sign that somewhat bewilderingly reads “home for the holidays.” For those planning a brunch on the boozier side, Citizens of Chelsea also serves mimosas by the carafe. See also: Citizens of Gramercy.

Citizens of Chelsea/Facebook

Bluestone Lane

This rapidly expanding mini chain — it got investment from the firm that also put money into Momofuku — hits all the key Australian cafe notes: smashed avocado toast, ricotta hotcakes, flat whites, a menu with the word “brekkie” on it. Bluestone has five full-service cafes in the city serving brunch and lunch, plus 11 more pared-back coffee shops that focus on just drinks and avocado toast.

Bluestone Lane Bluestone Lane/Facebook

Banter NYC

Banter serves an all-day menu of Aussie favorites and a night menu available until 11 p.m. most days, far later than other daytime-oriented Australian cafes. Heavier items like the big breakfast — a bacon-and-egg affair complete with halloumi, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms — sit alongside a handful of vegetable-heavy bowls. Expect to hear a lot of Australian accents in this bright West Village spot.

Ruby's Cafe

Ruby’s serves an all-day breakfast menu in Nolita, but it’s better known for its burgers. Most are named for a beach in Sydney and include additions like pineapple and beet. The bright cafe also offers pastas, salads, and grain bowls, and has a second location in Murray Hill.

Ruby’s Cafe Vi N./Yelp

Charley St.

Charley St. in Nolita lies halfway between the sit-down nature of most Australian cafes and the fast-casual spots like Dig Inn and Sweetgreen that dot Manhattan’s grid. The simple counter-service menu is focused on toast and grain bowls, but it should be noted: This is not the place to linger over a long breakfast.

Dudley's

This bright Lower East Side restaurant has been a favorite of Aussie expats in NYC for a few years. Dudley’s offers an expansive all-day menu that balances Australian breakfast stand-bys with heartier dishes like rotisserie chicken. It’s also open for dinner, a rarity among the other Australian spots on this map.

A post shared by Dudleys (@dudleysnyc) on

Toby's Estate Coffee

Toby’s Estate was at the forefront of the Australian cafe-onslaught when it opened in Williamsburg in 2012. The arrival of the mega-popular Australian coffee brand brought joy to expats and locals alike, setting up a robust roasting operation that has spawned four more locations across the city. It can be difficult to score a seat; this location in particular is filled with laptop squatters.

Toby’s Estate Coffee Toby’s Estate Coffee/Facebook

Two Hands

While the original Two Hands in Nolita continues to be a hip brunch mainstay in the neighborhood, the cafe’s Tribeca location has a slightly expanded menu and a less cramped dining room. This includes ricotta hotcakes, smashed avocado, and the hefty burger made “Australian” by the addition of a fried egg.

Two Hands Two Hands/Facebook

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

Otherwise known as the “pink Bushwick restaurant,” Carthage Must Be Destroyed has made more headlines for its Pantone-esque decor than its food. That’s a shame, because Carthage is turning out quality coffee and gargantuan portions on dishes like heirloom tomatoes on toast and parmesan-scrambled eggs, as well as those lesser-seen in Australian cafes, such as yellow fish curry.

Tomato and goat’s feta toast at Carthage Must Be Destroyed
‘Sumer on toast’ at Carthage Must Be Destroyed
Adam Moussa

Hole in the Wall

Tucked into a pocket of FiDi, Hole in the Wall is a go-to breakfast spot with a name that belies its decently sized dining room. Beyond coffee and dishes like the excellent mushrooms and pesto on toast, the cafe also serves beer, wine, and cocktails to lure diners as the day goes on.

Hole in the Wall Photo via Hole in the Wall

Black Fox Coffee

Quite possibly the best cafe in the Financial District, Black Fox rotates a small breakfast and lunch menu seasonally, and serves pastries from King Street Kitchen (a fellow Australian-owned bakery). Beyond a robust coffee offering that includes monthly featured roasts, the cafe prepares seasonal and specialty drinks, from a strawberry latte for Valentine’s Day to a brown butter-steeped cold brew milk shake in the summer. Don’t skip out on the enormous chocolate chip cookies either — they’re some of the best in NYC.

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