The 10 Best Brunch Spots in Paddington, Sydney

This Oxford Street stalwart has been serving one of Paddington’s most versatile menus since way back in 1988, pumping out everything from infamously decadent thickshakes and house-made desserts to an array of fruit smoothies and healthy breakfast bowls. Micky’s serves its brekky dishes until 5pm every day — pick something off the lengthy drinks menu, then indulge in the epic Micky’s Sundae, loaded with too many sweet ingredients to list.

A Swedish design store is probably the last place you’d expect to find one of Paddington’s best brekkies, but Köket will surprise you. Tucked away in the backyard of the funky Funkis shop on Oxford Street, this uber-trendy eatery serves a brunch that’s very modern and very Scandinavian. Expect smoked ocean trout with crème fraîche, a honey-glazed salmon salad, and a Swedish tasting plate with pickled herring, caviar and skagen (prawns on toast).

This artisan bakery is the bread of choice for countless eateries across Sydney, and you can enjoy it fresh from the source at Sonoma’s Glenmore Road café. The family business began in 1997 and has since become part of the neighbourhood in eight locations across Sydney and Canberra, including Paddington. Here you can indulge in a range of sandwiches and pastries, as well as the sourdough generally considered Sydney’s best.

The pre-loved tomes of Paddington’s favourite second-hand book shop provide the perfect backdrop for a morning coffee and cake. Find a quiet corner among the 30,000 used books, then start your day with a cup of Little Marionette coffee and something from the classic brunch menu, such as ‘The Ampersandian,’ hash browns with roasted field mushrooms, semi-dried tomatoes, poached eggs, asparagus and béarnaise sauce.

The Cipri family brought their local cuisine from Calabria in southern Italy to the streets of Sydney more than 30 years ago, and they continue the tradition today at this Elizabeth Street eatery. Barbetta is unapologetically Italian — imagine retail shelves crammed with pasta and olive oil, an opera-singing pastry chef, and breakfast dishes like Sicilian pancakes, riso latte (rice pudding with a saffron poached pear) and pane dolce (walnut fruit loaf, ricotta, baked rhubarb and honey).

This specialty coffee joint was established by Single O graduate Nick O’Neill before changing owners in 2018, but the quality of the food and drink hasn’t changed. This minimalist hole-in-the-wall on Oxford Street serves a punchy brunch menu packed full of flavour. Don’t miss the bacon-and-egg roll with house-made BBQ sauce and cabbage slaw on milk buns from Alexandria’s Textbook Boulangerie Patisserie.

Located on Paddington’s border with Darlinghurst on South Dowling Street, Bootsdarling plates up a nice balance of big brekkies (chorizo toast, banana pancakes and a chipotle bacon and egg roll) and clean eats (health bowls, Mexican bean wraps and the like). If a mouth-watering brunch isn’t a good enough cure for a hangover, the café even offers a glass of Berocca and water for two bucks, as well as coffee from independent Melbourne roaster Bailey Coffee.

This stylish space at the Woollahra end of Oxford Street is the brainchild of husband-and-wife Jacob and Cathy Lo, who serve a modern menu with a distinctly Asian flavour. Grab a spot in Four Six Eight’s sunny courtyard, then treat yourself to smashed avocado and soy bean on sourdough for brekky or rice paper rolls and vegetable udon noodle soup at lunchtime.

This artisanal deli on quiet McDonald Street is a neighbourhood favourite, using local and ethically sourced ingredients to produce simple, seasonal breakfasts. Look forward to Mediterranean dishes like moussaka and Greek spinach pie. An expertly curated selection of artisan delights lines the shelves, brimming with organic fruit and veg, meats, cheeses, pastries and premium tea and coffee, plus gourmet takeaway meals.

This corner café behind UNSW’s Art and Design Campus takes its specialty coffee seriously, but not at the expense of the great food on offer. Ownership team Georgia Woodyard and Anne Cooper have imported their signature sandwiches and cookies from their first café in Redfern, Scout’s Honour, to their Paddington venture. Brunch is made a true treat with top-notch coffee from Five Senses Espresso.