6 Must-Try Brunch Cafes in Moonee Ponds

What’s the best meal of the day? Brunch, of course! It doesn’t matter if it’s a Sunday, a public holiday, or any day in the middle of the work week, brunch always hits the spot. It’s not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, but it is delicious and delectable with its wide range of sweet and savoury options. Whenever you go to a café and notice a brunch menu, you know you’re in for a tasty time!

Those with a sweet tooth can enjoy waffles with syrup, French toast, or banana bread, and top it off with a cappuccino or flat white. For the savoury lovers, breakfast tacos or burritos, the big breakfast, or eggs Benedict always go down a treat to start your day off with a happy belly. Plus, many people’s favourite brunch variation: The bottomless brunch! It doesn’t have to be Christmas to enjoy a champagne or Bloody Mary with your breakfast— brunch is a special occasion all of its own.

Whether you’re looking for the best place for a stack of pancakes, breakfast burrito, smashed avocado, or a bottomless brunch (maybe leave that last one for the weekend, though), you’ll find it in these Moonee Ponds brunch cafes.

This blog takes you on a tour of Moonee Ponds’ best brunch cafes, where every taste bud and diet is catered to. Regardless of what type of brunch you’re after, we can guarantee you’ll find it at one (or more) of these six brunch cafes that are all located right outside your door. What are you waiting for— go get your brunch on!

Live Your Best Brunch Life At These 6 Moonee Ponds Brunch Cafes 

Brunch— a combination of breakfast and lunch, usually eaten in the late morning— is becoming more and more popular thanks to its great timing (especially on weekends), range of light meals and substantial dishes, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options. Whatever brunch ideas are dancing around in your head, these Moonee Ponds brunch spots will get your mouth watering and bring your dream dish to life (and your stomach)!

1. Sir Duke

Located at 99 Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds, this all-day diner focuses on locally grown produce and pairs it with specialty coffee, juices, cocktails, beers, and wines. What more could you ask for in a local café?

If you said a café that understands the importance of brunch, you’re in luck. Sir Duke encourages you to partake in brunch at… well, any hour, really! Their breakfast menu runs until 3 pm, making it essentially a brunch menu at the same time. Meanwhile, their lunch and dinner menu starts at 11:30 am— so if you’re there between 11:30 and 3, you’re spoilt for choice!

Sir Duke draws crowds from Moonee Ponds, greater Melbourne, and beyond with its extensive menu and friendly, enthusiastic team. Their menu includes gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options, and they aim to accommodate any dietary needs they possibly can (make sure to ask your server when ordering).

Brunch menu highlights include the Benny Boy (slow-cooked pulled pork, poached eggs, chilli hollandaise, and shaved fennel salad on house-made potato hash), Duke’s Big Brekkie (fried egg, double-smoked bacon, roasted vine tomato, potato hash, chorizo, and sauteed kale on organic sourdough), and the hot cakes (ricotta hot cakes served with mixed berry sauce, chocolate mascarpone, fresh seasonal berries, and almond brittle).

Drinks-wise, there’s an array of juices, smoothies, milkshakes, and coffees on the menu, plus boozy options including a mimosa and espresso martini to turn your feast into a bottomless brunch.

Open from 7:30 am on weekdays and until 9:30 pm from Wednesdays to Saturdays, brunch may be one of their biggest drawing cards but it’s far from the only one! In addition to brunch you can also grab an early morning coffee or a late dinner, or even just a regular lunch (but we recommend you call it brunch anyway, ‘cause you’re fancy like that).

2. Dear Abbey Cafe

‘Dear Abbey Café, why are you so popular?’ is a question you’ll never need to ask once you take a peek at this Moonee Ponds brunch spot! Situated on 23A Gladstone Street, it’s merely steps away from public transport options including train, tram, and bus, and is easily accessible for walkers as well with its close proximity to the Puckle Street retail and lifestyle precinct.

When it comes to ideas for Sunday brunch, this popular brunch place is sure to be at the top of your list. Whether you’re a meat-eater, vegetarian, vegan, or sticking to a gluten-free diet, you’ll have so many dishes to choose from you won’t know where to start!

We’ll start you off— we’re big fans of the breakfast menu’s zucchini corn fritters, the ricotta hot cakes, and the Abbey Hot Plate. Those are sure to warm you up this winter! They also have a lunch menu, a kids menu, and a drinks menu just as extensive as the food menus! Tea and coffee (including specialty coffee and alternative lattes) are popular choices, as are the smoothies, fresh juices, and beer, cider, and wine options.

Whether you’re here for breakfast, brunch, or just picking up a coffee, you can’t leave without a treat. Dear Abbey Café has a mouth-watering selection of scrumptious slices available that will hit your sweet spot juuuust right. They also have gluten-free slices, so by our calculations, there’s no excuse not to treat yourself. Pop into Dear Abbey Café and give them a try today!

3. Six Points

As you head towards the hustle and bustle of Puckle Street, you’re going to need to fuel up. Luckily, Six Points is located at 1 Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds— just the right brunch spot to fill your belly with food and coffee before you hit the town to do your shopping.

As soon as you step inside you’ll be greeted by the tempting pastry and baked treats, as well as a smiling team member who’s as keen as you are for you to try their food. Their breakfast menu includes sourdough toast, ham and cheese croissants, egg and bacon muffins, and the Fast Breaker Muffin (a Six Points English muffin with hand-cut bacon, fried free-range egg, tasty cheese, tomato relish, avocado, and baby spinach).

The brunch menu offers you secret menu toasties or their popular Happily Avo After, which includes avocado with mint on top of multi-seed sourdough, balanced with slices of pickled onion and candied lemon. Add a poached egg or two and you’ve got yourself a brunch and a half!

If you find you have room for more, a Six Points shake with malt will surely hit the spot. These thick shakes come in chocolate, caramel, strawberry, and the Coffee Cupboard Malt which pays homage to their Coffee Cupboard roots. Traditional coffee is on the menu too, as is frozen coffee— yes, frozen coffee! It can’t even be described, so we recommend you take a trip to Six Points to try one out for yourself ASAP!

4. Small Ponds

Small Ponds is proud to bring a diverse range of food options to your Sunday brunch with their all-day breakfast and lunch menu. However, if it’s not Sunday, no worries— brunch can, and should, be any day! Small Ponds is open from 6 am to 4 pm from Mondays to Fridays and 8 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and can be found at 633C Mt. Alexander Road in Moonee Ponds.

Between its menu, location, opening hours, and all-day breakfast and lunch (which translates to ‘all-day brunch’— we checked the dictionary), you’ll be hard pressed to find a better brunch café with a more inclusive dietary selection. As well as meat dishes they serve vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. Come one, come all!

Small Ponds’ all-day breakfast menu reads like a ‘who’s who’ of foodie favourites. They’ve got your classics such as free-range eggs on toast, Acai granola bowl, buttermilk pancakes, and smashed avocado, as well as harder-to-find dishes like the smoked salmon bagel and chilli scrambled eggs.

As for the lunch menu, the chicken sandwich is well-loved, as is the mushroom and halloumi burger and chicken, quinoa, and chickpea salad. The kids will be happy with the kids menu options, and us big kids have a large selection of teas and coffees to choose from. It’s your one-stop-shop for the best brunch in town! If you haven’t tried this local modern all-day breakfast café yet, you don’t know what you’re missing out on— give Small Ponds a visit today!

5. North x Northwest

When you need an early morning coffee hit, let your taste buds guide you to North x Northwest at 2 Walker Street, Moonee Ponds. This brunch and breakfast place opens at 6:30 am on weekdays for your pre-work breakfast and coffee, and at 8 am on Saturdays and Sundays for the brunch you’ve been craving all week.

Located just across from Moonee Valley Racing Club, North x Northwest is the perfect place to start your day before you head to the races. Regulars love the modern, comfortable interior which gives off a relaxed vibe as much as they love the friendly staff and great food. You can choose to sit inside or outside, where you can fill up on favourites from their all-day breakfast menu.

Standouts include the smoked trout benedict, baked eggs, beef omelette, and the buttermilk pancakes topped with fairy floss for the young n’s (and the young at heart). With gluten-free and vegetarian options available as well, there’s something for everyone at North x Northwest.

6. 20 Young Street

Are sandwiches your style? Then 20 Young Street is right up your alley— in more ways than one! You’ll find this brunch café tucked down Penny Lane, just off Young Street. Locals have been congregating here to satisfy their sandwich cravings for quite some time now, and it seems the secret’s out— the lines can stretch out the door during peak periods! Don’t let that put you off, however, as the team here know their menu like the backs of their hands and will get your fresh food out to you in a jiffy.

You can eat in or take away from this brunch spot that takes sandwiches to the next level. 20 Young Street offers both a breakfast menu and a lunch menu, and both are filled with brunch foods for every sandwich, roll, toast, and focaccia lover.

The abundance of chicken schnitzel options proves that schnitzel is a popular choice, but ham, beef, prosciutto, salami, and salmon fans are in for a treat as well. And, of course, the Vegetarian Delight is sure to delight the non-meat-eaters! You can also create your own sandwich or your own salad, so even if bread is off the table for you, you can still enjoy a delicious meal at this well-loved brunch place.

20 Young Street is open from 7 am until 4 pm Mondays to Fridays and 7 am to 3 pm on Saturdays for all your brunch needs.

Got That Craving For Brunch?

Whether it’s with family, friends, or co-workers, brunch is always a great option to cater to everybody’s tastes. Or take yourself on a solo date— go on, treat yourself! Whether you’re into sweet or savoury, you’ll find the brunch café you’ve been searching for right here in Moonee Ponds.

EXPLORE MOONEE PONDS BRUNCH CAFES

About the author

Moonee Ponds Marketing Team

Moonee Ponds Marketing Team actively supports Moonee Ponds, working with local businesses and the community to balance the precinct’s historic charm with modern development. They are a valuable member of the Traders Association and work hard to promote the area’s growth. The Team’s efforts are key to maintaining Moonee Ponds’ vibrant future, grounded in its rich past and promising potential.