A cracking place to start your day – especially if a dip in the Orion Lagoon or some shopping at Orion Springfield Central are on your agenda. The breakfasts are hearty and they sport Hollywood-esque names which adds to the fun vibe here. Breakfast at Stephanies is a great for breakfast or lunch, or a coldie overlooking the water as the sun goes down.
Orion Lagoon, Springfield Central – 3470 5402.
Brookwater Barista
This new café has brought a smashing menu to the Brookwater community and the hours have to be appreciated too – open daily from 6am – and also on Friday and Saturday nights at the neighbouring Italian restaurant. Owner Carolyn Obel pours some serious hospo know-how into her café – she’s had 30 years in the industry and this is reflected in the menu here which really goes the extra mile to ensure a memorable dining experience.
Brookwater Barista: 85 Leon Capra Drive, Augustine Heights, 3466 4865.
Dancing Bean
This cool-as-a-cucumber converted warehouse is part roastery, part café and we love knowing that the beans they tan here in the heart of Ipswich end up in cafes all across the land. Coffee feinds can pop in for breakfast or a latte and leave with a kilo for the machine at home. You’ll find Dancing Bean tucked in behind the German crowd-pleasing fun house known as Heisenberg Haus.
Rear building, 164 Brisbane St, Ipswich – 0413 000 979.
Remedy Espresso Coffee
This is a dog-friendly spot thoughtfully sourcing everything from local growers and suppliers for its cracking breakfast menus.
Open 7 days a week from 5.30am weekdays and 7.30am on weekends, Remedy Espresso Cafe is a good option for fresh pastries, big brekkies or sandwiches ready to go.
11/1 Springfield Lakes BLVD, Springfield Lakes – 3818 6687
Ellen & Rod
Irresistibly friendly, this community hub takes its name from the street corner on which it sits, Ellenborough and Roderick. We love the treats baked onsite and the excellent coffee – and the way the coffee machine and counter are decorated with instant snaps of all the doggie friends who’ve visited.
Ellen and Rod: 55 Ellenborough St, Ipswich – 0420 680 251
Fourthchild Restaurant and Lounge Bar
This is a well-known landmark on Brisbane St, in the Top of Town and gets extra marks for being open every day and also nights from Tuesday to Saturday.
Check out the well-stocked cabinets for cakes made onsite and menus that change with the seasons.
Fourthchild: 215 Brisbane St, Ipswich
Market Organics North Ipswich
Go here for healthy wholefoods, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. The cabinet boasts big colourful salads and you can sip your chai latte inside or out in the garden at the rear. Make time to browse the well-stocked shelves of this health foods supermarket too – there’s foodie treasure to be found here for those who love to cook healthy and interesting things.
Market Organics: 53 Downs St, North Ipswich – 3281 3592
Oikos
Clean healthy food served with a smile is the deal here at one of the heritage city’s newer cafes. Be sure to follow the Facebook page as they often pop-out small intimate events with live music and share platters and the limited tickets get snapped up in a flash.
Oikos: 61 Limestone St, Ipswich
Queens Park Café & Kiosk
One of the city’s biggest cafes is immensely likeable for its huge cabinets of cakes and savoury offerings– and the fact you can buy icecream in a cone for wandering in the park. It’s a family favourite with its large shady deck and just a stone’s throw from south-east Queensland’s only free zoo, the Ipswich Nature Centre.
Queens Park Cafe: 10A Merle Finimore Avenue, Ipswich – 3281 5167
Rafter & Rose
Completely charming Rafter & Rose is a café like no other in Queensland – beautifully adorned with plants and vintage finds that lend a wonderful boho ambience. The baristas continue the wow factor at the machine while the cabinet is impressively
kept colourful with cheesecakes and frittatas lovingly created onsite. Fresh fruit-laden muffins and frosted cupcakes usually adorn the counter until sold out each morning. There’s real care factor on display here, in the sourcing of beautiful ingredients and in thoughtfully conceived dishes which often sport delicious condiments also created in house. Looking at you bacon jam.
1/17 Ellenborough St, Ipswich – 0401 073 644
Seed Coffee
Regulars come here for the fabulous coffee, breakfast and lunch, and also the healthy range of raw slices created by the owner. The café sits in the Boulevarde Arcade which is also home to Country House Gifts – one of the biggest independently owned gift and homewares emporiums in Australia. Which all adds up to a destination worthy of a drive out from Brisbane – especially when the twice-monthly Markets at the Bourlevarde are on.
Seed Coffee: 17/15 Limestone St, Ipswich – 0478 749 646
Screamin’ Beans
Newly landed at Springfield, Screamin’ Beans is earning fans for its diverse menu catering to keto, gluten-free and dairy-free, including a range of fabulous things baked daily onsite. It’s the first venture for owners Jeff and Adelene who bring many years of experience in hospitality to their business.
Shop 4/23 Commercial Drive, Springfield – 3818 8800
Strictly Coffee
A much-loved little pocket pumping out excellent coffee to city workers and coffee hounds on weekdays by a crew who know their beans. There’s a great energy and friendly vibe here that is kind of irresistible.
Strictly Coffee: 1/86 Brisbane St, Ipswich
Retro Diner
Like so much around the heritage city, the vibe here at The Retro Diner harks back to a by-gone era, although not quite as far back as the buildings in this stretch. We’re talking more the Elvis era, the rocking 50s and 60s – complete with old school burgers and shakes, and formica-topped tables. It’s fun, frilly and fabulous, with good old-fashioned service with a smile.
195 Brisbane St, Ipswich – 3143 9623
The Yard on Glebe
Definitely one of the region’s front-runners in terms of ready-for-my-close-up breakfasts and lunches, this cool cat neighbourhood café ticks many boxes. The menu offers up a fine example of exciting and nutritious options, the likes of which you won’t see anywhere else. Colourful loaded brioche French toast, poke bowls and lunch platters stack up beside familiar offerings like a good eggs benny.
The Yard on Glebe: Shop 1/176 Glebe Road, Booval, Ipswich – 0406 124 941
Thirty Seven Café
One of those great places to stop for early coffee if you’re heading into Ipswich early morning – or for a sweet hit to get you through the morning. There’s a cabinet stocked with fresh rolls and sweet treats or order from the menu and linger a bit longer.
Thirty Seven Cafe: 37 Brisbane Rd, Bundamba – 3496 1341
Tommy Smith at Woodlands of Marburg
Tommy Smith is a great stopping point if you’re travelling between Brisbane and Toowoomba and the added bonus is that you’ll be on the grounds of one of the most magnificent heritage estates in south-east Queensland. Linger on the deck and gaze at the view or grab a cupcake with the kids indoors. There’s ample parking too – so a great option if you’re travelling with others or as part of a car club run. Be sure to check out Marburg township itself too, just a few minutes over the highway and home to Special Branch Collective and the antique emporium Scotland Yard.
174 Seminary Rd, Marburg – 5464 4777.
Elderflower Cafe
For exceptional coffee look not further than Elderflower Cafe. Tucked into a niche next to the North Tivoli plant nursery the cafe is dog friendly and offers tasty breakfast and lunch options.
New owner Jolie Beckett has over 10 years experience as a barista, roaster and cafe owner and her premium True Grit Coffee will have you craving more! Look out for pastries and cakes with gluten free options, and locally sourced produce on the menu.
222-224 Mount Crosby Road, North Tivoli.
And that’s not all … this is just a small sample of the many cafes you’ll find in our region. Others include Wild Rose Cottage at Eastern Heights, St Shoebill in Brisbane St, The Girls’ Coffee Bar and The Soul Nook Collective in Marburg.
Please check with individual operators before arrival to check opening times.
