There’s no excuse to not dig into the most important meal of the day when you’ve got these six Ipswich eateries at the ready.
Queens Park Cafe
Queens Park Café almost needs no introduction. It is located within the landscaped grounds of the state’s oldest park, which was designed in 1862, and offers breakfast until 2pm for the late starters.
My favourite dish here is the Canadian style French toast which adds bacon and ice-cream to this classic dish for a sweet-salty hit, but you’re sure to find plenty of other dishes to love on the menu, such as waffles, hotcakes or corn fritters.
Pair your breakfast with a thickshake or smoothie and you’ll have plenty of fuel to see you through a visit to the neighbouring Ipswich Nature Centre or Nerima Gardens.
Fourthchild Cafe and Restaurant
Long-established Fourthchild Café & Restaurant located at the Top of Town has all the basics, like bacon and eggs and house-made banana bread, but there’s a few things you can’t easily find elsewhere, such as the lamb’s fry and bacon, or the Moroccan eggs (grilled sourdough topped with hummus, caramelized onion, crumbled fetta, poached eggs, Moroccan spice and grilled lime).
Keep your eyes peeled for the rosti which sometimes makes an appearance, or save yourself for the Grande Breakfast featuring eggs, bacon, tomato, sausages, mushrooms, and wilted spinach served on your choice of bread.
St Shoebill
Just down the road is St Shoebill which opened in late 2020 in a heritage-listed 1870s era building. The industrial chic fit-out is the first thing you’ll notice; the second is the stylish display showcasing favourite suppliers including ONA coffee, Code Black coffee, Mork Chocolate, Prana Chai and Byron Bay Muesli.
But don’t let that all of that distract you from the business at hand: a satisfying breakfast. The menu here has familiar favourites, like the bacon egg wrap, while the smashed avocado is given a twist with feta, herbs and saltbush dukkah. There’s a hint of Asian influence in dishes like okonomiyaki as well. Go wild!
Rafter and Rose
Stepping into Rafter and Rose is a bit like stumbling into the home of a hip, beneficent, plant-loving best friend. Seriously, it’s a jungle in here, and there are usually some plants for sale outside, should your green thumb be so inspired.
This charming café opened its doors on Ellenborough Street six years ago and despite the best efforts of the pandemic, which has created a shortage of skilled staff, it’s still going strong.
Snaffle one of the fluffy brioche jam doughnuts if they’re in stock and then browse the menu at your leisure. The choice includes everything from hazelnut and fig loaf through to sauteed mushrooms on sourdough
Cafe Kalina
If you don’t mind a drive out to the ‘burbs, Springfield’s Café Kalina is a bright and breezy place to enjoy breakfast. Pull up a seat on the wooden deck overlooking the playground and park, order a coffee and settle back to savour what’s described as “rustic, flavoursome food”.
The balsamic mushrooms served with wilted baby spinach, poached eggs, basil pesto, and sourdough come highly recommended, but my pick would have to be the zucchini mint and haloumi fritters. Café Kalina is delightfully dog-friendly, offering treats and puppycinos for all those folks who don’t want to leave their best friend behind.
Dovetails Restaurant
Dovetails Restaurant doesn’t serve breakfast every day, but it’s worth moseying down one Saturday or Sunday morning to see what they’ve got cooking.
In addition to the classics like smashed avo toast and Eggs Benedict, there are a range of signature options like pancake tacos (fluffy pancakes, Nutella mascarpone, poached pear, caramel sauce and honeycomb) and the eggplant pide (middle eastern spiced eggplant and zucchini Turkish pide, accompanied by coconut mint labna, fresh tomato salsa and green leaf).
Head chef Shannon Ellison likes to create simple but sophisticated food for people to sink their teeth into.
*Note as menus change seasonally, some of the above mentioned menu items may not be available all the time.
