Best cafes in Ashfield

Best cafes in Ashfield, ranked

1. #1Ashfield Apothecary for a long, unhurried brunch

   $$🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Rotary Park, 5 min walk

   Ashfield Apothecary is a brunch and coffee cafe in a tiled heritage shopfront on Charlotte Street. Start with the sandwiches or the vegan bowl, since vegan and plant-based dishes are among the most praised on the menu. Customers speak highly of the coffee, and soy cappuccinos come with neat latte art. It opens at 7am on weekdays and weekends and closes at 3pm on weekdays and 2pm on weekends. Dogs can join at the outdoor tables, and Rotary Park is a 5-minute walk off.

   Best for: Vegan and plant-based lunch, long brunch

2. #2Coffee Island for an early Aussie-style breakfast

   $🌳 Explorers Park, 2 min walk

   Coffee Island is a small, cosy cafe on Liverpool Road, open from 6am on weekdays and Saturday and from 7am on Sunday. Order the Aussie-style breakfast, the dish visitors name most often. Scrambled eggs are also liked, and the plate can be customised with bulgogi and pickles. Coffee drinkers point to the double shot iced long black and the cream matcha as good orders. Its staff are friendly, a point made across most recent visits, and Explorers Park is a 2-minute walk away, so it suits a quick stop with kids.

   Best for: Early breakfast, quick takeaway coffee

3. #3Crust and Crema panini cafe for a toasted panini to go

   $Outdoor seating🌳 Rose Street Playground, 5 min walk

   Crust and Crema panini cafe on Brown Street is open Monday to Saturday from 6am to 3pm. Panini are the main draw, toasted with fresh fillings, and the meatballs and mortadella are the ones visitors name most. Pair one with a coffee, which customers describe as consistently good, and an iced caramel latte gets a mention. The shop also sells sandwiches, savoury pizza squares and sweets. It has tables outside under shelter and shade, and Rose Street Playground is a 5-minute walk away, so it works well for a takeaway lunch with children.

   Best for: Takeaway panini and coffee

4. #4Crews Café for a budget egg and bacon roll on weekdays

   $Outdoor seating🌳 Rose Street Playground, 4 min walk

   Crews Café on Liverpool Road runs as a social enterprise and opens on weekdays only, from 7am until 2:30pm. The egg and bacon roll is the dish visitors name most, and the burgers come with thick, seasoned fries. The social enterprise and the charity work it funds draw many customers back. Meals are affordable, and the coffee is solid, with barista drinks, frappés and gourmet teas for something different. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are on the menu, and Rose Street Playground is a 4-minute walk away, which suits a family breakfast with young children.

   Best for: Budget weekday breakfast and lunch

5. #5Happy Daze Cafe for a sit-down family breakfast

   $$Outdoor seating🌳 Rotary Park, 6 min walk

   Happy Daze Cafe on Charlotte Street opens at 6am every day and closes at 3pm. Order the big breakfast, which comes with thick sourdough, bacon and a hash brown, or the smashed avocado. The pancakes are light and fluffy, and the kids' pancake comes with fruit, ice cream and hazelnut spread. Visitors say the portions are generous and the eggs well cooked. Staff are described as friendly and attentive, and the cafe has table service, step-free access and outdoor seating. From the cafe, Rotary Park is roughly 6 minutes on foot.

   Best for: Sit-down family breakfast

6. #6Outfield Cafe for a relaxed weekend with children

   $$🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Gough Reserve, 1 min walk

   Outfield Cafe at 230 Victoria Street suits a relaxed weekend with children. Children get a kids' menu and toys, the deck seats diners outside, and it is open from 7am to 2:30pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Coffee is consistently great, and the team is friendly and attentive from start to finish. The bacon and egg roll is a favourite among visitors, and the food is tasty for a cafe. Dogs can sit outside, and Gough Reserve is a 1-minute walk away, the closest park on this list.

   Best for: Relaxed weekend with children

7. #7Excelsior Jones for a hash brown breakfast and a good latte

   $$🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Yeo Park, 5 min walk

   On Queen Street, Excelsior Jones has a footpath terrace out front and serves from breakfast through lunch. Go for the pork-hock hash or the house-made corn and herbs fritters. The hash browns have a crisp outside and a soft middle, and visitors praise the avocado toast and mushroom toast. The coffee draws praise too, and the latte with leaf-pattern milk art is the drink to try. Weekday opening is 6:30am and weekend opening 7:30am, and Yeo Park is a 5-minute walk off. Dogs can wait at the outside tables.

   Best for: Breakfast hash browns and a latte

8. #8The Urban Artisans for a chai latte and a laptop session

   $$Outdoor seating🌳 Rose Street Playground, 5 min walk

   The Urban Artisans is a bright cafe inside Ashfield Mall on Liverpool Road, open from 7am to 5pm every day. Go for the haloumi and poached egg on seeded toast, or the smoked salmon version with its red sauce. Visitors call the food delicious, and the chai latte is described as rich and well spiced. The cafe has plenty of seating indoors and on the terrace, a kids' menu and step-free access. Rose Street Playground is 5 minutes away, and it suits a longer session with a laptop.

   Best for: Chai latte and a laptop session

Compare best cafes in Ashfield

The table compares price, brunch, outdoor tables, dogs and weekend opening across the cafes in Ashfield.

How we picked best cafes in Ashfield

Cafes are ordered by how well visitors regard them, weighted so that a cafe with many visits counts for more than one with only a few. Each cafe also had to show the facts this page is about: brunch on the menu, weekend hours, dogs inside or outside, and outdoor tables. What each cafe's own page says about its food and coffee was checked as well, so each pick says something the others do not.