Best cafes in Cronulla

Best cafes in Cronulla, ranked

1. #1Blackwood for a long weekend brunch

   $$🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Cronulla Park, 3 min walk

   Blackwood is an all-day brunch and lunch cafe in the Surf Lane arcade, open from 7am every day. Order the smashed avo or the Morning Glory, then share a grilled WA octopus with chermoula potatoes. Rosemary truffle chips with truffle mayo are the side most often ordered. The room is bright and high-ceilinged, with outdoor tables, and dogs can sit outside. Cronulla Park is a 3-minute walk away, so a stroll and brunch fit into one morning. Sunny days and weekends fill it quickly, so come early.

   Best for: Long weekend brunch with dogs outside

2. #2Cove By Tay and Tay for an early breakfast and good coffee

   $🌳 Cronulla Park, 2 min walk

   Cove By Tay and Tay is a calm, warm breakfast cafe at 20 Gerrale St, and it opens at 5:30am on weekdays. The scrambled eggs with hot honey are the dish to order, and they come out creamy. The coffee earns praise, and the iced coffee gets a glowing mention. Every latte arrives with a palm tree drawn in the foam. The natural light and calm room suit working or studying. Cronulla Park is a 2-minute walk away.

   Best for: Calm breakfast for a laptop

3. #3LOAF for toasted sandwiches and breakfast burgers

   $🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Tonkin Park, 2 min walk

   LOAF sits in Cronulla Mall and makes toasted sandwiches, jaffles and breakfast burgers, opening at 6am on weekdays. Fillings are generous and the salad is fresh. The breakfast burger is a favourite, and a ham and cheese jaffle is noted for good value. A vegetarian sandwich with beetroot, sprouts and red cabbage is a regular order. Service stays quick even when the shop is busy, and Tonkin Park is a quick 2-minute stroll. The shop also takes catering orders, including fruit platters.

   Best for: Quick sandwich lunch and breakfast burgers

4. #4Contento Cafe for a beachside breakfast after a walk

   $$Outdoor seating🌳 Cronulla Park, 2 min walk

   Contento Cafe is a busy corner cafe on Gerrale Street, directly across from Cronulla Beach. It serves all-day breakfast from 5am, and eggs Benedict, bacon and egg rolls and corn fritters are the dishes diners name. The plates are big and neatly presented. The cappuccinos win praise, and the beans come across as rich and fresh. Visitors say it is noisy and busy at peak times, so go before the rush. Cabinet food at the counter suits a quick takeaway, and the nearest park is Cronulla Park, two minutes on foot.

   Best for: Beachside breakfast, open from 5am

5. #5Rushi for scrambled eggs and matcha drinks

   $$Outdoor seating🌳 Dunningham Park, 4 min walk

   Rushi is a cafe on Kingsway with a Japanese-style menu, open from 5:30am on weekdays. Early risers can order scrambled eggs on sourdough, fluffy hotcakes, or a bacon and egg roll. Matcha drinks, hot or cold, sit on the menu beside chai and filter coffee. Staff are praised as friendly and attentive, and several diners name the breakfast eggs. The menu marks vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, and Dunningham Park is a 4-minute stroll.

   Best for: Scrambled eggs and matcha on a quick breakfast

6. #6Next Door for a slow brunch with a view

   $$🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Dunningham Park, 2 min walk

   On Kingsway, Next Door is a lively all-day spot with tables outside facing the beach. Regulars come for generous brunch plates, such as avocado on sourdough and a yoghurt bowl with berries, dragon fruit, granola and mint. Pancakes are on the menu as well. Coffee drinkers call it a local favourite. It stays open until 8pm on Fri and Sat, so it also works for dinner. Dunningham Park is two minutes on foot.

   Best for: Brunch with beach views and dinner

7. #7Grind Espresso for single-origin coffee

   $🐕 Dogs outsideOutdoor seating🌳 Cronulla Park, 2 min walk

   Grind Espresso is a coffee-focused cafe on Surf Road, a two-minute walk from Cronulla Park and Monro Park. It opens by 5:30am every day. The bean of the day changes daily, with beans from places like Mexico, Ethiopia and Bali. Coffee drinkers praise the espresso shots and single origins, and a barista among the regulars rates it highly. Food is light, with breakfast and brunch, so treat it as a coffee stop with something small on the side. Afternoons get crowded too.

   Best for: Single-origin espresso and a daily bean

8. #8The Pie Shack for a quick pie lunch

   $Outdoor seating🌳 Dunningham Park, 2 min walk

   The Pie Shack is a pie and cake shop on Cronulla Street, inside the Cronulla Theatre building. Savoury pies include a meat pie, mushroom and gorgonzola, and chicken satay, and the sweet pies are the most praised item. Meat pies share the display case with vegan rolls and gluten-free options. Barista coffee and milkshakes are sold too. Staff are described as friendly, and pastry quality varies between visits. Dunningham Park is a 2-minute stroll, so a takeaway lunch can go to the park.

   Best for: Pie lovers and takeaway lunch in the park

Compare best cafes in Cronulla

The table below sets out price, brunch, outdoor seating, dog rules, weekend hours and the nearest park for each cafe.

How we picked best cafes in Cronulla

Cafes are ranked on overall standing, weighted by how many customers have scored them, so a cafe with only a handful of scores cannot rise on luck alone. Each one also scores for what this page covers: brunch on the menu, weekend hours, dogs inside or outside, and outdoor tables. A small bonus goes to cafes whose food and coffee are described in detail, and the dishes named come from each cafe's own page.