Axil Coffee Roasters Bourke Street

This is Axil Coffee Roasters’ eighth venue. It’s at the Southern Cross Station end of Bourke Street, and is the first in the CBD to operate with a full brunch menu.

Healthy pick-me-ups include the goodness bowl, a generous serve of barley with haloumi, avocado, asparagus, kale, pickled cabbage and beetroot hummus topped with a soft-boiled egg. A crowd favourite carried over from other Axil kitchens is baked eggs with spicy peperonata (red capsicum slow-cooked with garlic, onion and olive oil), dukkah and Meredith feta with pumpkin grain toast.

Bread is from Woodfrog Bakery, and pastries in the display cabinet are by Penny for Pound.

Coffee is under the direction of head roaster and buyer Matthew Crowley, who’s been with Axil for nearly eight years. Alongside lattes and cappuccinos there’s batch brew, cold drip and other specialties. The long-black spritzer is an iced long black over tonic water, and the New Orleans cold brew uses coffee steeped for 24 hours, infused with chicory root and maple syrup, and served with milk on ice.

Grab a seat in one of the booths, pull up a stool at the bar or sit out in the lobby. There are hints of pastel teal on the seats and upholstery throughout, and warm lighting to soften cool, grey concrete walls.