8 of the best cafes in Mount Gambier to start your day

Tahlia Pritchard Tahlia Pritchard
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Fuel your body at Mount Gambier’s best cafes before taking in the stunning scenery and history around you.

Located halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, it is one of Australia’s must-see gems, though it may not always get the attention and recognition it deserves. South Australia’s Mount Gambier, found on the breathtaking Limestone Coast, is nestled on the slopes of a dormant volcano and is also home to the aptly named Blue Lake which occupies one of the craters of the maar volcano.

If you’re planning a road trip or a getaway to this picturesque location with its stunning natural sinkholes, lush greenery, and mesmerising caves, there’ll be plenty of hikes and history to take in – but first, most importantly, it’ll be imperative to fuel up for a day exploring.

Luckily Mount Gambier boasts many high-quality cafes with delicious coffee and mouth-watering breakfast options, and we’ve rounded up a selection of the best.

1. Bricks & Mortar Coffee Co.

Coffee aficionados need to head straight to Bricks & Mortar Coffee Co. upon rising. This speciality roaster boasts its own brew bar where you can witness their coffee and brewing techniques. Sit down with a cup of coffee (roasted in-house, of course) or take your coffee to-go and stroll around Vansittart Park across the road.

Bricks & Mortar Coffee Co
Get your coffee fix at Bricks & Mortar Coffee Co. (Image: Andy Nowell)

Address: 2A/4 Wehl St N, Mount Gambier

2. Metro Cafe

With a huge range of cakes, pastries, baked goods, and savoury dishes, it’s easy to see why Metro is a hit amongst locals and tourists alike. Plus, they cater for all, with a great range of gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options for those with intolerances. Treat yourself to the mouth-watering fluffy pancakes with your morning coffee and start the day with a spring in your step.

a close-up photo of food at Metro Cafe in Mount Gambier
Go and grab a hearty brunch at Metro Cafe.

Address: 15 Commercial St, Mount Gambier

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3. Bay Blue Espresso Bar

With the charm of a cosy inner-city coffee joint, Bay Blue Espresso is just a hop, skip, and jump away from the Blue Lake. While the smell of roasted coffee will entice you in, the house-baked goods are a must-try (and you won’t want to stop at just one freshly baked Cinnamon Scroll!). The staff are friendly, the menu is simple but stacked with high-quality breakfast favourites like bircher muesli and tasty toasties, and the cafe is pet-friendly, so if you’re travelling with your pooch, they’ll also feel right at home.

Address: 45 Bay Rd, Mount Gambier

4. Presto Eatery

This super popular cafe is constantly busy for a reason – the coffee is to die for, and the meals are Instagram-ready. Not big on caffeine? The fresh juices are the perfect accompaniment while you kick back outside and soak in the morning rays.

Presto eatery smashed avo
Take your pick from a delicious meal selection. (Image: Andy Nowell)

The breakfast options will suit everyone’s needs, from delicious big breakfasts to the nourishing porridge option, and if your sweet tooth is activated in the AM, try the cinnamon ‘donut’ French toast – you won’t regret it.

Even when you leave Mount Gambier, you can take a piece of it home with you, with Presto’s coffee beans available to purchase in-store.

Address: 37 Commercial St E, Mount Gambier

5. San Piero Coffee Bar

Attention coffee lovers! This charming cafe boasts some of the region’s best coffee, and they’ve got awards to prove it. San Piero serves up fresh local blends, house-made cacao, and delicious cold drips that will reinvigorate you for the day ahead. Don’t forget to take home a bag of their drinking chocolate, the perfect treat during the cooler months.

Address: 54 Commercial St E, Mount Gambier

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6. Cafe Melzar

Tucked away down a quiet little laneway, Cafe Melzar brings some inner-city culture to the area. With excellent coffee that will bring a pep back into your step, fresh juices, and a seasonal menu, this hidden gem will fulfil all your brunch needs. If you’re looking for something sweet, the Banoffee Delight or Apple & Rhubarb Crumble will not disappoint.

a hand slicing a sandwich at Cafe Melzar, Mount Gambier
Get your brunch fix. (Image: Cafe Melzar)

Plant-based friends will love the delicious vegan options like the aptly titled Earth Lovers vegetable medley, consisting of sourdough toast, grilled vegetables, house-made beans, and smashed avo.

Address: 5/7 Englebrecht Ln, Mount Gambier

7. Nalou Kitchen

With its indoor plants and a soothing palette of greens and blues, Nalour Kitchen is a peaceful spot to start your day. If you’re craving the classics, they sling smashed avo, bacon and eggs, and croissants, or if you’re up for something different there’s corn, zucchini, and carrot fritters with smoked salmon, sticky date pancakes, and banana caramel waffles.

Address: 82 Commercial St W, Mount Gambier

8. Mount Gambier Little Saigon Cafe

This lovely little Vietnamese cafe boasts a variety of tasty Viet options as well as traditional breakfast fare. Save this one for a sunny day, as you’ll want to perch up with your coffee and brekkie in the glorious backyard garden setting. Little Saigon also has a great variety of lunch options if you’ve overdone it on the smashed avo, so don’t forget to pick up some fresh rice paper rolls and save them for later.

Address: 34 Sturt St, Mount Gambier

To continue on your food tour of Mount Gambier, make sure to check out our guide to the must-visit Mount Gambier restaurants.

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Tahlia Pritchard

Tahlia Pritchard

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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.