Brunswick East is having its main character moment. Over the past few years, more wine bars, specialty cafes and trendy restaurants have popped up than you could poke a bottle of lo-fi wine at. This ‘burb is the spot to be.
From bottle store bars blasting vinyl to cafes slinging coffee made using some of the best beans in the world, Brunswick East has it all.
Brunswick East At A Glance
- Best Restaurants In Brunswick East
- Best Bars In Brunswick East
- Best Cafes & Bakeries In Brunswick East
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We’ve sussed out all the hot spots so you can know exactly where to go. Here are the best restaurants, bars, bakeries and cafes Brunswick East has to offer in 2025 according to Urban List:
Best Restaurants In Brunswick East
From hatted neighbourhood restaurants to casual diners that might just (very pleasantly) surprise you, here are the best East Brunswick restaurants right now:
Etta
60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image: Etta Brunswick East | Supplied
Etta is a true modern Aussie charmer. Walking into the contemporary restaurant feels like you’ve been invited into a good friend’s house, and that good friend happens to be really damn talented in the kitchen.
Lauded as one of the best restaurants on Lygon Street, the contemporary diner focuses on local ingredients and bold, wholesome flavours. Highlights include the stracciatella, and the raw beef and salted mushrooms. Wet your whistle with a cocktail, like a Salted Caramel Old Fashioned or a Milk & Honey with beeswax gin. Despite serving up haute cuisine, Etta is at heart a neighbourhood bar so don't be afraid to take your time and soak up the vibes.
P.S. Stay tuned for more info on the highly anticipated opening of Daphne, from the acclaimed restaurateur behind Etta, Hannah Green. It’ll be taking over Bar Romantica’s old digs just a few doors down from Etta.
Bar Idda
132 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Contrary to what the name suggests, Bar Idda is a restaurant. It’s a cosy affair here, with enough seats for you, your mates and maybe your mates’ partners, too. Especially in the summer, you can’t beat sitting out on the street, soaking up all the ambiance Brunswick East’s Lygon Street has to offer.
The menu is loosely tied to Sicilian-style dining, with offerings occasionally straying into subtle Middle-Eastern influences. Definitely try one of their pasta options, like the Tagliatelle with blue swimmer crab, zucchini, saffron and chilli. Or take out the guesswork: for just $70 plus $45 for a matched wine pairing, Bar Idda's Sicilian chef's menu is the biz.
Their wine list has some awesome big bottles for sharing, like a 1L of Montepulciano (for when, you know, you're a little thirsty). And their spritzes are the ultimate refreshing pick-me-up.
Old Palm Liquor
133B Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image: Old Palm Liquor | Supplied
Old Palm Liquor is housed in a former warehouse, an ideal space for a wine, a bar snack and before you know it three hours will have passed. The oozing 80s aesthetic throughout provides the laid-back atmosphere perfect for all sorts of occasions.
The seasonal menu changes daily but you can expect wonders like woodfired cider-brined Otway pork chop or charred broccolini with radicchio and confit garlic cream. The mid week flathead is another winner: whole flathead with garlic butter served alongside flatbread and spiced whipped ricotta for $50 per person. The wine list is just as impressive, with 1300 varieties on offer.
Eat Pierogi Make Love
161 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
What started as a market stall selling pierogi (potato and cheese Polish dumplings) back in 2012 is now one of the best restaurants Brunswick East has to offer. Eat Pierogi Make Love serves up Polish food with a personable touch, and saying it works is an understatement.
The chef’s menu costs $59pp and is a solid choice if you feel overwhelmed looking at the menu. The interior is oh-so-memorable. Newly renovated with tiled walls, cute booths and beautiful bench tops. Defs one for the Insta story. The music is loud, the restaurant is packed and it’s the Friday night energy you’re searching for.
Oh, and every Monday night they do $39 all-you-can-eat pierogies. There are five flavours to choose from, with vegan, vegetarian and meat options up for grabs.
Téta Mona
100A Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image: Téta Mona | Supplied
Run by twin brothers Antoine and Charlie Taouk who learned traditional Lebanese recipes and skills from their grandmother Mona, Téta Mona is a legacy to its namesake and to Lebanese culture.
At Téta Mona, they serve up truly fabulous Lebanese food on Lygon street and maybe one of the best falafels in Melbourne. Other than their falafels try the Sambousek Bi Jebne, which are halloumi and feta pastries topped with pomegranate molasses. The fried cauliflower is also a must-try. Of course you can’t go wrong with the banquet which starts at $54, and includes your choice of six dishes. Whatever you choose, settle yourself in for a feast of epic proportions.
If you're not au fait with Lebanese wine, acquaint yourself. Bottles are very affordable and pair perfectly with everything that's on the menu. Last but not least: book ahead, we repeat, book ahead, it gets *busy* at peak times.
Capricho Grilled Chicken Brunswick East
418 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
If you’re after satisfying, healthy food without the hassle of making it yourself, then Capricho’s is your spot. It’s honest, free-range, halal and chemical-free chicken with Latin-inspired marinade.
Get a whole roasted chicken and choose your spice level (from Capricho BBQ or lime & herb to habanero BBQ or hot) with a side of sweet potato chips and grilled corn. Or try the Capricho burrito with grilled chicken, salsa rice, tomato, capsicum, chickpea and lettuce.
The interior is colourful and casual, or you can get your finger-licking chicken to-go.
P.S. Keen to venture a little further west? Here are the best restaurants in Brunswick.
Best Bars In Brunswick East
You can’t get more than a few steps down Brunswick East’s Lygon Street without spotting another booze spot. The standard for bars here is high, which means you have some stunning places to check out. Here are the best East Brunswick bars:
Bahama Gold
135 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Bahama Gold is a big vibe. Next door to its sister venue, Old Palm Liquor, this joint is right in the thick of it on Lygon Street. Friday and Saturday evenings you’ll find a sprawling crowd edging onto the street, all trying to soak up the vibes and tunes with a glass of lo-fi wine in hand.
Part bar, part bottle shop, Bahama Gold has an impressive yet ever-evolving wine list that will have you spoilt for choice. The wines here are low on intervention, big on flavour with an emphasis on locally made.
Behind the bar is a pizza oven, where you can watch as your za is cooked to perfection. There's also a sunny courtyard out the back for those balmy, boozy afternoons on the plonk.
Live in the area and have a wine-mergency? You can get the good stuff delivered within the hour.
Waxflower
153 Weston Street, Brunswick East
Image: Waxflower | Supplied
Good wine and great vinyl, what more could you want? Waxflower nods to the record bars you’d likely find in Tokyo or smattered around LA and Brooklyn. The music played during their monthly DJ programming, everything from funk to hip-hop to neo-soul, is as intricately curated as the sound design. You wouldn’t know it looking at the walls, but a lot of thought has gone into the acoustics—there are layers of batts, followed by air pockets which are covered off with pulped wood wool.
The options here mostly centre around wine made with minimal intervention or a natural winemaking approach. There are also six beer taps that rotate frequently among local and independent varieties. Food is curated by Head Chef Dave Falvey and is influenced by European and Peruvian style cuisine.
Grana
331 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Walking through the door to Grana feels like a hug from an old friend. From the team behind next door’s Figlia and the CBD’s Tipo 00, Grana is a boutique deli meets neighbourhood wine bar. The intimate venue is centred around one huge communal table, where you can enjoy a glass of sparkling orange wine or get a bottle of one of the 300 wines that line the fridges and walls.
There’s a range of snacks, house made cheeses, pizzas and more on the menu. The service and vibe are spot on — you’re guaranteed a good time here.
East Brunswick Hotel
280 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
It’s the type of place everybody needs to check out at least once — the duelling pianos at East Brunswick Hotel are an absolute hoot and a half. Also known as the East Brunswick Piano Bar, every Friday and Saturday night from 8pm two pianists embark the small stage in the centre of the pub’s floor to sit eye-to-eye upon their pianos. Punters write their requests on pieces of paper and the pianists happily oblige (as long as it’s in their repertoire, but trust us they know a lot). It gets rowdy here, expect singing, dancing, and sometimes even some heckling (from both the pianists and the punters).
This Brunswick East pub might also be home to some of the cheapest drinks in the locale. If you want to start the evening early, happy hour is from 3pm to 6pm on weekdays and you can snag $12 espresso martinis as well as $8 house wines and pints.
Best Cafes & Bakeries In Brunswick East
From one of the best bakeries in Melbourne to cafes serving up coffee using some of the best beans from around the world, you’ll want to grab a seat at these joints. Here are the best cafes and bakeries Brunswick East has to offer:
To Be Frank
3 Village Avenue, Brunswick East
Image: To Be Frank East Brunswick Village | Supplied
The original To Be Frank location is nestled down Bedford Street in Collingwood, and won hearts not only with their perfectly baked bread (made using the Respectus Panis method of bread-making which involves long fermentation and minimal yeast), but also with playful culturally relevant creations like Ted Lasso’s shortbread (we love). Now there’s a second location calling East Brunswick Village home, and locals couldn’t be happier.
From double chocolate croissants to a coconut and dulce de leche bomb, there’s no shortage of treats to satisfy your sweet tooth. If the smell of straight-out-of-the-oven pastries isn’t enough to stop you in your tracks on your next EBV visit, the pairing of freshly ground coffee beans by local Melbourne roaster, Symmetry Coffee Roasters, will probably do the trick.
Padre Coffee
438 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image: Padre Coffee Brunswick East | Supplied
Padre Coffee is a roastery known far and wide, with stores speckled across the country. Well, this humble store is where it all began back in 2008. Up the north end of Lygon Street, the minimalist Brunswick East cafe serves up perfectly-dialled in coffee alongside pastries and a small selection of breakfast offerings.
For those who want to dive deeper, there are all sorts of coffee training and events at this store: Chemex brewing workshops, espresso 101 courses, and single origin cupping explanations.
Catalogue Coffee
Unit 1/36 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Catalogue Coffee is a love letter to specialty coffee, in cafe form. The newest brew-related addition to Lygon Street, it’s a hole-in-a-wall whose walls are lined with the best of the best local and international beans. Seating is limited but if you can perch up with your coffee of choice and a pastry, you’ll be a very happy camper. The guys here are super knowledgeable and love nothing more than sharing that knowledge, so ask away.
Wildlife Bakery
90 Albert Street, Brunswick East
The offerings at Wildlife Bakery are best enjoyed straight out of the oven: crunchy croissants made from locally made butter and overnight fermented sourdough made using local stone ground flour. On the menu, the toasties are second to none. Think vegan kimchi toastie with cashew mozzarella or ham, cheese and mustard toastie — both with their blend of comté, cheddar and asiago cheeses. Wildlife is well known for the house made cheese and preserves, both definitely worth checking out.
Inside you’ll find exposed brick walls, concrete flooring and tall ceilings, fitted out with modern cabinets and gorgeous tiled benches. You can peek through the glass window and see what’s cooking inside the kitchen.
Main Image Credit: Old Palm Liquor.
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