Move Over, Smashed Avocado – Breakfast Pasta is Here

Fuel up with the best brekkie menus in town. Smashed avo optional.

Mac’n’please

Breakfast pasta. Yes, you read that correctly. At Sicilian-influenced eatery Small Axe Kitchen in Melbourne, maccaruni is topped with crisp guanciale (cured pork cheek), peas, mint, salted ricotta, a slow-cooked egg and a grating of pecorino. This cheeky twist on carbonara is heaven in a bowl.

Image: Lauren Bamford

Blue-sky morning

There was a time when blue had no business being edible but at Concrete Jungle in Sydney’s Chippendale, it’s sought by anyone looking for a healthy hit. The Blue Majik Smoothie Bowl is created by blending algae powder (an extract of spirulina, said to be packed full of antioxidants and nutrients) with pineapple, banana, coconut yoghurt and coconut water. The crowning glory? Blueberries, coconut flakes, housemade granola and edible flowers.

Batter up

In America’s South, fried chicken and waffles pops up on breakfast menus with alarming regularity. The savoury waffle at Rogue bar and bistro in Brisbane is a fancy riff on the classic, with popcorn chicken, a fried egg, smoked aïoli, carrot jam and maple syrup.

Mushroom magic

The truffled mushroom ragù on the breakfast menu at Adelaide’s Bar 9 consists of a couple of slices of toast smothered with creamy mushrooms then topped with two poached eggs and finished with a drizzle of truffled honey. The locals will riot if it’s ever removed.

Waffle on

Laden with peanut-butter cream, dulce de leche (creamy caramel sauce) and slices of banana, the cocoa waffles at Hobart’s Pilgrim Coffee are a sweet way to start the day.

That takes the (pan)cake

Darwinians reckon that one of the best breakfast spots in the city is Laneway Specialty Coffee in Parap. After tucking into the organic buckwheat hot cake served with fresh berries, seeds, vanilla-bean panna cotta, pistachios and cinnamon syrup, you won’t argue.

Capital crunch

If you feel you should eat muesli but it seems a bit boring, you’ll love the amped-up version at Canberra’s stylish Mocan & Green Grout. The granola with roasted rhubarb, caramelised apple purée, vanilla labne and a black-and-white sesame crisp is a tasty, sin-free delight.

Just say olé

Why no-one had thought to serve tapas for breakfast before is anyone’s guess. At Melbourne’s Nómada, there’s a lengthy menu of Mediterranean treats to mix and match. You can’t go past the boquerones-and-mahón toastie (that’s Spanish for anchovies and mild, salty cheese) with a side of coal-blistered tomatoes and manchego.

Feel the fusion

Asian flavours meet the full English at Boon Cafe in Sydney’s Haymarket. The Big Boon Breakfast is a tasting platter of congee, skewered pork, baked eggs, bacon, avocado, mushrooms and sourdough. There’s enough energy in one serve to keep you going all day – or to share with a friend.

Top image: Small Axe Kitchen/Lauren Bamford