Where To Do Brekky, Brunch & Coffee on Tassie’s North West Coast
Tassie’s north west region doesn’t tend to get the airtime of its big brother counterparts in Hobart and Launceston, but those in the know have been eating and drinking very well out here for years. From bagels with their own cult following, to a converted 1960s milk bar on the foreshore, the north west has quietly built one of the most character-filled breakfast and coffee scenes in the state. Here’s where to start your day while you’re there.
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THE HARBOURMASTER CAFÉ
Perched right on the Devonport waterfront, The Harbourmaster Café boasts the kind of outlook that does the early hours of the morning plenty of favours. The all-day breakfast menu runs the gamut from classics like granola and eggs benny, to more adventurous dishes - think waffles with fried chicken and whipped chipotle butter, or prawn and chorizo scramble cooked in sambal butter with prawn bisque and fried kale. Make sure to respect the concept of the sweets stomach here, because the cabinet nearly always features a delicious iteration of flavoured basque cheesecake. It’s called breakfast dessert - look it up.
93 Formby Road, Devonport
Daily, 8am-2:30pm
LANEWAY
True to its name, Laneway is tucked away in Devonport’s main business district, offering vibes akin to some of Melbourne’s coolest cafés, with the Tasmanian sensibility that we know and love. The breakfast menu is split into three sections, all of them enticing: bowls (smoothie, keto, and spiced black beans), waffles (berries and cream or fried chicken), and all-day classics (smashed avo, wraps and burgers, and even a steak and eggs dish). Whatever your choice, wash it down with strong coffee or a freshly-squeezed juice to really do the most important meal of the day justice.
2/38 Steele Street, Devonport
Daily, 6am-3pm
FUNDAMENTAL ESPRESSO
What started as Devonport’s answer to truly specialty coffee has evolved into an institution attracting crowds not just for espresso, but for truly iconic stuffed bagels. At Fundamental, the humble boiled ring of carbs gets its own menu of half a dozen options, plus a monthly special - the social media drop for which is hotly anticipated. Of the mainstays, the aptly-named Breakfast is stacked with crispy bacon, free-range egg, cheddar, smoked tomato relish, aioli and greens, while the Halloumi subs the bacon out for everyone’s favourite grilled squeaky cheese. Oh, and the coffee is still some of the best in town.
6 Edward Street, Devonport
Monday-Friday, 6am-2pm
Saturday, 7am-1pm
THE BROWN BEAR EATERY
Just a few minutes out of the main Devonport drag, The Brown Bear Eatery is a locals’ go-to for its friendly service, sunny outdoor seating, and a breakfast line-up that prioritises comfort and generosity. Case in point: The Grizzle - the eatery’s answer to the ubiquitous big breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, haloumi, hash brown, beans and toast … and at a price that won’t make your eyes water, particularly when the serving is big enough to cover lunch, too. Though the always-on menu is difficult to resist, please do your best to turn your attention to the daily blackboard. With recent specials including a “pancake charcuterie board” (in which acai sorbet, berry compote, banana, honeycomb and Nutella were just half of the grazing options), it’s evident that the kitchen has as much fun dreaming these up as you’ll have eating them.
33a Berrigan Road, Miandetta
Tuesday-Saturday, 8am-2pm
THIRTY THREE CUPS
Tasmania’s north west sits amongst the world’s great food-producing regions, and for Thirty Three Cups, close proximity is reason enough to do just about everything from scratch. Harnessing local, seasonal ingredients, this Ulverstone stalwart serves up syrups, sauces, breads and cakes made entirely in-house, alongside excellent coffee and iced drinks. While the breakfast menu might look familiar at first glance, closer inspection reveals a poker player-like approach to the classics: taking, for instance, dippy eggs, and raising them with savoury French toast, herb salt and whipped truffle butter. The sweeter French toast option - banana bread soaked in vanilla custard, and topped with whipped mascarpone, compote, and salted maple syrup - makes a similarly strong case for abandoning restraint. Breakfast never needed it anyway.
26 King Edward Street, Ulverstone
Monday-Saturday, 7:30am-2:30pm
Sunday, 8am-2pm
HEY BUDDY CAFÉ
Speaking of French toast, fellow Ulverstonian Hey Buddy Café rather enjoys making it fancy, too. Here, it’s topped with a crème brûlée custard (yes, it gets the blowtorch action), and served with fresh fruit and biscuit crumble. It’s a main player on the less virtuous end of the menu spectrum, the other end of which features overnight-soaked oats with dollops of creamy yoghurt, a fruit and toasted granola combo, and a nourish bowl of falafel, haloumi, grains, hummus, and other equally wholesome accouterments. Coffee is by Allpress Espresso, and poured however you like it with plenty of alt milk options, and the uncaffeinated are more than looked after - try the Higher Being Tonic Latte for a TGA-approved medicinal mushroom and Peruvian cacao energy hit without the comedown.
35 Queen Street, West Ulverstone
Wednesday-Friday, 7am-2pm
Saturday-Sunday, 8am-2pm
THE PENGUIN PANTRY
As the moniker suggests, this trendy corner store is more (fancy) neighbourhood grocer than it is dedicated café per se, but nobody ever said that coffee and a toasted sandwich doesn’t count as breakfast. At The Penguin Pantry, a tight list of short order items are done really well - the Simple Toastie, for example, does exactly what it says on the can: cheddar, ham and relish on white loaf making for a delicious hit of nostalgia any time of the day. There’s also a hot box of ready-to-go pastries, and a smoothies menu for the liquid meal-inclined. Follow your brekky, brunch or coffee break with a peruse of the shelves for fresh produce, local condiments, flowers, today-baked bread, and more. Bulk shopping bags required.
86 Main Road, Penguin
Monday-Friday, 7am-4pm
Saturday-Sunday, 7am-2pm
THE CHAPEL
In the 1890s, this Wesleyan chapel was a site of worship for Methodist Christians. These days, while it retains its heritage, The Chapel places its faith solidly in the religion of coffee, beer and great food. So zealous are these guys about the good stuff that they roast their own coffee on-site - which tells you everything you need to know about the quality of what lands in your cup - and the breakfast menu is treated just as seriously. House-baked fruit toast comes with a slab of cinnamon butter for that tandsmør moment (IYKYK (if you don’t, please look it up)), while the BRAT Stack puts its acronym to good use with layers of bacon, rocket, avocado and tomato sitting pretty on sourdough, and finished with aioli, balsamic reduction, and an optional egg. Obviously, get the egg.
50 Cattley Street, Burnie
Monday-Friday, 7am-2:30pm
Saturday, 8am-2pm
THE VAULT CAFÉ BAR
Originally constructed in the 1920s, this heritage-listed bank has been recently converted into an all-day café and bar - and Wynyard is the lucky beneficiary. By its own unashamed admission, The Vault’s daytime menu leans more towards brunch than it does breakfast, starting at the totally civilised time of 8am, and leaning heavily into the kinds of flavours that most palates will happily entertain long past the day’s first meal. Yes, there’s eggs on toast, smashed avo, and a brekkie burger, but a walk on the wilder side might see you tuck into wild mushroom arancini with chipotle mayo and olives before the work day even gets started. With no toilet humour intended, please don’t leave without visiting the loo - you’ll understand why when you go.
7 Goldie Street, Wynyard
Monday-Saturday, 7am-10pm
Sunday, 7am-3pm
BRUCE’S CAFÉ
From quaint 1960s milk bar to locally-owned café on the Wynyard foreshore, Bruce’s Café is as beloved for its daily bakes (banoffee pie or biscoff tart, anyone?) as it is for its consistent brews and hearty dishes that hit the spot every time. On the brekky roster, the Breakfast Tacos make for a morning fiesta, packed as they are with scrambled egg, bacon, avocado, salsa, pickled onion and feta, while the Chai Panna Cotta comes with pistachio butter, whipped honey, granola and seasonal fruit. These, and the rest of the menu - other highlights of which include the House-Made Potato Hash, Corn Fritters, and a Sweet Potato & Haloumi Stack - will jostle for the top spot on your favourites list, though there will likely never be a clear winner. Guess you’ll just have to keep coming back.
145 Old Bass Highway, Wynyard
Tuesday-Sunday, 8am-3pm
