Where to Find the Best Brunch and Breakfast in Cairns

With over 2,700 hours of sunshine a year, Cairns is a city that makes the most of its daylight. In a place that wakes before the sun to dive the reef and trek the rainforest, skipping breakfast isn't an option.

Luckily the region is also famous for producing enough raw sugar each year to sweeten over 10 billion cups of coffee, inspiring more top-notch coffee roasters than you’d ever be able to get through in a single visit.

What makes breakfast in Cairns different from, say, Melbourne’s cold brew bars or Sydney’s chic cafés is location and attitude.

Here, you can eat poached eggs while your kids run wild in a waterfront playground, fuel up on smashed avo before snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, or linger over a buffet surrounded by palms and holidaymakers who look like they’ve never heard of Monday mornings.

The resort breakfast buffet must surely be one of the best things about any holiday. Normal dietary rules are suspended, and the only goal is to build a foundation for a day of serious leisure.

MOKU Bar & Grill at the Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, dials this dreamy suspension of reality up to eleven. With a prime view overlooking the resort's famous sandy-fringed lagoon pool, the scent of fresh coffee mingles with tropical flowers and a faint hint of sunscreen through the open-air pavilion.

The buffet itself is a strategic masterpiece. It starts with a technicolor spread of sweet and juicy local tropical fruits that are a world away from the sad melon cubes of city life.

The pastries are a flaky, buttery gauntlet of temptation. But the main event is the hot meal section, a bustling hub of activity where the chefs at the egg station will whip you up an omelette with five-star precision. 

This is the ultimate strategic win for any traveller, especially if you're travelling with kids or a large group. It’s a delicious truce that silences picky eaters and fuels the entire family for a day on the reef.

Address: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, 174-180 Lake St, Cairns City  
Opening hours: Breakfast served daily, 6:30am – 10:30am

If you’re travelling with children, family favourite Muddy's isn’t just a café; it’s a masterstroke of civic planning.

Located right on the Cairns Esplanade, the café is attached to Muddy's Playground, a vast, free, and frankly brilliant water park and play area.

This means you can order a coffee and a plate of eggs benedict, take a seat at an outdoor table, and watch your kids safely burn off their holiday energy from a comfortable distance.  

The menu is classic Aussie cafe fare done well, with everything from big breakfasts to açai bowls. The coffee is solid, with beans from local crew Ransom Coffee, the service is geared for speed and efficiency, and the atmosphere is a lively, happy chaos of local families and tourists.

It’s not the spot for a quiet, contemplative morning, but for a real-world family breakfast, it’s unbeatable. You might even get to finish your coffee while it’s still hot. 

Address: 174 Esplanade, Cairns City 

Opening hours: Daily, 6:30am – 6:00pm

Tucked away in a graffiti-adorned laneway in the heart of the CBD, Caffeind is a temple to the bean. This is where you go when you need an expertly extracted espresso. Run by people who are genuinely passionate about their product, the café has a reputation as one of the best in Far North Queensland. 

Always buzzing with a loyal following of locals who know where to find the good stuff, Caffeind isn't just about the coffee. The menu is a creative and thoughtfully curated list that caters beautifully to all dietary needs, with standout gluten-free and vegan options.

Dishes like their chilli scrambled eggs or the Japanese-inspired Okonomiyaki are a welcome departure from the standard cafe script. It’s a small space and it gets busy, so you might have to wait for a table, but for a breakfast that feels authentic and is guaranteed to satisfy your caffeine craving, it’s worth it. 

Address: 70 Grafton St, Cairns City  

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 7:00am – 2:00pm; Saturday & Sunday, 7:30am – 1:00pm 

At the southern end of the waterfront, past the Reef Fleet Terminal, Wharf One offers a completely different vibe to the family-focused northern Esplanade.

Here, the view swaps playground shrieks for the gentle clinking of yacht masts and panoramic scenes across Trinity Inlet. It's a prime spot to watch the marina come to life as the reef boats head out for the day. The café itself is a breezy, open-plan space that makes the most of its location. 

The menu is extensive and reliable, covering all the breakfast classics you’d expect.

Crucially, for families looking for a slightly more relaxed waterfront option, they have a dedicated kids' menu that goes beyond the usual scrambled suspects, with simple, child-friendly breakfasts. It’s the perfect compromise: a sophisticated view for the adults, and a guaranteed meal-winner for the kids.  

Address: Wharf St, Building 2, Cairns City  

Opening hours: Daily, 7:00am – 9:00pm 

Some holiday mornings demand a late start. For those days, The Chambers is your answer.

Housed in a beautifully restored 1920s heritage-listed building, this café brings big-city sophistication to the Cairns brunch scene. Their main draw? All-day brunch, available until 2:30pm.  
 

This is the place where breakfast flows into lunch, and a mimosa feels less like a choice and more like a necessity. The menu is refined and contemporary, with dishes that are as beautiful as the high-ceilinged, art-deco-inspired interior. Think prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with poached eggs or decadent French toast.

The venue is split into multiple spaces, including a leafy courtyard and a more formal dining room, so you can choose your own adventure. It's the perfect spot for a celebratory brunch, a lazy holiday morning, or for anyone who believes breakfast food shouldn't be confined to the early hours of the day. 

Address: 21 Spence St, Cairns City  

Opening hours: Daily, 7:00am – 10:00pm (Brunch served until 2:30pm) 

Beyond the city's excellent cafes, a fiercely passionate scene of local roasters has stealthily created one of the most underrated coffee scenes in the country. For those who can taste the difference between a washed and a natural process bean from fifty paces—Cairns has an impressive cohort of world-class artisans.  

Tattooed Sailor has a port city soul, roasting its own beans on-site with a focus on ethical sourcing and bold flavours. It's the kind of place where the staff can talk you through every note in your cup, from citrus to chocolate, without a hint of pretension.

The quest for the perfect cup continues at White Whale Coffee Roasters, who have earned their reputation with award-winning, meticulously roasted beans, developing a cult following amongst locals who buy their blends by the kilo.  

Just as obsessive, but with a laneway edge, is Ransom Specialty Coffee. This is a purist's hideout, a place where the focus is squarely on the quality and integrity of the coffee itself. It’s less of a social hangout and more of a place of pilgrimage for those who want to taste some of the best-brewed coffee in the north.

Billy's Coffee, operating out of a charming hole-in-the-wall,  proves you don't need a sprawling menu or fancy decor when your coffee is consistently excellent and served with a genuine smile. It’s the honest, reliable, daily driver for countless locals, from office workers to tradies. Waiting in the line at Billy’s is where you see the real city wake up.  

If the minimalist, single-origin approach feels too restrictive, then Cruze Coffee might be more your style. Walking into their shop is like entering a library of flavour, with walls lined with dispensers holding dozens of different bean varieties from all over the world.

The knowledgeable staff act as your guide, helping you navigate from light and fruity Ethiopian beans to rich and earthy Sumatran blends. They’ll grind your selection for any machine you own, making it a perfect stop for souvenirs. 

Cairns offers a diverse breakfast scene. For a fantastic hotel buffet, head to MOKU at Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort. For a family-friendly meal on the waterfront, Muddy's Café is unbeatable. Coffee aficionados should visit Caffeind in the CBD, while Wharf One café provides beautiful marina views.

Muddy's Café on the Esplanade is the top choice, located right next to a large, free water playground. Wharf One Café is another great choice with a dedicated kids' menu and a more relaxed atmosphere overlooking the marina, providing space for prams and highchairs.

For stunning waterfront dining, visit Muddy's Café on the northern Esplanade, which offers views across the Coral Sea. Alternatively, Wharf One Café at the southern end of the waterfront provides beautiful, uninterrupted views of the boats and yachts in Trinity Inlet and the marina.

The breakfast buffet at MOKU Bar & Grill, located at Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, is widely regarded as one of the best in the city. It features an extensive selection of hot and cold dishes, an egg station, fresh pastries, and gorgeous tropical fruit.

The Chambers, located in a beautiful heritage building in the CBD, is the go-to destination for brunch in Cairns. They serve an all-day brunch menu until 2:30pm and are fully licensed, making it perfect for a leisurely meal with a mimosa or bloody Mary.

For serious coffee lovers, Caffeind in the CBD is the local favourite. This laneway café is known for its expertly made espresso using specialty beans and its passionate baristas, delivering a consistently high-quality brew that rivals any capital city café. For standout beans and local acclaim, Tattooed Sailor, White Whale, and Ransom Speciality Coffee are frequently recommended by locals and food writers alike.