Going out for brekkie is awesome, and when you’re on holiday or enjoying a weekend away, it’s even better. Here’s my pick of best breakfast spots in Margaret River, in alphabetical order.
Breakfast
Blue Ginger – Blue Ginger is tucked away in the industrial area of Margaret River and it’s a secret the locals try to keep to themselves. Great coffee, nice vibe, mismatched quirky old furniture, a fabulous breakfast and the cafe is attached to wonderful whole food and gourmet food store. Bring an empty container and get it filled with local honey or olive oil, buy grains and nuts by the scoop and pick up those hard to find international ingredients. There’s also an incredible deli counter.
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The Grand Mercure Basildene Manor is a charming hotel, part of the Accor group situated on Wallcliffe Road (towards the beach from town). I’ve head of their amazing breakfast but can’t vouch for it personally as I’ve not yet been. It describes itself has offering international cuisine with a hot and cold breakfast buffet. If you eat there, tell me what’s it like. I’m curious to know if a hotel breakfast is as good as the rumours.
Photo: Grand Mercure Basildene Manor website
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Drift Cafe is as cute as a button. Situated just off Bussell Highway, tucked up side street Willmott Avenue, in the heart of Margaret River. It’s great alternative when the main street is heaving. Open for breakfast and lunch every day, you can sit on a little balcony out the front or cosy up indoors. How good does that cake look below?
Mango, coconut and yoghurt mousse cake at Drift Cafe. Photo: Facebook
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Margaret River Bakery near the service station at the bottom end of Bussell Highway is a favourite with locals and holiday makers. It’s recently had a face lift and there’s a great deck where you can sit and enjoy a coffee, breakfast or lunch. The pies and sausage rolls are all baked in-house. My favourite is the bacon bagel – it’s so good. The setting is quirky – mismatched retro table and chairs, old arm chairs and the like. The cutlery and crockery is the same – pretty patterned plates, old fashioned knives and forks that you’d find in your great grandparents house – that sort of thing. It’s popular and gets very busy. Good coffee, decent food, and one of the better choices in town to go for brekkie. Pick up some organic freshly baked bread to go while you’re there.
Margaret River Bakery
Riversmith in Margaret River town centre looks the part and is great for coffee and cake. Our breakfast experience was disappointing, so much so that Zorba flatly refuses to go back. Others love it and I think it would be worth going there again to give it a second chance – you never know, maybe the chef was sick that day or they were just generally having a bad day. It’s a lovely space with a great outdoor area, nice shop / retail space with cookbooks and fancy wine accessories. Seems to be popular with visitors and the concrete bench is a great place to sit and watch the action on the main street.
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Sea Garden at Prevelly Beach is the one with a fence of surfboards. It’s under new management (has been since March 2016) and as much as I want to try it, it’s hard to go past the White Elephant where I know the coffee is good and the food is fresh and satisfying. I did go for lunch in February 2017 and it wasn’t a lunch that could recommend but the coffee was pretty good. But they do have ocean views and lot of promise. The good news is that they are licensed so if having something stronger than coffee is what you need, then you’ll be in luck. If you eat at Sea Garden, let me know about it!
Sea Garden breakfast with an ocean view. Photo: The Sea Garden Facebook
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Sidekick Cafe – next to the IGA Supermarket and opposite Settlers Tavern – this little cafe does great coffee and also more hipster drinks like tumeric almond milk lattes. Whether you’re in the mood for healthy bowl of granola, a full brekkie, a green juice and protein ball or a luscious triple layer cream cake, Sick Kick is a good choice. Owned by the same people who own Settlers Tavern.
Beetroot almond milk latte from Sidekick Cafe. Photo: Facebook
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White Elephant Beach Cafe in Gnarabup – arguably the most stunning view of any cafe anywhere along Australia’s coast, this place just nails it. Great coffee, awesome breakfast choices from hang-over cure in the brekky burger to healthy house-made bircher muesli. Lunch choices are just as tantilising – the whiting or smashed pumpkin are my favs. I could sit in the sun and stare at the ocean for hours and hours – in fact, I have done that on more than one occasion – I’ve gone for brekkie and stayed for lunch too! Don’t miss this place on your down south visit. There’s an indoor area with a fire, which is awesome in winter to cosy up and watch the weather roll in. Open for breakfast and lunch and available for bookings for weddings. Check their Facebook page for updates on events.
Full disclosure, the owners, Margaret River Hospitality Group, were previous clients of mine but hand on heart, I’d rave about this place regardless. And I bet you will too.
The view from the White Elephant Beach Cafe
And there’s always the Margaret River Farmers’ Market (Saturday morning only 8am – 12pm at the Education Campus, 272 Bussell Highway) where you can buy all sorts of delicious local produce and grab breakfast.
p.s. I haven’t included places in Yallingup and Dunsborough – I’ll save that for another post. If you can’t wait for that, my hot tip for brekkie in Dunsborough is Wild Cafe, and in Vasse, get some . So good!