Opinion Best vegan brunch & egg-free breakfasts at cafés around Australia

Love a good brunch but cutting back on eggs? These cafés around Australia are serving incredible vegan brunch options, including tofu scrambles, eggs benedict, and tonnes of other egg-free brunch favourites…

For a long time, Aussie brunch menus have revolved around one ingredient: eggs. Poached, scrambled, folded into omelettes, or perched atop yet another eggs Benedict, these dishes have become so commonplace that they feel almost synonymous with café culture across the country.  But as more people every day look to make food choices that are kinder to hens and the planet, many brunch menus are evolving in an exciting new direction — vegan brunch! 

These days, we’re seeing a whole wave of cafés reimagining egg-based classics with plant-based ingredients — with the aim of bringing something fresh, flavour-packed, and just as satisfying to the table. And honestly, the vegan brunch scene in Australia is so varied, innovative, and mouthwatering that you won’t miss eggs at all.

Think fluffy tofu scramble piled onto crusty sourdough, vegan eggs benedict slathered with velvety cashew hollandaise, protein-packed chickpea omelettes, and loaded vegan big breakfasts that hit all the same savoury notes as the originals. 

Some café kitchens have even figured out how to craft their own vegan eggs in-house — complete with gooey, golden yolks!

Whether you’re thinking of dabbling in the egg-free realm or are just curious what sort of plant-based breakfast dishes are on the menu these days, these popular brunch spots serving ‘eggy’ vegan dishes around Australia are well worth a visit.

📍Brisbane & surrounds

The vegan brunch scene in Brisbane and surrounds (including on the Gold Coast) has quietly blossomed over the last few years! Plenty of cafés in the region now serve satisfying savoury breakfasts that don’t rely on eggs.

At The Green Edge in Windsor, you’ll find an absolutely stacked vegan brunch & breakfast menu including the most indulgent eggs benny (with housemade poached eggs, avocado, ham, and hollandaise), a bacon and egg muffin, a cheese and bacon omelette, a full English breakfast, tofu scramble and more!

Meanwhile, Café Nurcha in Kawana Waters is known for its all-day plant-based breakfast menu featuring hits like a cheesy tofu scramble burrito and a potato-based rosti benny drenched in velvety hollandaise sauce.

Popular spots for a vegan brunch and ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Brisbane & surrounds:

• Café Nurcha
• The Green Edge
• The Milkman’s Daughter
• Vega Café
• Yavanna

📍Sydney

There’s no shortage of plant-based dining options in Sydney, and many local cafés are getting increasingly creative with their egg-free menu items, especially when it comes to vegan brunch! 

A standout has to be 7th Heaven Café, which isn’t fully vegan but offers a separate — and extensive — vegan menu at both of its locations, in Sutherland and Kirrawee. Try their vegan big breakfast, loaded with plant-based poached eggs, bacon, feta, sausage, potato gems, and sautéed veggies, or sink your teeth into their utterly divine vegan bacon, egg, and hash-brown roll.

Shift Eatery in Surry Hills, on the other hand, is a 100% vegan eatery with some truly ridiculous brunch dishes on the menu, many featuring their very own house-made bacon and egg! Personally, I can’t go past their breakfast bagel, which is humbly titled “the best vegan bacon and egg bagel in the world” (they may be onto something), but their vegan omelette and big breakfast are also incredible.

Popular spots for a vegan brunch and ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Sydney:

• 7th Heaven Café
• Café Inu
• Shift Eatery
• Soulmate Newtown

📍Melbourne

Melbourne’s brunch culture is legendary, and the many elevated vegan brunch and breakfast gems here fit right in! Across the city and surrounds, you’ll find cafés serving generous tofu scrambles, breakfast burritos, vegan big breakfasts, and so much more (all alongside brilliant coffee, of course).

Smith & Deli in Collingwood is a Melbourne icon known for their unbelievable vegan menu of comfort food classics. Their egg Martinez has long been a crowd-favourite — picture a classic English muffin stacked up with vegan bacon, a vegan fried egg, and melty dairy-free cheese. They’ve also recently added a cheesy tofu scramble roll to the menu, which is served on toasted focaccia with lashings of chilli oil and tastes just as divine as you’d imagine.

A relative newcomer to town, Pickles Milkbar in Carlton North, has also fast become a local icon thanks to their fully vegan menu of mind-bogglingly delicious breakfast toasties, many of which feature a fried tofu egg (rich, yolky centre included!), smoked tofu bacon, and all sorts of next-level condiments. 

The team at One For The Crow in Maidstone also makes their own vegan fried eggs and chilli tofu scramble in-house. Try their big brekkie or bacon and egg roll for a smoky, satisfying start to the day! Their entirely vegan menu is well worth checking out.

Popular spots for vegan brunch and ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Melbourne:

• One For The Crow
• Particle Café
• Pickles Milkbar
• Ray Café
• Sister of Soul
• Smith & Deli
• Sycamore Meadows Café

📍Adelaide

Adelaide has some delightful vegan brunch options too! At Joy of Flora in West Croydon, you can’t go wrong ordering the tofu scramble or the iconic ‘McJOF’ (an English muffin with a plant-based egg, sausage patty, and melted vegan cheese).

And if you find yourself in Adelaide’s CBD, pop into Veggie Vie — another welcoming spot for a menu full of cosy plant-based fare and hearty breakfast dishes. Try their tofu scramble on toast with hummus, tomato chutney, and fresh herbs! Not only is every bite full of flavour, it’s packed with protein too.

Popular spots for vegan brunch & ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Adelaide:

• Joy of Flora
• 
  Veggie Vie

Note: While only a few cafés currently offer ‘eggy’ brunch dishes, there are tonnes more diverse and delicious meals to explore at other plant-based cafés and restaurants in Adelaide.  

📍Canberra

If you’re in Canberra, don’t miss Sweet Bones Café in Scullin — a long-time local favourite with a fully plant-based menu and plenty of vegan brunch and savoury breakfast options. For an ‘eggy’ fix, try their Rusty McMuffin with tofu scramble and coconut bacon, or their Grumpy Burrito, which pairs the same delicious scramble with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, hash browns, and vegan cheese. 

Growing local chain Eighty/Twenty Café has a variety of convenient locations across the city, and although the menu isn’t vegan, you can swap out the eggs for tofu scramble on their breakfast burger, loaded avo toast, beans on toast, or eggs benedict. 

Popular spots for vegan brunch and ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Canberra:

• Eighty/Twenty Café
• Sweet Bones Café

📍Perth

Even Perth has a few vegan brunch and egg dishes on the menu! Try the creamy vegan scramble at Chalky’s Espresso Bar in Fremantle, or head over to Loving Hut in Wembley for an extensive vegan menu that includes an eggy breakfast bagel with deli slices, cashew cream cheese, hashbrowns, and plant-based aioli.

Popular spots for vegan brunch and ‘eggy’ breakfasts in Perth:

• Chalky’s Espresso Bar
• Loving Hut

Psst… There are plenty more plant-based dining spots in Perth where these came from!

📍Hobart

Hobart’s cosy café scene includes several great spots for a filling plant-based brunch.

Straight Up Coffee & Food is a vegetarian and gluten-free café known for having plenty of vegan options, like scrambled chilli tofu, or their dukkah tofu scramble on focaccia with avo, chives, and lemon. 

Next stop, The Little Poet — an adorable vegan café and patisserie with all the egg-inspired brunch and breakfast options your heart could possibly desire. A new menu is currently in the works, but some past favourites include: Taiwanese egg pancake rolls, a vegan egg salad sandwich, a vegan ham and fried egg bagel, and tofu eggs benedict on sourdough with homemade hollandaise. (Having tried the tofu benny myself, I can confirm it’s poetry-worthy!)

Popular spots for vegan ‘eggy’ breakfast in Hobart:

• The Little Poet
• Little Lotus Café
• Rendezvous Lounge Cafe
• Straight Up Coffee & Food

You’re ready to crack into the world of egg-free brunch 🤤🌿

You wouldn’t think it, but a hearty savoury brunch is actually one of the easiest meals of the day to veganise, and these cafés prove it! 

Feeling inspired to try some egg-free cooking yourself? VegKit has loads of easy recipes to help you recreate café-style brunches at home, including: 

• The best tofu scramble ever
• Vegan ‘eggs’ benny
• Fully-loaded plant-based big brekky
• Protein-packed vegan omelettes
• Fluffy egg-free pancakes
• Classic French toast
• Cheesy vegan zucchini quiche
• Chipotle tofu breakfast burritos
• Vegan sausage & egg mock muffin

Once you’ve tasted some of these mouthwatering dishes, you’ll wonder why eggs ever had such a chokehold on brunch menus in the first place.

And who knows… with a vegan ‘eggy’ dish or two in regular rotation throughout the week, your very own kitchen might soon become your new favourite brunch spot!

Wondering how vegan foods compare to eggs in the protein department? You’d be surprised! Check out our recent deep-dive into plant-based staples that contain just as much protein as an egg — if not more 💪