Bellissimo Coffee

Three friends started roasting out of a former pasta warehouse on Wandoo Street in 2009, and the Fortitude Valley cafe that grew up around that first roaster is still the flagship. It has since become one of the most decorated names in Australian coffee, with more than a hundred Champion, Reserve Champion and Gold awards collected since opening, but the room itself stays unpretentious: tradies, office workers and parents doing the school run all cycle through the same alfresco tables out front.

The kitchen keeps things light rather than elaborate, running chia puddings, breakfast buns and toasties alongside the coffee, and the bags on the shelf are the same blends and single origins roasted a short walk from where they're poured. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating, and the six in the morning start makes it a genuine early stop on the way to work for the surrounding Valley crowd, rather than a destination cafe people plan a special trip around.