Caffeine dreams: where to find your morning brew

Dappled with cafes, tea houses, espresso bars and more, Ipswich is ready to refuel weary travellers visiting this historic city. Whether it’s a long black, a jumpstarting breakfast, a sweet treat or a refreshment for the road, these are the Ipswich cafes that will make you want to stay a little longer.

Loved by locals and visitors alike, stylish St Shoebill nests inside a refurbished heritage building and serves beautifully plated, produce-driven dishes alongside top-notch coffee. 
 
In the early hours, mosey on down to Moselles Café + Restaurant for its copious breakfast fare, think corn fritters, brekkie burgers and pancakes, paired with life-affirming coffee, enjoyed as you overlook a peaceful lake.

Plentiful plates of wholesome foods (think attractive acai bowls) and specialty coffee are served to a merry crowd at Oikos Cafe Ipswich – conveniently positioned nearby the Ipswich Art Gallery.

If tea is your choice of tipple, Tranquil Tea House is an idyllic space to hold tea-centric events and sample an impressively wide range of infusions. Driven by the belief that sharing stories over tea builds stronger relationships and greater community, take your pick from over 20 tea flavours, or delectable high tea.

Enjoy a slice of nostalgia at Wild Rose Cottage. There, you’ll find the tempting likes of classic vanilla slice, carrot cakes covered in a layer of cream cheese frosting, scones and more in its ever-evolving sweets cabinet.

Enticing cakes, flaky pasties and great coffee are the order of the day at Rafter and Rose. Inside this plant-strewn, creatively adorned café, visitors can stock up on road trip snacks to keep spirits (and sugars) high while traversing through Ipswich.

Part of the Woodlands of Marburg – where luxury accommodation, a sophisticated restaurant and manicured gardens abound, Tommy Smith Cafe offers café-favourite breakfasts, well-made coffee and high teas.

Inside magnificent Queens Park sits Queens Park Café, an open-air venue that has all your breakfast, coffee, tea, and cake needs sorted.

Discover The Girls’ Coffee Bar for caffeine and reviving breakfasts served with a smile. or a leisurely brunch try Remedy Espresso café, or take your four-legged friends to dog-friendly, The Cafe Kalina, and, for a health-centred feed try Claire’s Wholesome Kitchen in Springfield.

With the lot: hearty meals for the hungry-eyed traveller in Ipswich 

A day spent exploring the historic city of Ipswich is bound to prompt a healthy appetite. Here’s where to grab a hearty feed in Ipswich when you’re feeling particularly peckish.

Let’s start with burgers – and, in this city you have your pick of them. American-style UB’s Milk Bar – opened by the famed gelato-slinging Ungermann Brothers – has become a go-to for burgers, loaded chips, waffles, shakes and ice-cream. Then, there’s the popular Ruby Chews Burgers & Shakes. At Ruby Chews, burgers are piled high, tater tots come fully loaded, fried chicken sells like hotcakes and sundaes with all the mix-ins are demolished en masse.

It seems the people of Ipswich adore a well-layered burger, and The Retro Diner is heeding the call of its locals. As guests enjoy diner-style food – from burgers (including a vegan option) and fries to hot dogs and French toast – 1950s music fills the keepsakes-filled space.

For one of Ipswich’s premier dining experiences, enjoy a premium lunch or dinner experience at Bakehouse Steakhouse. Set within one of Ipswich’s most loved buildings, indulge in a wagyu steak and bottomless fries, and polish off a specialty cocktail or craft beer.

No trip to Ipswich is complete without a proper pub meal, and there are plenty to try in the heritage-rich region. The Racehorse Hotel is home to all your pub favourites – from steak sandwiches and parmies to sticky date puddings – in The Grill House restaurant. The historic Walloon Hotel exudes country charm and seasonal quality menu, where it’s not unusual for locals to arrive on horse-back and tie up out the front.

Inside the Prince Alfred Hotel, you can find three dining destinations,: the dapperly dressed Plantations Restaurant where a delicious menu awaits. Craft beer and bites can be found in Tap’d Craft Beer and Cuisine, and Char’d Restaurant is where you’ll find a paddock to plate style menu.

Step back in time as you walk through the historic space that houses The Sugarmill Restaurant at Woodlands of Marburg. In this ambient restaurant, with its warm cedar-clad walls and chesterfield lounges, dinner becomes a memorable experience served beneath sparkling chandeliers.

In a heritage Queenslander on Limestone Street you’ll find The Cottage Restaurant. Here, culinary creativity is pulled off with poise – from the tasters menu’s mushroom cappuccino with truffle oil, to the entrée's Brisbane Valley Quail, onward to the main’s rolled rabbit with mushrooms and serrano, to the dessert’s pear tarte tatin.

Woongooroo Estate may specialise in wine, but its lunchtime offering of Turkish Bread Pizzas are further incentive to venture into the vines.

For relaxed meals, Mikes Pizzeria lures passers-by inside with the scent of perfectly cooked pizza (and pasta), Memories of India keeps diners well fed with its enchanting curries, and Montezuma’s slings fresh Mexican dishes and cocktails.