Rating criteria:
Shops cannot open any later than 7am, as the working person needs to be fueled as early as possible!
Food must be “instant” – no re-heating or cooking. Ain’t nobody got time for dat.
Price is not really a factor as a great coffee and food experience can be euphoric – although I’d say spending over $16 is a bit egregious. But none of the options here exceeded that.
I’m not accounting for the quality of service in these ratings, as the beauty of takeaway food is that there is hopefully minimal interaction with staff. No doubt the quality of the food and coffee is reflective of the quality of service nonetheless. However, the quality of service played a role in me not trying out The Bunker as an early morning option, despite them opening at 7am, as their service wasn't acceptable in my view when I dined there months prior.
Ratings are out of five.
The winner: Bakehouse on Wentworth
Coffee = 4.3
Food = 4.5
Beautiful pies that hold their contents within so it doesn’t spill all over you, and pretty good coffee. Opens at 7am and is closed on Monday, so availability is not ideal.
2. Cassioepeia
Coffee = 4.2
Food = 3.5
Nice coffee, food options are limited, protein balls are the most instant and fill a hole in ya guts. Open at 6am, so that beats Bakehouse, but you’d like a greater variety of warm and instant food.
3. Baker’s Wife
Coffee = 3.8
Food = 3.5
Decent and very quickly served coffee with some interesting food options – a cold brekky wrap with bacon goes for $6 and is tasty, but the questionable status of the bacon makes you second guess yourself..
4. Butternut
Coffee = 4.3
Food = 3
This was the business I tried before narrowing my criteria for an “early morning food option”. A re-heated quiche cannot compete with a fresh and hot meat pie.
5. Springwood Bakery (opposite the kebab shop)
Coffee = 3
Food = 3
The initial go-to option as they're open at 6am, have hot pies and they serve coffee. The quality of their products isn't great however - the pie contents will spill all over you and the coffee quality ranges from woeful to just acceptable, depending on who is making it.
6A. Michels
Coffee = TBA
Food = 3.5
I walked in there at opening hours and for some reason the operator hadn’t fired up the coffee machine yet. It's difficult to consider an establishment a regular haunt if they can't deliver a service reliably.
6B. Springwood Sunrise Bakery (next to The Bunker)
Coffee = 3.5
Food = TBA
Same problem as Michel’s only they’d opened and didn’t have warm pies yet.
Other: DBL
Coffee = 4
Food = TBA.
I would’ve tried this place as an early morning option but I had a horrendous experience in there a few month ago at around 10am. A lady tied her dog to a pole outside and came into the café to have a good chit chat with staff and patrons, while her dog was barking its head off outside, disturbing all other café goers. No staff addressed the issue, so I went out (leaving my guest alone) to comfort the dog. After a couple of minutes and no sign of the dog owner grabbing her coffee and coming back to the canine, I had to walk back into the café and tell the lady to consider everyone else and look after her hound...a bunch of other patrons defended HER as she left the café crying. The staff were apathetic to the whole situation. So I’d rather not financially support a business that seemingly caters to antisocial behaviour.
If you found this article helpful, consider donating some money - it'll go towards the businesses at the top of this list. By them serving me their tasty goodies :P
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