Mecca Coffee Alexandria

In 2014, Mecca Coffee celebrated its looming 10-year anniversary by expanding and upgrading its roasting headquarters. The interior was designed by Smith and Carmody (Black Star Rosebery, Excelsior Jones, Cornersmith), which has a long history working with the Mecca team.

The grand space features high ceilings, long timber tables, terrazzo flooring and tessellated tiles. There’s a garden out the back, plus a room for training and cupping (tasting), which is held for the public every Saturday at 10am. Another thing that happens at 10am: the venue's license kicks in, and you can get natural wines, tap beer and cocktails with your breakfast, if that's your thing.

The menu isn’t too ambitious – it’s really about the coffee here – but covers most bases, from a fried chicken roll with kimchi to a roasted pumpkin salad with cous cous and blood orange. All the food is made on site apart from the bread and pastries which come from associated enterprises, Brickfields and Flour and Stone.

As you’d expect from one of Sydney’s leading coffee roasters, the brews here are reliably excellent, whether you prefer a pour-over, milk-based espresso or batch brew. You can find more of the same at the original Mecca Coffee in the CBD, or at sister cafe Soma, in Ultimo.