25 Best Cafés, Bakeries & Coffee Stops on the Sapphire Coast NSW
The Sapphire Coast café scene might just be one of the most underrated in regional NSW. Stretching from Bermagui to Tathra, Merimbula and Pambula to Eden – with tiny inland towns like Candelo and Bega thrown into the mix – you'll find everything from coffee vans surrounded by laughing locals to brunch spots overlooking the ocean.
We've searched across the region to find the absolute best cafés, bakeries and coffee shops on the Sapphire Coast, including local institutions, newer openings, beach kiosks and a few under-the-radar stops that are definitely worth adding to your next road trip.
So without further ado, we bring you the best cafés on the Sapphire Coast.
Best Sapphire Coast Cafés at a Glance
Best bakery - Honorbread, Bermagui
Best brunch - Boneless Cafe, Bermagui
Best café with a view - The Wharf Local, Tathra
Best beach coffee - Salt Cafe Surf, Tathra
Best bakery breakfast - Wild Rye’s Baking Co, Pambula
Best slow breakfast - Cafe Pambula by Toast, Pambula
Best brunch sandwich - Nancy’s Deli, Bermagui
Best country-town detour - The Pocket, Bega
Best hidden gem - Mail Room, Kalaru
Best Cafés in Bermagui
For a relatively small seaside town, Bermagui has some of the best cafés and bakeries on the Sapphire Coast. There's exceptional sourdough to be found, genuinely good coffee and divine little spots for brunch over the looking the water. Here are our top 7!
1. Honorbread
Best for: Sourdough, pastries and bakery provisions
If you only visit one bakery on the Sapphire Coast, make it Honorbread.
The artisan bakery has become something of a Bermagui institution. While known for it’s sourdough, don’t skip the baguettes, croissants and pastries when stocking up for a beach picnic or Sapphire Coast road trip.
The Local Compass pick: Grab more than you think you need. This is not the place for demonstrating restraint!
2. Boneless Cafe
Best for: Brunch and plant-based food
One of the best cafés in Bermagui for brunch, Boneless is the place to sit and enjoy rather than simply grab a takeaway coffee. While it is a largely plant-focused menu, you will absolutely not leave hungry, trust us. Come here when you want a proper breakfast before spending the day exploring Bermagui.
3. Happy Brewing
Best for: Specialty coffee by the bag
Coffee people, put this one on the list. While not a café, Happy Brewing is a small independent Bermagui coffee roastery that takes its job seriously - and it shows. If you are a coffee snob we insist you drop in and pick up a bag of beans to take home with you, and if you want to try the roast before you buy, swing by Boneless Cafe and see for yourself why this is some of the best coffee on the Sapphire Coast.
4. Eurolicious
Best for: European-style breakfast
Eurolicious brings something a little different to Bermagui's café scene, with German and European influences setting it apart from the usual coastal brunch spots. It's also developed an impressive local following, making it a good alternative when you've already worked your way through Bermagui's better-known bakery and brunch options.
5. Octopii
Best for: Breakfast near the harbour
Part café and part restaurant, Octopii earns its place here thanks to its breakfast menu and waterfront location. Head here for a relaxed breakfast or morning coffee around Bermagui Harbour before exploring the town and coastline.
6. Bazza's Hot Bread
Best for: Pies and old-school bakery treats
Not every great bakery needs laminated pastries and minimalist branding. Bazza's Hot Bread is your classic country bakery stop serving pies, sausage rolls, quiches, cakes, pastries and doughnuts that are so hearty and delicious they don’t need all the bells and whistles.
7. Nancy’s Deli
Best for: Deli sandwiches & a quick lunch
For something a little different from the usual sit-down Bermagui cafés, Nancy's Deli is a small food trailer specialising in fresh, made-to-order deli-style sandwiches that are not to be missed. The menu leans into seasonal produce and works with local suppliers, growers and producers from around the Far South Coast.
It's also one for coffee lovers: Nancy's is supplied by Bermagui's own Happy Brewing!
The Local Compass tip: Check their socials for the location, as this food trailer travels around the area!
Best Cafés in Tathra
Tathra is where the Sapphire Coast coffee scene meets the beach. The best cafés here are as much about location as what's on the menu – including coffee on a historic wharf and a surf-shop café moments from the sand.
8. The Wharf Local
Best for: Coffee with a view
Few cafés capture the Sapphire Coast quite like this one.
The Wharf Local occupies part of Tathra's historic wharf, pairing coffee and café food with one of the most memorable settings on this list. The café operates from the former cargo shed on the heritage-listed wharf overlooking the ocean.
If you're visiting Tathra for the first time, we'd make this one a priority.
9. Wild Orchid Cafe
Best for: Brunch
For a more substantial breakfast, Wild Orchid is one of the best cafés in Tathra. The café serves seasonal food alongside coffee using Alfresco Coffee Roasters' Church Street blend, giving it solid credentials for both brunch and your morning caffeine hit.
10. Salt Cafe Surf Tathra
Best for: Pre-beach coffee
Part café, part surf shop and moments away from Tathra Beach, Salt Cafe Surf is exactly the kind of coffee stop you hope to stumble across in a Sapphire Coast town.
Grab a coffee here before heading to the beach or walking the Tathra Headland.
Best Cafés in Merimbula
If you're searching for the best cafés in Merimbula, you'll find everything from lakefront breakfasts to one of the Sapphire Coast's best beach kiosks. Sit by the calm water, sip your coffee and relax.
12. Bar Beach Kiosk
Best for: Beach coffee
Perched at Bar Beach in Merimbula, the kiosk is an easy stop for coffee and breakfast with the ocean right there – and it consistently ranks among the Sapphire Coast's strongest café options for visitors and locals alike. Swim first, coffee afterwards. Or coffee first and then another one after your swim. We don't make the rules.
13. Sunny’s Kiosk
Best for: Lakeside breakfast
Tucked away on the edge of Merimbula's Top Lake, Sunny's Kiosk is one of the best spots for a relaxed breakfast in Merimbula, with uninterrupted water views and a laid-back neighbourhood feel. The menu changes with the seasons and leans into fresh, local produce, alongside coffee and house-baked sweet treats.
The Local Compass tip: A little removed from the bustle of central Merimbula, Sunny’s Kiosk also does lunch and dinner, and is a beautiful spot to have a glass of wine, a meal and watch the sunset over the lake.
14. The Waterfront Cafe
Best for: Breakfast overlooking the water
An established Merimbula favourite, The Waterfront Cafe overlooks Merimbula Lake and remains one of the most popular options for a sit-down breakfast in town, particularly when the morning light hits the water.
15. Cranky Cafe
Best for: A reliable beachside breakfast
Close to Merimbula's Main Beach, Cranky Cafe is one of the town's established breakfast spots, with a large local and visitor following. It's less hidden-gem and more dependable local favourite – which is exactly why it deserves a place in a definitive Merimbula café guide.
16. The Eddy by Toast
Best for: Breakfast with kids
One of the newer additions to the Merimbula café scene, The Eddy comes from the team behind Cafe Pambula by Toast and brings their playful approach to breakfast into the heart of town. Expect excellent ONA coffee alongside an all-day menu with Asian-Australian influences – think chilli scrambled eggs, green eggs with wasabi hollandaise, breakfast banh mi and some particularly fun cold brews.
There's also a leafy courtyard, kids' corner and plenty of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, making this one of our favourite Merimbula breakfast spots for families and big groups.
Best Cafés & Bakeries in Pambula
Don't make the mistake of driving straight through Pambula.
This small heritage town punches well above its weight when it comes to cafés, bakeries and great coffee, and we'd argue it's one of the best places for a food-focused morning on the entire Sapphire Coast (and we’ll prove it to you).
17. Wild Rye's Baking Co
Best for: Bakery breakfast
Another non-negotiable. Wild Rye's Baking Co has long been one of Pambula's best-known food stops, combining an artisan bakery with café-style breakfast and locally roasted coffee.
The Local Compass pick: If your Sapphire Coast road trip passes through Pambula in the morning, this is where we'd stop.
18. Cafe Pambula by Toast
Best for: A slow brunch
For a proper sit-down breakfast, Cafe Pambula by Toast is one of the strongest all-rounders in town.
It's an established local favourite with an artsy, relaxed feel – an ideal start for a slower morning exploring Pambula.
19. Oaklands Cafe
Best for: Breakfast and browsing
A little outside the centre of Pambula, Oaklands sits within the broader Oaklands Barn, making this more of a destination stop than simply a place to sit down and eat breakfast before your day of adventure awaits.
Best Cafés in Eden
At the southern end of the Sapphire Coast, Eden's café scene tips its hat to the growing regional interest in great food and coffee – particularly thanks to a newer generation of cafés alongside its classic local bakeries.
20. Eden Ground by Toast
Best for: Brunch and coffee
If you're looking for the best café in Eden, we'd start here.
From the same team behind Cafe Pambula, Eden Ground serves ONA Coffee alongside a seasonal menu using local ingredients, with herbs and produce also grown in its own kitchen garden. It's modern without feeling transplanted from Sydney, and one of the strongest additions to Eden's food scene.
The Local Compass pick: Our first choice for a proper brunch in Eden.
21. Fig Cafe & Bar
Best for: Breakfast that turns into lunch
A longstanding Imlay Street option, Fig works well when you're looking for a substantial sit-down breakfast without the flair.
22. Eden Bakery
Best for: Road-trip provisions
Sometimes you just need a country bakery that opens early.
Eden Bakery is the straightforward option for grabbing something for breakfast or stocking up before continuing south or heading back up the coast.
Best Cafés in Candelo, Bega & Surrounds
If you ever ask yourself if it’s worth turning inland, the answer is yes.
Two of the more interesting Sapphire Coast café and bakery stops sit away from the main coastal route in the tiny villages of Candelo and Bega – and they're exactly the kind of places we'd detour for on a regional NSW road trip.
23. Candelo General Store & Cafe — Candelo
Best for: A country-town detour
If you like your regional café stops with historic shopfronts and tiny-town atmosphere, put Candelo on the route.
The town's general store and café has consistently attracted strong traveller feedback and makes a great excuse to explore somewhere beyond the Sapphire Coast's better-known beach towns.
Pair it with a wander around Candelo rather than simply rushing back to the highway.
24. The Pocket - Bega
Best for: A cool little Bega coffee stop
If you're passing through Bega, The Pocket is one of the newer, more under-the-radar coffee stops worth knowing about. Tucked away on Church Street, it's a small spot that feels like you’ve stumbled upon some local magic, making it the perfect addition to the best cafés on the Sapphire Coast beyond the more obvious beach towns.
The Local Compass pick: One to bookmark for a coffee stop while exploring Bega – particularly if you prefer finding the little places before everyone else does.
25. Mail Room Kalaru
Best for: Coffee on the road between Bega & Tathra
Part café, part working post office, The Mail Room in Kalaru is exactly the kind of quirky local find we love on a regional road trip. Sitting on Tathra Road between Bega and the coast, it's an easy detour if you're heading towards Tathra. This is the sort of local find you’ll be bragging to your friends about.
The Local Compass pick: Grab a coffee and a Wild Rye's pie for the road – this is the kind of tiny local stop that makes a Sapphire Coast road trip more fun.
FAQs: Cafés on the Sapphire Coast
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Some of the best cafés on the Sapphire Coast can be found in Bermagui, Tathra, Merimbula, Pambula and Eden. Smaller inland towns including Candelo and Cobargo are also worth exploring for country cafés and bakeries.
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Our picks for the best cafés in Bermagui include Boneless Cafe, Happy Brewing, Eurolicious, Eat Drink Neighbourhood and Octopii. For pastries and artisan bread, Honorbread is our top Bermagui bakery.
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For specialty coffee, we'd try Happy Brewing in Bermagui, Wild Rye's Roastery in Pambula and Eden Ground in Eden. Wild Rye's is particularly interesting because the coffee is roasted locally in Pambula.
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Honorbread in Bermagui, Wild Rye's Baking Co in Pambula and Bazza's Hot Bread in Bermagui are among our picks. Honorbread has also expanded to Merimbula.
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For cafés in Merimbula, try Bar Beach Kiosk for coffee near the water, The Waterfront Cafe for a sit-down breakfast, Cranky Cafe near Main Beach or Honorbread for bread and pastries.
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There are excellent coffee stops right along the Sapphire Coast. We'd build a road trip around Honorbread or Happy Brewing in Bermagui → The Wharf Local in Tathra → Bar Beach Kiosk in Merimbula → Wild Rye's in Pambula → Eden Ground in Eden.
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Yes. Candelo and Cobargo are both worth heading inland for. Candelo General Store & Cafe is a lovely country-town stop, while The Working Dog in Cobargo is one to know for coffee and baked goods.
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