Australia’s independent café culture is renowned across the world for its quality and innovation. There’s an almost religious obsession with specialty coffee and many cafés also serve creative, good-value fare showcasing local and seasonal produce.

Once the reserve of hip inner-city neighbourhoods, on-point cafés are now increasingly common in smaller regional centres and tourist towns. Most cafés focus on breakfast and lunch, closing for the day any time between 2.30pm and 5pm.

Australia’s bar scene is also dynamic, particularly in the major cities. Sydney’s Maybe Sammy and Cantina OK! currently feature on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, while Melbourne’s Black Pearl was named best international cocktail bar at the prestigious Spirited Awards in 2017. The country’s best bars showcase craft spirits, creative mixology and smaller wine producers, with many also offering high-quality (if often pricey) bar snacks.