Five new after-3pm coffee stops in Melbourne

Melbourne’s love of a good coffee shop shows no signs of slowing. This year has already seen many new entrants on the scene, with more openings from Market Lane and El Pache still to come. Here are five new ones, serving everything from salted Earl Grey cold brews to Japanese butter rolls made for dipping. Sett, West Melbourne Tech startups and musicians are famous for launching out of bedrooms, but specialty coffee shops not so much. Co-owner Justin Huynh is rewriting that script, having converted

a former ground-floor bedroom in a West Melbourne unit into hole-in-the-wall takeaway coffee spot Sett. A former barista at Code Black, Huynh, who runs the coffee shop with his sister Jasmine Leung, is behind the machine and the menu. Beans are from Code Black, with single origins available across espresso and filter. But it’s the signature drinks where Huynh releases his creativity. Sett specialties include a salted Earl Grey cold brew; a coconut peanut latte made from espresso, coconut milk and house-made peanut cream; and

an orange and hallabong (a Korean citrus, also called a dekopon) spritz topped with jasmine tea foam. A small pastry selection rounds things out, with a changing mix of almond and lemon croissants, pains au suisse, and Vegemite-cheese twists from Via Porta. Plus, the occasional pop-up from small businesses such as Puffy’s Bakehouse. 275 Adderley Street, West Melbourne@settcoffee Patricia, CBD The debate lasted for years and years. Pip Heath and Bowen Holden couldn’t decide whether to stay small or expand their Hot Listed coffee institution

Patricia, which has drawn a loyal crowd to Little William Street since late 2011. This while contemporaries like Market Lane have grown to as many as 10 locations. But in May, finally, the duo opened a second Patricia in the former Black Eagle Hotel on Lonsdale Street, a heritage building that dates back to 1850. Patricia Lonsdale keeps a familiar bar-style layout, but adds an adjoining room designed to feel a little like standing around a kitchen bench. It’s recognisably Patricia, though less compressed, with

the kind of warmth that suits a longer pause rather than a quick in-and-out coffee run between meetings. The espresso machine is the same – a La Marzocco Strada – as is the policy of serving nothing but single-origin coffees, usually washed. The larger space has also brought back single-serve pour-over coffee, which disappeared from the original site in its early days. Little William Street still focuses on batch-brewed filter, but Lonsdale Street showcases other coffees one cup at a time. Shop 15/50 Lonsdale Street,

Melbournepatriciacoffee.com.au Hana by Meet Forest, CBD After opening in 2024, it didn’t take Meet Forest long to find its audience. And it’s maintained the buzz, with queues often stretching from the compact South Yarra space onto the footpath. Those lines are filled with people keen to get their hands on blueberry matchas and coffees with elaborate latte art depicting everything from horses and pegasi to bears and celestial scenes. Now founders Hannah Liu and Micky Tong have expanded the concept, opening Hana by Meet Forest

on Little Bourke Street, just down from the original Patricia. The menu at Hana is similar to that at Meet Forest. You’ll find signature drinks including the iced banana milk matcha, iced blueberry matcha, and a pistachio coco jasmine (pistachio cream on top of coconut water and cold brew jasmine tea). All syrups and jams are made in-house. Coffee comes from Ona, while a dedicated matcha program sees Uji ceremonial-grade matcha whisked to order throughout the day. But the CBD venue has a bigger kitchen,

giving the team an opportunity to expand the pastry cabinet offering. You’ll find house-made cakes and pastries including tiramisu Basque cheesecake, black sesame white chocolate cake, matcha mochi buns and peanut butter espresso cake. Hana by Meet Forest435 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne @hana.by.meetforest Heebi, Carlton For a city known for its coffee and cafe culture, getting a brew in Melbourne after 3pm remains remarkably challenging. There are options – but not many. New Carlton coffee shop and bakery Heebi, with its 5pm closing time, was

built with this in mind. The shop, from the team behind Omo, was largely inspired by Japanese kissatens (tea rooms and coffee shops) and coffee house culture in Korea, where cafes typically stay open late. Basque cheesecakes, strawberry shortcake and dark chocolate bourbon layer cakes are all sold by the slice, but the signature baked good is shio pan (Japanese butter rolls). They’re made in-house daily under the guidance of pastry chef Vanessa Wu, formerly of Omo. They’re best enjoyed warm and with the signature

Heebi Deep drink, which comes topped with an aerated sweet cream and was designed to dip shio pan into, adding a creamy element to the buttery bread. 127 Pelham Street, Carlton@heebicafe Passages, CBD Passages at the Queen Victoria Market used to be a nursery. But in April, Victor Yee converted the small Victoria Street shopfront from a plant haven into a minimalist coffee shop. Yee worked with Core Roasters to develop a house Passages blend. The menu has standard espresso drinks, batch brew and pour-overs.

Rather than going hard on specialty drinks, there’s one signature. The Bong Bong is a sparkling cold brew, inspired by a Korean grape soda, made using a coffee co-ferment with grapes. There’s also a small cabinet of changing pastries from the market’s Publique Bakery. Plus, rum and vanilla canelés from microbakery Wake Wake. There are two entrances at either end of the shopfront – one that leads to the street and the other to the market. And Passages nods to its former life with a

small but increasing selection of potted plants available for purchase. 155 Victoria Street, Melbourne@passagescoffee

Melbourne coffee shops, after 3pm coffee, blueberry matcha, cold brew, Japanese butter rolls, matcha mochi buns, Earl Grey cold brew