Heebi opens in Carlton to solve late coffee gap

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 was built with this in mind. “When I used to live in the city and I wanted to grab some caffeine or something and hang out with friends, it was very hard to find a cafe. You need to go to a pub or a restaurant, but it’s uncomfortable to only

order coffee,” says Clara Son, who co-owns Heebi with her husband Sean Park and their friends Laura Choi and Roy Park (no relation to Sean). Their cosy new spot in the former Cinta space was inspired by Japanese kissatens (tea rooms and coffee shops) and the coffee house culture in Korea, where cafes typically stay open late. The four “besties”, as Son describes them, are also behind Omo, a Japanese cafe and restaurant off Merriman Lane near the Ritz-Carlton, which they opened in December 2024.

But unlike Omo, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Heebi is solely focused on baked goods and specialty tea and coffee drinks. 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. “In Japan, they have more the original flavour [shio pan], but in Korea they’ve really developed a lot of

different flavours,” says Son. The founders lean into their Korean upbringings, serving creative shio pan spins. These include tomato and basil, mocha (covered in a craquelin-like shell), and hotteok. The latter is inspired by the Korean street snack and is packed with a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon and pepitas to make a “sweet gooey filling that oozes out when you bite it”. They’re best enjoyed warm and with the signature Heebi Deep drink. Like all the specialty drinks, it was developed by Sean, a

barista with 14 years’ experience. The team is wary about giving away the recipe, but the coffee drink comes topped with an aerated sweet cream and was designed to dip shio pan into, adding a creamy element to the buttery bread. Other cream toppings such as matcha cream, peanut butter cream and shio cream (whipped sweet-and-salty cream) are found across the drinks menu. They can be ordered as a topping for matcha, coffee and other tea drinks, and are whipped constantly throughout the day to

ensure optimal texture. With a 5pm close time, Heebi is still open later than your typical Melbourne coffee shop, but the team has plans to open well into the night. They curated the space – with vintage furniture and light fixtures collected by Roy over the years – with this in mind. “Heebi looks much better at night-time,” Son says. Heebi127 Pelham Street, Carlton0466 933 127 Hours:Mon to Fri 7.30am–5pmSat & Sun 8am–5pm @heebicafe

Heebi, Carlton, coffee shop, bakery, Japanese kissatens, shio pan, Korean street snack, hotteok, specialty coffee, tea rooms, Pelham Street