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Book cafes for a read and feed
Once a niche market, the bookshop cafe concept has revolutionised cafe culture over recent years by tapping into a demographic of people actively searching for places that celebrate the simple things in life: food, friends, and fantastic fact and fiction finds. Where else could you have a nibble with Nietzsche? Or a friand with Freud? Or perhaps a Wilde risotto?
Chase off the winter blues by curling up with a heart-warming hot chocolate, whacking on the Uggs, and getting stuck into that everlasting, page-turning pleasure of a good read, in the comfort of a cafe of kindred spirits.
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The Book Kitchen
Surry Hills
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Something's cooking in acclaimed chef David Campbell's Book Kitchen, and it's not just the organic and biodynamic foods used in the slow food methods. Scouring the shelves of cookbooks and other gastronomic reads can spark an impromptu date with Maggie Beer or Jamie Oliver (at a price of course, but you do get to take them home afterwards!)
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Gertrude and Alice
Bondi Beach
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Bondi beach bums mourning the lack of sun during winter can find some literary sunshine in this trendy cafe surrounded by second-hand books. The menu is a blackboard of specials - pay attention while in class! There's also another Gertrude & Alice in Paddington, not far from Berkelouw Books Paddington, a popular book cafe chain also found in places like Newtown, Rose Bay and Berrima.
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Booktalk
Richmond
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Bookworms of all ages and persuasions find much to salvage both new and old in this laidback brekkie, lunch and coffee house. You'll find no grapes of wrath here, only delicious gourmet foccacias, hearty pies and hot soups to cure a winter cold.
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Mr Tulk
Melbourne
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A Melbourne institution, this cafe in the State Library of Victoria is named after Mr Augustus Henry Tulk, the venue's first ever chief librarian. "Chef Librarian" would be more apt a term in light of this cafe's goodies - baguettes, meatballs and pizzas, to name a few. The decor is charmingly Victorian, complete with reading room desks, wooden stools and a communal table. Grab a book, then a bite.
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Baci Lounge
Paddington
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Have a literary lunch at Books Art Coffee Inc - or "Baci". New to Brisbane, following huge success in Auckland, this brand aims to draw people back into books of all kinds - fiction, non-fiction, local and international. Sip a glass of vino or indulge in a rocket, pumpkin, feta pine nut frittata for a real thriller.
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Cafe Bouquiniste
New Farm
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Channelling a traditional French bookshop (hence the name, which is French for "bookseller"), this too-quaint-for-words book kitchen offers cheap coffees, tarts, toasted sandwiches and plenty more savoury goodness to go with the trendy set of books lining the walls.
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Afterword Cafe
Hobart
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Located on the upper mezzanine level of the popular Fullers Bookshop, this delightful cafe basks in the fresh aromas of cappuccinos, bagels and - wait for it - chilli fudge. Suitable for office types looking to escape the daily grind with a daily grind, Afterword Cafe also has chess sets and imported newspapers on hand for the less bookish.
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Bookcaffe
Swanbourne
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Bargain hunters and book club members drop into Bookcaffe making any excuse to peep at the latest prize winners, bestsellers and popular non-fiction reads. They also love to warm up the corners with hot beverages, big breakfasts and light lunches.
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Bookplate
City
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Looking for a room with a view? Then this lakeside cafe in the National Library of Australia should satisfy those with sense and sensibility. After spending hours in Australia's largest reference library, there's nothing better than settling in with a newspaper or book and fine mod-Oz eats.
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