“We set high standards for ourselves to make great coffee, great food, and to give our customers outstanding service.”

Smashed avocado with crispy kale, smoky black rice, feta, toasted almonds, and balsamic on sourdough toast; buckwheat hotcake with berries, seeds, vanilla-bean pannacotta, pistachios, and cinnamon syrup; and free-range eggs and bacon with heirloom tomatoes.

Smashed avo? Yep. Kale? You bet. Cold drip coffee? Of course.

Darwin’s Laneway has all the elements of a hipster café, but the dedication to healthy food, community, and minimizing waste means that it transcends being merely Instagrammable. (Not that it stops anyonefrom photographing their smoked belly bacon and egg roll or black truffle Cheddar toastie.)

KeepCups are encouraged for takeaways of the sustainably sourced (and excellent, Redzepi-approved) Campos coffee, while imperfect fruit and veggies are used in juices, pickles, and house-made sodas. Organic food waste goes to one customer’s worm farm and to another’s two very well-fed pigs, Oprah and Kevin Bacon. And let’s see more healthy, chip-free kids’ menus like the one here, please.

Laneway might be the poster-child for a welcoming, inclusive, and ethically run café.

“Lisa, Danni, and Adam manage to juggle a very successful café while reducing their carbon footprint, and are always looking at opportunities to trade as sustainably as possible.”

Simon George & Sons, produce wholesaler