Which local cafés have been shortlisted as the best in Asia? – BeanScene

A string of Australian venues have been shortlisted for the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops Asia-Pacific continental rankings.

This will be the first edition of the Asia-Pacific’s Best 100 Coffee Shops list, following two years where Australian cafés have been well-recognised in the wider world rankings.

Sydney’s Toby’s Estate topped the first ever rankings in 2025 and was one of eight Australian venues named.

Also in the top ten that year were Proud Mary (third) and Coffee Anthology (eighth).

Australian venues were also well recognised in 2026, with Toby’s Estate’s Sydney café named the fifth best in the world. Only Coffee Project in Sydney placed fourth. A total of seven Australian venues were named to the 2026 global list.

The list of Australian venues shortlisted for the Asia-Pacific 100 Best Coffee Shops is as follows:

• Applehead Deli, Melbourne
• Artificer Coffee, Sydney
• Aunty Peg’s, Melbourne
• Axil Coffee Roasters Hawthorn (Melbourne)
• Axil Coffee Roasters Melbourne Central (Melbourne)
• BENCH COFFEE CO. Roastery (Melbourne)
• Beta Coffee (Sydney)*
• Bunker Coffee (Brisbane)
• Calēre Coffee (Melbourne)*
• Code Black Coffee (Melbourne)
• Coffee Anthology (Brisbane)*
• Diggy Doo’s Coffee (Sydney)
• ENA Sydney (Sydney)
• Fidelity Coffee (Katoomba)
• Foremost Coffee (Melbourne)
• JIBBEECOFFEE ROASTERS (Sydney)
• John Mills Himself (Brisbane)
• LAB Specialty Coffee Co. (Brisbane)
• OKO Café (Melbourne)
• ONA Coffee Brunswick (Melbourne)
• ONA Coffee Marrickville (Sydney)
• Only Coffee Project Crows Nest (Sydney)*
• Only Coffee Project George St (Sydney)
• Path Melbourne (Melbourne)
• Project Zero Coffee (Melbourne)
• Proud Mary Coffee (Melbourne)*
• Reuben Hills (Sydney)
• Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters (Melbourne)*
• Single O Surry Hills (Sydney)*
• Skinnys Eatery (Melbourne)
• ST. ALi South Melbourne (Melbourne)
• Supernumerary Coffee (Adelaide)
• Supersede Coffee (Melbourne)
• The Cupping Room (Canberra)
• THE FLOUR MELBOURNE (Melbourne)
• The Little Green Room (Brisbane)
• The Maillard Project (Brisbane)
• Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters (Sydney)*
• Vacation Coffee (Melbourne)*
• West End Coffee House (Brisbane)

*indicates previous nomination to previous World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list.

Of the 40 venues nominated for the Asia-Pacific list, Melbourne and Sydney dominate, with the pair of coffee capitals accounting for 30 cafés on the list – 19 of which are based in Melbourne.

Of the remaining 10, seven are located in Brisbane, one each in Adelaide and Perth, and one in Katoomba, which is the main tourist hub of the Blue Mountains, more than 100 kilometres west of Sydney.

New Zealand is also well represented on the shortlist, with a total of eight venues included:

• Allpress Roastery (Auckland)
• Atomic Coffee Roasters (Auckland)
• C4 Coffee Co. (Christchurch)
• Flight Coffee Hangar Café (Wellington)
• Havana Coffee Works (Wellington)
• Newday Coffee (Wellington)
• Ozone Coffee (New Plymouth)
• Pour and Twist (Wellington)

You can vote for your favourite here.