These two towns serve more than just world-class beaches. Here's your ultimate guide to the best breakfasts in Dunsborough & Yallingup.
Arguably the most important dish of the day – breakfast.
Well, at least after spoiling your taste buds with these mouth-watering breakfasts it will be. Say goodbye to lingering in bed that little while longer, and say hello to the best breakfasts in Dunsborough and Yallingup that will have you voluntarily jump, skip and hop out of bed.
When owner and chef Duncan Timmons took over Dunsborough’s Goanna Bush Café in 2008, he knew the Indo Breakfast’s reputation amongst the locals and returning visitors, and understood his own would be at stake if he removed it from the menu.
“We’re so happy to see people still enjoy it,” Duncan said. “It’s an Aussie take on a nasi goreng. I think it’s the balance of spice, sweetness and umami from the pesto avocado. We’ve spiced up the rice, adding house made nahm jim and quality coconut milk and fry it to order.”
Goanna Café is kid and dog-friendly and a relaxing place for a leisurely breakfast inside the café or under the gum trees. Other favourites are the Bush breakfast, Spanish breakfast, and Smoked BBQ breakfast. The Indonesian stays on the menu for brunch and lunch, joined by smoked salmon fishcake and crab omelette gratin. The omelette is cooked with crab and white fish ‘Arnold Bennett’ style served with grilled courgettes and topped with potato rosti and a mango miso chilli butter.
From bush to beach, some of WA’s most renowned chefs are creating world-class breakfasts for hungry surfers, holidaymakers and locals starting out right.
Kate Lamont is one of our state’s best-known and respected chefs and is regularly behind the tools in Lamonts kitchen. Lamonts’ consistent quality cements the restaurant as a staple on the breakfast scene. Or maybe it’s the siren’s call of a Peach Bellini, Espresso Martini or Bloody Mary that you can order on the side. The restaurant and deli have been elevated with new bi-fold windows welcoming in the fresh salty air.
Popular Lamonts breakfasts include buttermilk pancakes with sweet lime butter, maple syrup, mascarpone and berries; and potato rosti with roasted mushies, poached eggs and pancetta bits. The blue soft taco with fried eggs, avo, tomato, mozzarella and brown butter aioli is also a winner. For a lighter start, poached rhubarb and raspberries with roasted almond dukkha is divine.
Up the road at Yallingup Beach, Lagoon Yallingup chef/owner Ben Jacob celebrates the refined-casual restaurant’s proximity to the ocean.
Breakfast standouts include a chilli blue swimmer crab omelette with akoya oyster sambal (a family recipe and nod to Ben’s Burmese heritage), and buttermilk fish wing benedict with aniseed myrtle hollandaise and potato. They’ve also got some exciting new breakfast dishes hitting the menu very shortly with the trending French Toast taking another change in flavour with the season to apple crumble French toast, creme patisserie.
Returning to the menu is Lagoon Yallingup’s croquette in the style of a salted cod, and another spin with a fish wing lightly crumbed and served with an ala minute pan fried potato hash with nduja, house pickles and caramelised onions. Groms have a dedicated breakfast menu with smaller servings too.
At Lagoon kiosk there’s nary a sausage roll in sight. Instead enjoy a choice of toasties, pastries and house-made granola. Seeking maximum beach time? Order online.
Quite new, and most welcome, to Dunsborough’s breakfast scene is Eagle Bay Olives. Order coffee, fresh pastries or your own personal selection off the blackboard menu, then pull up a chair in the shaded garden with views to the olive groves or Ollie Park playground. Kids and dogs welcome.
Owners Matt and Julie Izett have added a commercial kitchen to their farm shop since taking over a few years ago. There’s a relaxed rustic charm created by the recycled timbers, corrugated iron and mismatched tables and chairs. Chef Andrew Foulsham creates daily specials and bakes. It’s hard to go past the EBO burger with brioche bun, bacon, egg, avo, swiss cheese, hash brown and tomato chutney but if you can, there’s also a knock-out vegan bircher, tasting plate, toasties and house-made pies featuring olives. Be sure to visit the EBO Farm Shop too.
Meelup Farmhouse celebrates the art of brunching in boho chic style. The menu is a cut above breakfast standards, featuring fresh flavours from farm, garden and sea. Warm date and ginger rice pudding with coconut yoghurt, and chilli scrambled egg with char sui pork belly are on the cards for your next visit.
Little ones have a brunch set menu – finishing with a ‘Little Farmer’ bag of chicken feed for the free range and fabulous Silkie chickens roaming the farm!
