Cafés in New Farm

Merthyr Road and Merthyr Village

Merthyr was a separate suburb until 1975.¹ Merthyr Village, at 85 Merthyr Road, was built in stages from the early 1990s by Alf and Diana Sorbello on the site of a Coles New World supermarket demolished in 1996, and opened in its current form in 1997 with more than 20 specialty stores.²

Its neighbors on the strip include The Bakeologists at 81 Merthyr Road, open from 06:00 until 16:30 on weekdays, and Savour at 83. At number 84, Idle is a revival of Anyday's Agnes Bakery, with pastries, all-day breakfast and sourdough doughnuts.³ It opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends. Bánh Mí is further along at 121 Merthyr Road.

Brunswick Street, around the clock

Death Before Decaf, at 760–766 Brunswick Street, never closes: it is open 24 hours and pours single origins from Black Mass Roasters.⁴ Dicki's, a plant-based café that opened in 2018, serves vegan breakfast all day, from 07:00 to 14:00, Tuesday to Sunday.³

New Farm Deli at 900 Brunswick Street and MK Café at 938 sit on the stretch toward the park, and End Of The Road Cafe at 1231A Brunswick Street opens at 07:00 every day, staying open until 15:30 at weekends.

New Farm Park, jacarandas and the Powerhouse

Brisbane City Council bought the land in 1913, and the 15-hectare park, its opening delayed by World War I, was officially opened on 20 July 1919.⁵ More than 100 jacarandas were planted around its drive in 1914; they flower from mid-October to early November.⁵⁶ The park, at 1042 Brunswick Street, has a coffee kiosk, rose gardens, an Edwardian bandstand rotunda and two playgrounds.⁷

At its eastern end, the Brisbane Powerhouse fills the former tramway power station, built in 1927–28 and decommissioned in 1971.⁵ The Jan Powers Farmers Market sets up there on Saturdays from 06:00 to 12:00, with more than 120 stalls.⁸

Getting to New Farm by CityCat

The CityCat stops twice in New Farm, at Sydney Street and at New Farm Park; the cross-river ferry to Norman Park was withdrawn in July 2020.¹ The suburb had 12,197 residents at the 2021 census.¹ Double Shot New Farm is on Oxlade Drive, at number 125, and The Little Larder at 76 Moray Street. Wilson Outlook Reserve, a short uphill walk from New Farm Park, frames the Story Bridge and the city with flowering jacarandas in season.⁶