Cafeography
Melbourne · St Kilda & Elwood

Cafés in St Kilda & Elwood

Acland Street's cake shops, the pier and penguins, and the cafés of Elwood's Ormond Road.

Photo: Robert Stokoe, Pexels License

St Kilda is a seaside suburb about 6 km south-east of the CBD, in the City of Port Phillip, and Luna Park has stood on its foreshore since 1912.1 From at least the 1950s it was the center of Melbourne's Jewish community, which has since moved east to East St Kilda and Caulfield.1 Elwood, about 8 km out, was swampland until the Elwood Canal made it fit for housing; its café strip is the village on Ormond Road.2

The cafés range from Acland Street's cake shops to Elwood's brunch rooms on Ormond Road. Espresso reached this part of the bay early: Henry Cyril and Peter Bancroft, who had secured the rights to Gaggia machines in 1953, opened Il Cappuccino in St Kilda in 1954.3

Local tip: Monarch Cakes stays open until 22:00 every day, late enough for a slice of kougelhopf after the nightly penguin viewing on the pier.

At a glance

82Cafés listed
7With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Journey Daily Provisions, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–16:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–16:00).
  • Closes latest: Beachcomber, until 23:00 (Daily 09:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Carlisle Street (9), Acland Street (7), Carlisle St (7).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (5%), brunch (4%), open late (2%).

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Getting to St Kilda and Elwood

Tram 96 from Bourke Street runs on the old St Kilda railway line, which closed in 1987 and reopened as one of Melbourne's first light rail routes; routes 12 and 16 also reach St Kilda.1 The Route 96 project closed Acland Street to cars and built a plaza, so the street now ends at Barkly Street.41

Elwood has no tram through its center. Route 67 runs along its northern edge on Brighton Road, and buses 246, 630 and 923 serve the suburb.2

Acland Street's cake shops

Monarch Cakes, at 103 Acland Street, is the oldest of the street's cake shops.6 Pearl Levine, a Polish refugee, ran a shop called Monaco in Carlton and reopened it here as Monarch in 1934.5 Gideon Markham, who came from Poland in 1963, took over in 1996. The bestseller is the kougelhopf, a chocolate-marbled yeast cake, and the cheesecake is made with quark rather than ricotta.5 Monarch opens daily 08:00–22:00.

Others followed: the Acland Cake Shop in 1962, Le Bon in 1978 under the Greek Siapantos family, and Europa in 1982.6 Le Bon Cake Shop is at 91 Acland Street, with 95 Espresso Bar at 95.

Ormond Road and Elwood Village

Elwood Village runs from New Street along Ormond Road to Glen Huntly Road and is known for its cafés.2 Lark is at 114 Ormond Road, Who is Bunker Spreckels at 122, Combi at 138–140, Johnny's Elwood Bodega at 161 and Repeat Offender at 201. Turtle Café is at 34 Glen Huntly Road and Tiffany's on Tennyson at 156 Tennyson Street.

Carlisle Street, Brighton Road and the pier

Batch Espresso is at 320 Carlisle Street and Las Chicas at 205. The Studio Beans Coffee Roasters, at 100A Barkly Street, opens 07:00–15:30 on weekdays and 08:00–15:30 at weekends, and The St Kilda Dispensary at 13 Brighton Road opens 07:00–16:00 on weekdays.

St Kilda Pier ends at the Edwardian St Kilda Pavilion; the original kiosk was destroyed by arson in September 2003 and rebuilt.1 A 150 m elevated platform for watching the little penguins on the breakwater opened in October 2025. It is free, but bookings are essential.7

Sources

  1. St Kilda, Victoria, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Elwood, Victoria, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Coffee, eMelbourne: The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online, University of Melbourne (Andrew May, July 2008), accessed October 2026
  4. Trams in Melbourne, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. This Melbourne bakery serves Polish cheesecake from a century-old recipe, SBS Food (Audrey Bourget, December 18, 2019), accessed October 2026
  6. Acland Street cakes, Storey of Melbourne (March 31, 2024), accessed October 2026
  7. St Kilda Pier has scored a new elevated viewing platform to get up close with the resident little penguin colony, Time Out Melbourne (October 27, 2025), accessed October 2026
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In St Kilda & Elwood, also browse: Specialty coffee Brunch Outdoor seating

FAQ

St Kilda & Elwood cafés: questions

What is the oldest cake shop on Acland Street in St Kilda?

Monarch Cakes at 103 Acland Street, St Kilda, is the oldest of the street's cake shops. Pearl Levine, a Polish refugee, moved her Carlton shop here in 1934 and renamed it Monarch. Its bestseller is the chocolate-marbled kougelhopf, its cheesecake is made with quark, and it opens daily 08:00–22:00.

How do you get to St Kilda's Acland Street from Melbourne's CBD?

Tram 96 from Bourke Street runs to St Kilda on the old St Kilda railway line, which became light rail after it closed in 1987, and the Route 96 project turned the end of Acland Street into a tram stop and plaza. Routes 12 and 16 also serve St Kilda, about 6 km south-east of the CBD.

Where are the cafés in Elwood, Melbourne?

Elwood's cafés center on Elwood Village, which runs along Ormond Road from New Street to Glen Huntly Road: Lark at 114, Who is Bunker Spreckels at 122, Combi at 138–140, Johnny's Elwood Bodega at 161 and Repeat Offender at 201. There is no tram through the center; route 67 runs along Brighton Road on Elwood's northern edge.

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