Cafeography
Perth · CBD

Cafés in CBD

Arcade espresso bars, St Georges Terrace towers and weekday coffee from 06:00.

Photo: Miguel Cuenca, Pexels License

Perth's CBD runs along the north shore of the Swan River. St Georges Terrace, the 1.6 km main street known simply as the Terrace, follows the water from the Barracks Arch to Victoria Avenue and carries the office towers, among them Central Park, the city's tallest building since 1992.4 Two blocks north, Hay Street Mall opened in 1972 as Perth's first conversion of a street into a pedestrian mall, and Murray Street Mall followed a block further on.39

Coffee here keeps office hours. Most cafés open by 07:00 on weekdays and about half close for the whole weekend, so a Saturday coffee takes some planning. Several sit off the street, inside the arcades that cut through the blocks between the Terrace and Hay Street Mall, and this part of the center has more historic arcades linking to Hay Street Mall than any other.9

Local tip: For a weekend coffee in the CBD, go to Voodoo Coffee in Raine Square or Leeway Coffee on Hay Street Mall; Basilica on the Terrace and La Veen's Mill Street and Murray Street outlets are shut at weekends.

At a glance

129Cafés listed
19With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 99 Shades of Green, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–15:30 · Sat–Sun Closed).
  • Closes latest: Voodoo Coffee, until 22:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–22:00 · Sat 08:00–22:00 · Sun 08:00–21:00).
  • Most listed streets: St Georges Terrace (26), Hay Street (16), Murray St (6).
  • Most common features: wheelchair access (13%), card payment (11%), specialty (7%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Perth.

Coffee chains in CBD

London Court and Trinity Arcade

London Court is the best known of the arcades. The gold financier Claude de Bernales built it as a four-level mock-Tudor passage from Hay Street Mall to St Georges Terrace, and it opened on 29 July 1937.1 Its clocks perform: at the Hay Street end four mechanised knights joust on the quarter-hour, and at the Terrace end a miniature Saint George fights a dragon. It has been on the State Heritage Register since 1996.1

Trinity Arcade, along the mall, grew from the Trinity Buildings, built at 671 Hay Street from 1923 behind Trinity Church. A 1981 redevelopment ran a multi-level shopping arcade through to the Terrace, and its lease income paid to restore the church.2 Tartine Cafe is inside, at 72 Trinity Arcade.

Free buses and the river

The CAT (Central Area Transit) buses cost nothing and need no ticket. The Blue CAT runs between Perth Busport and Kings Park via Perth Station and Elizabeth Quay Bus Station, while the Red and Yellow CATs cross the center east to west; all three run every day except Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day.6

Elizabeth Quay, the inlet at the foot of the CBD, opened on 29 January 2016 on the former Esplanade Reserve. Its 29 m sculpture Spanda stands on the north shore, and Transperth ferries cross from the jetty to Mends Street in South Perth.5 Cafe Viva at 3 Mounts Bay Road and Liberty Cafe & Bar at 21 Mounts Bay Road are a short walk west along the river.

Roasters and espresso bars, street by street

St Georges Terrace and Hay Street have the longest runs of cafés. Offshoot Coffee, in Hibernian Place at 480 Hay Street, roasts its own beans on a Loring S15 Falcon imported from the United States and opens weekdays 07:00–15:00.7 Leeway Coffee is at 712 Hay Street Mall, and Saint Larry Café at 573 Hay Street. Max + Sons, at 140 William Street, is run by Zac Barrett and his father Neil and pours beans from Mecca, Proud Mary and Loaded.7

La Veen has several outlets in the center, including La Veen Coffee Panacea at 56 Murray Street and La Veen Mill Street at 2 Mill Street, both opening at 06:30. When it opened a branch in Raine Square in 2019, its house blend used Five Senses beans.8 On the Terrace, Basilica at 125 St Georges Terrace starts at 06:00 on weekdays, and The Daily Board at 100 St Georges Terrace serves until 17:30.

Weekends, evenings and prices

Most CBD cafés are closed on Sundays. Voodoo Coffee, at 300 Murray Street in Raine Square, is the exception that runs late: 06:00–22:00 on weekdays, 08:00–22:00 on Saturday and 08:00–21:00 on Sunday.8 Leeway Coffee opens 08:00–17:00 on Saturday and 10:00–15:00 on Sunday, Finns Espresso 10:00–14:00 on Sunday, and Drip House opens daily 06:00–14:00.

The center is not dearer than the suburbs. In October 2026 a flat white in the 6000 postcode averaged A$5.02, about ten cents under the Perth average, and small cups ranged from A$3.50 to A$6.10.10

Sources

  1. London Court, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Trinity Church, Perth, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Hay Street, Perth, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. St Georges Terrace, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Elizabeth Quay, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. CAT services, Transperth, accessed October 2026
  7. Best coffee in Perth, Man of Many, accessed October 2026
  8. La Veen HQ opens in Raine Square, Broadsheet, accessed October 2026
  9. Murray Street, Perth, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  10. Flat white prices in Perth, WA 6000, Small Flat White, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Perth

Northbridge

53 cafés

Mount Lawley & Highgate

39 cafés

Leederville & Mount Hawthorn

45 cafés

Subiaco

46 cafés

In CBD, also browse: Outdoor seating Open by 6am Wheelchair access Specialty coffee

FAQ

CBD cafés: questions

When did London Court open in the Perth CBD?

London Court opened on 29 July 1937. The gold financier Claude de Bernales built it as a four-level mock-Tudor arcade running from Hay Street Mall to St Georges Terrace. At the Hay Street end four mechanised knights joust on the quarter-hour, and at the Terrace end a miniature Saint George fights a dragon. It has been heritage-listed since 1996.

Are cafés in the Perth CBD open on weekends?

Many are not. About half of the CBD cafés close for the whole weekend, and most are shut on Sundays. Voodoo Coffee at 300 Murray Street opens 08:00–21:00 on Sundays, Leeway Coffee on Hay Street Mall 10:00–15:00, Finns Espresso 10:00–14:00 and Drip House 06:00–14:00 every day.

Is the CAT bus free in the Perth CBD?

Yes. Transperth's CAT (Central Area Transit) buses are free and need no ticket. The Blue CAT runs between Perth Busport and Kings Park via Perth Station and Elizabeth Quay Bus Station, and the Red and Yellow CATs cross the center east to west. All three run every day except Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day.

For café owners

Own a café in CBD?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design