Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance’s guide to the top 10 Sydney ‘coffices’
Your laptop, the WiFi password, and your beverage of choice.
If you’ve got these three essentials, you can work from anywhere. It’s the new way of working embraced not only by uni students and freelancers, but nine-to-five suits opting to hold meetings in the sun-drenched, buzzing vibe of nearby cafes.
The ‘coffice’ — cafe office — is not a new concept, with most cafes facilitating remote working by offering WiFi as a simple given.
But there are some places that just get the formula right and have you coming back again and again: they must fulfil the conditions of decent coffee, moderate turnover (so you don’t feel pressured to leave), conveniently located, and – obviously – free WiFi. Powerpoint sockets are a bonus.
Combining good ol’ research with tried-and-true crowd-sourced suggestions, this is Yahoo Finance’s ultimate list of the best cafe offices in Sydney.
Black Sugar Coffee Company (better known as the Telstra lobby)
400 George Street
Located smack-bang in the middle of the CBD, the spacious and well-lit Telstra lobby is well-known to Sydneysiders and boasts numerous benches and chairs to choose from. You could stay here for hours on end thanks to the coffee hub and the power sockets lining the workspaces.
Caffe Dante
Shop 67, Level 1, MidCity Centre, 420 George Street
Just a stone’s throw away from the Telstra building, Caffe Dante is best suited to quick coffee chats or a lunch meeting – it can get loud at peak hour! Otherwise, treat yourself a luxurious lunch while overlooking a bustling George Street.
Macchiato
Shop 2, 388 Pitt Street
Macchiato is all exposed brick and pastas, pizzas, and desserts done to perfection just around the corner of Koreatown. With such an impressive menu, this is the place to knock some work out in the late hours of the afternoon as you wait for colleagues or friends to arrive for work drinks.
Joe & Juice, Pitt St
139 Pitt Street
If it’s not coffee you’re after, Joe & the Juice is a stylish Danish juice chain decked out with comfy armchairs and indoor plants to help you get in your zone. Chuck on a pair of headphones and sip on your beverage of choice as you get your brain juices flowing.
Sydney Startup Hub
11-31 York Street
If you have an entrepreneurial spark in you, the relatively new Sydney Startup Hub – the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere – has a public area that will give you the chance to mix shoulders with heavyweights in Sydney’s co-working and start-up industry, such as Stone & Chalk and Fishburners. You’ll have access to free wifi for an hour, after which you’ll need to get a password.
The MCA Cafe & Sculpture Terrace
Level 4, Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), 140 George Street, The Rocks
If you’re going to work from anywhere, you might as well work against the backdrop of some of the best views in Sydney. Overlooking Harbour City’s two biggest icons and based in one of Australia’s best art galleries, however, you might find yourself contending with a noisy crowd and a strong impulse to procrastinate by wandering around the halls of the gallery.
Haven Specialty Coffee
34 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills
Handily located opposite Central Station, yet away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Haven Speciality Coffee’s baristas don’t muck around when it comes to coffee. Their genteel, friendly staff will make you feel right at home, and their seasonally updated menu will have you planning a return visit before long.
The luxury hotel lobby series
The ideal office-away-from-the-office can’t be limited to just cafes: hotel lobbies can make great workspaces that come handily equipped with clean amenities. Settle down and people-watch the rich and famous while clearing emails or making your way through your to-do list. Here’s a shortlist, including some that have been hand-picked by Yahoo Finance Australia’s very own editor-in-chief Sarah O’Carroll.
Four Seasons Sydney, public lobby (Level 1)
Hilton Sydney lobby
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel lounge
The Westin Sydney Lobby Bar, Lounge & Room
Honourable mentions
Because this list could effectively go on forever, many cafes necessarily didn’t make the list – some because they were obvious choices, some because they were a bit out of the way, and some because they are online platforms created for the very purpose of finding a whole range of cafe options to work from near you.
Oldies but goldies: Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore (Paddington); Three Williams (Redfern); Orto Trading Co. (Surry Hills)
A little further: Le-Paris Cafe, Gusto, The Shack, Tramsheds
Unexpected: IKEA, the International Convention Centre (ICC), Rooty Hill RSL
Find a table: TwoSpace, Gooto (‘Get Out Of The Office’)
North of the bridge: Home Espresso, Northside Bunker, Heirloom Cafe, Open Circus, Mr Spofforth
Who says your work and coffee break can’t be one and the same thing?
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