There's a certain kind of place that works just as well for a quiet coffee as it does for a boozy brunch, and Neighbours on Market St is exactly that. Tucked into 2 Market Street in Newcastle, it opened back in 2021 under Jordan and Ali, and the space itself tells a bit of a story: it used to be a butcher shop, and the rustic, industrial-chic fit-out keeps a nod to that heritage. It's the daytime half of the building, with its sister business, Market St Basement, taking over the evenings.
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By day, the coffee is the obvious draw. They pour Ona Coffee, the brand Sasha Sestic built after his world champion run, and round it out with a tea list from The Tea Collective that leans into the cosy side of things — think Gingerbread Chai, Chocolate & Coconut Chai and Blueberry Sencha Green Tea. If you're after something cold, there's a line-up of cold-pressed juices like Summer Days and Daily Greens, smoothies from the Green Booster to the Cheeky Choc, and a range of iced lattes, cold brews and house-made iced teas.
The food is where the place really earns its keep, though. Executive Chef James Orlowski builds the menu around locally sourced produce, and the secret weapon is a Mibrasa charcoal oven brought over from the Basque region of Spain, which gives everything a distinctive smoky edge. The Big Boss Bacon & Egg Roll — crispy black forest bacon, egg, hash brown and a bacon onion chilli jam with aioli — is the one people rave about, and the Full Newie stacks black forest bacon, fried eggs, lamb sausage, house-made hash brown, woodfired mushrooms and tomatoes with a smoky BBQ sauce. Ricotta hotcakes, falafel served as a harvest bowl or a wrap, signature scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, steak sandwich and fries, French toast, smashed avocado and eggs benedict round out the list, with toasties and a club sandwich for something simpler. Expect to land somewhere between A$20 and A$40 a head.
If you're leaning into a slower morning, the cocktails are the real treat. They start flowing from 10:00 am, with the Apricot Breakfast Martini — gin, elderflower liqueur, fresh apricot jam, lemon juice and sugar syrup — as the standout, alongside the usual mimosa, bloody mary and espresso martini. There's even a bottomless brunch option if you're planning to settle in for the afternoon.
It's worth knowing how the whole building works, because the space changes character after dark. From Thursday to Sunday, the basement transforms into Market St Basement, an Italian restaurant run by French Mauritian chef Yann Bouton, with a menu of vodka rigatoni, gamberi e calamari and gnocchi beurre noisette. So, whether you're after a quick flat white and a roll or a long, cocktail-fuelled brunch, the place has you covered. It's open every day from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, so it's as much a reliable weekday spot as it is a weekend destination.
