Where I'd actually get work done from a Melbourne cafe, laptop and all

Half of Melbourne's cafes will side eye you for opening a laptop after twenty minutes. These four genuinely will not.

Krimper Cafe on Guildford Lane sits inside a converted industrial space and actively encourages laptop use, with no time limits, ample power outlets and curated background music that stays low enough to actually think through. It is the rare cafe that treats a long working session as a compliment rather than an inconvenience.

Code Black, with locations across the CBD, Southbank and South Melbourne, keeps things simple: free wifi and stacks of sockets for charging, in a space built around serious coffee rather than laptop culture specifically. That combination works in your favour, since nobody is trying to turn tables for brunch service at midday.

O3 Space is the pick for anyone who wants options beyond a flat white and a muffin. Plenty of seating, free wifi, charging ports built into most tables and a proper range of food and snacks mean an entire work day is genuinely doable without needing to relocate for lunch.

Mr Tulk, just up from Bourke Street Mall, rounds out the list with fast, reliable wifi and a solid menu of snacks and light bites, in a spot central enough to duck into between meetings without much of a detour.

Between them, these four cover most reasons someone actually needs a cafe for the day rather than just a coffee run: quiet focus, reliable charging, food that lasts past 11am and a location that does not eat into a lunch break.

None of these four are secret. They show up on work from cafe lists for a reason: decent wifi, enough power points, and staff who will not give you the look after your second coffee. That is a lower bar than it should be, but it is exactly why these places keep earning the recommendation.

Sugar Honey is the social media and advertising agency behind What's The Buzz, and we run social media management and content for cafes across Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle. Get in touch at info@sugarhoney.com.au.