Where I'd take visiting friends for brunch in Sydney if I actually wanted to impress them

Every visiting friend wants two things from a Sydney trip: a beach and a brunch worth bragging about. The best brunch in Sydney right now is not hiding in a mystery laneway, you just need to know which four or five spots actually deliver.

Start with Celsius Coffee and Dining in Kirribilli. It hangs right over the wharf with harbour views that do most of the work before the food even arrives, but the food holds up too, its waffles have built a genuine social media following of their own. Get there early on a weekend or you are queuing with everyone else who had the same idea.

For something with real history behind it, Quick Brown Fox Eatery in Pyrmont is set inside a heritage listed stone cottage built in the 1840s. The congee, topped with house made XO sauce, glazed speck, fried shallots and a soft 63 degree egg, is the kind of dish that makes people stop scrolling and start asking where you are.

Superfreak in Marrickville has one of the best looking fit-outs of any cafe in the city, and it backs that up with a menu that is genuinely homely rather than style over substance. It is a fair contender for the best looking cafe in Sydney, and the vinyl soundtrack does not hurt either.

If you want architecture with your eggs, Paramount Coffee Project in Surry Hills sits inside the old Paramount Building and looks the part. The classic avo comes with heirloom tomatoes and a raspberry vinaigrette, though the fried chicken waffle with maple bacon gravy is the one people actually remember.

None of these places became popular by accident. The best brunch spots in Sydney understand exactly how their food photographs and how a room makes people want to post about it, which is half the job when you are running hospitality in a city this visually competitive. Good food gets you through the door once. A space and a plate people want to share is what keeps the queue going every weekend after that.

Book ahead where you can, turn up early where you cannot, and let your visiting friends do the bragging for you. That is the whole point.

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.