1. Café Ray
332 Victoria Street Brunswick (2 mins walk from Sydney Road)
We're giving Ray's an A+ on sturdy seating and excellent coffee. The individual chairs feel well made and wide (no cutting into the upper thigh) and they also have sturdy outdoor-style bench seats inside.
Bonus points for Ray’s because they’re often the only local café open on public holidays AND they offer a separate vegan menu, as well as GF options.
2. Lobbs Café
589 -591 Sydney Road Brunswick, Opposite Curvy Design Shop
Comfy seats and your office away from home. At Lobbs you’ll find booths you can comfortably sit at, as well as bench seats and chairs.
We tend to avoid the higher stools and benches down the centre of the café, but the side wall seating is plentiful and comfortable, even for these size 24-26 butts.
BYO laptop and try the incredible daily GF pancake special.
Bonus points for offering top notch takeaway toasted sandwiches (OMG the chicken and jalapeno is scrummy comfort food at its best) and for having wide walking aisles to move around the space.
3. Lux Foundry
21 Hope Street Brunswick (3-minute walk from Sydney Road)
This café is your new a fair-weather friend. The outside dining area is large and north facing so it has plenty of sunshine.
The outdoor seating is also comfortable and sturdy and perfect for your plus size posse to enjoy brunch.
There is an all-weather covered in area outside and this section would be our preference for robust winter seating. From memory the indoor seating is less comfortable.
Bonus points being so close the Hope Street Store – a treasure trove of knick-knacks and plants.
4. Acustico
32 Union Street Brunswick (2-minute walk from Sydney Road)
Incredible coffee and an array of seating to choose from. It looks the team at Acustico raided op shops for their furniture and called in to borrow a few pieces from the Brady Bunch on the way home.
This place is a Brunswick institution. The type of chair depends on which table you’re sitting at, but mixing and matching unused furniture is the way to go here.
Inside dining is the best option for comfort.
The food is very tasty, there’s lots of variety to choose from and it’s right by Jewell Station and RMIT Brunswick.
Bonus points for an excellent range of home-made bakery items. And if you’re eating from home their Uber Eats offering has always been delivered hot and delicious, including the coffee.
5. Code Black
15-17 Weston Street, Brunswick (opp Barkly Square Car Park)
An extremely popular coffee spot with wide chairs and bench seats (the bench seating is the most comfy), an outdoor space that’s pet friendly and has room to lock your bike or park your pram.
The aisles are wide enough to walk through without doing the curvy shuffle i.e., turning sideways and muttering ‘excuse me’. The coffee is always great (they roast their own) and their bakery treats look like pretty jewels in the display case.
Bonus points for having lots of space to wait for take away, so you never feel you’re in the way or don’t know where to stand. And for being so close to Barkly Square Shopping Centre, so you can treat yourself to a coffee after shopping.
Where is your favourite coffee place with plus size friendly seating? Let us know.