If there’s one thing tradies know, it’s the value of a good, solid breakfast. When you’re up at the crack of dawn, working hard on-site, you need something tasty, filling and easy to eat on the go. We’ve rounded up some of Jervis Bay’s best grab-and-go breakfast spots that fuel our hardworking tradies, including the best bacon & egg options for around $12-15.
Cambodian husband and wife team Hark and Lisa of Bayview Bakery Cafe in Vincentia have been looking after the locals for over 16 years. This is the place to go for early starters, it’s open at 6.30am.
Pastry chef Hark creates home-style baked goods without all the bells and whistles, whipped up fresh daily.
Schnitzel burgers along with the classic bacon & egg rolls are the most popular with the hungry tradies, and a fresh salad bar means you can customise your own filling.
The bakery is also wildly popular with cyclists and the local tai chi group, led by instructor Joanne Fabri, who says the sandwiches are jam-packed with fresh ingredients. She adds that their Italian-style sausage rolls are arguably the best in the area, along with Hark and Lisa’s warm hospitality.
Local electrician Drew drops in daily for a hamburger bun filled with salad. He also highly recommends the beef tomato onion pie with its flaky pastry, plenty of filling and just the right amount of gravy.
Located on the Wool Road side of the Vincentia Village, there is plenty of parking nearby in the Coles carpark, as well as some shaded outdoor seating if you can’t wait to tuck into your goodies.
Open every day from 6.30am except Tuesdays, closing at 4.30pm on weekdays, 4pm Saturdays and 3.30pm Sundays.
Lemontree Cafe and Takeaway Vincentia
Also in the Vincentia Shopping Village, at the end of the arcade behind Coles is the Lemontree Café & Takeaway.
Chef-owner Jason says he can knock out the tradies’ favourite bacon & egg roll on a soft milk bun in 5 minutes flat because he knows tradies are on a tight schedule. The brekky roll with hash brown, melted cheese, egg and bacon with barbecue sauce is naturally a big hit, and for something substantial, he says their slow-cooked pulled pork burgers with homemade coleslaw and deep fried onions (for that extra crunch) will satisfy the hard-worker’s appetite. By far his most popular seller with the tradies is the classic home-made chicken schnitzel burger, seasoned and crumbed to perfection.
There is some shaded seating available outside in the arcade.
Open from 7.30am till 7pm weekdays, till 7.30pm Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sundays they are open 8am-4pm.
Providence Blue Café Sanctuary Point
Tucked alongside the Sanctuary point Garden Centre, this lovely café with a calming ambience has been run by Bernadette for the past two years.
She says their loaded roll, stacked with crispy bacon and hash brown, cheese, onion and free-range egg is the tradies’ favourite, closely followed by the brekky wrap with fried egg, tomato, spinach and cheese for those craving some fresh veg in the mix. They also whip up a great burger with a home-style beef patty and salad, served with chips.
The café has comfy indoor seating as well as a couple of choices for outdoor seating in their garden oasis, and there’s plenty of parking nearby.
Open from 7.30am daily, Providence Blue closes at 3pm weekdays and 2.30pm weekends, at 191 Kerry St, Sanctuary Point
Sanctuary Point Bakery
This is the place for the super-early birds, opening at 5.45am. Inside, the spacious bakery gives you the notion of a nostalgic 80s feel, complete with a classic menu board and a fresh salad bar for custom-made rolls.
Local builder Ben Burnett shared with us he has a couple of favourites when it comes to a great tradie brekky. In the Bay & Basin, he swears by Sanctuary Point Bakery. “They have a great selection of bakery treats and the best bread in the area, you can get freshly made salad rolls, pork rolls and sandwiches and the coffee is up there with the best.”
Ben’s recommendation when in Nowra is the iconic Oasis Takeaway on Junction Street. Family-run since 1980, it’s famous for its fresh salads, massive selection of made-to-order sandwiches, and hot takeaway favourites like real hamburgers, BBQ chickens, schnitzel rolls and hand-made potato scallops.
Both of these classic bakeries are worth a visit – their large, loyal customer bases are testament to that.
Find the Sanctuary Point Bakery at Shop1/20 Paradise Beach Road, open Monday to Saturday 5.45am till 4pm.
Blak Cede Gunyah café and shop on Kinghorne Street has been a deadly hit since it launched last year and grew to add an online shop last Christmas.
This Aboriginal women-led social and cultural enterprise cultivates traditional bush foods in their community garden, transforming them into high-quality products for their cafe and online store.
We recommend the Decol Roll, a milk bun filled with native-spiced preservative-free bacon, a pasture-raised fried egg, lettuce, lemon myrtle mayo, cheese and house-made native relish.
Or wrap your mouth around Budjerri Burrito featuring scrambled Googie “egg” pulled buru (kangaroo), smoky bush black beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and a vibrant tomato, charred corn, and onion salsa.
Blak Cede Gunya Cafe is open Monday to Saturday from 7am to 3pm (closed Sundays).
39a/43 Kinghorne St
Salty Joe’s in Huskisson delivers with their bacon & egg roll and seaside early start, opening at 6am daily.
Chef Dylan says the B&E rolls are the tradie favourite, with crispy bacon and a fried egg from the rolling farms of Kangaroo Valley, melty cheese and your choice of sauce, stacked on a potato bun.
These aren’t just any buns! They come fresh from Sonoma Bakery in Braddon ACT, known for creating some of the best artisan bread around.
“If you’re wondering what makes a potato bun different, it’s all in the flour,” Dylan explains. “Made with potato-derived flour, these buns have a softer texture and a slightly sweeter flavour, making them light, fluffy and perfect for soaking up all that bacon and egg goodness.”
Power up your roll with a super selection of sides. Add halloumi for that squeaky salty bite, smoky chorizo for a bit of spice, or jalapenos if you like it hot. The real game-changer, though, is the house-made hash brown, crispy golden and the perfect way to take your breakfast to the next level.
For those who prefer the classic toastie, Salty Joe’s has a bacon, egg, and cheese toastie served on two slices of golden-grilled bread with your choice of sauce. Supervisor Tori says the ham, cheese and tomato toastie is a hit with the early risers and the tradies before a big day on the job and their most popular beverage is a frothy cappuccino!
Gluten-free buns and bread are available.
Find them at Shop 1, 54 Owen Street Huskisson 6am – 4pm daily.
For B&E rolls and toasties with flair, head to 5 Little Pigs on Owen Street in the heart of Husky. We love their Brekky Burger with a North African style merguez sausage, fried egg, roast garlic mayo, pickled onion & chilli on a brioche bun. Merguez sausage, traditionally made with lamb but now often mixed with beef or pork, is packed with garlic and spice, perfect for a tradie’s brekkie burger.
There’s plenty of seating both inside the spacious café and along the seaside street frontage, and there’s a handy takeaway order window out front.
Open 7am-4pm daily.
The king of tradie breakfast – the Breakfast Pie is a creation to crave in the early mornings on the way to the job site. Filled with cheese, bacon and egg with fresh chives encased in perfect pie pastry, it’s the ideal hand-held brekky on the go.
Manager-barista Mikey explains their most popular menu item with tradies is actually the loaded B&E Roll, served toasted with caramelized onion. Also popular is the brekky wrap toasted tortilla filled with bacon, fried egg, cheese and sauce.
With two locations, on Currambene Street and in the Woollamia industrial estate, there’s a bakery nearby to fuel your day.
Husky Bakery is at 11 Currambene Street, open daily 6.30am-4.30pm and The Bakehouse is at 7 Erina Road Woollamia, open weekdays 6am-2pm.
Final note: Tradies’ Breakfast More Choices Than Ever
Our research for this story shows that, while the classic B&E roll still reigns supreme, brekkie options have come a long way. Loaded rolls and wraps with slow-cooked pulled meats, fresh salad fillings and special house-made sauces are meeting the great expectations of today’s tradies’ taste buds with style.
