Mildura’s best brunch: Stefano’s Cafe at 27 Deakin crowned Sunraysia’s top spot

Where to find the best avo on toast in the Sunraysia region? Our readers have had their say and declared a winner.

Stefano's Cafe floor supervisor Maddi Collins and owner Ryan Casey. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

A popular cafe in Mildura’s City Heart district has been crowned the best place to grab some brunch in the Sunraysia region.

Readers of The Mildura News were asked for their nominations and when the finalists went to a poll, Stefano’s Cafe was voted the winner.

The Deakin Ave cafe, which once went by 27 Deakin, has been delighting its regulars for the past two decades.

Stefano’s Cafe owner Ryan Casey said there were plenty of options for those stopping by for brunch.

“Everybody loves avocado on toast,” Mr Casey said.

“We’ve got a really interesting dish which is scrambled eggs with chilli, coconut and naan bread, that’s really popular.”

The Calabrese Eggs was the most popular breakfast item.

Like many other businesses, Stefano’s had to adapt last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing a deli to help people eat at home.

Mr Casey said the deli, which has 1600 bottles of wine as well as cheese and meat, was set to “stay and grow”.

“The idea was during COVID to keep the business going, we’d start putting in take-home meals that we’d make ourselves here, then we added to that,” he said.

“We always had a small shop here of olive oils and vinegar and things and now we’ve expanded that quite dramatically, and we’ve got a really large range of products.”

Mr Casey said the “number one thing” for the cafe was to know its customers.

“We have 30 people who come in every single day, 15 of those would have breakfast and coffee, so they’re part of us, they’re part of the building,” he said.

Stefano’s Cafe led the voting ahead of other Mildura favourites blk.mlk, Two Black Sheep and Nash Lane.