A high protein breakfast keeps you full until lunch. Ten cafe orders with 25 grams of protein or more, with estimates for each, from our Darlinghurst kitchen.
A high protein breakfast is the difference between a morning that holds together and one that falls apart at 10.30am with a biscuit from the office kitchen. Protein digests slowly and keeps you full, which is why so many people are building their first meal around it, whether they train hard or just want to make it to lunch.
The good news is that you do not need a shaker bottle to get there. A lot of classic cafe breakfasts are already high in protein, as long as you know what to order. Below are ten dishes from our kitchen in Darlinghurst with 25 grams of protein or more, with the estimate for each.
How Much Protein Makes a High Protein Breakfast?
There is no official line, but 20 to 30 grams per meal is a figure you will hear often from nutrition professionals for adults who want to spread protein evenly through the day. Most cafe breakfasts built on toast and a single egg land well below that. Eggs, cheese, cured meats, legumes and yoghurt are what push a plate over the line.
A note on the numbers: every figure here is our kitchen's estimate per standard serve, the same estimate published on each dish page. Your plate will vary with portion size and swaps, so treat them as a guide.
10 Cafe Breakfasts With 25g of Protein or More
- Stanley Big Breakfast, around 42g ($28): two eggs your way, beef sausage, pastirma, hash browns, garlic mushroom, roasted tomato, baked beans and sourdough. The heavyweight.
- Turkish Breakfast Board, around 32g ($32): your choice of sucuk and eggs, menemen or kuymak, with feta, olives, tomato, cucumber, honey and Turkish bread.
- Halloumi Bowl, around 30g ($23, vegetarian): grilled halloumi, hummus, cannellini bean salad with sumac and poached eggs, with Turkish bread.
- Halloumi Breakfast, around 28g ($25, vegetarian): grilled halloumi and two eggs with smashed avocado, leaves, olives and toast.
- Simit Tava, around 28g ($21): a sesame simit ring baked with sucuk, eggs and mozzarella. Istanbul street food turned breakfast.
- Eggs Benedict, around 26g ($24): two poached eggs, hollandaise and your choice of pastirma, sucuk, avocado or mushroom.
- Turkish Scrambled Eggs, around 25g ($21): free-range eggs scrambled with sucuk, beef mince or pastirma, with toasted Turkish bread.
- Protein Smoothie, around 25g ($11): banana, peanut butter, protein powder, yoghurt, almond milk and cinnamon. The fastest option on the list.
- Chicken Wrap, around 34g ($17): marinated grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato and roasted capsicum in flatbread, for a late breakfast or early lunch.
- Ottoman Breakfast Feast, around 65g for the table ($75, for two): sucuk and eggs, menemen, simit, börek, cheeses, pastirma and more, roughly 32g each when shared.
Close Behind: 20 to 24 Grams
If you want something a little lighter, the chilli scrambled eggs (around 24g, with sucuk or halloumi), the omelette (around 22g) and the egg roll (around 20g) all sit just under the line. Add a side of halloumi or a protein smoothie and they are over it.
Why Turkish Breakfast Is Naturally High in Protein
Turkish breakfast was designed for farmers and shepherds who needed to work until midday, and it shows. The table is built on eggs, white cheese, kasar, olives and cured beef such as sucuk and pastirma, with bread in a supporting role rather than the lead. It is one of the few traditional breakfasts where protein comes first by default, which is why so many of the dishes above have Turkish roots.
How to Build Your Own High Protein Order
- Start with eggs. Two eggs give you a solid base, and most of our breakfasts can have an extra egg added.
- Add a second protein. Halloumi, sucuk, pastirma and beans all lift a plate quickly.
- Keep the bread, but let it support the plate. Toast is there for mopping, not as the main event.
- Drink your protein if you are in a hurry. A protein smoothie with a coffee covers breakfast in two minutes.
- Ask for gluten-free bread if you need it. Most of these dishes are marked GFO.
Find your high protein breakfast at Cappadocia Cafe, 82-84 Stanley St, Darlinghurst. Open from 6am weekdays and 7am weekends.
Or order online for delivery:
