Hemingway’s (48 N Steyne) is the tiny Manly small bar offering the Northern Beaches a double dose of fun drinks and a whole lot of literature directly across from the famous golden sands of Manly Beach.

Donny’s Bar (7 Market Pl) is a bare-brick American-style loft bar where you can get a Bloody Caesar and a slider and pretend like you’re Stateside.

InSitu (1/18 Sydney Rd) is a retro-themed small bar and restaurant that also does bottomless Mimosas and tapas for brunch on weekends.

Manly’s bar scene gets a touch of glamour at the Cumberland (17-19 Central Ave), an underground speakeasy hidden below an old-world delicatessen.

On a sunny evening in summer the seats out on the deck over the water at the Manly Wharf Hotel (Manly Wharf, East Esplanade) are some of the most sought after real estate in the suburb.

The Hotel Steyne (75 The Corso) is a vast enterprise with different zones catering to any whim that may take you, be it cocktails, cider, Chinese food, pub classics, pizza, or a simple lager with the football on TV.

Manly Wine (8/13 S Steyne) has more than a hundred bottles on the wine list, organised into helpful categories that suggest more about how the wine will actually taste than a technical classification.

Born and bred on the beaches, Barrel One is a northern coffee institution pedalling quality bagels, sangas and a house roasted bean so good it’ll make you want to order another, almost immediately. With locations now dotting across the whole city, the Manly edition (40 E Esplanade) is one of the earliest OGs – and it shows. Not a fan of coffee? Go for the oat jaffa hot chocolate instead.

Norma's Deli is a new and very welcome kid on the block. A gigantic Greek-style food emporium, you can get quality coffee, epic take-away sandwiches and a heap of groceries all in one fell swoop.

Skittle Lane (81–83 Pittwater Road) is kind of peak-Manly. White linen, airy interiors and seriously quality coffee (think house seasonal blends) reign supreme at this tiny coffee shop. Opening up onto an Assembly the Label store, this is northern beaches neutral living at its finest.

For bread, butter and bloody good coffee, there ain’t nothing better than Berkelo Manly. Fresh sourdough and actually really good gluten-free banana bread are excellent additions to any cup o’ joe.

In a laneway off the Corso you’ll find Rollers Bakehouse (19 Rialto Ln) in a baby pink garage, baking croissants in every flavour imaginable and serving up their house coffee in white, black, filter or bottomless form.

Pair your coffee with a side of Scandinavian comfort food from Fika Swedish Kitchen (5B Market Pl), like a sugar-crusted, spiced cardamom bun.

The simple pleasures of good coffee and a Belgian waffles cannot be overstated at Barefoot Coffee Traders (18 Whistler St).

Get a colourful, tasty breakfast at Market Lane Cafe (9-11/37-39 The Corso) that ranges from a superfood salad to masala scrambled egg or hot cakes, with Allpress.