METROPOLE

Queen Victoria Building7:00 AM – 6:00 PM-33.8713, 151.2067
METROPOLECall (02) 9267 1122
The Metropole kiosk on the ground floor of the Queen Victoria Building, empty and lit before opening: a long counter with a vertically slatted timber front and brass banding, METROPOLE lettering on the black service block, an espresso machine with stacked orange cups, a grinder, and a round M sign hanging behind it. Stone arches, stained glass and a patterned mosaic floor surround it.

Queen Victoria Building

Metropole

A coffee counter on the ground floor of the QVB, open from seven in the morning.

Every day7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Google rating4.4 / 5 · 1,124 reviews
WhereKiosk 56

Scroll — 11 hours, 7 days a week

The kiosk before opening. A counter, a machine, a stack of orange cups, and the whole Queen Victoria Building around it. Photograph: Metropole Cafe

Kiosk 56, under the arches and the stained glass, on the mosaic floor. Espresso, the cabinet, and one of the best rooms in Sydney to stand in while you wait.

The Metropole kiosk on the ground floor of the Queen Victoria Building, empty and lit before opening: a long counter with a vertically slatted timber front and brass banding, METROPOLE lettering on the black service block, an espresso machine with stacked orange cups, a grinder, and a round M sign hanging behind it. Stone arches, stained glass and a patterned mosaic floor surround it.
The kiosk before opening. A counter, a machine, a stack of orange cups, and the whole Queen Victoria Building around it. Photograph: Metropole Cafe
The kiosk in trade, seen across the mosaic floor: a long glass-topped cabinet of croissants, pastries, wrapped rolls and labelled slices, a dark curved base with brass banding and METROPOLE lettering, a hanging M sign, staff working behind, and shopfronts in the arcade beyond.
The full length of the case, mid-morning, from across the floor. Photograph: RaceKam

Open

Seven in the morning. Every morning.

7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Sunday. No shorter Sunday, no late Friday, no day off.

Eleven hours a day, seven days a week. Whatever day you are in town, the answer is the same — which is more than most of George Street can say.

06:24Hour of the day. The same counter, 06:24 and 12:00.

Every day of the week

Seven o'clock. The same minute on all seven days.

11 open hours a day, 7 days a week. Seven days, one line, on a loop. AEST, UTC+10

Monday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Tuesday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Wednesday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Thursday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Friday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Saturday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Sunday7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Finding us

Inside the building, not on the street

Ground floor of the Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street. Look for Kiosk 56.

455 George Street gets you to the building; Kiosk 56 gets you to the counter. You will smell it before you see it.

Building
Queen Victoria Building
Floor
Ground Floor
Unit
Kiosk 56
Street
455 George St
Locality
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
Plus code
4RRH46H4+FM
Coordinates
-33.871261, 151.206693
Open in Google Maps
The Queen Victoria Building seen from an upper gallery: a large gilded hanging clock with a domed top and a white dial, wrought-iron balustrades on two levels, a glazed barrel roof, shopfronts, escalators, and a patterned tile floor with seating at the far end.
The building the kiosk stands in, from two floors up. The kiosk is somewhere down there on the tiles. Photograph: Virginie Levier

Regulars

1,124 reviews. 4.4 out of 5.

A counter with no dining room, rated by more people than most restaurants manage.

Office workers before nine, shoppers by eleven, and a queue at lunch that moves faster than it looks. Seven of the ten photographs on this page were taken by customers.

Rating4.4 / 5
Reviews1,124
A child stands smiling beside the kiosk's curved glass cabinet, which is full of rolls on labelled boards. Adults queue behind, and the galleries of the Queen Victoria Building rise out of focus in the background.
The cabinet at eye level, and a queue behind it. Photograph: Metropole Cafe

The cabinet

Coffee, a roll, something from the case

Breakfast, brunch and lunch. Cakes and slices all day. Vegetarian options, and beer and wine if you would rather.

The cabinet changes through the day — filled rolls, croissants and pastries in the morning, tarts and slices alongside them later. Have a look at what is in today, or ring the counter and ask.

Filled baguette rolls stacked in a lit cabinet, each half wrapped in printed paper. Salad leaves, sliced tomato and crumbed fillings show at the open ends.

Frame 01 of 06

Filled baguette rolls stacked in a lit cabinet

Rolls in the cabinet, wrapped and stacked. Photograph: Metropole Cafe

Close on the cabinet: two tiers of slices, tarts and layered cakes on paper-lined boards, each with a small hand-written ticket in front of it, croissants and pastries on the shelf above, and jars of layered dessert at the left end.

Frame 02 of 06

Close on the cabinet

Two tiers, every tray ticketed. Photograph: J’s Life Bites

Two frames side by side. On the left, two black cups of coffee with poured latte art on a pink marble table. On the right, a slice with a crumb top and a pale set centre on a Metropole napkin, with a wrapped Lotus Biscoff biscuit resting on it and two forks alongside.

Frame 03 of 06

Two frames side by side. On the left

A visitor's two frames: coffee on marble, and a slice on a napkin. Photograph: Sophia

A hand holds up a clear takeaway cup of iced coffee topped with cream, printed with the round Metropole M mark and a paper straw. Behind it the kiosk and its cabinet, people standing at it, and the geometric mosaic floor of the arcade.

Frame 04 of 06

A hand holds up a clear

Takeaway, held up over the mosaic on the way out. Photograph: J’s Life Bites

A table from above: a coiled bun with a pale set topping and a dusting of sugar on a plate lined with Metropole-printed paper, a coffee with poured latte art in a black cup, a jar of iced black coffee with a straw, cutlery on paper napkins, and the edge of the mosaic floor at the top of the frame.

Frame 05 of 06

A table from above

Two people, one table, the mosaic just out of reach. Photograph: Novia Lim

A cappuccino with poured latte art in a black cup and saucer on a worn wooden table, photographed low. Behind it, out of focus, people sit at tables under a tall arched opening with stained glass beyond.

Frame 06 of 06

A cappuccino with poured latte art

Somebody's coffee, put down on the table before the photo. Photograph: Prabhdeep Kour

What you’ll find

What we don’t do

Before you come in

Questions people ask

What time do you open?

Seven in the morning, seven days a week, and we close at six. The hours are the same every day of the week. If you are coming on a public holiday, ring first — the building sets its own hours on those.

Where exactly are you?

Kiosk 56 on the ground floor of the Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, Sydney. Once you are inside the building, look for the counter with the round M sign above it.

What's in the cabinet?

Filled rolls, croissants and pastries, and a run of cakes, tarts and slices. It changes through the day and through the week, so the honest answer is to look at what is in when you get here, or ring and ask.

Is it expensive?

No. It is a counter, not a restaurant — most of the cabinet sits between AUD 1 and AUD 20.

Can I sit down, or is it takeaway only?

Both. You can eat in or take it with you, and there is a restroom. There is no outdoor seating.

Do you deliver?

No, we don't deliver. Takeaway is welcome — come to the counter.

Do you have vegetarian options?

Yes.

Do you serve beer and wine?

Beer and wine, yes. No cocktails.

Can I bring children? A group?

Both are fine. Dogs aren't allowed inside the building.

How do I order for a group or ask about something specific?

Ring the counter on (02) 9267 1122. It's the fastest way — someone is there from seven to six every day.