Melbourne coffee spills into Sydney

Brace yourself Sydney: Melbourne's coffee invasion is poised to open up on several new fronts.

South Melbourne's St Ali Coffee is the hot tip to join A Tavola and Maurice Terzini's new spin-off restaurant at the redeveloped Hakoah Club site on Hall Street in Bondi.

Influential Melbourne roaster Seven Seeds is rumoured to be headed to a site in Surry Hills opposite Longrain.

And Proud Mary, the Melbourne cafe that Jamie Oliver helped put on the map, praising its coffee and featuring its food in his magazine, is also about to spread its legacy to Sydney. Proud Mary's founding head chef, Kayne Papworth, has just inked a deal that will see him become a partner and head chef at Ben Sweeten's new cafe, yet to be named, opening in April at 197 Gloucester Street, The Rocks.

Sweeten, who operates Joe Black in Surry Hills, worked with Papworth at Proud Mary and became determined to lure him to Sydney.

''He's one of the best cafe chefs in Melbourne - if not Australia,'' Sweeten says.

''There are a lot of people opening great cafes in Sydney. We want to do one with great food. Coffee is the new beer and 2013 will be the year of the cafe. They are the new watering hole for people to meet and do business.''