Every morning, as I hotfoot into work, I pass the King’s Cross, London, branch of Granger & Co and my pace slows. Glancing in reveals a world where the hubbub melts into insignificance, where a bar of brass and peach tiles, house plants and terrazzo set the tone. An angled mirror reflects the early light, shining favourably on fluffy flat whites, swirls of scrambled egg and the faces of those who ordered them.

From its three London sites, the cafe chain sells a notion of Australia – what its website describes as “sunny, easygoing and generous”. Sydney-born chef Bill Granger arguably pioneered the Australian-style cafe in the UK, riffing on his homeland’s penchant for healthy living, minimalist design, fresh food and brunching. But this kind of eatery – and the habit of lingering within it, which has been described as “hang culture” – is not limited to Granger’s restaurants; similar food and coffee offerings, with laid-back vibes and hipster aesthetics (plywood, succulents), abound in and outside the capital – think Farm Girl, Lantana Cafe and Daisy Green in London, Leeds’ Laynes Espresso, South Coast Roast in Bournemouth and Society Cafe in Bath, Bristol and Oxford, which all tell the same story.

Laynes Espresso sweetcorn fritters in Leeds. Photograph: Giles Smith

From Britain to the US and beyond, Australian breakfasts have become a thing, with New Zealand also making notable contributions. When asked about the hallmarks of the trend, Kiwi chef Miles Kirby, founder of the five-site Caravan group, suggests that Oceanians have simply elevated a meal that Britons already love: “There’s a rich tradition of greasy spoons and local caffs in the UK, but I think Antipodeans have refined it. We’ve upped the level of service, the quality of ingredients, and brought a fresh approach with a menu that has something for everyone.” Caravan’s take on the full English, for example, is brought up to date with thick-cut bacon and slow-roasted tomatoes, or, as Tamper calls it at Sellers Wheel in Sheffield, “the Big Kiwi”, where dukkah corn cobs and bubble and squeak are thrown into the mix.

Another stamp of starting the day southern hemisphere-style is versatility. Diners are often encouraged to customise their order with sides of merguez sausage, roasted field mushrooms, kimchi, halloumi, or the option of turning a dish vegan. “We encourage guests to design their own dish,” says Kirby, “and try to offer something for everyone.”

While there is no shortage of old friends – avocado on toast, baked eggs, granola – there is also an abundance of healthy, non-traditional all-day options, such as a red quinoa grain bowl with grilled broccoli and miso verde, or chia and coconut pudding. Clearly, it works: the proliferation of social media posts under the hashtag #aussiebreakfast speaks for itself: a delicious collection of rainbow fare smattered with chilli flakes and Instagram’s Amaro filter.

Lantana’s sweetcorn fritters, London. Photograph: Lantana

Breakfasts that are at once wholesome and indulgent define this style of dining. When Rose Mann, a Melbourne native, founded her Farm Girl cafe in Notting Hill, London, it wasn’t about serving overtly “healthy” food, but delicious dishes that had a nourishing twist, adding turmeric to bircher muesli and creating a vegan take on a BLT sandwich – which Nigella Lawson posted about. “Ten years ago, people were taking food supplements, then going out for a fry-up,” says Mann. As she saw it, there was a gap that needed to be closed. While Farm Girl didn’t set out to be lumped into the (now much-maligned) “clean eating” movement, its offering conveniently dovetailed with growing interest in vegan and gluten- and dairy-free regimens. It is the kind of eating seen to go hand-in-hand with an outdoorsy lifestyle reminiscent of Bondi beach, where yoga before work is de rigueur and, says Mann: “If you’re not going for brunch at the weekend, you’re not really there.”

Everyone seems to agree that these breakfasts are inextricable from the coffee culture. As you might expect, this is pretty high-end coffee – single origin, small batch, with names as natty as their velvety crema tops; where would millennials, or indeed TV satire, be without those Oceanic imports, flat whites and long blacks? These are as quintessentially Australasian as the technicolour breakfasts, and the majority of eateries mentioned here opened offering both coffee and food, which Mann and Kirby agree would have been unusual a decade ago.

All the restaurateurs I speak to agree that Australians and New Zealanders tend to draw on a variety of ethnic influences. From miso to tahini, XO sauce to pitaya powder, and chillies galore, Oceanic breakfasts typically include unexpected ingredients. “I’m always looking for new ways to manipulate ingredients and to challenge their classic uses,” says Kirby. He attributes this culinary boldness to a culture that’s both curious and itchy-footed: “By nature, we travel to broaden our minds. Our continent is isolated – we can’t just pop over to Spain or France or Morocco for the weekend – so we make leaps of faith and plant ourselves somewhere else.”

Funny that these slow and cosy breakfasts, which now seem so much a part of hunkering down and of being home in the UK, hail from the other side of the world.

Quintessentially Australasian: our pick of the ultimate breakfasts

Corn fritters at Granger & Co. Photograph: Petrina Tinslay

Sweetcorn fritters

A bestseller at Granger, Lantana, Laynes Espresso and Daisy Green alike, often appearing alongside poached eggs, avocado and some kind of sauce, such as pesto or kasundi.

Banana bread

The Daisy Green group’s award-winning banana bread sandwich is a menu mainstay, filled with mascarpone and berries, while Lantana’s banoffee bread comes toasted with toffee sauce and grilled banana.

Avocado on toast

Decorated with bloody mary pickles and celery salt at Laynes Espresso, pomegranate at Farm Girl, hazelnut and pistachio dukkah at Lantana, and pickled red onion and manouri cheese at Caravan.

French toast

With coconut and tropical fruit at the Daisy Green group, or a weekly changing accompaniment at Sheffield’s Tamper.

Grain-based bowls

Can be sweet or savoury. Farm Girl’s acai bowl with Amazonian berries, almond milk and chia seeds is a bestseller, as is Caravan’s red quinoa number and Lantana’s buddha bowl with cauliflower “rice”, house pickles and green tahini.