The 12 best places to get coffee in Canberra

What began as a tiny espresso bar and coffee roaster in Curtin back in 2011 has grown into one of Canberra’s proudest specialty coffee spots, now boasting three locations across the city. At Redbrick’s roastery in Fyshwick, you can watch the roasting action through large glass windows, using beans sourced from sustainable farms in Central and South America and Africa. Their flagship café in Civic is our favourite spot for a cosy cuppa, offering four distinct blends – classic, sweet, rich and complex – plus a rotating selection of single origins, available as filter or espresso.

To put it simply, Ona is a Canberra coffee staple. Possibly a national one for that matter. The roaster with a cult-following supplies beans all over Australia (more on that later), but the Coffee House in Fyshwick is the source of all the deliciousness. Here, Ona serves its signature house blends – the Aspen and Raspberry Candy are our faves – made with love by its talented baristas (the founder even won the World Barista Championship in 2015). They also sell takeaway beans from the attached roastery and offer regular barista classes for even those beginners wanting to master their home machine.

This newcomer to Canberra’s coffee scene in 2024 is brought to us by hospo veterans Anthony Iannelli (ex-Terra) and Scott Brewer (ex-Barrio). With vinyl records spinning laid-back tunes all day, a cosy courtyard with heating and an impressive brunch menu, Recess is the ultimate spot to settle in for a freshly brewed coffee. Recess sources its beans from small-scale farmers, roasting them locally in Canberra and packaging some for sale in its quirky retail shop – a little slice of caffeine paradise.

While Barrio's shopfront is on the bustling Lonsdale Street in central Canberra, it roasts its beans just around the corner in Fyshwick. At the café, you can order your coffee black or white – with three types of milk available, including their very own dairy-free cashew and almond blend. For a really out-there cuppa, order yours with unhomogenised milk. It makes for a super popular order with milk as fresh as you can get from a carton. If you’re feeling a bit experimental, Barrio is pretty serious about their batch brews, or drip coffee for you Americans. 

If you haven’t swung by this specialty coffee house and Japanese-inspired café in Campbell, consider this your sign to fix that ASAP. First-timers can sample Intra’s offerings with a coffee flight, featuring their Staple blend with notes of butterscotch, hazelnut and nectarine. Other single origin blends feature beans sourced from Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Honduras, with all four options available for purchase from Intra’s retail nook. Do yourself a favour and pair your brew with Intra’s signature kimchi jaffle.

You’ll find Two Before Ten cafés speckled well across Canberra, including a dedicated roastery in Mitchell. Their blends are roasted in small batches so you can expect some great attention to detail and sustainably-sourced, single origin beans from Brazil and Costa Rica. One of the coolest features of this local coffee roastery is its urban farm in Aranda, complete with a commercial composter, oil recycling and a fermenting room so that they can reduce their food miles and get a second life out of all of those coffee grounds. 

Remember the legends at Ona? Another one of their flagships is The Cupping Room, or The Cuppo, as it’s affectionately known. You can swing by seven days a week, and on public holidays too, for when you need that caffeine hit the most. Ona’s complex roasts hail from all around the world and this Ona branch is inspired by the age-old practice of ‘cupping’, where little cups of coffee are judged and compared to get their flavour profile. Count us in. 

The modern interior and exposed brick walls at East Row invite you in for a snug seat to savour your caffeine treat. The specialty coffee made here hails from Ona and East Row make sure to put a new single origin coffee on rotation every month. The café is named appropriately by the street you’ll find it on the corner of, right inside the heritage-listed Sydney Building. 

Australia is a notoriously difficult place to get a coffee after 3pm. Enter: Ona’s third Canberra flagship store, Highroad. The café is open ‘til 10pm from Thursday to Sunday and is all about keeping things natural. The specialty coffee on offer is a part of Project Origin – an initiative creating strong relationships with coffee farmers and producers around the world. The cosy joint also promotes the local community with an interior inspired by Canberra’s rugged landscapes. 

If Highroad’s extensive opening hours aren’t cutting it for your late-night caffeine cravings, this Indonesian diner dishes up delicious coffee after hours from 6pm to 6am. Yep, all night long. There are no reservations here, but you’ll be ushered inside pretty fast with the quick turnaround of 60-minute slots (well, depending on how busy they are). Once seated, you really can’t leave without trying a Hot Joshie – a melted oreo-oat milk concoction topped with more crushed Oreos. The soy-infused chai, Kita affogato and triple hot choccie are also serving big dessert energy whether it’s 10pm or 3am. 

Don’t let anyone tell you that coffee is too expensive to order out. If you keep an eye on Lava's socials, you might get lucky and catch one of the $1 batch brew Fridays. However, we'd recommend visiting this lovely 15-year-old industrial joint any day and enjoying the picnic bench seating out front (which is dog-friendly). Specialty coffee here comes courtesy of Single O and Twin Peaks, with beans from Wood and Co available to purchase. When it comes to latte art, the baristas at Lava mean business. The sense of family is super strong here so don’t be afraid to ask for advice on your next cup. You can get your Lava Coffee fix in Weston, Phillip and Kingston. 

Full marks go to this super cosy cafe in Braddon with indoor and outdoor seating should you like to savour your cuppa. 10/10 serves up some Maverick Roasters magic in the form of the chocolate-y Old Town Blend. They’re open ‘til lunchtime so you can grab your caffeine hit after hitting up Canberra Centre – 10/10 is just across the road. Despite the fantastic location, coffee prices are still super reasonable. Our tip? Order the Belgium mocha. It’s their specialty and a perfect ‘treat yourself’ drink.