We visited Highroad in Canberra in the northern suburb of Dickson. The cafe is owned by the Ona…read moreCoffee brand and it is certainly not your run of the mill cafe. It is unique in its menu, stylish in its decor and has a very cool vibe to it. Architecturally, I describe the cafe as an industrial/Art Deco/urban architecture blend. High ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and a huge expansive space to sit with mod style chairs and wooden booths as well as communal tables. The back of the cafe has another large dining space. The bathrooms are reminiscent of an old cinema. The area just had great feng shui to it, and felt quiet and calming despite it's size. This was especially interesting since we found the clientele was majority families with young children. The coffee bench sprawls the wall adjacent to the entry, and shows off their quality coffee gear and baristas doing what they do best. The coffee here is outstanding. Using beans roasted in their Ona Fyshwick roastery, the way they serve it is visionary, with different milk based blends and you can order according to taste preference, and the staff even can advise which milk would work best. In addition there's also filter, cold brew espresso (single o and blends). They even have a reserve list for their espressos. You can guarantee a good coffee here. Behind the coffee bench is an impressive installation showcasing bottles of wine, and they have a wine list as well as selling craft beers. The cafe has an all day menu and meals to suit dining at brekkie, brunch or lunch so it's extremely versatile. The food here is impressive and the dishes have interesting takes on classics, the use of new and cool ingredients and presented well. It was most certainly a tough ask to settle on a preferred option since they all sounded appealing. I went with the Kingfish, a gf option with a lovely and light cured Hiramasa Kingfish perched on a piece of dark rye, spread with cream cheese and arranged with green apple, beetroot, fennel and dill. We added a side of pickles and this dish was simply perfect. Our friend ordered the Beef Cheek which is suitable for a brunch option since the 16hr braised beef cheek is topped with a hollandaise sauce and the fact that it is served with pearl cous cous and tabouli salad brings it into a lunch dish. Our dining party also ordered their unique take on the smashed avo. This is a gluten free and vegetarian option, served with a cool vegemite ricotta, toasted seeds and nuts, poached eggs, herbs, foccacia. We added some fried chicken to our dish to add a bigger protein hit. Other option include a parmesan & pickled jalapeno waffle, a beautiful green bowl, pork Sando or it can be as simple as a bacon and egg roll or Muesli. The staff here are excellent - efficient and knowledgeable. Overall this was a memorable dining experience.

Tasty bacon and egg roll. Pialligo bacon and pickles were a nice touch. Good coffee with a range of…read morebeans to choose from. Coffee temperature could have a little more heat, especially in winter. Staff are friendly and efficient. Lovely open and relaxed vibe. The eggs Benedict/Reuben combo with homemade corned beef is stunning and worth a visit just for that alone.

Experiences here vary from 5 star to 1 star. Basement bar is a good place for a secluded drink but…read morethe impressive decor is reflected in the price of drinks, even allowing for the overpriced nature of Canberra.. A plus is that the stock of Australian spirits. Last visit the bar was not open at 4pm (as advertised) forcing us to sit upstairs, where the service is slow and somewhat disinterested. A.Baker may have changed since I first drafted this review a few years ago, but if the name is the same.... :)

Go at your own risk- heard mixed reviews and I can see why. If u want a sure thing amazing…read moreexperience I'd recommend going somewhere else. However if you're a gambler and want to throw caution to the wind and laugh in the face of bad service and the chance for a rather disappointing experience than strap on your Indiana Jones costume and come on down! I had been recommended A.Baker by a mate in Sydney however my local contact had received mixed reviews. She'd never been and so we thought we'd give it a try. We came here for brunch so I can't really comment on the dinner/wine bar side of things (maybe that is their saving grace?). A.Baker looks pretty suave and funky. The layout and design inside is madhot and I always give extra points to a place that has invested time in decorating. It's honestly worth coming here just to check out the decor. The food was quite nice, but I think they were trying too hard to be avant-garde and different. I understand that the chefs want to do something new and different but it all just seemed a little bit pretentious for my simple tastes. I got the toad in the hole- which sounds weird considering my previous sentence- however it had lardo (cured pig fat) on it and some other thing I couldn't even name. Nevertheless it was rather pleasant. The coffee was alight- nothing special but definitely a good bean nonetheless. The biggest issue was the service and the treatment of the staff. They were just inattentive and did not care at all. We ordered a round of bloody marys which kind of never came. We eventually asked the waitress when we were 1/2 way through our meals and her response was that no one was in the bar... After all of us staring blankly at her for a few seconds she said that she guessed she could go ask her manager and walked off. After we'd all finished our meals and were about to give up and head off the manager came out with the bloody Mary's, put them down and hurried off. No apology for the delay or smile or anything.. This would have been fine- I'm not precious about service- however the drinks were undrinkable. I love chilli and can handle my heat, however this was like drinking Tabasco sauce. We spoke to another waiter and asked if they could be taken off the bill- which they did. Another group sat at the table next us and no waiter have them menus or anything for the 20 minutes they were there. Might also point out it wasn't busy at all. This seems to be the biggest critique of this place (the service not the Bloody Mary's) and I've heard several stories of this since going. Normally this wouldn't get in the way of good food for me. I'd be comfortable paying to eat in a gutter of a highway with the waiter spitting in my face if the food was worth it, however the overall experience just wasn't really worth it. I'm giving it two stars as the whole experience was simply disappointing. I always look for the best in a place but there were too many factors working against this place for me to ignore. The next time I come to Canberra I think I might just make my toad in a hole at home- or try and come here for a wine at night,

Food service and ambience all big ticks. Gluten free options good and Steffens on the ballread more

Great service and location. Beautiful outdoor seating. The breakfast and lunch menus are great…read more Great place for a quick bite!

Updated some photos from my next trip. Ordered Caprese Salad -…read more Burrata cheese, medley tomato, grilled peach, fresh basil, avocado with passionfruit sauce. Was a beautiful summer dish and cheese was good quality.

Went to take my parents out for breakfast..... Sat down…read morelooked at the menu....... $16-$17 for muesli...... way too much for eggs and bacon.. After about 2 minutes I told my hubby and my parents there is no way it can be that amazing and we are going elsewhere.... For the suburbs of Canberra, and Jamison???? this place is over priced. All I could think is there are some places in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney that don't charge that (with views of the ocean) for a bowl of muesli...

Good bread. Good coffee…read more Good staff. Good doggos outside. I wished the menu would utilise more of the bakery's goods (not into the milk buns compared to the bread offered at their bakery) which is amazing, which would have gotten them the full 5 stars. Tip: use their sourdough loaf, cut out the middle, fill it with cob loaf dip of your choosing. All my reviews are standardised to the following star ratings: 1. Customer service I.e. friendly, easy to book, etc. 2. Accessibility I.e. location, decor and scenery, easily assessable or flexible, etc. 3. Work, health and safety I.e. clean, safe, etc. 4. Quality of goods and/or services I.e. good food, good movers, etc. 5. Comparison to similar for location - I.e. would I recommend this above other places

Wonderful and relaxed spot for brunch. I made a reservation for eight people in advance and we were…read morepromptly seated upon arrival. Service here is friendly and casual - order at the counter, get a number, and wait for your dishes at your table. I ordered the Pumpkin Bread dish (grilled pumpkin bread, poached egg, smashed avocado, honey ricotta, balsamic, kale, toasted pepitas, grilled halloumi) and the combination of sweet and slight savoriness was absolutely delicious. The sweetness wasn't overwhelming, and the different textures made for a very satisfying dish that made you want to keep eating more. In fact, it's been over a month since I've been here and I'm still dreaming about this dish today and thinking of ways on how I can remake this at home! Coffee and drinks here were also excellent. I tried the Rose Petal & Earl Grey latte and enjoyed the light and floral flavor. All in all, a fantastic cafe with some great and healthy brunch choices for everyone. Next time, I'd be even happy just stopping by for their pastries/pies/baked goods - everything in their bakery display looked so fresh!

This place is an awesome chill-out cafe. I've been here multiple times, it's relaxed, convenient…read moreand very well priced. I like that they are environmentally conscious and give a 20c discount if you bring your own cup. They make their food in house, even the meat pie. The service is lovely. The ambience is hip and cute. I've had the club sandwich and it's filling and delicious, just watch out u don't burn ur mouth with the hot gravy/BBQ sauce. The coffee tastes amazing too, even the decaf. For a small cafe they provide a lot of meal options and they make it from scratch so it arrives fresh on your table

This place is absolutely dog, I threw up on a table and they made me clean it up myself then yelled…read moreat me.

This spot has great ambience and service, the staff's positive attitude really added to a positive…read moredining experience. Being seated in the lower area and dining surrounded by books was lovely. The food itself was not as good as to be expected. It is (or as visible to my family and I) an all day breakfast cafe which was unexpected, but we didn't mind having brunch. The food was not to taste and I personally found the eggs Benedict quite disappointing (far too much meat, of high quality, and the sriracha hollandaise was foamy and tasteless). The big breakfast is good value, however the smaller items appear overpriced for the quality level. No doubt the coffee is amazing as this place is so popular, but I can't recommend paying for the food here. Definitely a place to sit and enjoy coffee in this cafe, however that being said the cafe wasn't very full when I dined here so when noise levels increase it's peaceful appeal would greatly lessen. As a young woman going out to cafe there are quieter places to eat with better food while being surrounded by books.

i stopped by for a weekend treat for coffee and cake. I wasnt sure what to expect, but I think I…read moream on a winner here. parked right out the front and in the shade.. nice. not too busy so a quiet table in the corner where we could hold conversation. i went for an iced chocolate and i really enjoyed it, just the right amount of syrup and a great tasting icecream. my companion had a coffe which i was told was quite nice also. we ordered the macadamia and date tart and chef asked if we were sharing, we said yes. tart was delivered cut in half with cream and raspberry coulis on both plates. Yep great service to go along with the food. their weekend brunch menu had a range of mouthwatering temptatiins, so I'll be back to try them all.