Six suburban cafés worth crossing Canberra for
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Forget the inner-city scramble – some of Canberra’s most rewarding café experiences are hiding in plain sight at the local shops.
Every Canberran has their local. The café where the barista knows their order before they’ve reached the counter and the sunny corner table has an invisible “reserved” sign with their name on it. But sometimes the best thing you can do for your weekend is betray your regular and venture into unfamiliar territory.
From a Japanese dessert café that comes alive after dark to an artisan bakery tucked among Pialligo’s gardens, these six suburban spots prove that a short detour pays off in spades.
The Pialligo Bakesmith – Pialligo (Majura)
Driving out to Pialligo for brunch feels like leaving Canberra altogether. The city fades, the paddocks take over, and then you arrive at 12 Beltana Road – where Natalie Van den Bosch, the pastry chef formerly of beloved Le Bon Mélange Pâtisserie, has built something rather special.
The pastry cabinet is reason enough to make the trip – and half of it will be sold out by mid-morning, so don’t dawdle. The cinnamon buns are legendary (they sell in six-packs for a reason), and the range runs deep: Nutella Bombs, Biscoff Babys, cinnamon cronuts, almond croissants, a matcha strawberry croissant, and The Armadillo – a cross-laminated Danish filled with chocolate chip cookie custard. There’s also a full dessert cabinet with basque cheesecake, honey cake, macarons and tarts for those who want to take something home.
The hot menu (available until 2.30 pm) goes well beyond pastry. The Salmon Eggs Benedict comes with hickory smoked salmon, lemon myrtle hollandaise, beetroot gel and caperberries on house focaccia. The Boulangerie Potato layers baked potato with poached eggs, maple-glazed bacon, parmesan and garlic-thyme butter. And the cinnamon bun French toast – lemon curd, vanilla ice cream, seasonal berries, espresso anglaise – takes Natalie’s signature bun and turns it into a full dish. Arrive hungry.
12 Beltana Road, Pialligo | @thepialligobakesmith | thepialligobakesmith.com.au
Village Café – Waramanga (Weston Creek)
Neil had two decades of hospitality under his belt – from Sydney kitchens to London pubs and a hand in creating Dickson’s Ducks Nuts – before he landed at Waramanga Shops with Village Café. His philosophy is simple: serve the dishes he’d want to eat when he goes out.
That translates to a menu built on café classics. The Eggs Benedict swaps bread for Reuben croquettes – fried potato stuffed with pastrami, topped with a 63-degree egg and house-made hollandaise. There’s a vegetarian version too, with potato rösti, mushrooms, spinach and fresh herbs. A rotating specials board showcases handmade pasta and salads made with locally grown produce, and the hash brown is the stuff of legends.
15 Waramanga Place, Waramanga | @village_cbr
Common Grounds – Gowrie (Tuggeranong)
With Ashley Morrissey and Tom Brewer now at the helm, Gowrie’s Common Grounds is living up to – and building on – its reputation as one of the southside’s most loved cafés.
Parallel Roasters coffee anchors the drinks menu (which is packed with a variety of teas, smoothies and juices), and the breakfast lineup is seriously impressive. The Turk-ish Eggs – scrambled free-range eggs with grilled halloumi, hummus, pistachio dukkah, pomegranate, harissa oil on toasted Turkish bread – bring a hit of colour and spice that’ll wake you up faster than your flat white. The Salmon Truffle Scramble on a toasted croissant is indulgent without apology, and the Coconut Raspberry French Toast with raspberry coulis, coconut gelato, white chocolate crumble and maple syrup is worth saving room for.
Come lunchtime, things shift gear with a Pork Belly Burger stacked with sriracha herb slaw and onion rings, a Kransky Chili Dog loaded with sauerkraut and chilli con carne, and a Halloumi and Pumpkin Salad with quinoa and lemon pesto dressing for anyone exercising restraint.
Dogs are welcome – and judging by the regulars sprawled under tables on any given weekend, they know it.
4/1 Jeffries Street, Gowrie | @commongroundsgowrie
St Elmo – Torrens (Woden)
The team behind Woodbrook has turned a small shopfront into an Italian pasta shop with a retro fit-out that feels more Melbourne laneway than suburban Woden – shelves of carefully chosen goods, Barrio coffee, and house-baked treats behind the counter.
St Elmo is a pasta shop first and everything else second. Head chef Travis, who spent years in hatted kitchens, makes fresh pasta from free-range eggs and Australian flour – bronze die extruded or hand sheeted, with the day’s shapes on display in the cabinet. The St Elmo Ravioli (16 pieces, filled with housemade ricotta, lemon and spices) is the signature, and the retail board reads like a love letter to Italian home cooking: slow-cooked lamb ragù made from whole shoulder with tiny meatballs, bolognese built on beef, pork and bone marrow stock, lasagne of braised beef and pork, and a tomato and basil sugo using vine-ripened San Marzano tomatoes.
While you’re there, order a canelé and grab a slab of the focaccia loaded with roasted zucchini, potato, onion, chilli and fontina. The tiramisu, made with Barrio espresso, is also hard to walk past. It’s a neighbourhood gem that rewards those who make the trip across the valley.
Shop 9/16 Torrens Place, Torrens | @st.elmo_cbr | saintelmo.com.au
Frankies at Forde – Forde (Gungahlin)
Frankies has been a fixture of Forde since 2014 and it wears its longevity well. Café by day, fully licensed restaurant and bar by night, it’s all sleek black subway tiles and warm recycled timber.
Mornings run on dishes like the salmon bagel with lemon cream cheese, pickled onion and fried capers, brekky tacos loaded with smoked brisket beans and chorizo, and baked ricotta apple hotcakes with cinnamon anglaise and pecan crumble.
The smoker is central to what Frankies does – and it shows right across the menu. Lunchtime brings a brisket burger with chipotle BBQ and a pulled pork burger finished with apple coleslaw and pork crackle, while the dinner menu steps things up with 500g house smoked pork ribs in housemade Texas BBQ sauce, macadamia-crusted snapper with black rice and honey passionfruit glaze, and a smokelovers pizza stacked with pulled pork, brisket, Italian sausage and chicken.
Dog-friendly outdoor seating and the playground across the road make it a go-to for families, while the cocktail list and craft beer selection mean it pulls double duty on date nights.
1/26 Francis Forde Boulevard, Forde | @frankiesatforde | frankiesatforde.com.au
Bunny Beans – Kippax (Belconnen)
Tucked into the Kippax shops in Holt, Bunny Beans is run by chef Bernie and does double duty as a brunch fave and sweet nighttime destination.
The daytime menu leans into creative brunch territory. The chicken and potato waffle – topped with paprika-spiced chicken, smoked bacon and maple syrup – has practically become a Belconnen landmark, and the Soft Shell Crab Eggs Benedict is definitely not your average breakky dish. French toast, tacos, okonomiyaki and house-baked cakes round things out, all washed down with ONA coffee.
When the sun goes down, things get interesting. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5 pm until 11 pm, the café transforms into Bunny Beans Night Cafe – a Japanese-style dessert destination serving towering Shibuya toast, shaved-ice bingsu and crème brûlée burnt cheesecake, alongside non-alcoholic signature drinks like the Pineapple Blossom (think piña colada vibes without the hangover). It’s a late-night concept Canberra didn’t know it needed.
U 16/64 Hardwick Crescent, Holt | bunnybeanscafekippax.com.au
Feature image: The Pialligo Bakesmith
