Neighbourhood: Campbell
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One of the best things about Canberra is its multitude of neighbourhoods – each with its own individual charm and attractions. And whether you’re looking to make that suburb your home or just explore its offerings, it’s always good to have an expert guide to show you around.
Campbell is an established inner north suburb, showcasing large homes on vast blocks within the foothills of Mount Ainslie. With a history of housing the nation’s Defence community, you’ll see many a uniform or young recruits enjoying training drills early in the morning. Leafy, quiet, refined, the suburb has recently had an edgy expansion and upgrade, where gleaming new apartments have brought new life to this established suburb.
SUBURB SNAPSHOT
Campbell has changed enormously since it was established in the 1950’s with strong links to Canberra’s burgeoning Defence community. Home to the iconic Australian War Memorial, Royal Military College Duntroon, and the Australian Defence Force Academy (not to mention the neighbouring defence precinct of Russell, which houses the nation’s Defence bureaucracy), Campbell has always held an air of respectability about it. With higher-than-average home prices, large blocks and leafy streets, Campbell remained a quiet and staid suburb with a small enclave of local shops until a decade ago, when development towards the lake end of Campbell Section 5 brought a whole new cosmopolitan vibe to the suburb. With rows of gleaming apartments flanked by Constitution Avenue and Anzac Parade, the new 22,000-square-meter urban village has settled in with residents now spoiled for choice for shops and eateries.
OLD CAMPBELL (BLAMEY CRESCENT)
EAT
Department of Pizza
Some of the city’s best dough discs are created in this cute restaurant, which is anchored by a massive pizza oven and a long bench from which you can witness pizza flavours come to life. Cranking out Neapolitan-style sourdough pizza bases with minimal and ingredient-focused toppings, this is a spot where the pizza is matched to the vino and the staff are happy to get involved when indecision strikes.
12 Blamey Place Campbell | departmentofpizza.com.au
Les Bistronomes
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OK foodies, you probably already know about this award-winning bistro, which serves some of the region’s most notable French cuisine in a dark, moody space overseen by imported legend and internationally award-winning chef Clément Chauvin.
With a private dining room and a truly impressive menu, this is a destination restaurant worthy of time and intention, and the place where you tick an authentic Boeuf en Croute or Ash Crusted Duck à l’Orange off your bucket list of classic French dishes, without having to endure that long international flight to Paris!
18 Blamey Place, Campbell | lesbistronomes.net
Golden Oven Bakery
Having a local bakery that pumps out bread, savoury and sweet treats fresh every day is not something locals take for granted, so it’s always busy here. Go for a loaf of white for a classic sandwich and stay for one of their famous cream-filled Apple Turnovers. Be pleasantly surprised you can also snap up some fresh rice paper rolls while you’re there.
20 Blamey Place, Campbell | wanderlog.com
IGA Campbell
A great little supermarket for everything you need, with a bonus of a café station at the front where you can get any manner of snacks, sandwiches, salads, drinks, and eat them at the tables outside. Shopping with benefits…
5/10 Blamey Crescent, Campbell | @igacampbell
Hello Cafe
If you want to tune into Old Campbell, then Hello Café is your start. Here you will see uniformed Defence personnel deep in discussion (in suitably low voices) and the week before we visited, there were not one but two former Governors-General stopping in for coffee. With seating in the sun and a small, long dining room inside, this café is old school with a substantial menu of snacks and meals overseen by Barney De Andrade, who has owned it for 20 years.
PS: This place is so dog-friendly that Barney might even bring out a bowl of sirloin offcuts for your pooch to enjoy.
14 Blamey Place, Campbell | @hellocafecampbell
PLAY
The Campbell Community Edible Garden Project
Did you know there is a lovely little community garden growing at the back of the Campbell shops? The Campbell Community Edible Garden Project is a volunteer-run project supported with an ACT Government Community Garden Grant. You’ll see a lovingly tended spot under trees, where planter beds grow whatever is seasonal, and there is a filing cabinet with information and dry seed stock. A beautiful community resource, this has no doubt inspired many a local to stop and taste a strawberry before deciding to learn some more and maybe dig up a little plot in the back yard for some further gardening joy.
NEW CAMPBELL (CAMPBELL 5)
EAT
Paranormal Wines
What began as a relaxed wine store specialising in natural and organic wines has blossomed into a flagship Campbell attraction, which has also gained the attention of food guides nationally. Under the stewardship of owner Max Walker and chef Reece Inkpen, the store has become more of a restaurant and bar, turning out extremely inventive dishes and attracting a strong crowd of cool kids. Last year, they got a Hat, no doubt for dishes such as their arresting-looking Sommerland chicken leg schnitzel with melon hot sauce and pickles, or maybe for the Sunchokes with parsley, sunflower seeds and mushroom miso sabayon. Or maybe just for doing things differently and well.
G27/6 Provan Street, Campbell | paranormalwines.com
Peonee
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Is this one of the city’s most hidden gems? This tiny, bespoke restaurant produces exquisite set menus featuring locally sourced and seasonal produce, cooked in the open kitchen at the end of the dark and moody space. Think of it like going to a dinner party if you were besties with a five-starred chef. Each dish is beautifully prepared by owner and chef Alberto Ranally, whose love for food was inculcated as a child growing up in Bologna, Italy. While the menu depends on his creativity on any given day, all dietaries can be catered for, and you could get served something as outstanding as the Little Joe beef flank, with pepper sauce and cured yolk, the swordfish with grapes and sauce vin jaune, or the chocolate mousse with bergamot oil. This place has always been high up on our list of consistently outstanding local restaurants, so make sure you put it on your list too. You will not be disappointed!
34/12 Provan Street, Campbell | peoneerestaurant.com.au
Intra
Giving the new Campbell 5 area some serious street cred is the gang behind Intra, who pump out their home-roasted beans in a small and industrial space with a selection of communal tables and bench seats.
Owner Nick Wood has created a thriving meeting place with one overarching food priority – The Jaffle. Try the iconic Kimchi Jaffle, the Pesto Chicken, the French Onion or the Bolognese Jaffle. Yes, there are a few other creative brunchy-type dishes on the menu, but who could go past those options? And why? Also, we highly commend barista Charles if you like your latte art on the seriously accomplished side.
30/12 Provan Street, Campbell | intracbr.com.au
Purple Rain
What a vibe! Here is a café where your batch brew comes with a banger song. Owner Terry Fong is a music lover (clearly) and wanted a place where you could combine good eats with beats. With a record player taking pride of place alongside some excellent vinyl, there is live music here each month. For those in it for the matcha, it is top tier. The menu provides sustenance such as a hefty Beef Sando made with slow-cooked pulled Wagyu, cabbage slaw, Japanese shichimi and mayo. And try the Purple Rain – “the perfect ratio between 18-hour cold brew, grape juice and jasmine tea.” It might blow your mind as well as your eardrums.
CO3/51 Constitution Avenue, Campbell | @purple.rain.music.cafe
The Pedlar
If you want to settle in for a beer, wine, or gastro pub meal, The Pedlar has been proving popular for a decade now. Serving brunch, lunch, and coffee during the day before after-work wind-downs and more substantial meals take over at night, this place does what it does well. Think: chicken wings with chilli caramel marinade, sticky lamb rubs with a miso beer glaze, or a Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (as well as all your usual pub faves). Elevated décor and food with a little extra thought and pizzazz makes this an easy choice for locals and a delightful excursion for those who live further afield. We love a pub that keeps it real but strives for excellence.
65 Constitution Avenue, Campbell | thepedlar.com.au
Knead Bakery
With a strong fan base across all of its Canberra outlets, Knead pumps out a steady line of breads, pies, sandwiches, and savoury treats to go alongside its exemplary sweet treats. Portuguese Tarts are noteworthy, as are the Brookie Cookies. You can also order a day in advance for any cupcake or Danish requirements if you suddenly find yourself on catering duties.
55/65 Constitution Avenue, Campbell | knead-bakery.square.site
SHOP
Mrs Fray
Is there anything more exciting than shopping for a wedding dress? We think not. Mrs Fray (run by the ever-so-stylish Amy Farrell) is the exclusive stockist for Australian designers Karen Willis Holmes, KYHA, Prea James Bridal, Lola Varma, Mariam Seddiq and Maticevski. She also stocks international designers Bon Bridé and Newhite. This is the sort of glamorous salon which forms part of a catalogue of wedding memories. From the beautiful room, draped in white, to the champagne and glass cabinets full of beautiful accessories – there is nothing more an aspiring bride could want or need. Amy is the cool, calm font of style wisdom you need to make your grandest entrance of all.
31/12 Provan Street, Campbell | mrsfray.com
PAMPER
Reverie
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Opened last year, Reverie is Australia’s first self-guided, 24-hour wellness centre. Accessed through an app and Bluetooth to enable clients to slip through the security doors, day or night, all bookings and payments are done online. Once through the door, this stone and wood haven proves immediately relaxing and provides treatment rooms with a range of services including infrared sauna, red light therapy, and LED light therapy. There is even an automated spray tan booth for a private and contactless experience. For those who like their relaxation treatments to include therapeutic human hands, you can book one of Reverie’s famous Nap Theory head, skin and scalp rituals where nodding off is highly likely and even encouraged.
9/59 Constitution Avenue, Campbell | reveriewellness.com.au
Alchemy Beauty Lab
This sun-drenched corner is all about brows, lashes and skin. And while it offers some stunning views of Mount Ainslie, it’s a place for clients to lie back, close their eyes, and emerge in a more groomed form. Whether it’s lash extensions, a Korean lash lift and tint, or brow laminations, you can add a little wax here or there if you have time. For those seeking deeper treatments, you can book in for a Lumixa medical-grade LED skin treatment, needling, or any number of facials for any number of concerns.
4/58 Constitution Avenue, Campbell | alchemybeautylab.net
The Clinic Skin Health and Wellness
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She’s known across Canberra as the “Skin Whisperer”, and Cara Ho’s testimonials suggest that when skin is problematic (whether through acne, pigmentation, rosacea or ageing), she can make miracles happen. The clinic combines a medical and dermal team (including its own plastic surgeon and compounding microbiome chemist) and takes a holistic approach considering hormones, gut health, lifestyle, and emotions.
From bio-stimulators to needling and microneedling, chemical peels, resurfacing, spot pigmentation treatments, alkaline therapy, injectables, or individualised facials, this is a place that takes skin very, very seriously. You can also purchase high-grade skincare to keep the miracle working at home.
24/6 Provan Street, Campbell | clinicskinhealth.com
Photography: Andrew Ly.
