Lonsdale Street Roasters

LOCATION
In the increasing popular inner city suburb of Braddon.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
The transformation that Canberra has seen over the past five years is incredible. Even those who rarely frequent cafés, bars and restaurants have noticed that Canberra's dining scene has blossomed. Although the bastion of Garema place is still going strong, many of the new arrivals have set up shop in places not traditionally associated with café culture. Lonsdale Street Roasters in Braddon is an individual and funky coffee shop that shows off its unique personality like the eclectic cafés of Melbourne and Sydney do. Its unique coffee bean range and fun interior is a rejection of the soulless chain cafés.

With an open design that allows you to see the whole process of you cup of coffee - from the roasting of the beans to the dusting of a cappuccino - the café has a sense of community that cannot be faked. In keeping with Lonsdale Street’s reputation as the best place in Canberra to buy a bike, the quirky décor sees the vehicle riding along the ceiling or graffitied across the walls. Even just months from opening its doors, the cafe has already gained a local following. It hosts corporates rushing to grab a coffee, to toddler-toting mums stopping by to purchase some coffee beans, with the Johny Cash a favourite flavour. Diners sit outside languidly along the wooden benches enjoying crusty breakfast paninos stuffed with bacon, egg, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta.

Lonsdale Street Roasters is a place where office workers will happily go out of their way to get to, and others will spend the entire afternoon there reading a book, and slowly working their way through the coffee bean varieties.

Elizabeth Hall