The Cupping Room | Cafe Canberra

Currently, in January 2026, the cafe is hemmed in by road works so getting to it involved a bit of effort. I had a bacon and egg sandwich (without the included embellishments - no price reduction offered) that was pricey but substantial. However it was very dry and needed butter. The long black coffee was ok but a bit cloudy indicating the fine grains had got through. To be honest I never got a perfect long black anywhere in my 3 week tour of ACT, NSW and VIC but I am fussy when it comes to coffee. It was quiet and service was fast at 8am.

Place is cozy and food is absolutely amazing! Totally recommended. Note that when we visited on 12 oct 2025, there was construction work for light rail extensions, which made parking a little bit difficult. I am not sure when it is scheduled to be completed.

A small/medium cafe near the Canberra City Centre; just off Northbourne Avenue. Street parking nearby as well as an easy stroll from surrounding suburbs. Enjoyed the French Toast which was definitely amazing and delicious. An amazing feast of flavours and an experience to eat!

Horrifically overpriced but great food and coffee 90$ for breakfast with two coffees and two basic mains is a bit of a stretch. But the food was high quality and fresh, good portion size. Coffee is Interesting with multiple different blends and roasts and styles of coffee to have which was interesting

Great option if you like coffee, there’s lots to discover with a dedicated coffee menu. Gluten free options available. Service was also great. Doggie bowls available!

Checked out Cupping Room Canberra after a friend’s recommendation — the cafe was packed when we arrived, so expectations were high We tried the duck leg cold egg noodle salad, which was decent Also got a side of scrambled eggs and bacon… and sadly, that’s where it all went downhill They served it all lumped together, with bacon oil flooding into the eggs — it ended up more like oily foam than scrambled eggs Worse was the service — cutlery and plates were basically thrown at us, no care or warmth at all We let them know the eggs were too oily to eat and even asked for napkins to blot some of it out They didn’t care, didn’t help, and offered nothing Really disappointing experience Unfortunately, we won’t be going back and wouldn’t recommend

The Cupping Room is a delightful spot for vegetarians! We initially went there for breakfast but ended up having brunch, which turned out to be an absolute treat. The highlight of our meal was the yellow curry bowl. Unlike most Thai / Malay-inspired dishes across Australia, this curry doesn’t use fish sauce or non-vegetarian stocks, making it perfect for vegetarians. Plus, it tastes amazing! We also tried the French Toast, which was more than just a dessert—it was absolutely delicious. The coffee was excellent, and the staff were warm and friendly. This restaurant is on our "must-visit" list for every trip to Canberra. Highly recommended!

First time here and really liked it! Coffee and matcha were awesome, and the duck noodle salad was interesting. The orange made it refreshing and kind of cut through the richness of the duck and noodles. Food was great and the place is cozy.

Fabulous latte art & terrific coffee!

Very nice. Great coffee. Breakfast was very good. I got the Avo, which was quite nice. Big. I plan to go back. And considering I am just visiting and would like to explore other places, that means a lot.

Yes, It's THAT GOOD ! the Coffee & Food at this place are outstanding. I go there for breakfast whenever I'm passing through Canberra.

Went there in the early morning on a Wednesday and we didn't had to wait but it seems you have to wait to get seated at weekends. I had the house brand coffee and it's the best coffee I drank so far in Australia! Also had the Huevos Bollo with cheese ( see picture) for $17 and it was amazing! Highly recommended for breakfast/brunch. The service forgot one coffee but we got it for free because of that, so that's fine :)

Typically, excellent coffee and good service. However the menu is a bit "fancy" for me. In saying that, what they do they do well! Would be good if they could add some more traditional breakfast options to the menu.

Some time ago, a barista in Melbourne told me if I was ever headed through Canberra, I should check out The Cupping Room as they were the real deal. It's not often that coffee experts send you *out* of Melbourne, so I bookmarked it for my next visit. After a big morning drive down the South Coast, I was in need of a filter. Our super friendly server told me we were out. He was really lovely about it, but it was Australia Day and they had been cleaned out over a busy weekend. In an caffeine-starved sulk, I declined coffee and the rest of the table ordered espressos. A few minutes later, the guy comes out beaming, big glass of filter in hand. Instead of just ignoring me, he had been pleading with the baristas to try and come up with a compromise and they found the last of their filter to make for me. High fives (and stars) for actually giving a damn! The coffee (and people behind this cafe) is Canberra's Ona and The Cupping Room has a cool set up inside for education, cupping and brewing filter. The menu is top brunch fare with heaps of great options and specials that will please any breakfast fan. Five stars for a considered offering and the best service I've received at a cafe (especially a busy one!) in ages. Recommended.

This place is worth a visit. It's often busy, particularly on weekends, but not too bad for lunch on weekdays. The staff were really nice and despite the crowd, we never felt like they were rushing us to turn the table. The coffee is superb as was one of their chicken salads. I only wanted a light lunch and it was just the right portion. The setting is open and inviting, with both indoor and outdoor seating. There's a bus stop just outside the restaurant, but the tables are far enough away that you're not perceiving the fumes (although I'm sure you're getting a dose of pollution nonetheless).

Great little cafe in Canberra. A few people have suggested this place to me, and so last time I was here I had to make sure that I visited. And I wasn't disappointed. Firstly the coffee is great, probably the best cup of coffee I had in Canberra. Using their own blend, it is a slightly darker brew. Which for me was fantastic. Specifically if you don't feel like any milk but want an espresso. He good was good, but have to admit slightly to 'arty' for me. In other words, big plate small portions. It was good, but slightly on the pricey side. And sometimes you jus thong want to pay that much.

This was easily the best coffee I've ever had. No coffee has tasted the same since. One of the highlights of my trip to Canberra, and a must-visit if you are passing through and love good coffee.

Pork belly for breakfast was not something I realised I needed in my life but very happy to have discovered it, still not sure how that counts as a benedict though. Coffee was amazing as expected, I'm a simple man so I just went the filtered coffee however the different blends for the white coffee all looked amazing.

Such a great cafe!! Love their seasonal menus, especially french toast!!! Tastes great and looks amazing, like a piece of artwork

Too noisy. Incredibly noisy. Music too loud, had to yell. Coffee was delicious but cold and won't split bills. Honestly. Modern tills make this easy and fast when people are almost always paying by card. I love the food but I won't be going back, I'll take my business somewhere I don't have to yell and don't have to muck around trying to sort out cash reimbursement from my friends and family afterwards.

Not possibly the best coffee... THE best coffee in Canberra. I walked past probably a hundred times until one of my mates brought me there. After all just looks like another cafe. Right? Wrong, the food is amazing and the coffee is tamped, extracted and milk aerated to perfection. Started by a bunch of coffee enthusiast who really care about a cup of black gold.

Convenient location and good food cannot outweigh prices that would considered steep even in Sydney or Melbourne. (Bacon and egg roll does not go from $9 to $15 because it is instead called Egg and Bacon roll, even when on brioche.) Somewhat faux-indifferent service a la Surry Hills hipster seems to be something places like this also charge extra for (like ripped jeans cost more). Finally, they can't do a good cup of tea for us non-coffee drinkers. Seems the coffee drinkers love this place though. All seemed bleak when Michael Bolton started crooning whether he could live without you, after you've been leaving him so long. But then Cindi Lauper came on, the sun came out and I gave the place an extra star.

I liked their coffee and also hot cake is amazing. You can find a healthy dessert here but they don't have a lot of choices.

Really busy cafe servibg canberra's hipsters with the lines out the door for good reasons. The coffee (ona ) is spot on and yhe food is impecably presented

Great food with great service and even better coffee. Can't really go wrong here! Nice short selection of breakfast items but some that really push the mould of cafe brekky! Would visit again and again if I was local but alas I'm not!

Headed down to Canberra to visit some friends for the weekend and had originally wanted to head elsewhere for brekkie but hubby was keen for somewhere with good coffee and we found ourselves here. Our friend works around the corner and also had her eye on this place to for brekkie once I came to my senses and didn't insist on the freak shake place... I'm lucky I did come to my senses as this place was great for the coffee, food and their shake! Not freaky but was delicious! We got their probably around 8.45 and there was a wait of about 10 mins... As we had our brekkie the wait looked like it would be a lot longer. We walked past around lunchtime and it was still pumping with a queue. Service was friendly as he explained the coffee being either white or black..fine with us as we ordered piccolos. Although they had a kids menu they didn't have high chairs... All good as we sat outside and lilmissj was able to run around to expend some energy while we waited for the food to arrive and we enjoyed our shake and coffees. We had their recommended French toast with a side of bacon, plus their specials for the day, lamb and potato fritters with poached eggs and our friend, picked up the other special, blueberry ricotta pancakes with the side of bacon. Lilmissj got the one bacon, one egg and one toast, which she subsequently devoured! The scrambled eggs she got was a bit fancier than home with salt, pepper and chives so she'd have loved the taste sensation. Hubby enjoyed some of her toast too! The ricotta pancakes - my little taste of it was delicious! My lamb and potato fritters were fantastic. So delicious with the sauce that we mopped it up with lilmissj's leftover bacon. As they're specials not sure that you'll be able to try it but they are highly recommended! However, their on the usual menu French toast was just divine... The presentation was nothing like I'd seen before. Hubby thought it was a bit busy on the plate but it didn't matter as all the bits did come together in a taste sensation In the mouth! It came with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and pear puree. The toast itself had coconut and there was a bit of meringue that gave it some crunch. It didn't need the bacon but that was us being greedy asking for it on the side! We were absolutely stuffed! Lucky we were walking to the Floriade from there to walk it all off. Before we left, we had another coffee. We firstly had the house blend which hubby enjoyed and we finished with the special blend which I preferred. Great experience overall! Would highly recommend to anyone coming by Canberra. Either come early so you don't wait or come late-ish as close to closing time as we walked back it was less busy, although I suspect specials (as they are so good!) may not be available by then!

Love the coffee here. Came on friend recommendation. They have great gf options here too. Probably my favourite gf bread in town.

Visiting Canberra and needing somewhere for breakfast. Saw all the great reviews and decided to take a detour to try it out. Busy as, so obviously popular. However, my experience was ordinary. Coffee was cold and weak. As a coffee lover who needs a heart starter of a morning this was really disappointing. Had the fruit toast which was beautifully presented and tasted fine. Staff were efficient but .... Overall though wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

I don't normally like coffee, but I enjoyed the lattes here. This place is simple, and I appreciate that. I didn't ever order food, but they do have good food according to my friends. It's always pretty crowded, so expect to wait if you want to sit down and drink (or eat).

The coffee at this place is just that "coffee", no half double soy mocha latté with organic raw cane sugar... Just fucking good coffee. The food is great as well, lively atmosphere.

Our local friend is a regular here, and his description of the Cupping Room sounded a bit bombastic. Coffee in Australia is generally miles better than most good places in the US (not even including the Starbucks swill here), and the flat whites are just...dang. They are just the best. So how great could this place be? Delicious and spot-on. We trekked in daily for the coffee and ate a second breakfast after seeing our neighbors' whipped ricotta on raisin toast. We ended up snagging some beans as Christmas gifts, too. Turns out our hyperbolic friend had not overstated his case. The Cupping Room merited his raves. Prices are a bit high compared to similar places in the US but perfectly in keeping with prices in Civic.

Went here with for brunch with a group of friends on a recent trip to Canberra. Great coffee with friendly service. We all enjoyed our our meals. We sat outside and always noticed the constant crowd of customers going in and out. There's also a side window to grab a coffee on the go. Will definitely go back.

What a find! Best cafe in Canberra. Excellent meals for breakfast and lunch. Perfect coffee. Great tunes playing in background.

Was expecting a lot more based on the reviews. The food is executed well but poorly conceived. The waitstaff were rude and didn't seem to handle the volume of people at all well. It just felt really chaotic even though it's a fairly stock standard cafe for which would find dozens in Melbourne or Sydney.

This place is consistently pretty good. Not a huge menu, but they deliver well on everything they offer. Service can be a bit slow during peak times, and very little "walk-throughs" occur (to order more coffee, request the bill, etc.). Overall, a decent spot to eat in the Civic area.

The service here is wanting. There just two people trying to serve breakfast to what I would guess is about 20 tables. My coffee took 10 minutes and was cold when it arrived, though that could be because the milk had not been sufficiently heated to begin with. The menu here is interesting and includes many items not normally served at breakfast. If you are looking for the usual you have two choices: eggs with toast (bacon can be ordered separately) or French toast. The bacon was good and the portion generous. One of my two poached eggs was over cooked, though that may be because the plate sat for too long before being served. The space is fairly pleasant but quite cramped.

Came for a weekend late lunch. Plenty of space, really fast and attentive service, with really nice food. I had an octopus and chorizo salad special while my partner had a Spanish style eggs and toast (Jurevis divorciados? Spelling...) pineapple and mint juice was delicious too. Lunch was really nice and I'd be happy to recommend to anyone.

Service was not very good. The manager was rude and the waitress messed up our order multiple times. My friend had to ask three times to put the shade down and meanwhile she got sunburnt It was my friends birthday and they showed no signs of accomodation and grouched over simple requests.

Coffee was excellent, as was the food. I had the avocado, while my gf had the cured salmon. Both were fresh and tasty. Service was also very friendly, which can be a refreshing change from Canberra. Definitely worth a visit this place.

Really busy during peak hr weekends everyone trying to get in for brunch. The food is really dry, the bread is really stiff and hard to cut into as it's the fermented bread, it's like breaking into a lavosh or something.

Yes. This is one of my favourite cafes in the whole world. The staff are beautiful inside and out. The decor and atmosphere is stunning. The coffee is delicious and the food is to die for. The menu is traditional cafe with little twists that keep it interesting. They have cronuts. And the salted caramel popcorn thickshake? Damn guuurrrll.

My go-to brunch place in the city. Sometimes their food is hit and miss but when it's good, it's really good! It's a shame because sometimes they don't bring back some of their really good dishes from past menus.

Went to the cupping room for the first time this morning, lucky to get a table with the place packed and having a line of the first half hour we arrived. Possibly one of the nicest blends I have ever tasted. I would recommend the 'house blend' although simple it was unbelievably smooth. For brunch the chicken burger was quite however don't know about the added spice to the dish. Overall fantastic experience would highly recommend

The Cupping Room environment, food and staff are second to none. Really laid back, efficient and engaged service and great food. There's a reason they're always packed for lunch!

Great breakfast. I can recommend poached eggs, smashed avo. Happening scene. Must be new. Lines for breakfast. Great service, friendly staff.

Beautiful place! We went for breakfast on a Sunday, there was a queue, but the waiting was much shorter than what the waiter told us. The staff was very friendly and efficient. We ordered the avo, which was delicious and the roasted cauliflower dish, which was stupendously presented and very tasty. Totally recommended!

The Cupping Room does amazing coffee and great breakfast. The Cupping Room has friendly staff and a line that doesn't last long at all.

I don't write reviews. Well, unless there is something that is exceptional. And today, that something exceptional was Cupping Room. After a ho-hum breakfast at another establishment across town, I dropped in for a coffee around lunch to get the day back on track. With an espresso made to perfection and friendly service (Bec), I decided to stay for lunch. So glad I did. The recommended dish of house-cured salmon with beetroot jelly, croutons, poached egg and dressed leaves & sprouts was fresh and had bags of flavour - no additional seasoning required. They've nailed the service, coffee and food. My return is guaranteed.

We went there for lunch and they were very accommodating when I asked about vegan options. My salad was delicious, simple but the flavours were great. We omitted the goats cheese and dark chocolate to make it vegan and I thought it was fine without it! There were a few different options to pick from on the menu that could easily be made vegan. Great coffee.

Terrible service. We put our name down to wait for a table and lined up to wait. We waited for nearly an hour, asking several times how long it would take, and we kept being told it wouldn't be long. We could see people who arrived after us being seated before us. When I told the waiter and said we would leave if we weren't going to be seated, he claimed we'd asked for an inside table, which was untrue. It was impossible to enjoy the food after being treated so badly and we had to rush before our parking expired. I had been looking forward to visiting The Cupping Room because I'd heard very good reviews but I will never go there again.

Cool atmosphere and good music, breakfast is amazing and fresh juice is always a winner, friendly staff too

I had a really enjoyable lunch here. The standard menu is up on the website, but they also have specials when you go in. After chatting with the waitress and staring enviously at the orders coming out of the kitchen, I opted for one of these; an heirloom tomato and quinoa salad, accompanied by a long black. The coffee came out first and was absolutely awesome... rich and flavorsome. The salad was likewise extremely good. It had a stacks of all different types of fresh tomatoes, with really diverse flavors. The cafe itself is pretty big, with indoor and outdoor seating. The aesthetic is clean but at the same time old fashioned, with lots of exposed wood, and a nice little sit up bar if you want to eat communally. From reading the signs on the walls it seems they do weekly cupping sessions (as the name might suggest), and they also have some wine and beer. The burgers looked pretty special too. It did seem, though, that pastries and sweets might be a little thin on the ground. Service was fast and friendly, especially considering I went in the middle of the weekday lunch rush. All in all, a firm recommendation!

Weak coffee, bad service, and cold. They actually asked us to leave when we had just ordered another round of coffees (we had just finished our brunch), because they 'needed the table'. They then changed our order to take away coffee without asking! Thankfully Canberra has more options these days so we don't have to put up with rude service. If you're looking for a relaxed brunch this is not the place.