Ona Coffee

Canberra’s Ona Coffee is one of the country’s most acclaimed coffee roasters, and its Sydney flagship cafe in Marrickville is unlike anywhere else in Sydney. Whether you’re someone who just wants their morning flat white, or a budding specialist who wants to learn about the minute difference between carbonic maceration and anaerobic fermentation, there is a coffee experience here for you.

That’s because it’s essentially two venues in one. At the entrance, a takeaway coffee window overlooks outdoor benches and tables. Inside is a reception area, where you can order coffees to go or to sip outside. These cups are made on house blends, and cost the same as they would at any other cafe in the area.

Further into the building is where the serious coffee business happens. The long room has three identically sized coffee bars, each looking like a cross between a cocktail station and an omakase counter. The first is dedicated to all of Ona’s espresso-based drinks; the second is for filter coffee and coffee mocktails; and the third is devoted to filter.

Menus are tomes of coffee knowledge: from provenance, terroir and flavour profiles to washing and processing details. The options are extensive, and price points can vary anywhere between $5.50 to $33 depending on the origin and brew method.

You can also do a serious brunch here. The all-day food menu might include a coffee-braised beef roll; hotcakes topped with blueberries, lemon confit and rum custard; and smoked labneh and roasted beetroot on Iggy’s sourdough. Up the front there’s a pastry cabinet and some ready-to-eat sandwiches – along with an array of coffee gear and beans to buy.