Experiences here vary from 5 star to 1 star. Basement bar is a good place for a secluded drink but the impressive decor is reflected in the price of drinks, even allowing for the overpriced nature of Canberra.. A plus is that the stock of Australian spirits. Last visit the bar was not open at 4pm (as advertised) forcing us to sit upstairs, where the service is slow and somewhat disinterested. A.Baker may have changed since I first drafted this review a few years ago, but if the name is the same.... :) read more

Go at your own risk- heard mixed reviews and I can see why. If u want a sure thing amazing experience I'd recommend going somewhere else. However if you're a gambler and want to throw caution to the wind and laugh in the face of bad service and the chance for a rather disappointing experience than strap on your Indiana Jones costume and come on down! I had been recommended A.Baker by a mate in Sydney however my local contact had received mixed reviews. She'd never been and so we thought we'd give it a try. We came here for brunch so I can't really comment on the dinner/wine bar side of things (maybe that is their saving grace?). A.Baker looks pretty suave and funky. The layout and design inside is madhot and I always give extra points to a place that has invested time in decorating. It's honestly worth coming here just to check out the decor. The food was quite nice, but I think they were trying too hard to be avant-garde and different. I understand that the chefs want to do something new and different but it all just seemed a little bit pretentious for my simple tastes. I got the toad in the hole- which sounds weird considering my previous sentence- however it had lardo (cured pig fat) on it and some other thing I couldn't even name. Nevertheless it was rather pleasant. The coffee was alight- nothing special but definitely a good bean nonetheless. The biggest issue was the service and the treatment of the staff. They were just inattentive and did not care at all. We ordered a round of bloody marys which kind of never came. We eventually asked the waitress when we were 1/2 way through our meals and her response was that no one was in the bar... After all of us staring blankly at her for a few seconds she said that she guessed she could go ask her manager and walked off. After we'd all finished our meals and were about to give up and head off the manager came out with the bloody Mary's, put them down and hurried off. No apology for the delay or smile or anything.. This would have been fine- I'm not precious about service- however the drinks were undrinkable. I love chilli and can handle my heat, however this was like drinking Tabasco sauce. We spoke to another waiter and asked if they could be taken off the bill- which they did. Another group sat at the table next us and no waiter have them menus or anything for the 20 minutes they were there. Might also point out it wasn't busy at all. This seems to be the biggest critique of this place (the service not the Bloody Mary's) and I've heard several stories of this since going. Normally this wouldn't get in the way of good food for me. I'd be comfortable paying to eat in a gutter of a highway with the waiter spitting in my face if the food was worth it, however the overall experience just wasn't really worth it. I'm giving it two stars as the whole experience was simply disappointing. I always look for the best in a place but there were too many factors working against this place for me to ignore. The next time I come to Canberra I think I might just make my toad in a hole at home- or try and come here for a wine at night, read more

A. Baker - Toad in a hole! They even give you the bread holes - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Canberra, ACT

This cafe / restaurant and wine bar is situated at the back of the Diamant Hotel which we recently stayed at. Was happy to see New Acton has a few new cafes nearby and this one is excellent with a great atmosphere, plenty of seating and fantastic friendly staff. Most importantly, coffee is strong and good. We've only been here for brunch so can't review the wine bar downstairs where the bakery is located as well. Attentive staff make any experience good and they were happy to explain the menu which was quite complex in parts. My companions had mushrooms and that 62 degree egg which is popular at the moment. I had a simple eggs and toast with maple marinated bacon. Drool. The food was quite strong so if you are the kind of person used to porridge most mornings, you might want to prepare yourself. Highly recommended and already becoming quite busy. read more

Food is great but service is lacking. Arrived for breakfast this morning and after a hostess pointed out a table we could take, a surly man behind the counter stopped us and pointedly asked if we had a reservation. No, the hostess just told us to take seats. We ordered: 2 mains, a long black, and tea. After 15 or so minutes, the Food arrived, well before the drinks. I asked the server about our drink orders and he seemed a little confused. A few minutes later, drinks came out. Another ten minutes went by and another set of drinks arrived! Weird. The tomato braised eggplant egg dish I had for breakfast was pretty wonderful though. My husband also thoroughly enjoyed his museli. read more

The first review seems to have focused on the bakery and cafe aspect of A. Baker's business model, and that review is spot-on with those parts so I will focus on the restaurant and bar. A. Baker boasts several interesting spaces including three different dining rooms: one large one inside with the kind of chic decor and staff that make you feel cooler than you are, just being there, as well as two very nice outdoor dining spaces). There is a whiskey room with amazing art downstairs. The food was almost everything we expected, especially the cauliflower side and the smoked duck! Nice wine selection and overall a great dining experience, though we were running out of time and couldn't have dessert. Would definitely go back here for a number of different dining experiences that would promise to please: Lazy brunch, intimate dinner, small party, and family in town. The location is great, near the Palace theater and an area that someone has put a lot of time, effort and money into. New Acton is the great hope for the ACT and this place promises to be an anchor there for a long time to come. read more

This place focuses on "local produce". To this end the wine list is limited to Canberra Region and if you just want a glass you are limited to a few at the top of the list. Beer is nice but the food is a bit on the wanky side. read more

Lovely food - fresh and locally produced. The bread is to die for. Perhaps a little overpriced I quite enjoyed my Canberra Pinot Gris! Service was a little meh but was a good, fairly hip lunch option whilst in Canberra. Wouldn't necessarily go rushing back for round 2 but worth a try! read more

That was without a doubt the most confused meal I've ever had. I ordered 'toad in the hole' from the breakfast menu and not only was it not 'toad in the hole' it was pretty darn gross. Two over cooked eggs in the middle of a piece of sourdough. The eggs had a parsley oil and lemon zest which did not complement the eggs in fact they detracted. The side of maple bacon that I ordered was nice but it wasn't enough to save the meal. The coffee was good but inconsistent as the second one wasn't as good as the first. The service was friendly and welcoming until I said I didn't enjoy the breakfast and then it was as cold and frosty as the eggs. One word to sum up my experience, YUCK!! read more

A. Baker - Toad in a hole - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Canberra, ACT

Really wasn't very impressed with the table service, and was underwhelmed by the food. Burnt sourdough toast, a side of honey-cured bacon that largely didn't taste of honey and came as a single rasher, and an offer for a hot drink that was taken (I'll have a hot chocolate please) but did not eventuate in a beverage of any kind. Sad when any old Coffee Club hugely out-performs a "trendy" cafe in a "trendy" part of town. read more

I buy bread here to go with my homemade soup and it's amazing so we thought we'll try to have brunch. We were standing at the counter for more than 5 minutes waiting to be seated and one of the waiter told us that she'll be with us in a minute. Five or so minutes later we asked the lady in the counter if we can just sit anywhere and she said yes, it's ridiculous that the place was not busy when we got there and everyone seems to be running around like a headless chook, they were sure busy ignoring us so we just left and had brunch at twenty one cafe where the service is always 10 out 10!! read more

The food is inventive and fun but lacked a little flavour. The oysters with bacon jam and pangratto great take on oysters Kilpatrick but the oysters needed to be meatier to cope wit the bacon jam. The main (Sirloin)was well cooked and presented but I felt the sauce slightly over powered the steak. The staff were polite and informed. read more

We went for brunch. Let's get the cool stuff out of the way first: - Awesome venue. Seriously cool. Someone told me the building a few years back had a massive fire and a couple of the businesses never recovered. While that's a shame, if A. Baker moved in afterwards (if you're a local let me know) they have nailed its decor and I can't imagine the place looking any better. I wish that was what counted alone. Its seriously a 15/10. - The wine list. Although I went for brunch I was seriously impressed with a local(ish) focused wine list when I had a look at it. It intrigued me, as I wasn't familiar with about 90% of the wines on it. Even if they taste like the urine of a pig that only eats asparagus I can't fault the commitment to regional viticulture. I'm sure they don't though and I have made a note to try some of them. - The fresh, seasonally focused menu (also a commitment to local(ish) produce). It sounded great on paper. There was an awkward tinder date going on the table next to us, and the guy looking to impress had ordered a truck load of oysters and they looked awesome! However with this promising start, it went a bit downhill and I was left really disappointed: - The staff. Seriously owner / manager, have a shake up. They are letting you down! They do not care! It will eventually kill your business, even if your food is amazing (which it currently isn't, but more on that later)! Before coming I was told by a local that the food is good but the staff are rubbish. I kept an open mind, but after being seated efficiently and pleasantly, it took a while for orders to be taken, and when our drinks were late the waitress believed it was someone else on staffs problem. Unfortunately when you are the only interaction between the bar and the customers at their table it is your problem. - My food was unfortunately sub-par. I ordered the Pork and Egg Roll, with a side of bacon and mushrooms. The bacon, christ on a cross, this was good! So were the mushrooms (cooked perfectly, a bit of bite still retained) but these were sides, the main event was awful. The burger was on brioche (this is currently a massive burger trend that divides everyone in Sydney, for the record i'm firmly pro-brioche), but this was far too thick and far too sweet. The pork was a bit hagged and rough. There was a weird curry thing going on, and a couple of slimy bits of peeled carrot. It was weird, and none of it went together, the only good part was the nice free range egg. I honestly felt like the chef hadn't tasted it when it was put on the menu, or that it had been dreamed up that morning? - Are you a bakery, a bar, a cafe or a restaurant? At the moment all four at the same time just isn't working. I think there's a few mixed messages here and my advice would be to concentrate on doing one of these things well and then move on to the next. I'd start with the restaurant. You can always keep making bread to service this. All in all so much potential! Just execution is letting the place down at present. Get some better staff and think carefully about the food and what works and this place can rock. Will have to come back in a year and a bits time so see if anything has changed. read more

I really want to like this restaurant more than I do but I always come away a little disappointed. The dishes sound great, the restaurant has a happy and vibrant buzz, I like the way it focuses on local produce but it has never lived up to my expectations. The servings are small (small plate means really small serve) and last night fell short of what was expected for the price. My friend chose the small plate of linguine with spanner crab and the taste was ok but at $21 we expected more. I had the baked local mushrooms with kale, soba noodles etc and again, ok but probably not worth the $31. Both dishes could have been hotter. Service was very good, friendly and efficient and the recommended local wine was excellent. read more

Yummy breakfast and amazing baked goods await you here. We had an almond croissant which was delicious and I had the Bircher muesli which was very fresh and tasty. They make all their own bread too! read more

We chose the Feed Me option for our dinner party of three, a mystery degustation menu of antipasto, three entrées, two mains and a dessert. All the food was divine, melt in your mouth delights. The highlight was barramundi in a sashimi style, closely followed by the charred octopus. As a red meat lover, the lamb shoulder was perfectly tender and tasty. The peanut butter mousse ended the night in great spirit. I love how A Baker source as much as they can locally, including the wines. We enjoyed an Eden Road pinot noir from Tumbarumba. It was busy but not too noisy. Our waiter was inexperienced but keen to please and always checked to ensure he had the correct answers to our questions. read more

Love the tomato soup, just divine a very unique dish, recommend this restaurant for a meal,

The coffee was only warm and tasted a little on the weak side. This was the same for the others that also bought coffee. I recommeThe waitresses seemed a little annoyed to take our order and as if we were bothering her. Food was ok, but not the best. I got the baked eggs, it seemed to be missing the merguez as there was only one small piece of it. The orriechietti pasta was drowned in oil but was ok. I recommend the smorrebrod or the A. Flatbread. read more

A group of 9 received exceptional service and an amazing meal. Couldn't ask for more. Fabulous food!! The duck was mouthwatering. Innovative dishes surprised and delighted all of us from 4yo to grandma. read more