Redbrick owner Tim Manning (second from left) with head chef Aaron Beattie, general manager Madeleine Moore and venue manager Daniel Sparrow. Photo: Rohan Thomson.
It’s hard to imagine a hospitality journey that starts with milk crates on the lawn and leads to one of the most refined and chic cafe spaces in Canberra. Yet, that’s exactly where Tim and Myf Manning of coffee company Redbrick have arrived.
Their humble milk crate beginnings kicked off in 2011 in a tiny suburban cafe in Curtin, where the red brick walls of their first cafe became the namesake of the business. In 13 short years, with one very big pandemic in the middle, Redbrick now has three venues across Canberra, including their roastery in Fyshwick where they source, roast and cup their famous brews, the original Curtin cafe and the latest cafe ARC.
Opening in 2021, ARC shares a building with the hotel A by Adina in Canberra’s city centre. It’s their first venue with a full kitchen and table service, marking a transition from coffee specialist to cafe powerhouse.
Blush tones and textural surfaces at ARC. Photo: Supplied.
The sleek design is as far away from milk crates as one can get.
Entering the cafe, you pass by what almost feels like an art installation featuring a two-story wall of hardwood posts that separates the cafe from the building’s lobby. You’re then embraced by a palette of warm reds, burgundy and pinks, reminiscent of that original red brick wall in Curtin.
“We are lovers of design, and creating aesthetically appealing spaces is one of our favourite parts of the job,” says Stella Homan from the Redbrick team.
“We worked closely with architects Capezio Copeland, who helped this vision come to light. Tom Skeehan and Skeehan Studio custom-built all of the furniture.”
The result is a space with curved surfaces, marbled floors, a huge terrazzo bar with a custom white La Marzocco KB90 as the centrepiece, and a cloud-like floral arrangement hanging from the ceiling by local florist Wiluna.
ARC prides itself on classic cafe dishes that are refined but still approachable. This can be seen across the whole menu where timeless dishes like eggs benedict are taken to a whole new level with additions such as miso hollandaise and crispy potato.
“Chefs Aaron and Ange are the main creative forces for the menu design, with the whole ARC team having their influence. There’s nothing more exciting than doing a menu tasting with the team; it’s always a very collaborative process that highlights the strengths of ARC’s kitchen and broader team,” Stella explains.
A perfect brunch spread at ARC. Photo: Supplied.
ARC’s take on Avo on Toast exemplifies this approachable yet refined food philosophy. Layered with a housemade umami jam that can be likened to caramelised onion, a generous helping of smashed avo, pillow-like dollops of tart and tasty whipped cream cheese and Ainslie Urban Farm microgreens, this certainly isn’t your average avo on toast. With the addition of a poached egg or cured salmon or both, you’ve got a dish worth seeking out on a Canberra brunch hunt.
Avo on toast. Photo Supplied.
At the heart of Redbrick, though, is the coffee.
As the brand creeps across Canberra cafes, Redbrick is becoming a part of the fabric of our city. A core part of what Redbrick does is thoughtfully source coffee beans.
Redbrick knows their growers by name and is invested in their livelihoods. They also work closely with the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative.
In partnership since 2015, Dukunde Kawa produces some of Redbrick’s most loved Rwandan coffees. Cooperatives like this allow small-scale producers to combine their harvests to form large enough lots for export, a vital lifeline to make their harvests viable when tending plots of land as small as a quarter of a hectare.
ARC is open Monday to Friday from 7 am to 3 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am to 2 pm. You can learn more about Redbrick coffee and their growers on their website.
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