ONA Coffee | Cafe Brunswick — Restaurant in Melbourne

Always enjoyed ONA coffee so decided to come check out this location in Brunswick. Overall coffee was alright but I have strangely had better extracted espresso from ONA beans at other cafes. I expected a bit more, although the latte art was really solid.

The reason for the rating was the service and atmosphere. I’m not sure if we came at a bad time as everything just seemed off (around 140 pm on a Thursday). When we first went in there was no one to seat us - so we went to the counter since we were just after coffees. The guy behind the counter was ok, but suggested we sit and order instead of ordering first. So we took a seat but afterwards waited about 15 minutes with no one taking our order until the barista who asked us to sit noticed and grabbed our orders while he was on his break. Appreciated this from him - but it didn’t seem like it was his task.

Then when we asked where to pay we were directed to the counter by one of the girls who had walked by us several times earlier - it took a while and a queue formed. Eventually the lady who told us to go to the counter asked if anyone needed to pay to come up, so we did since we had been waiting the longest (around 5 minutes). As we tried to pay she said I’m only taking guests who were seated not takeout and turned to the next person and started inputting their order before we could reply. While I think it may have been a stressful situation - it was quite strange as we had asked her where to pay as she cleared our tables just minutes earlier.

Again I imagine this may have been an off day compared to the other reviews but it created quite a strange atmosphere. The only explanation I could give was that there was a lack of team cohesion working today. I won’t stop getting ONA coffee but this may have been our last visit here. Just wanted to share the experience since I think it’s a great coffee offering but the service and very disorganised experience made it quite unwelcoming...

Appalling Service and Indications of Discrimination

I visited ONA coffee at Brunswick for brunch on Saturday morning, May 24, 2025, and experienced some of the worst service I’ve ever encountered.

Ignored Upon Arrival: My companion and I were seated promptly, but we waited over five minutes for anyone to acknowledge us—despite a waiter standing less than two meters away, visibly occupied with his computer but fully aware of our presence.

Unattended Tables All Around: There were four tables arrived before us and none of their table has coffee or food, yet none of the three waitresses or the lone waiter came to take orders for more than ten minutes. During that time, another customer rose and actively flagged down a waitress just to place her order—I can only imagine how long she had been waiting.

Selective Attention and Chit-Chat: When the waiter and waitressesfinally took one customer’s order—out of turn, mind you—they then ignored us again. I couldn’t help but notice that the only guests who received immediate attention were a group of white patrons who arrived after us. The staff engaged in friendly banter with them, took their orders, and left us standing at our table.

Apparent Discrimination: It was impossible not to perceive that non-white guests were being deprioritized or even overlooked entirely. This pattern of behavior left me feeling unwelcome and disrespected.

By the time I’d been ignored yet again, I had lost all patience and left without ordering a single item. A brunch outing should be a pleasant start to the weekend, but this was nothing short of humiliating. I sincerely hope management addresses these glaring service failures—and the unacceptable bias—before more customers are...

Came to ONA coffee this Saturday for brunch. Was impressed by their coffee menu which is clearly their speciality area. Unique blends and concoctions, many of which are presented in a wine list style hardback book. Coffee prices are on the high end with a regular blend oat setting you back about $6-$6.50. The wine/coffee list options upon glance were about $12. I wasn't feeling bougie enough for that.

Had a maple iced oat which was flavourful. Partner got a gateway oat which he felt tasted quite average.

The food menu had some great sounding options. We opted for the corn fritters and the green chilli scrambled eggs. Overall on a baseline the dishes were good however tended to be on the dry side and were hungry for a bit of sauce or moisture filled veg to balance it out. The fritters did have some smashed peas and hummus on the side however both of these dips err on dry rather than moist. Both dishes were topped with a concoction of herbs and leaves. Nice upon the first few bites but was a little overkill particularly with what seemed to be chamomile flowers which really disturbed the taste buds after a few mouthfuls.

Staff were extremely lovely and decor was good. Nice for a couple of special coffees and perhaps a try of that chicken burger and French toast next time.

Edit - came back for a second round and loved the Turkish chilli eggs and a sneaky bowl of chips for brekky. Chilli eggs were perfectly balanced with house made flatbread that was divine. Chippies were so fresh and scrumptious - must try! Coffee minimum price is $5.50 (regular or skinny milk). Thanks ONA for an awesome...