Cafes
Balzac's Coffee
Balzac's Coffee in the Distillery is a good place to curl up with the weekend paper over a coffee and energy cookie on the comfy chairs upstairs. When the weather is nice, there are plenty of outdoor options including an expanse of picnic tables on the south side of the building.
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As for Dooney's, it is the absolute worst restaurant on its strip of Bloor. The service at the Brunny is light years ahead of the lackadaisical, coked up airheads that occassionally meander around to see if you're still there. I'm not a fan of message businesses, but the important thing to do is to excel at your business, then do politics. Doing the reverse is a bad idea, hence why they're doing all sorts of things to try to actually make money, rather than serve as a deficit laden haven for faux commies with million dollar real estate portfolios.
I don't understand where the argument is. A coffee shop that buys/sells fair trade beans, offers alternatives to dairy, is a haven for cyclists, etc - is more progressive than Tim Hortons or Starbucks anyday. <br><br>
Perhaps Balzac's is not Alternative Grounds... yet. But for goodness sakes, we need more businesses moving towards these ideas. Let's help them instead of being so negative and critical.<br><br>
Why so down on Blazac's - because of it's in the trendy distillery district?
Latte review: Crema was slightly disappointing. Too much milk. Integration of coffee and milk horrible - shows lack of skill with barista. Coffee blend lack depth and aroma.
As for their coffee being burnt, awful, or whatever, such comments are OPINION. In my opinion, their coffee is fresh and tasty, and the roasters (each location has its own) are in fact new technology.
Having been a regular at the original Stratford location since its opening in 1996, I can attest that it is busy year round, with locals and tourists alike coming back time and time again.
Are you critics suggesting that we are wrong? By all means, enjoy your Starbucks (bitter and overpriced in MY opinion), Second Cup or Tim Hortons.
I'll stick with Balzac's.
Oh, and I've never found Diana to be anything but friendly and polite. Then again, I've never gone up to her and told her that her coffee's terrible and burnt.
http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/north-america/canada/ontario/toronto/attraction-detail.html?vid=1194774501800
However I love the interior there. I prefer the upstairs area way more chill with great seating a view. Cool place to just chill if your in Distillaries.
Service there although busy is not that bad.
it's true, their coffee is awesome.
Just depends on who you ask. That's the thing about personal taste - it's personal. Some people realize that and don't assume that everyone else has their tastes.
Personally, I love their coffee, and sometimes bring bags of it on visits to my home town to share with my friends, who also love it.
For those who like it? You have obviously never had a good cup of coffee before.
Grabbing a good espresso, capp or latte etc in this city is not easy but once you find it you will never return to places like Balzacs.
ie.
Darkhorse 1&2
Lit
Bisogno
Manic
Sam James
If youre not too too picky you can also try the following which will still be leaps and bounds ahead of Balzac although sometimes inconsistent
Mercury
Crema
Aside from those shops, toronto has a serious problem producing good quality beverages. Hopefully this is something that those handful of shops can change.
As for Clafoutis croissants.... Pathetic!
But whereas using fair trade coffee and offering wheat-free products used to be a milestone in progressive thinking, it is no longer unique, original or charting new territory. Many (most?) independent cafés use fair trade coffee and offer healthy products to cater to their customers' varied tastes, from lactose-free and soy milk to wheat and gluten-free pastries and organic or locally-inspired fare. To promote progress and expand progressive thinking, Balzac's would need to do more.
Moreover, why is any independent café that offers wheat-free cookies deemed progressive, while a multinational coffee chain that donates millions of dollars each year to help disadvantaged children labeled something less? If the proper calculus of whether a business is progressive or not takes into account the socially-beneficial actions of a business (use of fair trade coffee, support of community groups, etc.), less the socially-regressive aspects of a business (pollution, promotion of poor dietary choices, etc.), I doubt most indie cafés would qualify.
They are made with organic spelt flour, and most of their ingredients are either organic or natural.
I tried their Lemoncello biscotti......delicious!!!
Just my thoughts!
There will always be people that try to crush our passion, this will never happen.
Long live Balzac's.
Kevin Bonnici
Owner, Caffe Furbo