Cherry Bomb
79 Roncesvalles Avenue 
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Phone: 416.516.8212
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It's very Zen like inside Cherry Bomb. The decor is sparse and simple. The place is impressively clean, as though scrubbed down and put into order moments before we arrived. Some gentle, melodic music is playing (Bonnie Prince Billy with Tortoise "The Brave and The Bold", I find out). I can understand why Cherry Bomb has become a popular place for take-away morning coffee. It's relaxing inside. One would leave there feeling centred (and ready for a jolt of caffeine).
Roncesvalles goes wild for Cherry Bomb coffee. Alyssa and I'd hung around inside Cherry Bomb with some finely crafted lattes ($2.50) made from Dark City coffee beans. The coffee comes in paper cups with a cherry seared into the side in red ink. Customers can bring their own mug for a discount, but Cherry Bomb is mostly a take away place. 
The recent Best Cookies in Toronto poll incited equally rave reviews for Cherry Bomb baked goods, so Alyssa and I trip over there near the end of the day. All the remaining cookies, scones and cakes have been neatly stacked on a single baking tray in the middle of the wide-open kitchen behind the counter. I appreciate this small and manageable amount of baked goods because it looks like they are going to sell out. (I used to work at a bakery that sold three-day old pastries as "day olds" and as a result, am wary of mass baking.)
There are only about six baked good options so we get to try almost everything (except the most popular, sold out chocolate oatmeal cookie). The double chocolate and cranberry cookie ($1.50) is rich and chewy. The cranberries burst, tart, through the dark chocolaty bites. And we split a slice of the coffee cake ($2.75). It has swirls of CB's own ground coffee and comes apart in sugary coffee hunks and walnut. 
These are sturdy goods. We take the rest of them away in a paper bag that endures several bouts of rain and a train ride. By the end of the day the bag is damp, tearing at the edges with the bottom falling out. But the sweets are intact. 
We had an oatmeal raisin cookie ($1.50) in there, gigantic and chewy and packed with raisins. And the cinnamon scone ($2.00) retained its freshness the next day because it was so moist and dense. It's not too sweet, and with butter it becomes a hearty meal.
Photos by: Alyssa Bistonath
Comments (18)
cerry bomb rocks the almond croussants and date walnut scones and the the diffrent coffee are so amazing pluse the muffins wow and the staff are so friendly i injoy going there to get my coffee s and treats
nat
I always passed by Cherry bomb enroute to and from work/home and wanted to make a point pass by. I heard good things about it and being an amateur home Barista with my Racillio Silvia, I'm game with checking out a good cup of coffee.
When I saw the machine, I think was a ECM, I was all stoked.
Maybe it was the fact it was busy and maybe it was because it was warm day, or the bean wasn't strong enough. But I have to tell you i was disappointed with the latte I recieved. It was luke warm I didn't see a hint of foam. And well it wasn't the BOMB...
Maybe I give it a try another time. But I have to say I had a bad first impression.
I miss the Cherry Bomb since I moved from Ronci. You need to try it again. It can get packed...
I just got back from the place.
I have to say that their beans was really nice and they made me an awesome macchiato (minus the latte art mind you..).
One thing that disappointed me was the lack of sitting space and their "to-go only" policy. They didn't have any coffee mugs and/or plates even though I was planning on having the coffee at their window counter, one of their 5 sitting places. Good thing I had my own!
I know that the place is too small for a nice chair or two, but my idea of a perfect coffee shop has (a) good coffee, and (b) comfortable sitting areas. My two cents.
Anyways, thanks for the share. I loved my afternoon nonetheless!
i think some of the most aromatic and some of the freshest coffee in toronto is found at cherrybomb. I have been in few places ever that smelled so beautifully of fresh roasted coffee. Big fan of the shogun blend...dark city roasters in general...and the featured coffees that they provide - that's some really special attention being paid to coffee, few other cafes seem as interested in coffee.
Sorry, but Cherry Bomb cannot even begin to compare with the newly opened LIT Espresso Bar on Ronces. Cherry Bomb really needs to re-think its quality of bean, plus the no-seating design. CB is okay, but could be a lot better.
If you like a cup of strong, dark coffee, I don't see how Cherry Bomb can come off poorly. It's consistently very good, with what comes out of their carafes handily equaling most places' Americanos -- and that's not considering the delicious fresh croissants.
It's not as though there's absolutely no seating, either: there was room for about nine to sit indoors when I was there this winter. (Christmas renovations may have rendered this information outdated.)
I am coffee obsessed and I can't recommend this place enough. The beans here are fantastic. They have the best drip-brewed coffee I've tasted in the city. I buy a half-pound of their Fair Trade Sorauren blend for my french press every week. It's rustic and smooth.
Some people knock them for not having much sitting space, but that isn't the niche that this place as carved out. Think of it as an urban indie Dunkin' Donuts. You line-up and grab a quick coffee and a scone (the best I've tasted), perhaps chat with someone you recognize, and then go on your way. The decor and design is wonderful, the products are the highest quality, and the prices are great. They play good tunes in there too.
In my opinion, this place is a much better business than Lit Espresso Bar, though very different in style.
(If you're looking for a place to hang-out while having a coffee, there is no better alternative to Tinto, which is just next door to Cherry Bomb.)
tried it today, the barista wasn't very focused on drink quality and i could taste it. the espresso in my my cap was very bitter and milk tasted burnt because some fresh milk was added to milk already sitting in the pitcher from the drink before mine and steam again. so bad never again
Stopped by there yesterday and had an absolutely delicious Mochachino. If you stop by, check out the picture book on the shelf... memoirs of a cat owner.
I'm amazed how the third wave coffee scene has swept this city by storm and created some of the most pretentious and misguided coffee snobs I have ever witnessed. Sorry to say this, but a lot of you people haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about.
First of all, comparing Cherry Bomb to Lit is immaterial because they have two very different approaches to coffee. Lit is riding the Intelli-third-wave style while CB pulls shots from virtually all their beans and follows a more traditional approach to coffee. And in spite of some of the attempts of latte art at Cherry Bomb, I've never ever once had a wet-styled Cappuccino from Johnny (owner there). For the record, his traditional caps are one of the best I've had. So comparing Cherry Bomb to a Lit or Mercury is bullshit. That would be like saying single malt scotches are better than blended scotches. Or that Texas BBQ is better than Memphis BBQ. It's apples and oranges people.
Also, their business model is based on grab-and-go. Suits me fine for when i need a coffee in the morning before work. If you have the luxury of chilling out for an hour each morning, then i suggest you migrate up onto Lit. They have good coffee and seats. But if you want a coffee on the run, I couldn't think of a better place in that hood to score from. And to be honest, it seems like they kind of have their business model dialed in.
I worked at CB for a little bit so I know the place from the other side of the counter.
1. Everyone there cares about the coffee. Everyone cares about the food. It's very clean and everything is done properly. It's the cleanest place I've ever worked.
2. Dark City beans are really good and they sell so much of it that you always get fresh beans. Why would you buy Intelligencia beans (a US company) when you can get fresh locally roasted bean that are arguably as good?
3. The people who work there like the people who come there. It's really busy so I thought it was nice how much effort the staff put into remembering people's orders and chatting them up during downtime.
The biggest problem with this place is how busy it gets.
Loved the chai latte, but wished they had skimmed milk :( The scones looked delicious, must try next time
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