Dark Horse Espresso Bar (Chinatown)
215 Spadina Avenue
Phone: 416.979-1200
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Dark Horse Espresso Bar has expanded where space is concerned, centralized where location is concerned, and is the opposite of dark (...where light is concerned). The new home of this Queen East original sits just north of Queen on Spadina, where it has carved itself out a commanding presence on this busy strip.
Presently, some scaffolding obstructs what appears to be a lovely facade, and it also led me to underestimate the actual size of the place. Once inside, it's a different story. Hardwood as far as the eye can see, and high, beamed ceilings soaked up the uber-sunny day and projected it everywhere. The floors gleamed, the windows radiated and rainbows literally danced on the walls. Magical.
The communal tables that I have heard about, and seen around, are here in a big way. Two huge specimens flank the bar and were filled to capacity. We headed up the stairs, to an elevated and somewhat secluded sitting area, where there are some smaller versions of the same deal.Tables that can accommodate like, five people but can and will also seat one. Until guys like us come along and do what we must do: sit across from a stranger. I'm not gonna lie, it does make things more interesting.
In light of their grand-scale interior, Dark Horse keeps things relatively simple as far as treats go, offering the usual coffee delights and a nice variety of baked goods. The Circles and Squares Bakery makes a second consecutive appearance in my life, being the providers of scones (including the one I've been dreaming about since last week), brownies, and muffins that are wrapped like delicious little dough bouquets.
I carefully chose a butter tart, mostly because those geniuses- lo and behold!- thought to make them sans raisins. This is what my raisin-hating life has been waiting for all these years, so we thank you graciously. The butteriest butter tart I have ever tasted, meaning the filling was smooth and melt-y as hell (and so was the shell). I washed it down with a rich Americano ($2) that more than lived up to its namesake (Dark), with a hypnotizing swirl of crema on top.
We made ourselves rather comfy, hidden up in the back for a good two hours. The aforementioned table style can lead one's conversation to alternate between self-consciously low tones or attempts at entertaining the person sitting across from you. About an hour in, our duo became a trio (the addition of a non-stranger, I'm afraid) and the conversation moved somewhat into the latter territory. Subconsciously, of course, and to little avail.
By this time, I was in dire need of lemonade ($3), and my friend was on his second iced latte ($3.75). The lower the sun dropped, the emptier the tables grew, the more I was unable to ignore the uncanny resemblance of this place to the dance studios of my distant past. The appearance of one Mr. Jonathan Richman over the speakers, and I found myself snapping photos in some kind of ecstatic but dignified dance. Lemonade that is (finally!) just sour enough will do that to ya.
Comments (23)
The Dark Horse is a great space, with great coffee. Only complaint is that they don't just have a 'coffee' option. Gourmand has that part completely right.
I love this place. Very unique, I can't think of a similar place downtown - I'm just talking about the spacial design and brightness of it all. They have a better Americano than Le Gourmand (or The Forum as I call it).
Very welcome addition to Chinatown, especially that part of Spadina, which has no cafes.
There seems to be a lot of people holding meetings and laptoppers there when I go.
They have great Iced Americanos.
Thanks for the well written review.
The pictures really show off the space well, too.
Went there yesterday after a heavy duty dim sum session at Sky Dragon. Really enjoyed the Americano. At par if not better then Jet Fuel's or Bulldog's. @Paul I noticed too the lack of drip coffee and thought it was weird. I however did see a French Press option for $3.33 which is cool.
The comparison between le Gourmand and the new location of Dark Horse is lost on me. The barrista at Dark Horse (his former stomping grounds at Jamie Kennedy's newest revealation Hank's Cafe at 9 Church Street) won, deservedly, the title of Best Barrista in Toronto from Toronto Life. The espresso itself is made expertly and, in my humble opinion, does not venture anywhere near the sad muddy, slingshots further south on Spadina. I love lunch at le Gourmand - don't get me wrong. I do miss the Dean and Deluca beans they once sold though...
I'm going to second Ryan. Sam has moved from Manic to Hanks to now Dark Horse and in that time has poured consistently the best cappuccinos in the city. Hands down. It's no surprise that on top of the Toronto Life award, he's ranked at the top of the class in various barrista competitions. Comparing Dark Horse to le Gourmand is just out-right wrong.
The space looks sublime, some great photography!
Wondering if this place has wifi? Would be awesome to work in.
The space looks sublime, some great photography!
Wondering if this place has wifi? Would be awesome to work in.
The space looks sublime, some great photography!
Wondering if this place has wifi? Would be awesome to work in.
Fun fact: the wood of the tables and counter came from the remains of a burned down bowling alley in Rochester.
i love when people who know nothing about coffee talk about coffee. i love when they obviously like the space and the bohemian sensibility more than the quality of the product.
fortunately, dark horse really is excellent.
I also love how Dark Horse has anything but a bohemian sensibility but those two words sound really cool together....Bohemian sensibility. Ah....
I went to the Queen St East cafe recently and saw that they didn't have the same Flourless Butterless Walnut cookies they had at the Spadina location. They are absolutely sublime:) Next time you're there try one it's well worth it.
I love the espressos too. Dark Horse is one of the goodies for sure.
It's an espresso people! As long as the beans being used are good then your drink will be good. Its a simple process that even a monkey can be trained to do. The whole pretentious "Barrista" stuff is a simple marketing tactic.
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Marcus on June 20, 2009 at 12:41 PM
It's an espresso people! As long as the beans being used are good then your drink will be good. Its a simple process that even a monkey can be trained to do. The whole pretentious "Barrista" stuff is a simple marketing tactic."
while looking up the correct spelling of "barrista", you should also look up the definition of "off point".
I have to agree with the 1st comment - my initial response to Dark Horse was "what's the deal with no drip coffee?!"
yes, yes, I know it's an "espresso bar", but c'mon, it's not like we're in Italy.
If I remember correctly as well, they also sell a great selection of beans, including fair trade & organic - but then you can taste the brew of all these beans!
An espresso's great when I'm running 30 mins late for work - however a nice, long cup of drip coffee is for my lazy stroll back home after work.
Also, Dark Horse on Queen East doesn't accept debit, and yes, I'm a cheap bastard and never have more than a twenty in my pocket, but they lost a sale of several pounds of coffee for my office place!
***best espresso drink in the city by far: Ovalatté at "Ella's Uncle"
The smell of coffee comes from the volatile oils in the coffee bean. Preparing it right to maximize the quality of the drink, from roasting, grinding, and preparing it requires experience.
Even making coffee well in a french press requires proper knowledge and experience.
It's unfortunate a good barrista does not receive adequate appreciation here in this city and I don't think it is pretentious at all.
The Queen St E location also has free wifi. It is right around the corner from our curling club so it makes a nice stop on a Friday evening to warm up along the walk from my work. They had some nice live music in there but that was 2 years ago and I don't know if it has continued
yes they may make good lattes and what not but are not unique in terms of where they buy their coffee. it seems now a days that a recipe for a successful coffee shop is to go and buy 49th parallel. PLEASE people do try and branch out. there are other coffee shops that do their own roasting which qualifies the coffee to be more fresh. everyone knows that a good cup of joe is with fresh beans and if these coffee shops are buying beans that are roasted in the other side of canada well then, how fresh can their coffee be, really? people are just buying the lattes for the fancy artwork and not for the art of how coffee taste. BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT COFFEE.
quality of good espresso is the quality of the beans, the experience of the barista and the machine. apparently you need to do more of this "looking up" situation. There are many coffee shops that use 49th parallel as their espresso beans yet they do not get the hype that dark horse gets. Like you said, if the beans are good then the espresso drink would be good too no? think again.
Also espresso in italian means "to press a drink" so inorder to have "good" espresso wouldnt the barista need to have the knowledge and the technique to "press" the beans at the right weight to produce this goood drink?
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