Best of Toronto
The Best New Cafes in Toronto, 2008
Despite a year filled with rumours of a Starbucks moving into Kensington and a Tim Hortons opening up at Queen and Bathurst, 2008 has actually been a very good year for local, independently owned cafes in Toronto. In fact, it seems that the major chains have actually helped pave the way for much of their success.
After all, it was Starbucks and Second Cup that set the bar for $4 and up mochachinos, and through their cookie cutter confines and margin-focused product strategies have made it all too easy for others to offer a superior (often fair trade and organic) product for less money. Throw some eclectic furniture into the mix, some free WiFi and maybe even some latte art and all of sudden you have a collection of amazing new spots to fill our list of the best new cafes to have surfaced in Toronto in the past 12 months.
From the Junction to Leslieville, here's a look at the best cafes that opened in Toronto in 2008.
Lit Espresso Bar
Taking over from the lactose-fueled Daddy O's Milk Bar on Roncesvalles, Lit has helped cement the street's rep as having perhaps the best concentration of cafes in the city. Good eats like fresh panini and butter tarts are paired with high quality Intelligentsia beans. More »
Crema Coffee
Offering both style and substance, Crema Coffee is the perfect reprieve from an afternoon of vintage furniture and antique shopping in the Junction. Coffee is brewed using a much sought after Clover machine; and beans are brought in from Ethiopia, El Salvador and Honduras. More »
Broadview Espresso
Found in an old porn shop north of the Broadview subway station, Broadview keeps things on the straight and narrow with some well made americanos, chai latte, foamy hot chocolate and excellent zucchini loaf. More »
La Merceria
Part design store, part cafe, La Merceria is owned by a couple of South Americans who have brought a sense of Argentinian style and taste to Adelaide. Go here for the alfajores - essentially, one cookie made out of two cookies, held together with a generous dollop of dulce de leche and covered with powdered sugar. More »
Green Beanery
Green Beanery is part coffee equipment store, part cafe. Walking in through the front doors at Bloor and Bathurst, there's nothing but a sea of bodums, home roasters, espresso machines and, uh, a few toasters. But beyond the shelves of equipment there's a number of tables to chill and savour a coffee and one of their basic sandwiches or baked treats. More »
Hank's
From the people who brought us Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, Hank's cafe in just next door and is home to one of the best baristas in the city. Along with some artfully prepared hot drinks expect tasty lunch fare including a daily soup, stew, sandwiches built with St. John's bakery breads, baked goods and meats prepared in house. More »
Balluchon
Balluchon is a small, neighbourood cafe and specialty food store at Sorauren and Wright, just south of the park. It's more of a take-out spot than a place to settle in for the afternoon, but the coffee here is fair trade and organic, and there are a bunch of cheeses and prepared foods also available. More »
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Espresso is made on a Synesso machine, not a Clover. They have a Clover, but it is used, as intended, for brewed coffee.
I'm just waiting until that same crowd starts firebombing Starbucks after a pro-Hamas rally like they do in London. Too bad we don't actually use the riot act anymore.
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I tried Ezra's Pound (Dundas West just east of Trinity Bellwoods Part) today (yesterday now) and it was fine. The espresso was proper and good, although asking a simple question like "Can you tell me something about the coffee?" scared the crap out of them. The dude responded with "Like what?" I said "Whatever you want to tell me." He said it's from somewhere in central South America. Ooookay.
I find it interesting that coffee, unlike other foods, gets away with never meeting the reasonable expectation of paying customers to know what it is they will be consuming. Note to self: 'If you ever get your own coffee shop, let customers know, without hesitation, what they are paying for and consuming.' It would certainly help to make the experience more interesting for cusotmers, especially when we've succeeded in enticing them with all of our talk about culinary coffee etc..
Communal Mule, a few doors west of Ezra's Pound is wonderful. He still doesn't have a sign up out front telling people the name of his shop. But that doesn't seem to stop folks from finding it. Peter, the owner, is a totally nice dude. And he's packing a La Marzocco Mirage. (Von, at Bisogno, thinks he may have one of only two in operation in Toronto, the other one being Dark Horse's Queen St E location.) There's wifi. Don't know whether it's free.
Another couple of wonderful spots I've been to lately are: Bisogno (pronounced bis + own + yo), on Sherbourne just a few doors north of King. Von, the owner, is a super nice guy and the joint has that atmosphere that conduces to strangers feeling comfortable enough to talk to each other. Von, unlike other places, always has Intelligentsia, 49th Parallel and his own blend on tap. He has a little menu card for espressos specifically, sitting on his counter, aside from the usual menu board on the wall listing various kinds of drinks and other items. I wondered why others don't do that and he offered that it's a lot of work.
Te Aro, which air roasts (a minority of roasters air roast), is another spiffy, wonderful cafe that just opened on Queen St E, between Pape and Carlaw. The coffee's great and the roaster isn't shy to experiment with his roasting profiles. On my last visit, I found the results of that experimentation to be excellent. It's on the south side of Queen. The folks who run this place are super friendly. The machine is a Wega, which, from my reading around, is not in the same league as a La Marzocco. I don't expect you'd notice anything unless the shop was going non stop for the day and you arrived well after they opened. Wega's are single boiler, heat exchanger machines (which are, I believe it's accurate to say, 'old' technology in the espresso machine manufacturing industry). La Marzoccos are dual boiler machines (one dedicated to steaming, leaving the other to deal with steady shot pulling) with sophisticated boards that allow for temperature control or better temp control. I'm not sure of the details.
The Merchants of Green Beans (Matilda, just off Carroll, off Queen St E, next to the DVP) now has a cafe onsite. The people there are really nice. I don't know whether it's their Saeco machine or something else, but the espressos seem to not be what they should be. They aren't terrible. But something's missing. But it's a great spot to relax. They'll also make you a personal cup that they roast and grind right in front of you. The selection for that option is limited of course. But hey! That's pretty special!