Phin Cafe Bar is a vibey Vietnamese coffee shop in Toronto, tucked away in Scarborough's Sky City Shopping Centre.

Created with the intention of making Vietnamese coffee more accessible to Toronto residents, the cafe has been open since October 2025.

Owner McJohnson tells us that, while many restaurants in the city serve Vietnamese-style coffee, most of these establishments focus on other aspects of Vietnamese cuisine, leaving the coffee as an afterthought.

"We didn't want our coffee to just be pre-set, on the side, like most restaurants do," he explains. "We wanted to make fresh coffee with our own blend instead of just using the same brand that everyone else uses."

McJohnson also mentions that most Vietnamese restaurants open later in the day. By contrast, Phin Cafe Bar opens its doors at 8:00 a.m., allowing customers to spend their morning sipping coffee and soaking in the good vibes.The cafe's menu consists mainly of variations on Vietnamese coffee, made using traditional methods. If you're not sure which one to try first, fear not: the Phin Flight ($12) allows you to try three flavours of your choice.

Though each cup is slightly smaller than the regular size, it's still more than enough to showcase the drink's flavour. We went with the ube, banana and salted brulee flavours, reasoning that each one would offer a distinct experience.Our hunch turned out to be right on the money. Not only were the three flavours we chose incredibly different from one another, they each brought a different element to the strong, rich coffee: the nutty ube helped to highlight the drink's natural bitterness, while the mild banana prevented it from being too overpowering.

The salted brulee, meanwhile, was a nice middle ground between the two extremes. Of the three flavours that we tried, this one was my personal favourite.

The Matcha Flight ($12) offers a similar array of teas, made with high-quality matcha. For this flight, we went with the strawberry, Earl Grey and mango flavours.As with the previous flight, each of the different options was totally unique. The strawberry matcha was sweet and light, the earl grey was smooth and balanced, and the mango matcha was rich and juicy.

Other flavours include pandan and "dirty matcha" — a blend of matcha and coffee.Blended Coconut Coffee ($6.95 / regular, $7.95 / large) takes inspiration from a popular Vietnamese drink known as Ca Phe Dua. It consists of iced coffee, condensed milk and coconut cream, blended into a sweet, refreshing slushie.The Sapa Sunset ($6.95 / regular, $7.95 / large) is a colourful mocktail with notes of orange, lemon and lychee. Its sharp, citrusy flavour stood in stark contrast to the creamy coffees we had tried thus far.Banh Mi Breadsticks ($3.95) are Phin's take on the sandwich of the same name. Instead of full-sized baguettes, tiny breadsticks are stuffed with savoury pate filling and served with a side of hot sauce.

Despite the obvious difference in size, this dish did a remarkable job at replicating the flavour of a traditional banh mi. In particular, the spicy dipping sauce was a spot-on recreation of traditional Vietnamese condiments.

Banh Kep La Dau, also known as Pandan Waffles ($9.95), is a sweet dish that strikes the right balance between crispy and fluffy. The pandan-infused batter is crunchy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside.

A dollop of vanilla ice cream rests on top, completing the dish.Though the cafe has only been open a few months, McJohnson is happy to report that Phin has been well-received by the community.

The owner tells us that he's interested in expanding — potentially even pursuing a liquor license — but for now, he's content to take things as they come.

"Every day is completely different," he says with a smile. "It's been an adventure."

Phin Cafe Bar is located at 3262 Midland Avenue, Unit E105.