Coco Café is a casual little sister to Chadon Beni, serving Trinidadian street food, a full café menu, and island vibes aplenty. 

If you've ever ambled north on Shaw, where the street intersects with Queen, you've likely passed a vibrant shed where a diligent team hands out spiced Sorrel ($6.00), specialty coffees, doubles, and warm beef pies to in-the-know passersby. 

Owned by Damien Milne, the café began life as an offshoot of Chadon Beni, a popular West Queen West Caribbean spot owned by Ross Milne, Damien's brother. 

"The shed was part of Chadon Beni," explains Damien. "I was looking at it. I didn't know what I was going to do, as yet. My first thought was coffee and, like, chicken pies, beef pies and cheese rolls, which are easy to grab with a coffee. It started off with that."

Originally from Port of Spain, Trinidad, the brothers later called Tobago home. Ross opened Chadon Beni after moving to Canada in 2019.

Named for the pungent herb Damien describes as being "in everything that we make in Trinidad," the restaurant's menu of kaleidoscopic cocktails and modernized Trini small plates, from Macaroni Pie Bites to Jerk Chicken Tacos, were instant hits in the food-focused neighbourhood. 

At Coco Café, Damien always aimed to offer portable Trinidadian fare and a menu of hot and cold drinks to buoy locals through their days. "All of this is what I grew up eating. This is traditional Trini street food," he says. "I cook at home. If we go out, hanging out, someone is always cooking. It was just part of growing up."

Easy to serve for takeout, Doubles were soon added to the roster. "I could serve them through the window onto the street. So it was just like perfect for street food. Grab-and-go."

The only issue? Demand for those Doubles ($4.50) — made of puffy bara bread holding a seasoned chana filling, mango tamarind sauce, house pepper sauce, kuchela, and cucumber — was at odds with Coco Café's diminutive location. 

"The Doubles got very popular," laughs Damien, chalking their celebrity up to a blend of ingredients that together punch diners with "sweet, savoury, freshness, and a little spice." When lines started to stretch down the street, he decided, "it's time to expand."

Opened in July, Coco Café has moved a few yards north on Shaw. The larger space has indoor seating, expanded offerings and a tempting array of imported snacks, like Spicy Big Foot and cheesy Zoomers. 

Still in development, the menu has already grown. "In a month we'll add a couple more dishes, like Sada Roti with tomato choka and pumpkin. It's a vegan dish, typically a breakfast dish," explains Damien.

The full line of specialty drinks, such as an earthy Coconut Turmeric Latte ($5.50) and plush Pistachio Cold Foam Iced Americano ($8.00), will also be available inside.  

Besides Doubles, which can be upgraded with shrimp ($6.50), Pholourie ($5.00) and Aloo Pie ($5.50) have joined the Coco Café lineup. 

The first, explains Damien, is made using "a similar recipe to bara. It's just scooped into balls and fried." For added oomph, the team mixes chopped chadon beni into the dough, and serves the lot with a side of zippy mango tamarind sauce. 

Fattened with Doubles filling, Aloo Pie is made with dough that's bolstered with seasoned mashed potato. Far from traditional, the addition of mozzarella tempers the Cheesy Aloo Pie ($7.00) with a creamy core. 

Available with or without potato, Chicken Roti ($16.00) is suitably plump; a meal that commands you to first take a seat and then locate a knife and fork should its filling break free from the confines of its wrapper. Rich with fragrance and spice, it satisfies those who crave saucy sustenance and carb lovers smitten by the supple, layered softness of house-made roti shells.

And whether you avoid hot foods or thrill at fiery finds that come desperately close to scorching your innards, you'll be happy to hear that dishes are customized to order. 

"Our pepper sauce is getting hotter as we go along. We keep making it a little more intense each time," admits Damien. Omitted for the sensitive, it's applied generously for other customers. "We still get people coming in and saying, 'Give me heavy pepper.' And they come back and say, 'You gotta put more!' So, we're trying to teach those people a lesson."

Disciplined or not, they're likely to circle back when they hear the team's additional plans for the new Coco Café. While its street-food menu is only available until 4 p.m. daily, the space will soon open in the evenings for something entirely different. "My brother is going to do an evening shift," hints Damien. On the menu? Trini-style barbecue, including chicken and oxtail, sure to send the neighbourhood into a frenzy.

Coco Café is located at 107 Shaw Street.