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Cafés / North America

Cafés to visit in Canada

97 cafés in 13 citys. Places change: check opening hours before you go.

Historic

Java Blend Coffee

$
Historic · since 1938 · 6027 North St, Halifax, NS

Founded in 1938, Java Blend is one of Canada's oldest coffee roasters and a staple of the North End. Drinks come in 8 to 20 oz.

Order: drip coffee · flat white

Caffè Italia

$
Historic · 6840 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC

An emblematic Little Italy espresso bar on Saint-Laurent, iconic enough that Paul Tana shot part of his 1985 docudrama on Italian immigration to Quebec, "Caffè Italia, Montréal", inside it.

Order: espresso · cappuccino

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Café Olimpico

$
Historic · since 1970 · 124 Rue Saint-Viateur Ouest, Montréal, QC

In 1970 Italian immigrant Rocco Furfaro bought an espresso machine, a satellite dish and a pool table so he and his friends could watch the Azzurri play. It became the Mile End living room, and more than 50 years on it is still family run.

Order: espresso · cappuccino

💡 The original is on Saint-Viateur; newer branches downtown and in Old Montreal carry the same name.

Café Santropol

$
Historic · since 1976 · 3990 Rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal, QC

Café Santropol was founded in 1976 as part of an effort to save the building it lives in from demolition. It became a Plateau institution for gigantic sandwiches, coffee and a garden terrace out back.

Order: coffee · a giant sandwich

💡 The back garden is the place to sit in summer.

Bridgehead Roastery

$
Historic · since 1981 · 130 Anderson St, Ottawa, ON

Bridgehead has sold organic, Fairtrade coffee since 1981 and was at one point run by Oxfam. Its roastery café is in a warehouse between Little Italy and Chinatown, with a Probat roaster and a stone mill for bread.

Order: Kalita pour-over · house bread

La Maison Smith (Place Royale)

$
Historic · since 2013 · 23 Rue Notre-Dame, Québec, QC

The first Maison Smith opened in 2013 in a Place Royale building erected in 1653, once home to Charles Smith and his descendants for nearly a century. Its three founders started roasting in 2018.

Order: allongé · pastry

💡 Sit by the window over Place Royale.

Café Diplomatico

$
Historic · since 1968 · 594 College St, Toronto, ON

Rocco Mastrangelo Sr. founded it as an Italian bar in 1968 with his brother Paul, and its sunny patio changed outdoor dining in the city. Locals call it "The Dip", and it is still family run in Little Italy.

Order: espresso · pizza on the patio

💡 Come on a big football match day for the atmosphere.

Dineen Coffee Co.

$
Historic · since 2013 · 140 Yonge St, Toronto, ON

Opened in spring 2013 inside the heritage Dineen Building at Yonge and Temperance, once home of furriers W. and F. Dineen Co. Ornate ceilings, columns and a red-leather banquette make it a fine stop between downtown sights.

Order: latte · croissant

Continental Coffee

$
Historic · since 1979 · 1806 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

The family behind it has roasted coffee for six generations, the first three in Italy. Founder Anita Allan opened this flagship at 2nd and Commercial in 1979, selling good coffee at fair prices.

Order: espresso · house blend

Murchie's Tea & Coffee

$
Historic · since 1894 · 1110 Government St, Victoria, BC

Murchie's has blended tea and roasted coffee in British Columbia since 1894 and calls itself Canada's oldest tea company. Its Government Street shop has a café alongside the retail counter.

Order: house coffee · a slice of cake

Local tradition

Evelyn's Coffee Bar

$
Local tradition · since 1992 · 215 Banff Ave, Banff, AB

A cozy Banff Avenue retreat for locals and visitors since 1992, with homemade baking, hearty breakfasts and lunches every day.

Order: house coffee · muffin

Wild Flour Bakery

$
Local tradition · 211 Bear St, Banff, AB

A local favourite for almost 20 years, baking bread in the heart of Banff every morning. Baristas from around the world make the coffee.

Order: latte · focaccia

Lukes Drug Mart

$
Local tradition · 112 4 St NE, Calgary, AB

A working pharmacy in Bridgeland that is also one of Calgary's best places to buy coffee, with Canadian and international roasters, soft-serve and vinyl.

Order: espresso with a soft-serve

Communitea Café

$
Local tradition · 117-1001 6 Ave, Canmore, AB

A downtown Canmore café that hosts live music and plants a tree for every order through TreeEra and Eden Reforestation.

Order: latte · house-made bowl

💡 Check its calendar for evening concerts.

Rocky Mountain Bagel Co.

$
Local tradition · 830 8 St, Canmore, AB

Bakers start from scratch every night, making more than 150 dozen "Mountain Style" bagels. This is its Main Street café.

Order: coffee · fresh bagel

The Summit Café

$
Local tradition · since 1999 · 102-1001 Cougar Creek Dr, Canmore, AB

Called "the locals' secret since 1999", a family-friendly breakfast and lunch café with fresh baking, Fair Trade coffee and a sunny patio with views.

Order: fair trade coffee · boxed trail lunch

💡 No reservations; grab a take-away lunch before a hike.

Remedy Cafe (Whyte Ave)

$
Local tradition · 10479 Whyte Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Founder Sohail "Zee" Zaidi cooked his way across Asia, Europe and America, and once drove a New York taxi. His Whyte Avenue café has over 90 teas plus curries and wraps.

Order: chai · curry

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Steve-O-Reno's

$
Local tradition · since 1996 · 1536 Brunswick St, Halifax, NS

A classic Halifax café caffeinating locals since 1996, artsy and unpretentious. It bridges the city's old and new coffee waves, with brunch and a view of the Atlantic from the steps.

Order: 5oz macchiato · fish chowder

Black Squirrel Books & Café

$
Local tradition · 1073 Bank St, Ottawa, ON

A café and bookshop in the Glebe, with typewriters among the tables, Indigenous art on the wall, and a used-book library that runs into the basement. It also hosts experimental music nights.

Order: cappuccino

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Cantook Micro Torréfaction

$
Local tradition · since 2015 · 575 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec, QC

Owner Simon Fabi's family has been in coffee since the 1980s; Cantook in its current form dates from 2015. Old-school bulk bins share the room with a Giesen roaster in plain view.

Order: Americano · single origin

Paillard

$
Local tradition · since 2006 · 1097 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec, QC

An artisan bakery passed from father to son and baking since 2006. Locals line up on Rue Saint-Jean for Viennese pastries, soups, sandwiches and gelato.

Order: café au lait · viennoiserie

Moonbean Coffee Company

$
Local tradition · 30 St Andrew St, Toronto, ON

A long-running Kensington Market hangout with an enormous range of coffees and teas, vegan baked goods, and patios front and back.

Order: house coffee · vegan baked good

Nova Era Bakery

$
Local tradition · since 1991 · 1172 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON

A Little Portugal bakery-café serving traditional Portuguese baking since 1991, set up to recreate the feel of a European café. The family business has since grown to ten shops.

Order: bica (espresso) · pastel de nata

Di Beppe Caffè

$
Local tradition · 2 W Cordova St, Vancouver, BC

An Italian corner café in Gastown, coffeehouse by day and pizza and pasta restaurant at mealtimes. Every coffee comes with an amaretti cookie on the saucer.

Order: caffè corretto · espresso with "il rimorchio" grappa

JJ Bean (Granville Island)

$
Local tradition · since 1996 · 1689 Johnston St, Vancouver, BC

John Neate Jr. founded JJ Bean in 1996 with a stall in Granville Island Market and a staff of 12. It has since grown to more than 20 Vancouver-area cafés.

Order: drip coffee · donut

💡 Combine it with a wander through the Public Market.

Turk's Coffee Bar

$
Local tradition · since 1992 · 1276 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

The sign says "Non-conforming since 1992". Linda and Brian Turko learned to roast under Milano Coffee's Francesco Curatolo and opened Turk's to welcome more people than the traditional cappuccino bars along The Drive.

Order: Conca d'Oro espresso · cappuccino

💡 Grandview Park is across the street.

Café Postal

$
Local tradition · since 2012 · 202 Provencher Blvd, Winnipeg, MB

A tiny café in St. Boniface, the heart of Manitoba's French community, open since 2012 and named for the post office next door. Its baked goods follow French tradition.

Order: café au lait · croissant

Specialty

Whitebark Café

$
Specialty · since 2013 · 401 Banff Ave, Banff, AB

An independent specialty coffee house established in 2013 within the family-owned Banff Aspen Lodge. Home-made baking and a patio with mountain views.

Order: latte · home-made baking

💡 Bring a reusable cup or buy theirs.

Calgary Heritage Roasting Co.

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 2020 11 St SE, Calgary, AB

Opened in 2019 by former wildland firefighters Mike Wenzlawe and Jamie Parker in the historic C.C. Snowdon building. Tables are built from 100-year-old floorboards from the basement, where the roastery sits.

Order: percolated batch brew · espresso

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Deville Coffee (1 Street SW)

$
Specialty · since 2008 · 807 1 St SW, Calgary, AB

A locally owned group of cafés serving its communities since 2008, with direct-trade coffee, organic vanilla and house-made chocolate ganache in the lattes.

Order: mocha with house ganache

Good Trade Coffee Co. (Kensington)

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 1154 Kensington Cres NW, Calgary, AB

Good Trade started at the Crossroads Farmers Market in 2018 and opened this flagship in December 2019. All of its coffee comes from Colombia.

Order: batch brew · espresso

💡 Grab a seat in the giant half-circle window.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Monogram Coffee (Britannia)

$
Specialty · since 2014 · 800 49 Ave SW, Calgary, AB

Founded in 2014 by Canadian champion baristas Jeremy Ho and Ben Put with Justin Eyford, all former Phil & Sebastian staff. Britannia houses "the vault" of rare coffees.

Order: espresso · vault coffee

Phil & Sebastian (Simmons Building)

$
Specialty · since 2007 · 618 Confluence Way SE, Calgary, AB

University of Calgary engineers Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb started at a farmers' market in 2007. Their East Village roastery HQ lets you watch beans roast through big windows.

Order: espresso · Hoopla donut

💡 Tours of the roastery are offered.

Rosso Coffee Roasters (Ramsay)

$
Specialty · since 2007 · #15 - 803 24 Ave SE, Calgary, AB

Rosso's original café and roastery opened in Ramsay in September 2007. It's home to two-time Canadian Barista Champion Cole Torode.

Order: espresso · seasonal batch brew

Sought x Found Coffee Roasters

$
Specialty · 916 Centre St N, Calgary, AB

A husband-and-wife roastery-café that roasts in the back on small San Franciscan roasters and offers six to eight coffees each season on its hand-brew bar.

Order: Pure Coffee hand brew

💡 Free parking in the back lot.

Candid Coffee Roasters

$
Specialty · since 2021 · 6752 75 St NW, Edmonton, AB

Opened in early 2021 in the Wagner industrial area, it became a destination for fruity, funky third-wave coffee. The upstairs loft catches the morning light.

Order: pour-over · stroopwafel

Square 1 Coffee

$
Specialty · 15 Fairway Dr NW, Edmonton, AB

A neighbourhood café with high ceilings and vintage furniture that now roasts its own coffee as Anecdote. It serves both dark-roast regulars and coffee professionals.

Order: latte · house pastry

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Stopgap Coffee

$
Specialty · since 2023 · 9749 111 St NW, Edmonton, AB

Opened in March 2023 by Caleb and Stephanie Kan in the 110-year-old John T. Ross residence near Grandin LRT. Floral wallpaper and a wall of pour-over drippers make it cozy.

Order: rotating pour-over

Café Good Luck

$
Specialty · since 2018 · 145 Portland St, Dartmouth, NS

Sonny Adamski opened it in 2018 with vintage diner menu boards and dinnerware. The menu runs from batch filter to seasonal drinks like cinnamon toast lattes.

Order: rosemary mocha · brunch

Coffeeology Espresso Co.

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 1587 Dresden Row, Halifax, NS

Seoul-born Kay Kim left programming to return to coffee and opened Coffeeology in 2019, with Kalita, Chemex and V60 brews and beans from Lunenburg roaster Laughing Whale.

Order: V60 pour-over

Espresso 46

$
Specialty · since 2017 · 2867 Isleville St, Halifax, NS

Frederico Pasquinelli moved from Italy in 2017 and opened this North End take-out window six months later to bring home-style espresso culture. No filter coffee, only espresso from his own roastery.

Order: espresso · cappuccino

💡 The parking lot turns into a patio in summer.

Ramblers

$
Specialty · since 2021 · 5576 Nora Bernard St, Halifax, NS

Baristas Elly Hannon and Adam Pye began Ramblers as a pop-up inside a cider bar in 2021 and took over the lease in 2023. It is a cozy neighbourhood hang that pours Espresso 46 beans.

Order: latte · croque monsieur

Two If By Sea

$
Specialty · since 2009 · 66 Ochterloney St, Dartmouth, NS

Opened in 2009 and credited with pushing Halifax toward modern specialty coffee. Its Anchored Coffee roastery is next door.

Order: macchiato · butter-bomb croissant

💡 Take the harbour ferry over from Halifax.

Weird Harbour

$
Specialty · since 2016 · 1656 Barrington St, Halifax, NS

A 250-square-foot café, opened in 2016, in a building that survived the 1917 Halifax Explosion. It pours Ontario's Detour Coffee and local Have Fun beans.

Order: espresso · vanilla latte

Aube Boulangerie

$
Specialty · since 2023 · 4715 Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montréal, QC

A bakery-café that opened in Hochelaga in 2023, known for some of the city's best sourdough and viennoiseries. Beans come from local roaster Jungle.

Order: cappuccino · grilled cheese on house sourdough

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Café Myriade (Mackay)

$
Specialty · since 2008 · 1432 Rue Mackay, Montréal, QC

The original Myriade opened on Mackay Street in 2008 and became a downtown landmark for carefully made coffee. Most beans come from its sister roastery, Myriade Roasting Co. in Saint-Henri, alongside guest roasters.

Order: latte · croissant from Hof Kelsten

Café Pista (Beaubien)

$
Specialty · 500 Rue Beaubien Est, Montréal, QC

Pista started as a pedal-powered coffee bike, with beans ground by pedalling, built by a 20-year-old founder named Maxime. Beaubien was the first shop; it now roasts its own on a low-emission Loring.

Order: espresso · filter coffee

Café Saint-Henri (Notre-Dame)

$
Specialty · since 2011 · 3632 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, QC

Founded in 2011 in an old working-class neighbourhood, Saint-Henri calls itself a pioneer of specialty coffee in Quebec. It buys more than 80% of its coffee directly from farms.

Order: cortado · batch brew

Crew Collective & Café

$
Specialty · since 2016 · 360 Rue Saint-Jacques, Montréal, QC

A café and coworking space set inside a 1920s former Royal Bank of Canada hall in Old Montreal, with 60-foot ceilings, marble and brass. Beans come from local roaster Traffic.

Order: latte · filter coffee

💡 The central hall is open to everyone; the rear wings are for members.

Dispatch Coffee (Saint-Laurent)

$
Specialty · since 2016 · 4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC

Dispatch began as a cold brew project in 2012, ran Montreal's first coffee truck in 2013 and started roasting in 2014 before opening this flagship in 2016. A big circular bar invites you to chat with the barista brewing your AeroPress.

Order: single-origin AeroPress · cold brew

💡 Grab a window perch for people-watching on Saint-Laurent.

Dreamy (Canadian Roasting Society)

$
Specialty · 3780 Rue Saint-Patrick, Montréal, QC

A café inside the Canadian Roasting Society, the co-op roastery founded by Scott Rao and Andy Kyres where 34 members share three Probat roasters. You sip in full view of the machines.

Order: espresso · batch brew

💡 Pair it with a walk along the Lachine Canal.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Eclair

$
Specialty · 12 Rue Maguire, Montréal, QC

A long, narrow Mile End bar where you can order a pour-over without an eye roll. Eclair pours only non-Canadian roasters, such as Tim Wendelboe, The Barn and Sey, and sells French books from small publishers.

Order: pour-over · Hof Kelsten pastry

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Osmo x Marusan

$
Specialty · since 2016 · 51 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, QC

A concrete bunker of a café, occupied by Osmo since 2016 and joined by Japanese kitchen Marusan in 2021. A serious hi-fi system plays by day and hosts DJs at night.

Order: hojicha latte · tamago sando

💡 The back patio is quieter in warm months.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Pikolo Espresso Bar

$
Specialty · 1635 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC

Marie-Eve Laroche opened Pikolo after discovering Australian café culture. It pours coffees from Canadian roasters such as Myriade and Traffic, with pastries from Hof Kelsten and Abierto.

Order: flat white · pastry

Savsav

$
Specialty · 780 Avenue Brewster, Montréal, QC

Hidden in an old brick warehouse that was once a cookie factory, between Saint-Henri and Little Burgundy. The name roughly means "if you know, you know"; it is café, restaurant and bar in one, pouring Traffic coffee.

Order: latte with condensed milk · affogato

💡 Look for the ground-floor entrance and follow the white corridor.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Little Victories (Elgin)

$
Specialty · 44 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON

A "coffee first" roaster co-founded by Jeremie Thompson that began as a pop-up in a Hintonburg bike shop. Its flagship café at 44 Elgin is steps from Parliament Hill.

Order: magic (double flat white) · piccolo

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

The Ministry of Coffee (Laurier)

$
Specialty · since 2013 · 141 Laurier Ave W, Ottawa, ON

The Ministry launched on Elgin Street in 2013 as a multi-roaster café bringing world-class beans to the capital, and now roasts its own in Nepean.

Order: pour-over

Café Olive

$
Specialty · 1190-A Avenue Cartier, Québec, QC

A standing-room hole-in-the-wall on Avenue Cartier that partners with Denmark's La Cabra. Coffee is served in artisan ceramics on wooden boards.

Order: flat white · cardamom bun

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Café Saint-Henri (Québec)

$
Specialty · 849 Rue Saint-Joseph Est, Québec, QC

The Quebec City outpost of the Montreal roaster, at the east end of busy Saint-Joseph Street. It has Japandi touches, communal seating and a gold-plated San Franciscan roaster on display.

Order: cortado · donut

Faux Mouvement

$
Specialty · 70 Boulevard Champlain, Québec, QC

A running shop and coffee bar in the Petit Champlain quarter, behind old stone walls. The tight menu of seven drinks uses Pilot beans, and running clubs meet here three times a week.

Order: cortado · flat white

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Maelstrøm Saint-Roch

$
Specialty · 181 Rue Saint-Vallier Est, Québec, QC

Brunch spot and café by day, cocktail bar by night, in a heritage building with exposed brick and mismatched vintage furniture. Espressos can be pulled long or short.

Order: allongé · brunch

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Nektar Caféologue (Saint-Roch)

$
Specialty · since 2018 · 235 Rue Saint-Joseph Est, Québec, QC

A Quebec micro-roaster since 2018 with a 44-drink menu that runs from frappés to fruit-forward "discovery" filters. Pastries come from Première Moisson.

Order: discovery filter · date square

deTerroir

$
Specialty · 752 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec, QC

A small Saint-Jean-Baptiste café and micro-roaster with a ceramic-tiled bar. Its milk comes from Phylum Farm, a creamery about 40 minutes away.

Order: latte · croffle with apple butter

💡 Opens at 6:30am on weekdays.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Another Land

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 4708 Yonge St, North York, ON

A no-tipping café in a Willowdale strip mall, opened in 2019 by best friends Hong Dai and Pony Ma. Dai once ran a coffee school in Xiamen, and the osmanthus latte is a nod to home.

Order: osmanthus latte

💡 Weekday prix-fixe lunches come from the open kitchen.

Balzac's Coffee (Distillery District)

$
Specialty · 1 Trinity St, Toronto, ON

Balzac's grew from a 1993 coffee cart into a roaster inspired by the grand cafés of Paris, with each café designed around the history of its location. This one sits in the cobbled Victorian Distillery District.

Order: café au lait · pastry

De Mello (The Well)

$
Specialty · since 2023 · 8 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON

Brothers Felix and Won Cha, Korean-born and Melbourne-educated, opened De Mello's first café at 2489 Yonge Street in 2013. This 2023 flagship in The Well's lobby is lit by a giant backlit tiger mascot and serves about 700 people a day.

Order: house blend latte · single-origin espresso

Ethica Coffee Roasters

$
Specialty · 213 Sterling Rd, Toronto, ON

An industrial café where coffee is roasted in full view on a small Dutch Giesen. It also works as a quirky post office: buy a postcard kit, use their typewriter and they will mail it anywhere.

Order: single-origin filter

Fika Café

$
Specialty · since 2013 · 28 Kensington Ave, Toronto, ON

A Swedish-inspired café in a turquoise Kensington Market house, opened in 2013 and owned since 2015 by Yadi Arifin, a former pastry cook and 2017 Toronto AeroPress champion. He now roasts as Lycka Coffee in the back room.

Order: flat white · cardamom bun

💡 The back patio is a calm escape from the market.

Hale Coffee

$
Specialty · since 2013 · 300 Campbell Ave, Toronto, ON

A roastery-café started in 2013 by three friends who moved from Jordan to study. It works from the Clock Factory building in the Junction Triangle and buys all its coffee direct trade.

Order: espresso · brunch

Neo Coffee Bar

$
Specialty · 161 Frederick St, Toronto, ON

A Japanese-leaning bakery-café near St. Lawrence Market from Bruce Ly and Masashi Nakagome, with curved concrete walls and warm wood. The house roast is a custom de Mello blend.

Order: latte · Japanese-style pastry

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Pilot Coffee Roasters (Ossington)

$
Specialty · since 2009 · 117 Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON

Pilot began in May 2009 as Te Aro, a café and micro-roastery in a former Leslieville car garage, inspired by cafés in Wellington, New Zealand. Renamed Pilot in 2013, it is now one of Toronto's leading roasters; this is its sleek Ossington café.

Order: espresso · single-origin pour-over

Rooms Coffee (Baldwin)

$
Specialty · 17 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON

Rooms' flagship pairs an espresso bar with a DJ booth that doubles as a pour-over bar, with McIntosh amps and Technics turntables. Baristas flip records between drips on weekdays.

Order: pour-over · Sakura Fizz

Rooster Coffee House (Broadview)

$
Specialty · 479 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON

A living-room-style café across from Riverdale Park, with leather chairs and board games on vintage luggage. Window seats look over the park toward the downtown skyline.

Order: Americano

💡 Take your cup across the road into Riverdale Park.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Sam James Coffee Bar (Harbord)

$
Specialty · 297 Harbord St, Toronto, ON

The tiny original bar of former regional barista champion Sam James, at Harbord and Clinton. It grew into a citywide mini-chain known for sweet, chocolatey, medium-roast coffee.

Order: cappuccino · espresso

💡 Little seating; it is built for a quick cup.

Subtext Coffee

$
Specialty · 130 Cawthra Ave, Toronto, ON

A roastery-café in the Stockyards District, sister to Boxcar Social, that never blends or roasts dark. Seasonal by-the-cup coffees are best had at the bar with a Subtext expert.

Order: by-the-cup filter

49th Parallel (Main Street)

$
Specialty · since 2004 · 2902 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Brothers Vince and Michael Piccolo founded 49th Parallel in 2004, and it became one of Canada's best-known specialty roasters. Its in-house buyer travels to farms to pick seasonal lots.

Order: espresso · seasonal filter

Kafka's (Great Northern Way)

$
Specialty · since 2018 · 577 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, BC

Opened in 2018 two minutes from Nemesis, this Kafka's has a floor-to-ceiling black-and-white mural inspired by latte art and a loft upstairs for working.

Order: pour-over · chocolate chip cookie

Nemesis (Great Northern Way)

$
Specialty · since 2021 · 555 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, BC

Nemesis's showpiece café opened in 2021 beside Emily Carr University, under a wooden rose-petal roof by Perkins & Will. It roasts beans from farms it has visited and serves croissants from Dope Bakehouse.

Order: pour-over · seasonal croissant

💡 Sit on the brick plaza on sunny days.

Oidé Coffee

$
Specialty · 1548 W 2nd Ave, Vancouver, BC

Kento and Rika Kitayama started with a Gastown walk-up window and now run Oidé (Japanese for "come here") in Arthur Erickson's concrete Waterfall Building near Granville Island.

Order: featured filter · roasted green tea

💡 An easy stop before or after Granville Island.

Pallet Coffee Roasters (Railtown)

$
Specialty · 395 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC

Pallet's headquarters, roastery and café in a Railtown warehouse, with a 60 kg Joper roaster behind the bar and a sign that reads "We filter coffee not people".

Order: single-origin long black

Prototype Coffee

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 883 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Owner Matt Johnson, a Revolver alum, opened this cave-like café with moss walls in 2019. Four small roasters behind the bar allow constant experiments, with up to 20 pour-overs on offer.

Order: steamed coffee · waffle donut

Revolver

$
Specialty · 325 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC

A no-fuss Gastown coffee bar with a simple menu that is all about excellent coffee. It also ships beans across North America.

Order: pour-over · espresso

2% Jazz Coffee

$
Specialty · since 1996 · 740 Hillside Ave, Victoria, BC

Sam Jones began with an outdoor kiosk in 1996 and started roasting in 2006. His team describes it as "a third-wave cafe with a second-wave feel", with board games on the shelves.

Order: house blend latte

Bows Coffee Roasters (Garbally)

$
Specialty · since 2012 · 483 Garbally Rd, Victoria, BC

Bows & Arrows started roasting in January 2012 and opened a café inside the same warehouse months later. A navy Probat sits among burlap sacks, with a piano by the single table.

Order: espresso · filter

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Habit Coffee (Chinatown)

$
Specialty · 552 Pandora Ave, Victoria, BC

Near Fan Tan Alley, Habit fills a cavernous room with a two-storey exposed-brick wall, magazines and movie posters. It pours Bows & Arrows coffee and has run carbon-neutral for over a decade.

Order: espresso

💡 Pair it with a walk through Canada's oldest Chinatown.

Hey Happy Coffee

$
Specialty · 560 Johnson St, Victoria, BC

A small multi-roaster bar where owner Rob Kettner serves international roasters and invents drinks like sarsaparilla lattes and maple cashew con panna.

Order: seasonal pour-over · signature drink

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

The Parsonage Café (Fernwood Coffee)

$
Specialty · since 2006 · 1105 Caledonia Ave, Victoria, BC

Fernwood Coffee is an owner-operated roaster that has hand-bagged coffee in Victoria since 2006; the Parsonage Café is its neighbourhood café.

Order: house roast

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

BReD

$
Specialty · since 2019 · 206-2067 Lake Placid Rd, Whistler, BC

English couple Natasha and Ed Tatton came for one snowboard season and stayed, opening this vegan sourdough bakery in 2019. Coffee is Vancouver's Elysian.

Order: flat white · house chai · cinnamon roll

💡 Best taken to go while you wait for the gondola.

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Camp Lifestyle + Coffee Co.

$
Specialty · 1066 Millar Creek Rd, Whistler, BC

A cabin-themed café in Function Junction with red Adirondack chairs, stacked firewood and 49th Parallel espresso.

Order: S'mores Camp Coffee

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Forecast Coffee (Function Junction)

$
Specialty · since 2020 · 101-1200 Alpha Lake Rd, Whistler, BC

Opened in 2020, weeks before lockdown, in a former health-food grocery. The biggest coffee room in town roasts its own beans, and picnic tables sit along Millar Creek and the Flank Trail.

Order: espresso · Wilder Cookie

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Mount Currie Coffee Co.

$
Specialty · 103-4369 Main St, Whistler, BC

The veteran of Whistler coffee, named for a peak near Pemberton, where its first café opened in 2005; the village shop followed seven years later. It now serves coffee from Pemberton's Gradient Coffee.

Order: latte · vegan banana bread

Purebread (Village)

$
Specialty · 4174 Village Stroll, Whistler, BC

A mainstay Whistler bakery of artisan bread and decadent sweets, which now has shops as far as Vancouver and YVR.

Order: coffee · a slab of cake

Rockit Coffee

$
Specialty · since 2022 · 227-2063 Lake Placid Rd, Whistler, BC

Opened in December 2022 near the Creekside gondola, with retro yellow-and-orange decor, kitschy typewriters and a wall of speakers playing The Beatles and ELO.

Order: Canadian latte (maple)

Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.

Fools + Horses (The Forks)

$
Specialty · since 2014 · 1 Forks Market Rd, Winnipeg, MB

Founded in 2014 by five friends. This café is inside The Forks Market, the historic hub where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet.

Order: Gibraltar · pour-over

💡 Combine it with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights next door.

Little Sister Coffee Maker

$
Specialty · since 2013 · 470 River Ave, Winnipeg, MB

Started in September 2013 by Vanessa Stachiw and her brother-in-law Nils Vik of Parlour. It's a bright, white-tiled café on a lower level in Osborne Village.

Order: cortado

Parlour Coffee

$
Specialty · since 2011 · 468 Main St, Winnipeg, MB

Open since September 2011, Parlour led Winnipeg's specialty coffee movement. Its 400-square-foot shop is in a 1901 heritage building a few blocks north of Portage and Main, with huge windows.

Order: espresso · pour-over

Thom Bargen (Sherbrook)

$
Specialty · since 2012 · 64 Sherbrook St, Winnipeg, MB

Best friends Thom Hiebert and Graham Bargen opened their Sherbrook Street café in 2012. Since 2020 they have roasted their own coffee in a Nordic style.

Order: filter coffee · espresso

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