36 Powell Street, Vancouver (Gastown)
Coffee shops in Gastown keep sprouting up, and all of them are so, so good. Milano Espresso Bar is no exception . With 75 years and counting into the business, they are serious about their coffee. I dropped by Milano the other day to find a quiet place to do some work, and I was happy to find not just that but also finding out that this particular shop closes at 9 PM - on a Sunday. This is unheard of, with many shops closing up at 6 PM at the latest, particuarly on a weekend. Milano definitely climbs to the top of my list for late night stops. As I ordered my cafe latte, I was prompted to choose my beans, as they have three featured beans rotating through each day. I chose La Futura, a nice medium bodied coffee. To pair with the latte I had one of their delicious (and vegan!) lavender bars, which was AMAZING. I have never tasted anything like it, and you can't tell that it is vegan at all. Many of the pastries and cakes offered in shop are vegan and/or gluten free. A great place to be with cool furniture and not too loud, and super friendly baristas!
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221 Abbott Street, Vancouver (Gastown) I had the opportunity to check out this beautiful tea house the other day with my friend Erika. Gastown is dominated with coffee roasters and shops, but on Abbott Street there is the lovely Capilano Tea House that serves up organic teas and house made, small batch botanical sodas along with traditional savoury and sweet food offerings - a refreshing and delicious alternative if you aren't feeling coffee! The interior of the store is, in a word, adorable: strong brick walls with wooden and clean white furniture. There are lovely flowers and packs of tea for sale sitting on the shelves that line the store. It is a tiny store that could potentially seat just under 20 cozily packed people, with one long wooden table and a little window side bench. I went on a hot day, and Erika and I enjoyed the refreshing and cool taste of their rose lemonade - it was refreshing, light, and a gorgeous baby pink colour. Topped with rose petals, it was an interesting twist to traditional lemonade that was in no way sour - it was great. Along with that, I had a mini mixed berry crumble in a jar, which was so, so good! I really loved the tartness of the berries and the cute portion size. The only downside is that they don't list out prices for their drink/food items, so you have no idea how much you have spent until it is rung up for you. The rose lemonade and the berry crumble came to just over $13 together, which was a shock to me. Since it was a first time, I decided to just suck it up, though next time I probably will just stick to drinks and maybe have food if I am really, really desperate or intrigued. All in all, if you aren't into having coffee that day, go check out Capilano Tea House and have one of their teas. It's a super cute place, so get ready to take tons of pictures! ***** OCTOBER 1, 2016 UPDATE: Due to high rent, Capilano Tea House is closing their Gastown location down. Sad to see such a unique place go because of high rent costs. ***** 655 Front Street, New Westminster Found in downtown New Westminster close by the water is Old Crow Coffee Company, right at the corner of Front and McKenzie in the historic district. A simple building that gives off a comfy and laid back vibe, Old Crow brings the cool Gastown coffee scene a little closer to the Fraser River - perfect for me, since I live in Surrey! There is a lot of rustic charm found in the brick wall exterior, the leather easy chairs and the wooden tables with attached brass stools, topped with vases filled with dandelions and wild flowers. When I went to go visit, I ordered an iced masala chai tea latte and a Dutch toast, something that I had when I was really young! The masala chai was good, though it began to obviously become diluted due to melted ice. Personally, I prefer the masala chai at Lost and Found in Gastown, but Old Crow's was a nice treat on a hot day. The Dutch toast, on the other hand, was spectacular! It brought back all sorts of happy memories and was crunch and not too sweet. They complimented each other quite nicely, actually! Old Crow is a great, quiet place to study if you are in the New Westminster area. I will definitely return and try their coffee drinks soon! 356 Water Street, Vancouver (Gastown)
Yet another amazing coffee shop that is available to add to the bustling Gastown scene! Located in the triangle of the flat iron-esque building on Water Street is Buro Espresso Bar. The vast windows enable natural lighting into the airy coffee shop, and the clean white walls contrasted nicely against the wooden furniture. It made an excellent place for people to come together and meet, and despite how busy it gets the atmosphere is generally quite quiet, making a stylish and simple place to study or to catch up with friends. I studied at Buro for a bit, and while I studied I had Buro's mocha and banana bread with chocolate chips. This mocha is probably one of my favourite ones in the city, and I loved the banana bread! There definitely is a great abundance of choice in Gastown for coffee shops, and this is one of my favourites! 311 West Cordova Street, Vancouver (Gastown) I've been doing a lot of coffee shop hunting and hopping recently, and the latest shop that I stopped by at was Timbertrain Coffee Roasters in Gastown. Running inside on a raining Saturday afternoon, I was greeted by a rustic charm meets trendy minimalist decor and the aroma of coffee beans. The coffee shop is very small with tables and red couches down the side, the coffee bar and single bar seating along the window. Before a wild night, it was nice to sit down in a mellow environment and warm up with a cup of coffee and a sweet Liege waffle. I had a house cappuccino and a green tea waffle. The cappuccino had just the right amount of sweetness and bitterness and was incredibly smooth, and the art was really nice to see! The waffle had a greenish tint to show off it's green tea taste. It was yummy though just a touch bland. Those that work in Timbertrain really enjoy and love what they do, and it is really evident by the smiles on their faces and the food and drinks that they serve. Go check them out - Timbertrain is only about a year old and definitely making their mark on the coffee scene in Vancouver! 2902 Main Street, Vancouver (Mount Pleasant)
On a cold and wet Saturday evening, what better way to kick back and make the most of the evening than to enjoy incredibly delicious donuts? My knowledge of donuts is very limited - basically only Tim Horton's and Krispy Kreme. And don't get me wrong, those donuts are great - but Lucky's Donuts, which are featured at 49th Parallel coffee shop, are incredible. Elaine and I went after dinner to warm up and continue our conversations. 49th Parallel & Lucky's Donuts on Main Street is very large and yet, quite intimate with its community style tables, wooden furniture and comfy couches by the fireplace. The aroma of coffee beans and sweet donuts greet you as you walk in the door, and the selection of donuts all sound incredible. They definitely don't make it easy for you to choose! We both had the $5 Coffee + Donut combo with 49th Parallel Roasters Coffee. I had the PB & J donut and Elaine had the Tiramisu. It had been a long time since I last had a donut, and having this glazed donut topped with peanut butter and stuffed (all the way around) with jelly was amazing. Definitely going back to try all the donuts that they have to offer! 33 West Hastings Street, Vancouver (Gastown)
Finally had the opportunity to go to Lost + Found Cafe! I first learned about this cafe when I saw it on a family friend's Instagram feed, and ever since it has been a place that I have wanted to go to. In contrast to some of the other coffee shops that are in Gastown (with the exception of Coffeebar), Lost + Found is MASSIVE. It has a very vast and open space that seems to go on for miles. Aside from its openness, what also struck me was the amount of artwork that was hanging on the walls, the antique furniture and the historical pictures that covered the walls. There was a wide variety of baked goods to choose from as well as smoothies, coffees and teas of all kinds. I love the unique concept of Lost + Found, and it definitely will be one of my go to places to study whenever I find myself at SFU Vancouver! I had the Ranjana's Chai and the cranberry lemon bar - an excellent choice, according to the barista. And I couldn't agree more! 325 Cambie Street, Vancouver (Gastown)
Gastown is an awesome hub for unique and independently owned coffee shops. Revolver is no exception. For the coffee connoisseur, Revolver offers a wide variety of coffees from coffee roasters all over North America, and the menu and offerings rotates every so often. When you walk in you are greeted by the whirring of their equipment and the smell of fresh baked goods. All of the people behind the counter are dedicated in serving you the best cup of coffee possible, and my experience was a wonderful one. My knowledge of coffee is not great (read: Starbucks), and I really don't know the difference between a macchiato and a cappucino. So when my macchiato came in a shot glass and a side of water in a flask, I was really confused. But nevertheless, it was really smooth and bold. The artistry at the top was also lovely to look at. And of course, their raspberry coffee cake was a perfect pairing with my macchiato. Revolver has cute wooden furniture in their main serving area with an adjoining seating area, Archive, right next door. Within Archive you can hang out among coffee making artifacts and enjoy your carefully crafted cup of coffee. I look forward to returning to Revolver for more coffee, and exploring the coffee scene in Gastown further! 6888 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby
Sitting right next to Ki Tea House, Camellia Tea & Coffee is characterized by their cheerful red umbrellas outside their restaurant that can be spotted from the Skytrain. Offering a wide selection of teas, coffees and pastries, Camellia was another coffee shop that I wanted to give a try. Acting as the neighbourhood Starbucks, the quality of products that Camellia had to offer was spectacular, and it made Camellia a cozy spot to hang out. For the first time, I tried affogato, which was really good! The overall ambiance was very home-y, with cute vintage furniture and a variety of treats. Definitely a place to go back to! 10 Water Street (Vancouver - Gastown) -OR- 1695 Marine Drive (West Vancouver - Ambleside)
Outside of your usual Starbucks or Blenz coffees, I've found that Downtown Vancouver has a lot of stand alone and independently owned coffee shops that have their own character. Being one of the first coffee shops that I have gone to, Coffeebar exceeded my expectations. One of my favourite things about coffee shops is the chill vibe, the sounds of cups of coffee being made and the simple decor - in particular, wooden furniture. It was clear that everyone in the neighbourhood congregated at Coffeebar to study, meet up or chill out. I had a chai tea latte and shared a tiramisu with my friend, which was delicious. I am a stickler for chai tea lattes, and this one was not too sweet with just the right amount of cinnamon. I highly recommend this place if you are passing through Gastown and are looking for a cool place to chill out! with photo credits to Jamie |
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