People enjoy the caffeine rush that comes from a hot cup of coffee. No matter where you go, you can always see someone working on laptops and notebooks in coffee shops, where the energy is so alive.
This is why beverages and coffee shops, have become indispensable parts of a quintessential urban culture. Toronto, a major metropolis in Canada, is no exception to this trend.
There are hundreds of the best coffee shops in Toronto, which are well-known destinations for people to visit.
These establishments range from charmingly aesthetic cafes with brilliant ambiance and delectable coffee to upscale baristas who will brighten your day with beautiful latte art on a cup of flat white.
Baristas are popular among people who want a coffee break or a comfortable place to work,, with some strongly pressed coffee to help them focus. And coffee shops are the perfect place to relax if you want.
Exploring Toronto and Its Coffee Shops
The city of Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario in southeastern Canada, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario.
Toronto offers a modern vibe as one of the most popular metropolitan cities in Canada – with towering crests of skyscrapers and boisterous city life.
If you’re a local, you probably already know that. And if you’re a tourist visiting Toronto for the first time, we are sure you would love to visit the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. Or go to the galleries, street art, and museums scattered across the metropolis.
No matter how you know Toronto, you would love to go to a good coffee shop. Thankfully, some top-ranking coffee shops offer some delicious specialty coffee.
You can always enjoy a cold brew, steaming mug, or adorable latte art. Whether grabbing one on the way to the office or exploring Toronto’s downtown, we bring to you some of the best coffee shops in and around Toronto.
What’s Your Go-to Reason for Coffee?
Does a coffee shop remind you of the smell of tasty coffee you never want to leave?
Both franchise chain coffee shops and independent coffee shops are popular and draw their niche customers. Coffee shops sell everything coffee, teas, cakes, sandwiches, and other entrees.
It is a perfect spot to hang out with friends and family, work on your laptop in peace and comfort, or take a coffee break.
Many of these coffee houses prepare and sell different hot and cold coffee varieties like espresso, iced latte, brews, cortado, macchiatos, and cappuccinos.
You also get a variety of delectable sweets like brownies and pastries. Take a break in one after a long day out and escape from the hustle and bustle of regular urban life.
Or, go on a date with a freshly brewed cup of your partner’s favourite coffee and spend some quality time together.
10 Best Coffee Shops In Toronto:
There is a thriving specialty coffee shop in Toronto with baristas all across the city, serving freshly brewed affogato or ristretto made from locally roasted beans.
People can find several popular coffee brands like Starbucks, Costa Coffee, and many more worldwide.
But many other independent coffee shops in Toronto are known for their ambiance, signature roast, or latte art that are loved by the people residing there. Here are some you need to explore.
1. Sam James Coffee Bar:
Sam James Coffee Bar is one of the most popular coffee places in Toronto, and one can’t restrain from tasting their heavenly coffee beans.
At five locations in downtown Toronto—Harbord Shop-297, Harbord Shop-297 Harbord St., Brock Shop-6 Brock Ave., Ossington Shop-141 Ossington, and Path Shop-150 King St. W.
One of the best Toronto coffee shops since 2009, the brew bar is famous for its fresh coffee beans from various places worldwide. The beans come in different types and sizes and are always in high demand. You can get a wide variety of coffee, from steamed Americano to iced coffee.
Want to spice up your game of caffeine? Then Sam James Coffee Bar is a perfect place to start with.
This coffee bar has served coffee lovers roasted and fresh coffee daily. It is said that the Sam James Coffee Bar has one of the best beans that one can never get over.
2. Dineen Coffee:
Dineen Coffee Company is a boutique coffee house in downtown Toronto. They opened in the spring of 2013, and are famous for their coffees, teas, and iced drinks.
Other than drinks, they also have a section for foods that are baked goods like chocolate brownies, cupcakes, and tarts. Latte art is very popular among latte lovers.
Although Dineen’s is regularly busy, indoor and outdoor seating is available.
Since Dineen Coffee serves great coffee, they have three locations where people can get their daily dose of the day.
The first location is at 140 Yonge St., Toronto, the second location – Dineen Commerce Court, is at 199 Bay Street, Toronto, and the third location, Dineen Outpost, is at 1042 Gerrard Street East.
3. Hale Coffee:
Hale Coffee Roasters was started in 2013 to give people high-quality coffee directly from coffee farmers.
The main motive of the Hale Coffee Shop was to support the farmers and let the people taste freshly harvested coffee beans.
Their delicious spread of food and beverages, along with friendly service, outdoor seating options, and private dining options, are major crowd pullers.
It is located at 300 Campbell Ave., Toronto, and is a popular specialty coffee roaster. Other than roasted beans, their specialty is light food and beverages.
So the Hale Lovely Coffee Shop could be a great little spot for enjoying the day in Toronto with a cup of amazing coffee.
4. Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters:
Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters is located at 200 Queen Street West, Toronto. This is a great place to grab a cup of skillfully brewed coffee made from finely ground locally roasted beans.
The supply base of the coffee comes from the local roasters around the world who serve the freshly roasted coffee to the people of Toronto. The cafe helps the new cafe owners with setting up their local businesses.
It also provides supplies for at-home coffee making for people to enjoy the process. The cafe is known for its single-origin beans; one can also buy them.
Famous coffee roasters are known for their stringent measures to ensure coffee beans’ flavour, fragrance, and freshness.
5. Jimmy’s Coffee:
Jimmy’s coffee is one of the best coffee shops in Toronto. The brew bar is popular among the Toronto people because of its excellent coffee and friendly staff. The coffee at Jimmy’s is locally roasted by experts in the traditional Italian style.
This independent and engaging barista is Downtown Toronto’s favorite destination to enjoy some good coffee in a welcoming atmosphere.
There are 8 locations where one can find Jimmy’s Coffee, but 107 Portland is their first and original location.
You can find hot chocolate, espresso, iced coffee, cappuccino, and even tea on the menu, along with many specialty blends, making it one of Toronto’s most loved coffee shops.
6. FIKA Coffee:
FIKA means “to go out for coffee” or “coffee break” in Swedish. Fika is a Swedish-themed coffee shop located in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market, 28 Kensington Avenue.
Their Dala horse logo symbolically represents Sweden and adds a nice touch to the Swedish theme of the quaint little barista in Toronto.
The exceptional coffees, teas, and homemade pastries attract people to the beautiful coffee shop and taste their delicious delicacies. The coffee shop has the feeling of coziness from the outside and inside.
Apart from the coffee and food, there is a whole wall of books you can enjoy while sitting on their outdoor patio to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
7. Quantum Coffee:
Quantum Coffee is a place for connecting people’s passions with ideas. They offer one of the best single-origin beans from some of the best coffee producers worldwide.
They are located at 460 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, and 455 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
The coffee shop offers a wide variety of alternative milk, many plant-based. Their specialty is espresso-based drinks and pour-over coffees.
They also have a collection of sweet things like pastries, cakes, and other snacks. It is a great spot to grab one of the best cups of coffee and chill.
A big, spacious room with many seats makes up for the limited seating arrangement in the front section of the coffee shop.
Many power outlets make it a laptop-friendly cafe where you can comfortably work and bust the stress with some great coffee and delectable small bites.
8. Pilot Coffee Roasters:
Pilot Coffee Roasters came into existence in 2009 in Leslieville, a neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada.
After gaining quite a great response from the people, it developed into many franchises in Queen Street East, Union Station, 100 King Street West, and many more.
Pilot Coffee is one of the most famous local roasters in Toronto. The cafe takes bulk orders of coffee beans, and the Pilot cold brew is their signature black brew made up of all the natural ingredients that make it tastier.
They also offer tea in various flavours, which is people’s favourite to have in the cafe, with a nice ambiance and friendly service.
9. Early Bird:
Early bird is a place with a package of everything for the people to enjoy their time with them. The place is known for its coffee as well as for its food.
Located at 613 Queen Street West, it is one of the most popular places among the people of Toronto. The early bird espresso is quite popular amongst coffee enthusiasts in Toronto.
This is the best coffee shop in Toronto for vegan treats or a gluten-free brownie. It combines a cafe and a restaurant, so going out for breakfast or brunch on the weekends to have their yummy food and coffee is a nice option.
Early Bird also offers a wine bar apart from the food and non-alcoholic beverages. The food menu included all the simple and healthy options made with consideration.
Serving coffee is the main thing at all the cafes, but making it look good is what Early Bird is an expert in. The taste of the coffee, as well as how it should look, is the priority of the cafe known for serving specialty coffee.
10. Strange Love Coffee:
The Strange Love Coffee Shop is what one needs to uplift their mood or health. Located at 101 Spadina Ave, Toronto.
Their amazing coffee is a marvellous concoction of modern science and ancient Chinese healing.
The products are made mostly from mushrooms in the form of coffee and cocoa. The mushroom powdered coco is available for people to have coffee at home.
The cafe has an easygoing atmosphere with people hanging around, chattering and laughing. Serving specialty coffees, teas, and drinks with baked goods instantly boosts people’s moods.
Their unique brews made from coffee and mushrooms make them famous in Toronto. They also have a breakfast and a lunch menu with several vegan options, like their famous avocado toast.
It’s Time to Brew and Taste some Great Coffee in Toronto!
Who doesn’t like the vibe of a cup of coffee in a coffee shop with light music running in the background?
A coffee shop is like a different world to enjoy, relax, and drink out the problems with a cup of your favourite coffee.
The coffee shops in Toronto and the different vibes in them… well, it just adds to the taste and smell of coffee. You are just a coffee shop away from your daily caffeine fix.
Frequently Asked Questions When Searching for Coffee Shops in Toronto
1. Are there any 24-hour coffee shops in Toronto?
Yes, there are 24-hour coffee shops in Toronto like the independent 7 West, Fran’s, and Vesta, or chain coffee shops like Tim Horton’s, where you can find food and beverages at any odd hour.
You can find coffee at any point in time when you are in Toronto.
2. How to open a coffee shop in Toronto?
It is easy to open a coffee shop in Toronto. Apart from a sound business plan, you need a license to run a coffee shop.
Once you have researched the local coffee shops and the coffee culture, you need to buy or lease a place, shape it up, hire a couple of baristas, and fix a supply source of fresh coffee.
3. What to expect in a coffee shop in Toronto?
A regular coffee shop in Toronto offers you a wide variety of coffee and other beverages and a spread of food for brunch, lunch, or dinner.
You can expect a neighbourhood vibe, locally roasted coffee beans, fast and free WiFi, and artisan pastries.
4. Are there gluten-free coffee shops in Toronto?
Yes, there are multiple gluten-free cafes in Toronto, like Almond Butterfly Gluten-Free Bake Shop & Espresso, Aroma Espresso Bar, Reunion Coffee Roasters, Sweet Jesus, The Black Canary Espresso Bar and more.
5. What is the best coffee shop in Downtown Toronto?
According to user reviews, Dineen Coffee Co. is among the best places to grab a cup of specialty coffee in downtown Toronto.
The coffee shop is located at 140 Yonge Street, Toronto.
6.What are the best coffee roasters in Toronto?
Pilot Coffee Roasters, Hale Coffee, and Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters are among the best coffee bean roasters in the Toronto coffee scene that serve customers fresh, locally roasted coffee.
Suggested Reads:
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16 Best Italian Restaurants Toronto For An Ideal Cuisine
