Calgary keeps adding to its roster of bakeries that produce excellent pastries. Here are five that also brew a mean cup of coffee, making them the perfect place to meet up with friends.
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Everything elegant Mari Bakeshop makes is first rate, from croissants and pain au chocolate to more exotic roll cakes and choux pastries. This Bridgeland destination is a busy place, so order a latte before claiming a prized window seat.
Mari Bakeshop
There might also be a wee line at the Beltline’s little Begonia Bakehouse. Order a brioche-based pain Suisse and a“Canadiano” and head for a vacant table.
Begonia Bakehouse
Butter Block is arguably Calgary’s heavyweight pastry place, supplying baked treats to many city coffee shops. But it’s worth heading to its Beltline base for a fabulous banana cream pudding muffin, wolfed down with a double espresso.
Butter Block
Located on busy Macleod Trail across from Stampede Park, newish Otie Cafe produces work-of-art tarts and terrific, savoury cacio e pepe croissants. Wash down either with a coffee from local roaster Chronicle’s beans.
Otie Cafe
Chronicle beans also make an appearance at Killarney newcomer Millo Millo Bake Shop. Sip a cappuccino while munching an Earl Grey scone or delightfully cheesy pretzel bagel.
Here’s a handful of additional good Calgary coffee stops, primarily in kiosks and other small spaces. Most offer excellent Butter Block pastries.
Cafe du Parc North Glenmore Park 7305 Crowchild Trail SW
If you’re strolling or cycling the verdant pathways of North Glenmore Park, pause at this kiosk for a fine jolt of java and a croissant from celebrated Butter Block.
A community gathering place for young families, yoga classes or just a good coffee and a famous Glamorgan Bakery cheese bun. Check out the fresh produce and micro-baked bagels at Apple Lady market next door.
Social Grounds an Oakridge community gathering place
Okay, this incongruous place is just west of Calgary. But if you’re close to Springbank Airport, it’s worth dropping in to new Adola Cafe, an elegant, high-ceilinged space serving Ethiopian coffee, with calming classical music in the background.
After visiting some 40 Calgary coffeehouses over a couple of months, it’s time to pick my top 10—from the best java and neighbourhood hangouts to the quirkiest.
1.Q.lab (105, 206 11 Avenue SW) is all about the coffee. Order a pour over and you’re asked to choose from eight bean varieties roasted by parent company Chronicle. Once the coffee arrives in a little glass beaker, you’re asked to wait two more minutes to let the flavours bloom. And there’s no food, offered, though you can bring in a baked treat from Butter Block across the street.
Q.lab is my number one Calgary coffeehouse
2. Sought X Found (916 Centre Street North) is arguably the best combination roaster and coffee shop in Calgary. It’s well worth visiting the brick-walled café for a hand-brewed drip coffee and a pastry from the celebrated Butter Block. Even the milk for its drinks comes from an organic farm.
Sought X Found is an excellent, cool coffeehouse and roaster
3. Sierra Cafe (39, 6439 Crowchild Trail SW) is my idea of a neighbourhood coffeehouse, with folks from the southwest community of Lakeview congregating in this narrow space to chat over good coffee and scones. Other great neighbourhood hangouts: Friends Cafe in Edgemont and Higher Grounds in Hillhurst.
Sierra Cafe is everything a neighbourhood coffee shop should be
4. Rosso Coffee Roaster’s flagship cafe (15, 803 24 Avenue SE) is in a historic Ramsay building, with an expansive patio. Watch award-winning baristas pull shots while you munch on a fabulous, toasted and buttered cheese bun (recipe from the owner’s mother).
Rosso Coffee Roaster’s flagship cafe is in an historic Ramsay building
5. The Roasterie (314, 10 Street NW) It’s dimly lit and cramped, the chugging coffee roaster rubbing shoulders with patrons at a handful of small tables. No matter. This longtime Sunnyside fixture produces the best dark-roast coffee in Calgary, the rich flavour of my not-drowned-in-hot-water Americano lingering on the tongue. Bonus points for a dedication to cold-brew coffee, to stay or go.
The Roasterie has been producing fine coffee for four decades
6. Want to seriously up your coffee game? Just pop by Eight Ounce Coffee (2040, 2600 Portland Street SE), in an industrial district,and peruse hundreds of roasted beans, from as far away as Florence, or perhaps invest in a $5,200 espresso machine. Or sample a much cheaper flight of coffees.
Eight Ounce Coffee offers roasted beans from around the world
7.Mob Squad Cafe (150 9 Avenue SW) is certainly unique. It involves taking a 21-floor elevator ride to a lofty coffeehouse perch overlooking the office towers of downtown Calgary.
Mob Squad Cafe sits 21 floors up in downtown Calgary
8. Semantics Cafe (1010 1 Street SE) is perhaps the artsiest coffee shop in Calgary. Beneath its impossibly high ceiling are local art, a drum kit, old vinyl records and books. Bonus points for the fresh Butter Block pastries and Chronicle-roasted beans.
Semantics Cafe fits all the local arts under a high-high ceiling
9. During the day, Qamaria Yemeni Coffee (1441 17 Avenue SW) operates as a typical Beltline coffeeshop, albeit with a Middle East-leaning pastry and drink menu. It really comes alive late at night as a lively Muslim gathering spot, especially during fast-ending Ramadan.
10.Velet (105, 206 11 Avenue SE) is Calgary’s quirkiest cafe—a bike/ski repair and tuneup shop, on the edge of downtown, that also serves excellent coffee and treats. Oh, and the entrance is from a back alley.
Velet is a back-alley bike and ski shop that also serves fine coffee
Don’t be surprized to see folks arriving at Velet on two wheels. That’s because this funky, edge-of-downtown coffee spot is also a bicycle/ski repair and tune-up shop. Owner Hakan Kayabasi does it all: ski/bike technician, expert barista and purveyor of fresh-baked Turkish treats.
Semantics, on the edge of downtown, is perhaps the artsiest coffee shop in Calgary. Beneath its impossibly high ceiling are local art, a drum kit, old vinyl records and books. Bonus points for the fresh Butter Block pastries and Chronicle-roasted beans.
Gravity is a cozy, 13-year-old coffeeshop that welcomes residents and visitors to vibrant Inglewood. Come for fresh-roasted beans and a berry yogurt bowl. Stay for the unparalleled live music.
Canela is a destination for vegans seeking a different take on baked treats, like cinnamon rolls or gussied-up croissants. The casually elegant space, which includes a cozy café, is perfect for a mid-morning sweet treat and a latte.
Rosso is a Calgary coffee juggernaut, hitting it out of the park with this flagship cafe in the historic Dominion Bridge Building in Ramsay. Watch award-winning baristas pull shots while you munch on a fabulous, toasted and buttered cheese bun (recipe from the owner’s mother).
Want to seriously up your coffee game? Just pop by Eight Ounce and peruse hundreds of roasted beans, from as far away as Florence, or perhaps invest in a $5,200 espresso machine. Or sample a much cheaper flight of coffees.
It’s not hard to spot Baya Rica Café, near the western entrance to the Bridgeland community. Just look for the bright yellow house with a long metal smokestack. The latter is attached to an in-house stove roasting beans from an affiliated Costa Rican farm. A cappuccino goes well with a Mexican wedding cookie.
Baya Rica’s bright yellow cafe and coffee roaster
Mari Bakeshop Bridgeland 103 Saint Matthews Square NE
The good espresso-based drinks are mainly a pretext for loading up on arguably the finest baked treats in Calgary—from airy croissants to slices of roll cake. A warning: This place gets crazy busy on summer weekends.
Hidden in a Tuxedo industrial park, the dimly lit Congress is nonetheless a new community gathering spot for small-batch-roasted coffee, art shows and live music. Combine a pecan tart with a “pay what you feel” drip coffee.
The Roasterie Neighbourhood: Sunnyside 314 10 Street NW
Amazingly, I was around when The Roasterie opened 40 years ago in this little Kensington shop. Not much has changed over the years, including the owners and an onsite, gas-powered roaster. Try the cold brew to stay or bottled to go.
This nearby café is even older (established 1982), focusing on organic, ethically sourced beans. Try a “Hi Test” mix of espresso and brewed coffee, along with an in-house baked pastry or a breakfast burrito.
Now here’s a true partnership. The aptly named Pocket Coffee is owned by attached Dairy Lane Café, with roasted beans from Fratello and baked treats from superb Butter Block. Be bold and tackle a French toast latte and double-baked apple croissant on the sidewalk patio.
Described as a bohemian hangout, Weeds often attracts folks actually reading books and writing with pen and pencil. Soak in the relaxed scene while sipping a 49th Parallel coffee and munching on a sausage roll.
Fenyk is named for the community-minded fennec fox, having recently burrowed in next to the Northland Village Mall. The Rosso-roasted coffee goes well with a breakfast omelette hand pie.
With a name like this, I gotta try a made-to-order sandwich alongside my caffeine fix. My choice is a substantial Californian ($16.50)—a piling of turkey, chicken and bacon—chased by a macchiato, made from Fratello beans (it also serves locally blended Grounded Teas). Alenn is a newish café tucked in a Varsity Estates strip mall off busy Crowchild Trail.
Alenn marries sandwiches and coffee
Minuet Cafe Charleswood 1161C Northmount Drive
Minuet is a calming space, focusing on house-baked cakes, tarts and a half-dozen types of mini quiches, including my fine, warmed up cheddar and broccoli.
While it shares the name of the fat-infused coffee craze, Bullet Coffee House shows the staying power of a 25-year-old neighbourhood café. It treats loyal customers to warm, over-the-top oat muffins and bullet coffee featuring coconut milk, cinnamon, cocoa and honey.
Whether you’re coming off a nearby Nose Hill park walk or meeting friends, this cozy café has for three decades been a popular place for a coffee, baked treat or panini. An early Friday lunch is advised to snag a bountiful bowl of New England clam chowder before they run out.
Arguably the best combination roaster and coffee shop in Calgary. It’s well worth visiting the brick-walled café for a hand-brewed drip coffee and a pastry from the celebrated Butter Block. Even the milk for its drinks comes from an organic farm.
Okay, this incongruous place is just west of Calgary. But if you’re close to Springbank Airport, it’s worth dropping in to new Adola Cafe, an elegant, high-ceilinged space serving Ethiopian coffee, with calming classical music in the background.
Adola Cafe is elegant coffeehouse near the Springbank Airport
Stylish Alforno is an Eau Claire neighbourhood hangout
They’re often off the beaten path and are frequently the survivors of pandemics and unrelenting cost spikes. But the neighbourhood coffee shop manages to not only survive but to thrive in many parts of Calgary.
Why? It’s a cozy but lively place to meet, hang out, sip a latte and nibble a fresh croissant post bike ride.
A caffeinated brew and pastry might set you back $10 these days. But it’s still a relatively affordable treat compared with a $30 plate of highfalutin pasta.
Calgary’s neighbourhood coffee shops have managed to more than compete with Starbucks and Tim’s or local heavyweights like Analog, Phil & Sebastien, Rosso and Deville. They may be unfamiliar to you but not to the couple who lives two blocks away. In fact, they’re probably there once a week.
Serious coffee consumers head to Sought X Found on Centre Street North
Part 1: Southwest Calgary
Here’s my growing list of Calgary’s fine neighbourhood coffeeshops. In this first of three posts, I’m focusing on the city’s southwest. Let me know what I’m missing.
Sierra Cafe Neighbourhood: Lakeview 39, 6439 Crowchild Trail SW
Every time I meet friends for a mid-morning coffee at this five-year-old café, we have to scramble to find empty seats. The coffee’s good, the pastries are fresh and the vibe is chill. Bonus points for plentiful free parking in the expansive Lakeview shopping mall. Try the sweet and savoury scones.
Sierra Cafe is a true neighbourhood coffee shop, in Lakeview
Now a little Calgary coffee empire, Monogram started in 2014 as a tiny neighbourhood café and roaster. This cozy, rustic flagship shop remains a local attraction, especially among dog walkers from the nearby off-leash park. Try a pour-over coffee paired with a house-baked croissant or hummus toast.
The name, and the NHBR abbreviation, is forgettable. But it’s well worth claiming a table, stool or patio seat in this little eight-year-old coffee shop, on a quiet, leafy street. The avocado toast headlines a made-to-order menu that includes a turmeric latte.
A genteel French retreat from the never-ending Marda Loop roadwork madness. Virtually all the seating is on an elevated patio shaded by a large poplar and warmed by an outdoor fireplace. Sip a latte and indulge in a slab of quiche Lorraine or slice of carrot cake.
An NHBR brother company, 10-year-old Our Daily Brett is a lively all-day food and drink café that’s an uber-popular meeting place for coffee and maybe a breakfast sandwich.
Our Daily Brett is a busy gathering spot in South Calgary
Millo Millo Bake Shop Killarney 3003 37 Street
This bright new space offers a wide range of baked goods, from Earl Grey scones to loaves of sourdough bread. Try a delightfully chewy pretzel bagel with a local, Chronicle-roasted coffee.
Millo Millo is a fine new bakery and cafe in Killarney
Q.Lab certainly takes its coffee seriously. So seriously that after painstakingly making you a pour over—from a bean variety of your choice— they suggest you wait two minutes to let the flavours fully bloom. So seriously they offer no food—just outstanding coffee… and a few high-end teas.
Q.Lab takes its coffeee creations very seriously
Notes: A stone’s throw away, Butter Block (908 17 Avenue SW) is primarily a baker of superb treats, but it also crafts fine espresso-based drinks. A long block away, Analog Coffee is a mini Calgary empire, but its busy 17 Avenue and 8 Street location is truly a neighbourhood gathering spot, morning to night, for young Beltliners.
Analog attracts plenty of young folks, day and night, to its Beltline location
During the day, Qamaria operates as a typical Beltline coffeeshop, albeit with a Middle East-leaning pastry and drink menu. It really comes alive late at night as a lively Muslim gathering spot, especially during fast-ending Ramadan. Order a slab of rose tres leche cake and a pistachio latte.
Qamaria’s late-night Yemeni treats include rose tres leche cake
Frida’s Coffee Home Downtown West End 1110 9 Avenue, base of West Village Towers
Here’s an ode to often overlooked Mexican coffee, in this case beans direct traded from hilly regions and roasted locally. Order these Mexican treats: spiced café de olla and sweet conchas bread.
A Bridgeland fixture, Bono has just added a Stephen Avenue cafe to serve those who live or work downtown. This family-run business draws on its Ethiopian roots to feed beans to its Calgary roastery.
A unique coffee shop in the sky—a 21-floor elevator ride that overlooks downtown Calgary and is open to the awestruck public Tuesday to Friday.
MobSquad Cafe overlooks downtown Calgary from 21 floors up
Caffe Levant Downtown office workers 550 6 Avenue
This may be the most fashionable café in Calgary, with stylish furniture, table lamps and floor-to-ceiling curtains. Treat yourself to a latte and a decadent, house-baked cinnamon bun.
Caffe Levant an oasis in the heart of downtown Calgary
This leafy retreat on the riverside edge of downtown attracts a steady stream of mid-morning, high-rise residents. A cronut or spinach artichoke calzone goes well with a thrown-back espresso.
Marathon Mouth 