Here’s a deal that’s better than happy hour. Free.
Every time I pick up fresh-roasted coffee beans at Q.lab,in Calgary’s Beltline, they give me a free coffee—in my case a meticulously crafted, two-cup pour over, normally costing about $6.50.
A. fabulous, free pour over
I usually order two pounds of their Chronicle beans, which at $40 is quite reasonable for this high quality.
So, great beans and best coffee in Calgary, at $6.50 off. What’s not to like?
The house-made focaccia buns are the real stars of Apprentice Cafe’s superb breakfast sandwiches
In a crowded Calgary food scene, it certainly pays to occupy a solid niche. For Apprentice Cafe—a tiny Ramsay eatery with verdant views of downtown—that niche is the often-overlooked breakfast sandwich. Owner Rein offers nine such all-day sandwiches, including pulled pork and my expertly executed mushroom ($10.25), featuring goat cheese, caramelized onion, egg and black garlic aioli.
Apprentice Cafe owner Rein in his tiny Ramsay restaurant
But the real star of these breakfast sandwiches is the focaccia buns they’re cradled in. Inspired by the focaccia he encountered while working as a chef in Italy, Rein bakes a little loaf that’s golden on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside.
Easily the best focaccia I’ve tasted. Too bad you can’t order it to go.
Apprentice also serves good Rogue Wave coffee and house-made small-batch ice cream. Its hot chocolate was recently named best in the city.
Apprentice Cafe 1024 Bellevue Avenue SE, Calgary Opens 8 am Tuesday to Sunday and 9 am Monday 825-488-0887
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.
Marathon Mouth 