Himalayan Coffee House

I needed to go pick up some lotion, and I wanted some coffee.  And thats when I remembered (from a super long time ago), that a friend recommended that I check this place out.  And usually if I'm in the area, I beeline it to my favourite coffee house, De Mello Palheta.  What interested me in Himalayan Coffee House were the latte art pictures that I saw on Yelp.  I was super excited to see what kind of fancy latte art I would get!

So for lunch, I ordered a grilled cheese with cheddar and a latte.  The hubby ordered the naan panini with chicken, and a flat white.  When our coffees came, I was disappointed.  We got normal boring old latte art.  Blah.  But at least the coffee tasted good.  Just strong enough for me, without leaving any strong after tastes.  My grilled cheese was disappointing.  It was 2 slices of white bread, with a slice of processed Kraft singles cheese, put in a panini press.  I guess I should have known based on the price of the sandwich.  Super disappointing.  It came with a side of tomato relish/salsa, so that saved it a tiny bit.  Hubby's naan panini was pretty good.  There was chicken in a type of curry mayo sauce, and spinach.

Himalayan Java House Lunch Picks

Come for the coffee, and not so much for their grilled cheese sandwiches.  There were also sweets options, we just didn't try them.  Also, I'm confused whether this is named Himalayan Java House, or Himalayan Coffee House.  Signage says Java, their Facebook page says Coffee.

Himalayan Coffee House

2552 Yonge St.,

Toronto, ON

M4P 2J2

Phone: (416) 485-6464

Hours:  Monday - Saturday 800a - 600p

             Sunday 800a - 500p

https://www.facebook.com/himalayancoffeeinc/

Propeller Coffee Co.

Propeller Coffee Co. I would consider being off the beaten path.  Kinda hard to get to by public transit (not on the subway line), and kinda hidden on a small side street in a somewhat industrial area.  But because of this, there's ample free parking, and a giant comfortable space for you to work in, meet with huge group of friends, and perhaps rent their venue for an event.  The reason why I checked out Propeller Coffee Co. even though it was hard to get to, was for my friend's birthday celebration.  He celebrates his birthday a bit differently, he does a whole day of celebrations starting off with breakfast/brunch, coffee, dinner and drinks.  He invites all of his friends, and his friends show up whenever they want to.  Kinda interesting, also makes for easier conversation with everyone in smaller groups.

As I mentioned, Propeller's space is quite large, and can fit quite a few people.  A lot of people were there working on their laptops.  There's enough power plugs it seemed.  Their coffee was great.  I got a latte, and the hubby got a drip coffee.  The latte was great, with great aftertaste that lingers in your mouth.  I don't know what roast they used that day, but they do roast their own beans.  Another plus in my books.  My only complaint is that they served my latte in a mug that was chipped at the rim.  Two chips if you look at my picture.

Latte

Propeller Coffee Co.
50 Wade Ave.,
Toronto, ON
M6H 2Z3

Phone:  (416) 479-3771

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 8a - 5p

https://propellercoffee.com/public/

Merchants of Green Coffee

Each time we drive along the DVP, I keep seeing The Merchants of Green Coffee, and I keep saying to my husband that we should check it out.  It’s been years since I’ve started saying that.  This time I had the perfect reason, we needed a spot to do some Europe trip 2016 planning.  We could have done it at our house, as we normally do, but I personally wanted a change of scenery, plus, it was my excuse for a good coffee as opposed to using the Nespresso machine at home.  Since it was a Saturday I knew my usual favorite coffee shops would be packed to the brim because they’re usually pretty small and cozy.  So while searching for good coffee, it had to also be big enough, and not that far deep into the downtown core.  So that’s how we ended up at the Merchants of Green Coffee. 

The space at Merchants of Green Coffee is pretty big, but yet very comfy cozy feeling.  I love the look of mismatched tables and chairs.  I ordered my usual latte and the hubby ordered a 2 cup drip coffee to share with the cousins.  The beans they chose was their own sustainable blend café solar.  I found my latte a bit on the weak side, but the hubby enjoyed his drip coffee very much.  The cousin, well he had no opinion as he likes or doesn’t mind the crap, I mean inconsistency, served at Tim Hortons.  So if you need a break from working at home, drop by Merchants of Green coffee for some coffee and quiet time.

Latte & Drip Coffee

Merchants of Green Coffee

2 Matilda St.,

Toronto, ON

M4M 1L9

Phone:  (416) 749-5369

Hours:  Monday - Friday 8a -6p

             Saturday 9a - 6p

             Sunday 10a - 6p

http://www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com

Boxcar Social

Found another coffee spot!!!  Actually it was quite hard to find.  The first time I tried to come to Boxcar Social, we drove past it without finding it.  The second time, I made sure to Google Map it and street view it to make sure we don’t drive by it again.  The inside of Boxcar Social looks more like a bar than a coffee shop.  Along the wall, behind their bar is a huge display of liquor.  I think they do have a liquor license.   I ordered my usual flat white, and the hubby got a cappuccino.  We headed upstairs to grab a seat.  For a Saturday morning it was quite busy, all the tables were filled except for one.  Coffee was very good smooth, felt a bit on the weaker side at first, but left your mouth with a great coffee aftertaste. 

Cappuccino & Flat white

As I was about to post this blog post, I went on their website and just learned that Boxcar Social has 2 locations, one on Yonge St. (the one I went to) and a location in Riverdale.  Delicious coffee, with a comfy cozy surrounding, and an amazing concept:  Do what we love, do it with our friends, and do it really well.  This is something that we should all apply in our lives.  I can almost feel their passion and love behind Boxcar Social.

Boxcar Social Summerhill

1208 Yonge St.,

Toronto, ON

M4T 1W1

Phone: (416) 792-5873

Hours:  Monday 8a - 5p

             Tuesday - Thursday 8a - 12a

             Friday - Saturday 8a - 2a

             Sunday 8a - 8p

http://www.boxcarsocial.ca/home.html

White Squirrel Coffee

I just learned, right before I started to type this post, that White Squirrel Coffee has 2 locations, one at Queen West and one in Rosedale.  I have to specify that I went to the location on Queen West, just incase staff/service would be specific to location.  White Squirrel has been on my list to check out for years and years, just because the name is kinda funny.  I finally fulfilled my wish on Valentines day.  Not that it was a Valentines day treat (most, if not all my close friends all know how anti-valentines day I am), but because White Squirrel on Queen West was actually on my way to the Sacred Love Market, where my friend had a booth there.  Check out Pulp Function for all sorts of interesting paper goods!

As I was heading to my friend's show, I wanted to grab my coffee to go, and also grab some hot drinks for my friends as the venue location was freezing cold.  Hence no pictures.  Won't see much in a takeout cup.  I placed my order for a flat white, hot chocolate, espresso macchiato, and a hot water.  As I was placing my order with the barista (male), he responded in a snarky tone, "You know they won't stay hot right?  But I'll make it anyways."  I was like "WTF?" in my head.  Did you just give me attitude?  No shit that it won't stay steaming hot, the weekend was the coldest weekend this entire winter.  You don't think I know that?  And no i'm not walking around downtown carrying this take out order.  I'm jumping back into my car.  I smiled and just said "OK".

When I got to pay, the barista/cashier (female), was SUPER nice.  She added up all the drinks in her head, pretty quickly I was impressed.  She told me also that for the hot water, it would be 50 cents for the cup.  Makes sense.  But I ended up with only 3 of my 4 drinks.  The barista (male) that was making my drink forgot the espresso macchiato.  And he was standing around playing on his phone.  Professional eh?  While reading this, you would probably picture someone that's a punk/hipster in his 20's.  But NO!  He looked like 30's, early 40s. You would think he would know better than to play on his phone in front of customers right?

Anyways, coffee wise, was quite weak in my opinion.  But I guess it's because I prefer stronger coffee.  I did like that they used Harmony milk.  Curious to know if the Rosedale location is the same or better.

White Squirrel Coffee
907 Queen St. W.,
Toronto, ON
M6J 1G5

Phone:  (647) 428-4478

Hours:  Monday - Friday 7:30a - 7:00p
             Saturday - Sunday 8:00a - 7:00p

http://www.whitesquirrelcoffee.com