Jimmy's Coffee

Cafe: Jimmy's Coffee
Address: 191 Baldwin St.
Phone: 416-901-2289
Store Hours: Mon-Sat 7 AM - 7 PM, Sun 8 AM - 7 PM
Website: www.jimmyscoffee.ca

Study Appropriate?: Yes
Wi-Fi?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers coconut milk
- Customized roasted coffee beans from Classic Gourmet

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers dairy-free products
- Offers gluten-free muffins
- Offers croissants from La Bamboche
- Offers baked goods from Queen B Pastry
- Offers baked goods from Circles and Squares

Review

Drink of Choice: Cappuccino, $3.25

Back in February, my cousin came back from Montreal to visit. We wanted to have some quality time together so we decided to explore Toronto. Our original plan was to hit up a cafe on Queen St. However, we stumbled upon Jimmy's Coffee when we were going through Kensington Market. We decided to try it out instead because of convenience and I heard some good reviews about it. 

Jimmy's Coffee has portraits of all the famous people with the name Jimmy (or variation of it), such as Jim Carrey, Jimmy Fallon, Jimi Hendrix, etc. The owner is a fan of classic rock and Jimi Hendrix, hence the inspiration for the cafe. I thought it was an interesting concept to base a cafe off of celebrities.

The place was full when we arrived and we definitely saw how popular it was. Despite it being full, it was a quaint place, especially at the back of the cafe. They also have a backyard patio for the warmer weather. The cafe sells coffee beans from Classic Gourmet that are repackaged and made specifically for Jimmy's Coffee. Overall, it's a neat coffee shop in Kensington, great for those who loves the original location on King West.

The Coffee Bar Inc.

Cafe: The Coffee Bar Inc.
Address: 346 Front St. W
Phone: 416-792-8840
Store Hours: Mon-Wed 6:30 AM - 9 PM, Thurs-Fri 6:30 AM - 11:30 PM, Sat 7:30 AM - 11:30 PM, Sun 7:30 AM - 9 PM
Website: www.thecoffeebarinc.com

Study Appropriate?: Yes
Wi-Fi?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes

Interior

First Floor

Crossword available to play while waiting in line!

Second Floor

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Soy and almond
- Will iced drinks for no charge
- Roasted coffee beans from Velvet Sunrise

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers toast cups
- Sandwiches from Foodbenders
- Sweets from Cafe Novo (My review of the cafe here)
- Cupcakes from Bite Me Bakery
- A dozen Bite Me Bakery mini-cupcakes available for $15 and you can mix-and-match

Lavender Shortbread Cookie, $2.50

I Like It Raw, $1.50

Review

Drink of Choice: Velvet Latte, $4.50

Food of Choice: Agave Espresso BBQ Chicken Sandwich

I had the pleasure to come in and review The Coffee Bar Inc. a couple weeks after its grand opening. The cafe is located on Front and Spadina, an area which is saturated with condos and commercial quick-serve restaurants. When I arrived, I was excited to find out that there were two floors to the cafe. There weren't many cafes out there that had a second floor, so The Coffee Bar Inc. was the first one I visited. I really liked the upstairs space, which provided comfortable couches and a fireplace. The cafe had a rustic modern design with some personal touches. The owner and her family own a farm and horses so their decor reflected that traditional barnyard feel. I definitely enjoyed a couple of the the plates they had on the wall! Another thing I thought was fascinating was that they collected wood from old barns and refurnished them into furniture. Each hand-carved wooden furniture had a name plate stating how old the wood was and where it originated from. They also have some fun art done by their barista (shown at the bottom).

When I spoke to the owner, Marie, about what inspired her to open up The Coffee Bar Inc., she told me she saw there was a lack of community space within the area. This is very true for those who are familiar with Front and Spadina. Most of the businesses nearby are fast-food joints. Marie wanted to offer a community space for the residents and so far she has been receiving great response!

I got to try a few items that they offer at the cafe. I highly recommend the Velvet Latte. It tastes exactly how it sounds, very smooth and great for latte lovers. I really liked the Lavender Shortbread Cookie from Cafe Neon, which I tried to savour but failed because I kept eating it until I was done. Also, I got to taste one of the mini Bite Me cupcakes for the first time so that was a threat as well! I think my favourite was getting to try the Agave Espresso BBQ Chicken sandwich from Foodbenders. The Turkish bread on the sandwich was absolutely delicious. I sort of wished that I asked for my sandwich to be heated up because I'm pretty sure it would've tasted ten times as amazing. So if you haven't tried Foodbenders' sandwiches yet, I highly recommend them! I can definitely see why they are becoming popular in cafes.

To involve the community, The Coffee Bar Inc. has open mic every Monday and Tuesday starting sometime in April or after. There is also yoga every Sunday morning from 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM and a 5K run club right after at 10 AM. For anyone who is successful in completing the 5K route (the route is different each time), you'd be able to get 50% off your Americano when you make your way back to the cafe. So definitely a great opportunity for you to connect with your community and have some great coffee!

Just to note, the cafe has no outlets available for any who plans on bringing their laptop to do work. The baristas would be more than happy to charge it for you while you wait but there are no outlets available by any seating areas. So if you are like me and have a laptop that dies after 10 minutes without being plugged in, I don't recommend you bringing it to the cafe.

Thank you to The Coffee Bar Inc. for the food and drink provided for this review!

The Arrow - CLOSED

Cafe: The Arrow

Address: 1164 Dundas St. W. 

Phone: 647-772-2030

Store Hours: Mon-Wed 8 AM - 4 PM, Thurs-Fri 8 AM - 6 PM, Sat-Sun 10 AM - 6 PM

Website: www.thearrowcafe.com

Study Appropriate?: Yes

Wi-Fi?: Yes

Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Soy and almond
- Roasted coffee beans from Detour Coffee's Punch Buggy
- Offers freshly squeezed lemonade in the summer
- Offers coconut water

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Sandwiches from Foodbenders
- Red velvet cupcakes from Cafe Neon
- Offers muffins and banana bread

Large Mocha, $5.50

Review

Drink of Choice: Double-Shot Latte, $4

The Arrow is located in Little Portugal and offers not only your espresso-based drinks but a variety of freshly-made ice creams as well. Sadly though, I checked out the cafe back in February and the weather was still too cold for ice cream. I remembered there was only one flavour available at the time, for anyone who was keen enough for a cold treat. It is $2.60 for a single scoop, $3.65 for a double scoop, and $5.55 for a triple scoop. Apparently, the ice cream at The Arrow is to die for. However, not having a chance to try any, I am unable to comment on this. 

The premises that The Arrow is on was originally a newspaper printing press that was there over half a century ago. When the cafe was under construction, the owners discovered the original logo after they removed the carpeting and used it as an inspiration for the cafe theme and name. 

Overall, it's a nice cafe. It's not one that really sticks out in my mind though. I think what would make this cafe much more memorable for me is if had the gelato. Cause really, who can pass up on delicious gelato?

Snakes and Lagers

Pub: Snakes and Lagers

Address: 488 College St. 

Phone: 647-748-4004

Store Hours: Mon-Sun 3 PM - 2 AM

Website: www.snakesandlattes.com/bar/

Study Appropriate?: No

Wi-Fi?: No

Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

First Floor

Second Floor

Menu

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all

(Left) Mill St. Weizenbock, $7

Fried Brussel Sprouts, $4.50

Review

Drink of Choice: Brasseurs RJ Cheval Blanc, $7

Appetizer of Choice: Duck Fat Fries $4.50 with Jerk Mayo, Kimchee Mayo, Chili Ketchup (+ $1 for each dipping sauce) and ketchup

I had the pleasure of being invited to review Snakes and Lagers after they opened back in February. If you are unfamiliar, Snakes and Lagers is the sister bar to the popular Snakes and Lattes cafe. Targeted towards a different crowd, Snakes and Lagers aims to be that perfect get-together place for the after-work crowd. As a pub, they offer a variety of alcoholic beverages with five rotating taps as well as a small range of appetizers and desserts to munch on. They also have seasonal drinks that come and go.

Snakes and Lagers sometimes collaborates with other places, such as the Black Oak Brewing Company for board game nights. Although game events do not happen as often as they do at Snakes and Lattes, there are some already planned, such as the Euchre tournament in the next couple of months. Snakes and Lagers plans on having only 300 board games, in contrast to Snakes and Lattes, which has a total of 1500.

The drink I had was the Brasseurs RJ Cheval Blanc. It's a light, smooth, beer with no aftertaste. Great for those who are light drinkers and don't like the heavy bitter taste of beer. I also got to try their popular Fried Brussel Sprouts and Duck Fat Fries (with an additional $1 if you would like dipping sauce, which is a must have! I loved all three sauces). When my boyfriend and I were recommended the Fried Brussel Sprouts, I was unsure because they were just vegetables. However, they were the pub's specialty so my boyfriend decided order a plate. I was pleasantly surprised because they were great! I liked how they were seasoned which definitely made for a nice appetizer that didn't taste like boring ol' brussel sprouts. A warning though is that Snakes and Lagers only offers appetizers and small-sized portions. There won't be any big burgers with fries on the side like most places.

When I arrived, it was around 5 PM and it wasn't too busy. After a couple of hours, it started to pack up with those coming in after work, ready to unwind and have a relaxing time playing games with friends. I definitely recommend Snakes and Lagers for an alternative to Snakes and Lattes. It's not as intense with the board game aspect like the cafe, for example, there is no Game Master (although the staff is knowledgeable and would be more than happy to help). Additionally, the game selection is not as massive if you want a wider range. The $5 sitting fee still applies to the pub like it does at the cafe though. 

Thank you Snakes and Lagers for the food and drinks provided for this review! :)