Cabin Fever Collective

Cafe: Cabin Fever Collective
Address: 1669 Bloor St. W
Phone: 416-531-4563
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM - 7 PM, Sat 9 AM - 7 PM, Sun 10 AM - 6 PM
Website: www.cabinfevercollective.com

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

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers coconut milk with no extra charge
- Offers tea lattes
- Roasted coffee beans from Birds and Beans
- Teas from Herbal Infusions

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Vegan and gluten only
- Offers baked goods from from OMG Baked Goodness and Sweet Flour
- Offers prepared sandwiches from The Hogtown Cure

Review

Drink of Choice: Large Roasted Almond Tea Latte, $3

Cabin Fever Collective is the combination of a cafe and a vinyl store. I thought this was a very interesting concept and inquired the owner about it. He told me that his wife and him wanted to open a vinyl store originally because of their love for music. However, the cost of maintaining a store was a bit pricey. By making it a cafe, it helped with the store maintenance. 

They have a collection of vintage and pre-owned vinyls for sale, along with new releases. Cabin Fever Collective likes to support local artists and sells CDs of lesser known bands in the store. Sometimes the cafe hosts live music nights with various bands. Thursday nights are also movie nights. They like to air music documentaries to follow the theme of the cafe. The cafe also has artwork for sale by one to three artists every month. If you really love Cabin Fever Collective, you can buy and proudly wear one of their shirts ($15-$20).

I enjoyed their tea latte and I liked the variety of teas made available from Herbal Fusions. You can sniff each tea in separate vials before deciding on your order. There are a lot of vials too! If you need help, the staff will gladly give you a recommendation. Overall, Cabin Fever Collective is the perfect place to be if you are a vinyl collector and want to be in a space to share your interests with other music enthusiasts.

Castle Board Game Cafe

Cafe: Castle Board Game Cafe
Address: 454 Spadina Ave.
Phone: 647-748-1955
Store Hours: Sun-Thurs 12 PM - 12 AM, Fri-Sat 12 PM - 2 AM
Website: www.castleboardgames.com

Wi-Fi?: No
Study Appropriate?: No
Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Soy only
- Roasted coffee beans from Dark City Coffee Company
- Drinks with Bailey's available
- Nutella Latte available

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Cakes and pies from Wanda's Pie in the Sky
- Gluten-free snacks available
- Soups available

Review

On a Sunday night after a birthday dinner, my friends and I wanted to find a place to chill at. We tried Snakes & Lagers but we were told to wait for an hour. They did not take reservations and we definitely didn't want to keep checking back to see if a table was available. Instead, I suggested that we try Castle Board Game Cafe, which wasn't far from Snakes and Lagers. I passed by Castle Board Game Cafe a few times in the past and always wanted to try it out, so this was the perfect opportunity.

It was super crowded when we got there, but we called ahead of time to make sure that there were tables available before making the trip. Of course, the sitting fee is $2.50 per hour and anything else you get is additional. We ended up playing Monopoly Deal for the majority of the time we were there, which was a fun and easy game.

I think the cafe is good, just nothing to really differentiate itself. It gets pricey if you stay longer than two hours since the sitting fee racks up. It doesn't seem like they have a Game Master because when I was there, I did not see anyone helping out the customers with the game rules. Since my friends and I did not order anything, I have no comment on the food. However, they do offer a variety of items, including pies and soups.

Bloor Barista

Cafe: Bloor Barista

Address: 1280 Bloor St. West

Phone: 647-748-3319

Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM - 8 PM, Sat-Sun 9 AM - 5 PM

Website: N/A

Wi-Fi?: Yes

Study Appropriate?: Yes

Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all

- Offers unique teas from China 

- Organic fair trade coffee beans 

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Only vegetarian

- Offers products from Haddad Bakery

- Offers baked goods from LaRocca Creative Cakes

Regular Medium Coffee, $2

Review

Drink of Choice: Rose Milk Tea, $5.50

Bloor Barista is a sweet cafe that emphasizes on quality products at a reasonable price. The cafe offers a vast variety of tea for you to choose from. I decided to try their Rose Milk Tea, which was the first time I ever had milk tea. For every tea order, it comes in a cute teapot with a small candle to keep the tea warm. The drink was very frothy and I enjoyed the experience because the atmosphere, which was quaint and inviting. I enjoyed the adorable wall decals especially. I saw a family that decided to stop by for a bit and spent some quality time together over tea and coffee while I was there.

The owner was really generous as he made me a free cup of coffee as well after I finished my tea! The coffee brew was delicious and light to the taste buds. I think Bloor Barista is perfect for the tea lovers in the Wallace Emerson neighbourhood. It's also a nice study spot.

Haven

Cafe: Haven
Address: 615A Brock Ave.
Phone: 416-551-6177
Store Hours: Mon-Sun 7 AM - 7 PM
Website: N/A

Study Appropriate?: No
Wi-Fi?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Rice milk available
- Lactose-free cream available
- Roasted coffee beans from Rufino Espresso
- Teas from Tealish

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to vegan and gluten-free
- Cookies from Sunnydale Cookie Company and Cookie Martinez

Review

Drink of Choice: Mint Hot Chocolate, $3.50

If I remembered correctly, I had a hard time finding Haven. When I did, I was surprised by how small it was! I've been to small coffee shops before, but I think this one is the smallest yet! You can tell from the outside and inside shot how tight the space is. Despite the size, it didn't stop the cafe from being crowded! The cafe acts as a community hub and the locals love it there. One of the regulars even made an Instagram account for the cafe!

During the warmer months, they host movie nights where they set up a projector outside of the cafe and use the wall as the screen. I thought that was a pretty cool idea and a great way to bring the local community together. I was told that they will be opening a sister shop right by focusing on brunch called North Haven.

Sadly since it was such a tight space, I wasn't able to sit and drink my Mint Hot Chocolate as I planned to. Instead, I enjoyed it at a library nearby. If you are in the area and a mint chocolate lover, definitely try their Mint Hot Chocolate!