The Alternative Cafe

Cafe: The Alternative Cafe
Address: 439 Richmond St. W
Phone: 416-551-7716
Operating Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Sat-Sun 9 AM - 4 PM
Website: www.thealternativecafe.com

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- All milks are organic
- Japanese cold brew available
- Nitro cold brew available
- 7 new Frappe flavours to be released soon!
- Roasted coffee beans from Hale Coffee
- Tea from Genuine Tea 
- Station Cold Brew available for purchase
- Flow Water available for purchase


Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Gluten-free baked goods available
- Most baked goods are made in-house
- Baked goods from Bunner's Bakeshop available

Review

My Order: Pineapple Empanada, $4, and Tumeric Frappe, Price TBD

I always enjoy going back to my roots and reviewing cafes. Salem, the owner of The Alternative Cafe, invited me to check out his Richmond and Spadina cafe. Lined up against other places like Freshii, Yogatree, and Kupfert & Kim, The Alternative Cafe adds to the selection of health-conscious shops along Richmond Street. Almost a year old, this cafe proudly source all of their products locally. For the working nomad, there is WiFi and a limited number of outlets available in the shop for use.

I got a chance to try one of their upcoming Frappes. The Alternative Cafe will be coming out with 7 types of Frappes, flavours including: Natural Chai, Cream of Earl, and Beetroot. I had the Tumeric Frappe since I was recovering from a cold and I loved it. It was a sweet drink that hit the spot for me. I highly recommend trying out a Frappe once they launch at the end of the month. This is perfect for anyone who already enjoy sweet drinks like Starbucks' Frappuccino (minus all the overwhelming amount of sugar). I quite enjoyed the Pineapple Empanada as well, so I do recommend it if you prefer savoury treats. Their cookies are also delightful and generous in size.

Their menu is always changing as they come up with new drinks and food items to serve. The Alternative Cafe is one of the few cafes (potentially the only one in Toronto??) to serve Japanese cold brew, an ancient style of producing cold brew coffee. It can take anywhere from 11 to 17 hours to make! The owner had to piece together multiple sources in order to perfect the process. They also have Nitro cold brew if you are fan of that process too.

If you are near Chinatown/Queen West area and would like a pick-me-up or a new cafe to get your work done, I definitely recommend The Alternative Cafe as your new go-to spot!