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.

Cafe Novo

Cafe: Cafe Novo
Address: 1986 Bloor St. W.
Phone: 647-350-3538
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 7 AM - 7 AM, Sat 8 AM - 7 PM, Sun 9 AM - 6 PM
Website: www.cafenovo.ca

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

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free?: Soy and almond
- All organic
- Coffee beans roasted in Guelph

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free?: Vegan and gluten-free
- Sells only snacks, with gluten-free options, made within the cafe fresh daily
- Sells vegan cookies

Latte, $3.80

Review

Drink of Choice: Regular Latte au Miel, $3.90

Located in High Park, Cafe Novo is a popular place for locals to hang out or do their work. When I was there from 10 AM until 4 PM on a Saturday in order to catch up on my school work, I realized there was no shortage of customers coming in and out at every hour. A lot of cafes tend to die down at certain times of the day, but this one was busy throughout, which I found most impressive. There was also a front patio, great for those summer days to enjoy the scenery of the park.

The cafe sells local art as well. They generally sell art pieces from a couple of different artists, having them on display for a couple of months before switching them up. When I was visiting, they were selling inked art by Matt Smart (which I was unable to find a website or link to) and handmade art from Butterfly Tree (www.butterfly-tree.com).

So what is my take on the cafe? I'm not a huge fan of the decor past the counter since I am a keener for aesthetically pleasing interior. However, I do like the seating area at the very front because it gives a nice view of High Park (second image). I think it's cute that one of their walls has a blackboard for customers to doodle and write on. There are also some board games and books in the corner at the back for people to enjoy.

I happened to get a latte au miel for this visit. The difference between a latte and a latte au miel is the espresso is poured over the honey in order to change the taste. It definitely gave a hint of sweetness, which I liked. And the one thing that always stood out to me about the cafe is the fact they have a jug of mint water, haha.