Tabule (Riverside)

Restaurant: Tabule
Address: 810 Queen St. E
Operating Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30 AM - 10:30 PM, Fri 11:30 AM - 11 PM, Sat 12-11 PM, Sun 12-10 PM
Phone: 416-465-2500
Website: www.tabule.ca

Menu

From Beirut with Passion, $11

Sampler Platter with Babaganuj, Tabule, and Labni, $14

Garlic Tomato, $7.50

Lamb, $18.95

Review

My friend treated me to Tabule (Riverside location) for my birthday. It's her favourite Middle Eastern restaurant in Toronto and she always raves about it. Since I've never been to any of Tabule's locations (the other ones are in Midtown and Bayview), I was up to see why my friend loves it so much.

We both started off the meal with From Beirut with Passion. This is a great cocktail for fans of sweet and fruity drinks. We decided to share a couple of appetizers. The Sampler Platter is perfect if you want to try three of the four Mezze Cold dishes. If you go for a full size dish, it might be a bit heavy on the stomach if you decide on something like Hummus or Babaganuj. Between my friend and I, the two appetizers and one entree each was quite filling. One appetizer is enough to share between two people since your main dish would be quite big.

I was not wowed by my experience but I enjoyed the food and atmosphere. They have big windows so during the day it's lovely to have lunch there. The Tabule Riverside location is also perfect for families in the area that are craving some Middle Eastern food in a nice sit-down restaurant.

Merchants of Green Coffee

Cafe: Merchants of Green Coffee
Address: 2 Matilda St.
Phone: 416-778-6600
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM - 6 PM, Sat 9 AM - 6 PM, Sun 10 AM - 6 PM
Website: www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes but a prepaid card

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Soy and almond
- Offers maple syrup latte during the winter season, made with Forbes Maple Syrup #3
- Coffee beans roasted in-house for drink purchases
- Sells roasted coffee beans from Dark City Coffee 

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Offers vegan oatmeal peanut butter banana muffins
- Offers gluten-free macaroons
- Baked goods from Desmond and Beatrice

Cafe Mocha, $4

Review

Drink of Choice: Latte, $3.80

When I first attended Merchants of Green Coffee last year, I wasn't too impressed. The location was seemingly awkward and it felt isolated. At the time, there weren't too many people when I went and with the space, I wasn't too comfortable with it. I simply didn't like the vibe. When I saw the cafe again on this year's Passport, I wasn't too thrilled to make the trip.

Except this year, my perspective completely changed. I tried going there with my boyfriend at first but the place was rented out for some sort of movie shoot. I didn't come back for a couple of weeks. I was then completely thrown off by how busy and bustling it was! Compared to what I remembered, it had so much more energy and liveliness in the cafe. I noticed there were a few board games available for the customers to enjoy. The selection was small but some people really made use of it and had a good time. I was a little puzzled by the Twister they had available because I couldn't see the space and time for it to be played. They also have a cute cafe kitty that likes to nap on the sofa every so now and then.

I was really happy that I was really productive studying at the cafe. Lately it has been a lot more difficult for me to focus in cafes compared to before. However, during this trip and a trip I made afterwards for my second Passport, I managed to plow through my work like a hurricane (maybe I have found the perfect studying cafe?). I also enjoyed the music selection the baristas had on the stereos, for both of the times I was there (I ended up downloading a couple of the played songs!). I think it really sets a cafe when it has good music. The cafe also sells prepaid coffee drink cards, $30 for 10 drinks.

So the lesson learned here is that sometimes, you have to give a cafe another shot, even though the first time may not be the best (unless they have horrendous service!). You may be surprised how much you might like it the second time around!