Relative to most major cities, Montreal has been somewhat insulated from total Starbuckification. The result is that this town has some fine roast – and some fine places to enjoy it. Our picks for city’s best coffee shops.
Café Sante Veritas
This Old Montreal café’s beans are supplied by Vancouver’s 49th Parallel Roasters, and they use Quebec’s only Synesso Cyncra espresso machine. 480 St. Laurent Blvd., (514) 510-7775.
Café Italia
You could spend a whole bunch of cash on a flight to Rome – or you could just come to this bare bones café for a robust shot of espresso and a few minutes of the Juventus game on TV. 6840 St. Laurent Blvd., (514) 495-0059.
Caffé Art JavaExpert staff creates lattes with intricate foam designs that are nothing short of works of art. 645 President-Kennedy, (514) 350-5282; 837 Mount-Royal, (514) 527-9990.
Olympico rules in summer, with killer iced coffee and a huge terrace, but its warm staff and silky smooth, affordable lattes, mean it’s a winter hotspot too. 124 St. Viateur W., (514) 495-0746.
Faema
This one-stop coffee supply store carries everything from high-end machines to hard-to-find coffee beans, but it also makes a great cappuccino. For take-away, we like the Udinese roast (coffee beans roasted with almond shells). 14 Jean-Talon St. W., (514) 276-2671.
Myriad
Co-owned by Scott Rao, the author of The Professional Barista Handbook, Myriad uses a machine called the Mirage – but rest assured that this espresso is the real deal.
1432 Mackay St., (514) 939-1717.
Image courtesy of Poyang on Flickr.
