Breakfast, Cake & Coffee

The Pitch

Before the term "third wave café" was coined, there was Toi, Moi & Café.  The original Laurier Avenue location has been roasting specialty fair trade coffee beans since 1995 – way before hipster baristas, cold brewing and oxygen-bleached filters became du jour.

Today we hit up their second outpost – on Little Burgundy's restaurant-heavy stretch of Notre-Dame West – for an early weekend bite.  This would mark our first jab at a meal here; we normally come for afternoon tea and cakes – which are awesome by the way.  Luckily most people tend to sleep in on Sundays, so finding both a parking spot and a large table to accommodate our group at 9AM was no bother.

tagged:  EARLY BIRD NO NEED TO RESERVE TAKE THE CAR

The Food

The morning menu has no shortage of options; with omelettes, benedicts and sandwiches followed by waffles, crepes and salads.  The plates we sampled were pleasing without setting off any fireworks; we particularly enjoyed the perfectly-seasoned baby potatoes accompanying most dishes.  Beans and fresh fruit round up the sides on most salty breakfast orders.

As for drinks, there's something for everyone with an unending list of coffees, teas, shakes, smoothies, fresh juices and more.  Coffee aficionados in particular are faced with a slew of sources – Jamaica, Yemen and India, to name a few – and formats – filtered, Americano, Viennese, espresso, cappuccino, latte, among others.

The Verdict

In the end, this coffee roaster works well as a dependable neighborhood destination.  You may not find any edgy or trendy brunch items here, but the light bistro fare is a notch above garden variety breakfast joints such as Eggspectation, Cora, Allô Mon Coco et al.  Finally, it's never too early to eat cake; so if you have a sweet tooth, go ahead and indulge!

tagged:  PLAN B.

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Price per person:  $17.14