We love our coffee, there is nothing like hanging out with friends and family, or just watching the weirdos walking down the street while enjoying a coffee.

In the past 4-5 years coffee has become its own culinary group. With coffee houses popping up everywhere with accompanying food menus and these menus are not just baked goods anymore. They are full menus featuring breakfast and lunch. ZCREW Cafe is such a place that has done both and is doing both very well.

 

The Interior

Overall ZCREW is not a big place but I do like the industrial feel with all the concrete, wood, and oversized lights. The high stools at the communal table weren’t the most comfortable, but we really enjoyed sitting at the communal table as we got to see what others were ordering and what the dishes looked like. We actually recognized people that we have seen on occasion at Sought X Found.

The Drinks

ZCREW Café has quite an extensive drink menu, featuring meticulously crafted pour overs, an assortment of handcrafted teas, including very creative signature drinks.

I ordered the large Hand Brew Pour Over – $8.00. It is brewed via the V60. I was extremely impressed with how smooth the drink was and how terrific the flavour was. There was absolutely no bitterness. They do have a small size if you choose for $5.00.

My wife ordered the London Fog – $5.50. This warm cup of tea was very aromatic and was wonderful to smell. Smooth with just the right amount of milk that didn’t overwhelm the tea itself. Fantastic.

My daughter ordered the Vanilla Latte – $5.50 There are many delicious ways to enjoy espresso, but one that couldn’t be more classic is the Vanilla Latte. The vanilla was very subtle in this drink which was really good.

The Food

The first thing I would like to say about the food at ZCREW is that each dish is plated perfectly and looks absolutely amazing. I would like to say Kudos to the chefs, you do an amazing job.

My wife ordered the Make your own Waffle – $8.00, she added whip cream and fresh berries which cost an additional $1.50 per topping. They offer several topping choices.

My daughter had the Puffed Up Benny – $15.50. This isn’t your typical Eggs Benedict, instead of an English muffin, the eggs are perched on top of puff pastry, which adds a whole new dimension to the taste. It is served with a brown butter hollandaise. My daughter had hers with the ham and green apple, or you could choose it with smoked salmon and fresh dill.

I ordered the Korean Fried Chicken and Waffles – $19.00 I have had chicken and waffles at many places but this is my absolute favorite. The chicken was all white meat, and was plated with green onion waffles which I thought might take away from the dish but it actually enhanced the flavors. They serve this dish with gochugaru chili and chicken gravy and some pickled onions. I absolutely loved this dish. I truly can’t wait to go back and have this again.

All of their ingredients are locally sourced from local suppliers like Community Natural Foods, Missing Link, Fiasco Gelato and Calgary Farmers Market. You don’t get much more local than that.

As we were waiting for our food, the person sitting across from us got his meal. He ordered the birds nest which looked absolutely delicious.

For the vegan in your life, they have numerous options for them as well.

The Service

Overall the staff were terrific and great to deal with. The only real complaint I have is that I wish we would have received our drinks before our meals. Our drinks arrived shortly after we received our meals. It was very busy the day we were in there.

The Hours

Monday to Friday: 7:00am to 4:00pm

Saturday & Sunday: 9:00am to 4:00pm

Closed on all holidays

 

Parking

There is ample street parking.

 

Last Words

Maybe you need a quiet place to do some work and are desperate for a spot with ample outlets and available free Wi-Fi, a place to hang your purse under your table, or you just want to get out of the house and read a book. Whatever reason you need and are on the lookout for a new cafe, check out ZCREW Café in Calgary.

 

 

 

Today we were down on 17^th Ave walking and we came across Ollia Macarons and Tea. We have been wanting to come down here for a while now to try their Macarons. Today was the day!

 

The Interior

It is quite small inside, there is a long counter at the back of the store where there is all the Macarons on display so you can see all of them. On the left side of the store front there is a bunch of items for sale. Overall this a very intimate store front.

The Drinks

We didn’t know that they had any kind of beverages for sale, but when we saw that they were making Matcha we decided to try some. Ollia uses the same Matcha as one of our favourite online tea souces, Tea Factory, so we were quite excited to have one. When we were watching them make the drinks, we realized that they were just using the same machine as we have at home. So it was a little disappointing. The drinks were not that great we could just make the same drinks at home we were surprised to say the least.

The Food

Since they had macarons, I just had to get a couple. I got an Earl Grey, a Salted Caramel, a Cotton Candy, a Pistachio, a Sour Cherry, and a Vanilla. Some were delicious, but some of them really lacked flavour, unfortunately.

The Service

The staff that was there was very helpful and knowledgeable on their products. They were helpful in suggesting the different kinds of Macarons.

 

The Hours

Monday to Wednesday: 10:00am to 6:00pm

Thursday to Sunday: 10:00am to 8:00pm

 

Parking

There is street parking, but since there is a bunch of construction on 17^th right now it is very difficult to find any parking.

 

Last Words

I would suggest just buying Macarons and no beverages if you head down to Ollia. The have holiday flavours of Macarons as well as their everyday flavours. The best part of their Macarons is that they are made fresh every day.

When you enter a coffee house and see a line up, it generally means one of two things:

1. The shop has made some poor choices and only have one barista working causing the issues
2. There is lots of staff and they are working like a well-oiled machine meaning that not only is the coffee really good, but the food as well. If number two is true, I have no problem waiting.

We arrived at Nelson the Seagull on Monday morning to a full house, which was great to see considering it was a holiday.

 

The Interior

Nelson the Seagull is in a very old building down in Gastown. This place has a really cool vibe about it.

The shop had copious amount of seating, some small tables and a huge communal table that seats about 10-12 people. As I mentioned above, the place was full. We were fortunate to find a table. The chairs at the table reminded me of when I went to school, back in the day.

They have a huge bakery at the back of the shop where they bake all of their bread daily. I feel this adds a special uniqueness and if this is done well. It can be an added bonus to a shop.

The Food

Look up, look way up at the menu on the post, the menu goes up about 12’ up a post. Overall prices seem alright. Provided the food is good.

We ordered up some breakfast:

I ordered the Poached eggs on toast – $11.00 – 2 poached eggs on toast. It also came with a strawberry balsamic salad. The eggs were cooked perfectly. The toast is their house made sourdough bread. The sourdough was so good that I purchased a loaf of Walnut and Fig Sourdough to bring home to Calgary.

I also ordered a Cheese wheel pastry – $4.00 –  it too had great flavour, so good that I forgot to take a picture of it before I ate half of it. Here is what is left of it.

My son ordered the Avo(avocado) on toast – $9.00 –  fresh avocado on toast, it too tasted outstanding. We had a small mishap with the toast having butter on it as my son is a vegan and doesn’t eat butter. They fixed it up right away for him.

Check out the menu, I love the name of the sandwiches they serve.

The Drinks

Naturally, the quality of the coffee seems to have played a part in the cafe’s popularity. Slinging beans from great roasters like Elysian Coffee Roasters and Kafka’s Coffee Roasters.

We ordered the following drinks:

Flat white – $4.00

Latte – in house made almond milk $4.50

Both drinks tasted really good with some hints of wine to almost a bittersweet cocoa; overall very nice flavours.

The Service

Overall service was really good, everyone that I came in contact with were outstanding to deal with.

The ordering process was that you order your drinks and food, then listen for your name to be called to get your drinks. When your food is ready they basically walk around calling your name so they can find you.

The Hours

Monday to Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm

Saturday & Sunday: 9:00am to 5:00pm

 

Parking

You are down in Gastown so parking is limited and is street parking.

 

Last Words

Looking back, I actually left Nelson the Seagull very relaxed despite how busy and loud it was inside the coffeehouse. All goes to show the power of good coffee. So if you find yourself in Gastown, go check this place out.

 

One of my earlier stops that day was a place called Bel Café in downtown Vancouver. I had read that Bel Café had opened another location in Kitsilano. This place showed up as one of my coffee destinations while I was in Vancouver as another cool place to check out.

 

The Interior

While ambiance is not everything, it’s always welcome, especially when not expected.

My arrival at their sharply decorated store, a cafe full of large windows, nice colors and nice furniture with a cool large wrap around bench. The environment seems to convey confidence that this coffeehouse was no slouch.  (Albeit purely based on the notion, that if you have a stellar design, you must have amazing coffee to pay for it).

The Drinks

On my second stop of the day, I again decided to go off the beaten path and try something I had heard about that the Bel Café was trying out. I had been to Bel Café downtown earlier that morning and had a coffee. What is going on here?? They were also featuring 4 other drinks on their menu, so I decided to try something different again.

I ordered a Poached Pear Hot Chocolate – $5.00

First off, my wife and my daughter are huge hot chocolate fans so this is a drink I know that both of them would love. The flavour was unreal, the subtle taste of the pear mixes so well with the chocolate. I talked with the manager and she had said this was something they tried at a media event and were looking to put on their menu. If my opinion counts, please add to your menu. The drink was amazing and more people should try it.

They also sold assorted teas, jams, juices and kombucha.

Before I left, I picked up some Minor Figures oat milk for my son. It is pretty pricey at $9.50 for 1 litre but according to my son the oat milk was also amazing. Now, my challenge will be to try and find it in Calgary.

I forgot to mention that 49^th Parallel is their roaster of choice.

The Food

No food ordered today, but I was really impressed with how there food looked and if it is as good as it looks, I will be back to try some of their food items on my next visit.

The Service

I am happy to say the service at Bel Café – Kits was so much better than Bel Café downtown. Both ladies I dealt with were so friendly and very easy to talk to. They both answered all of my questions.

The lady, I believed to be the manager, was so accommodating not just with me but to all the other customers when they came in. I was happy to see that.

The Hours

Remembrance Day 10:00am to 5:00pm

Weekdays – Monday to Friday: 8am to 5pm

Weekends – Saturday & Sunday: 9am to 5pm

 

Parking

I got there when they opened so was able to find street parking right out front, but again, it was Remembrance Day.

 

Last Words

Overly pleased was my level of satisfaction with Bel Café – Kits and I couldn’t help but think how fortunate Kitsilano is to have such a stellar coffeehouse. Needless to say, stop at Bel Café Kits if you find yourself in Vancouver.

I literally set off in the wee morning hours on Remembrance Day trying to avoid waking up my son after he had a late night of gaming. Thus far, I’ve been fortunate in getting ready and not disturbing him too much. I have no problem sacrificing some precious sleep to go check out some more cool coffee shops. On Sunday, I was on a mission to head to Bel Café on West Georgia Street in the historic Hotel Georgia in Downtown Vancouver.

 

The Interior

First off, when you walk inside this old hotel, the décor is amazing. There is a mix of old and new in the lobby. When you go to enter the café through the door from the lobby, you are met by this single door with some huge windows around it. The café has a décor which has an old vibe with a modern flair that uses lots of wood, then throws in some more industrial pieces, and also incorporates lots of lighting.

The Drinks

I ordered a Black Sesame Latte – 8oz – $4.00

Today I went way out of my comfort zone and ordered a drink that my wife would normally order. I ordered the Black Sesame Latte. The drink contains: Japanese black sesame, honey, steamed milk, served in a double wall clear glass to show it off, which I thought was very smart. It had a very interesting flavour, with just a hint of sesame after each drink. There was a lady sitting next to me who ordered the Lavender Latte, again another very pretty drink, it has a nice purple/blue color to it.

Bel cafe has their coffee specially blended for them by 49th Parallel.

The Food

I ordered the Fruit Danish – $4.50

Plum, quark cheese, vanilla crumble. The Danish was outstanding. Very flaky, nice crumble on top, terrific flavours. I know what you are asking, “What is Quark Cheese?” that was my question, unfortunately the girl at the till could not tell me either.

The dictionary says it’s Farmers Cheese or a proper cheese, quark is drier and grainier than cream cheese but lighter. They say it makes a great cheesecake filling.

Plain quark tastes like a cross between Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese. No real surprise given its texture. High-fat varieties are very creamy and smooth, making them easy to enjoy on their own. Low-fat varieties on the other hand are very thick and firm, more like a spread. 

 

The Service

Service was just ok. The girl working the till struggled with my questions. She really didn’t go out of her way to find me the answer either. This was unfortunate.

The Hours

Weekdays 6:30 am to 5:00 pm

Weekends 7:00 am to 5:00 pm

 

Parking

I found street parking but it was very early, it was Remembrance Day, and nobody was working downtown. A regular day would have been a different story.

 

Last Words

While I didn’t spend too much time at the café.  Altogether, it was a good stop at the Hotel Georgia and the Bel Cafe. It was a very relaxing atmosphere in this historic old hotel.