Going West: West End Cafés

I can't resist a good coffee and when I'm feeling uninspired I pick up all my things and head to work in a cafe.

Green Beanery
565 Bloor St. W

Looking out on the glorious spectacle that is Honest Ed's, this cafe is surprisingly easy to walk by without noticing it is even a cafe. Also, just past their summer take-out corner, the entrance leads into their coffee wares and beans, so it takes a moment to realize that you're inside a café at all.

The quality of your coffee is somewhat dependent on who is on staff that day, but generally is pretty good. They also have a large selection of delectable treats, my favourite is the banana bread.

This is a nice area to work because it is spacious and there's a feeling you could sit there all day, as it fills up with sun and soft jazz.

Holy Oak
1241 Bloor St. W.

This is a cute little café turned community centre, music venue and bar in the evenings. As a café, it's a great place to sit in a chair of their eclectic selection and enjoy an excellent coffee with organic milk from a glass bottle. They also have a lovely selection of looseleaf tea that they serve in little teapots.

For work, the music is highly dependent on the staff and sometime cranked a little too high, but the internet connection is good. It must be a good place to host meetings for spawning businesses because I often overhear groups there for that very reason.

Sometimes, it can fill up and there is certainly a higher risk of being seated beside a gossiping pair or near a speaker with music too loud, so it's probably not always the best selection for a work destination.

Cool Hand of a Girl

2804 Dundas St. W.

I am a little reluctant to consider this really a café because it is more of a restaurant. They have delicious food, but also good coffee and tasty treats.

This is a little hidden away in a less trodden area of the up-and-coming Dundas West, but is worth a check-out.

Crema Coffee Co.
3079 Dundas St. W.

This place has delicious coffee and treats but can be very busy at times. On hot days it might be nice to sit out on the patio.

It's probably not a great location to work in, especially on busy weekends, but is a nice place to meet for a good chat.

The Good Neighbour

238 Annette St.

This place has very good coffee and a little selection of treats. One thing they offer like none other is the veggie and fruit flavoured water, refreshing!

The layout is also interesting, because there are all kinds of seating arrangement: on a bench in the window, at a large communal table and at regular onesies, twosies and foursies.



photo of green beanery from blogto.com