Year in Review: New Vancouver coffee shops 2015

Vancouver’s coffee culture has continued to flourish this year. Indeed, 2015 has seen a rise in independent specialist coffee hotspots, which have popped up all over the Metro Vancouver area and include a number of newbies, more established shops opening a second (or even third) location, and specialty eateries dedicated to making a great cup of coffee.

The Freshman Class

Opened their first shop in 2015.

Propaganda Coffee

One of the first to open up in 2015, Chinatown’s Propaganda Café offers visiting patrons a relaxed and clutter-free space to enjoy a lingering filtered coffee or an espresso-based beverage. A variety of teas are also on the menu, in addition to cold brew coffee, which is supplied by Vancouver-based Timbertrain Coffee Roasters and poured from the coffee shop’s in-house cold brew tap.

Address: 209 East Pender
Twitter: @ppgdacoffee

Moja Coffee

Widely recognized on the North Shore as one of Vancouver’s oldest and most prominent coffee brands, Moja Coffee opened up its highly anticipated second location this year on Commercial Drive. Along with their eight main coffee roasts, Moja presents a rotation of different beans from a round the world on a daily basis.

Address: 1102 Commercial Drive
Phone: 604-879-6652
Twitter: @mojacoffee

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Café Orso

Rivaling coffee houses found in Gastown, this independently owned European-style café in Deep Cove sticks to simple ingredients, and sources all of their products naturally. The coffee comes from 49th Parallel, the meat from Two Rivers Speciality Meats, the bread from Nelson the Seagull, and the dried nuts from Ayoubs.

Address: 4316 Gallant Avenue, North Vancouver
Phone: 778-340-3222
Twitter: @CafeOrsoDeepCov

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Buro Espresso Bar

Connected with the Coffee Bar franchise, Buro Espresso Bar offers a variety of quality caffeinated beverages, which are all made using coffee beans from Vancouver’s 49th Parallel, in addition to loose leaf teas, chai lattes, and London Fogs. Situated at the intersection where Water, Cordova, and Richards Streets meet this bright and airy joint, has proved to be a convenient spot to pick-up a coffee on the go, along with a made-in-house baked good or two.

Address: 365 Water Street
Phone: 604-915-6744
Twitter: @buro_coffee

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Brews & Bites Café

Brews & Bites Café opened mid way through the year, making a great deal of Mount Pleasant residents and workers happy. Located on a stretch of Main Street that doesn’t contain too many food and drink options, Brews and Bites offers a modern space for customers to enjoy a brew, a smoothie or a house-made panini. Free WiFi has mean’t that the café continues to attract those wishing to perch themselves for a while to work and/or study.

Address: 1635 Main Street, Mount Pleasant
Phone: 604-401-4044
Twitter: @bnb_cafe

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Old Crow Coffee Co.

Located a little further afield in New Westminster, Old Crow Coffee Co. opened it’s doors earlier this year and since then has had customers singing its praises. This cozy, laid-back spot, situated across the road from Westminster Park, is a haven of sorts, and provides customers with espresso-based drinks and drip coffee, along with coffee that is manually and individually brewed such as Hario pour overs and Aeropresses.

Address: 655 Front Street, New Westminster
Phone: 604-544-8829
Twitter: @Oldcrowcoffee

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Aubade Coffee

This East Pender newbie made its debut at the end of October. The small coffee bar, which offers an uncomplicated filter coffee menu, is situated in Chinatown’s Space Lab (a vintage/ antiques store). Beans from Victoria’s Fernwood Coffee are being used, alongside some rotating features, like Edmonton’s Transcend.

Address: 230 East Pender, Chinatown
Twitter: @AubadeCoffee

Expanded the Brand

These established coffee shops opened up additional locations in 2015.

Prado Café – Gastown & Fraser Street

Sammy Piccolo from Prado has certainly been busy this year. Piccolo added not one but two new locations, to his Prado empire.

In an area that is fast becoming a coffee mecca, Prado Café opened the doors to its second location in Gastown, in the first half of the year. The outpost is warm and welcoming, and offers a varied selection of warming brews, in addition to homemade baked goods and light snacks.

Prado’s third branch, which opened up mid-November on Fraser Street, joins an array of other cafés and eateries opening up along the busy and walkable thoroughfare. Boasting an expanded menu of baked goods and casual eats, the third Prado locale is a welcome addition to the expanding neighbourhood.

Address: 100 West Hastings Street
Phone: 778-379-4315

Address: 4208 Fraser Street
Phone: 604-620-7977

Twitter: @PradoCafe

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Platform 7 – Kitsilano

The duo behind East Van’s Platform 7, Marke McNichol and Livio Susin, opened a second location late September 2015, on West Broadway. The independent café, like its Hastings and Nanaimo counterpart, has been cleverly designed to resemble a Parisian train station setting. From the coffee bar patrons can order a variety of uniquely prepared and hand-crafted caffeinated beverages.

Address: 2300 West Broadway, Kitsilano
Phone: 604-620-2717
Twitter: @Platform7Coffee

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Rocanini – Yaletown & Kerrisdale

Local roasters Rocanini opened two locations this year. In addition to their Mount Pleasant Roastery and Steveston outpost, Rocanini added a location in Yaletown and another in Kerrisdale. Both coffee houses offer a variety of handcrafted coffee brewed from the beans they roast at their Mount Pleasant Roastery, alongside lighter eats, like pastries and sandwiches. Both spaces are clean and simple in design.

Address: 863 Beatty Street
Phone: 778-379-1863

Address: 5631 West Boulevard
Phone: 604-428-5631

Twitter: @ROCANINI

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More than just coffee

From a counter-service café to a commissary these guys are not only dishing up tasty eats, but also great coffee.

The Birds & The Beets

Residing in what was once the old Sea Monstr Sushi restaurant, The Birds & The Beets prides itself on being a food-focused counter-service café. The eatery’s breakfast eats, hearty sandwiches, and green salads are a selling point in themselves, but there’s also the added bonus that the café offers a range of caffeinated beverages, using beans from Bows & Arrows and Matchstick Coffee.

Address: 55 Powell Street
Phone: 604-893-7832
Twitter: @birdsandbeets

Ed’s Daily

Formerly the site of a hotel and pool parlor, Ed’s Daily is a community-minded commissary serving grab-and-go breakfasts and lunch fare items. Breathing new life into the once derelict space, Ed’s Daily also offers customers a range of teas and coffees, including Matchstick Pour Over Brew, French Press, and Iced Brew, as well as a selection of espresso-based drinks.

Address: 686 Powell Street, Strathcona
Phone: 604-424-8708
Twitter: @edsdaily