13 cafe places in Toronto we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Toronto | Cafe across every city.

Toronto built a serious specialty-coffee scene over the past fifteen years, anchored by local roasters with multiple bars. Sam James Coffee Bar has outposts on Harbord Street in the Annex and on Ossington, Pilot Coffee Roasters runs its Te Aro bar on Queen Street East in Leslieville, and Dineen Coffee Company holds a grand heritage room on Yonge in the financial district.

Sam James Coffee Bar Harbord ★ 4.7

Café · $

the-annex · 297 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON M6G 1G7

Sam James Coffee Bar's Harbord original since 2009 is the city's third-wave reference counter, the espresso bar that trained much of Toronto's baristas.

Sam James Coffee Bar Ossington ★ 4.4

Café · $

ossington · 141 Ossington Avenue, Toronto, ON M6J 2Z6

Sam James on Ossington is the strip's reference takeaway counter, a small room with a Slayer espresso machine and rotating Sam James single-origin beans.

Pilot Coffee Roasters Te Aro ★ 4.6

Café · $

leslieville · 983 Queen Street E, Toronto, ON M4M 1K2

Pilot Coffee Roasters Te Aro on Queen East opened 2009 as the flagship third-wave roastery cafe, named for a Wellington suburb, wood-fronted bar.

Boxcar Social Summerhill ★ 4.5

Café · $$

yorkville · 1208 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4T 1W1

Boxcar Social Summerhill on Yonge runs third-wave coffee mornings into natural-wine and craft-beer evenings, a hybrid cafe-bar room since 2014.

Dineen Coffee Company ★ 4.3

Café · $

financial-district · 140 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M5C 1X6

Dineen Coffee on Yonge at Temperance occupies the 1897 Dineen heritage building, the city's reference financial-district espresso bar with restored Edwardian.

De Mello Coffee Yonge ★ 4.2

Café · $

yorkville · 2489 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4P 2H6

De Mello Coffee on Yonge near Lawrence is the award-winning Toronto roaster's flagship cafe, single-origin filters and a cold-brew tap on bar.

Balzac's Coffee Distillery District ★ 4.1

Café · $

distillery-district · 1 Trinity Street, Building 60, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4

Balzac's flagship in the Distillery District is the brand's heritage building cafe since 2002, a two-storey Victorian space named for Honore de Balzac.

Fahrenheit Coffee ★ 4.3

Café · $

financial-district · 120 Lombard Street, Toronto, ON M5C 1M5

Fahrenheit on Lombard is owner Vahe Tcheulian's tiny espresso counter in the financial district since 2010, a six-stool room with the Toronto-roasted Manic.

Soluna ★ 4.1

Café · $$

kensington-market · 180 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

Soluna in Kensington Market is chef Suzanne Barr's all-day bakery cafe on Augusta since 2022, sourdough focaccia, Caribbean-influenced pastries and Pilot.

White Squirrel Coffee Shop ★ 4.0

Café · $

queen-west · 907 Queen Street W, Toronto, ON M6J 1G5

White Squirrel on Queen West backs onto Trinity Bellwoods Park, the city's reference park-side patio cafe with Reunion Island beans and a baked-goods counter.

Lit Espresso Bar (Leaside) ★ 4.0

Café · $

leaside · 1517 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G 3B5

Lit Espresso Bar's Leaside room on Bayview Avenue carries the brand after College and Roncesvalles closed; third-wave espresso, single-origin filters.

Early Bird Espresso and Brew Bar ★ 3.9

Café · $

queen-west · 613 Queen Street W, Toronto, ON M5V 2B7

Early Bird Espresso on Queen West has run a multi-roaster cafe since 2014, rotating Toronto roasters on bar plus a small all-day breakfast menu of sandwiches.

Quantum Coffee at The Well ★ 4.4

Specialty coffee · $$

king-west · 482 Front Street W, Toronto, ON M5V 0V2

Quantum Coffee reopened at The Well in 2023 as a science-themed bar, locally roasted single-origins and flat whites for the Front West office crowd.

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