#montrealcoffee

[jimmyyckuo]

I was deeply touched by the beautiful words of appreciation and encouragement from two friends at my 1 June concert. #singers #blessed #singersongwriter #music #mtl #mtlcoffee #montreal #musicians #warmfuzzies #love #encouragement #montrealmusic #mtlmusic #appreciationpost #appreciation #wordsofencouragement #montrealcoffee https://www.instagram.com/jimmyyckuo/p/BywJlfZgKhy/?igshid=1x7sp45z3zb99

[exploringmontrealcafes-blog]

Cafe Sfouf

Location: 1250 Ontario St E

Metro Station: Beaudry 

Ever since I was little, my grandmother would bake me this yellow dessert. She would call them Sfouf and would tell me she would always make them for my dad back in Lebanon. We are Armenian, but my dad's side of the family is entirely from Lebanon. You can imagine how much of the Lebanese culture has stuck with my family and how much they enjoy recreating dishes and activities that remind them of their childhood. For me, "Sfouf" was more than just a dessert, but also a little memory I would always associate with my grand mother and my father.

When I heard that there was cafe in Montreal named "Sfouf", I was definitely intrigued. I wondered if it was a coincidence, or if the owners intentionally wanted to name their cafe after a yellow dessert. When I saw their yellow logo, I knew it wasn't an accident. I decided to go there myself and take a look at this original-sounding coffee shop located close to the Plateau.

Walking in, Sfouf looked like a normal indie coffee shop. Obviously, it looked unique with its beautiful decor but nothing too extravagantly different. It blended in nicely with the Montreal coffee scene.

I especially loved the plants that were decorating each corner of the cafe. Plants are very important to me as they liven up a space and make it feel like Summer despite Montreal's cloudy weather.

There were many corners to this coffee shop. They have your usual huge desks that were filled with students & their laptops (including me). They have couches, great to hang out for some chit chat. And... they had a little corner for children! They call it "Le Petit Sfouf" and they have provided toys for kids to play with while their parents enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Very nice addition!

I ordered a cappuccino off of my Indie Coffee Passport and quickly opened my laptop to get some work done (AKA pretend to work while I take at least a hundred pictures of the coffee shop).

As I was "working", the barista brought my *beautiful * cappuccino.. along with a piece of Sfouf! That's right - they offer a free sampling of Sfouf with their drinks for those of you who are curious. And it was delicious.

I deeply appreciate coffee shops like this one. They have created a wonderful spot for Montrealers to hang out, all the while keeping their culture and spreading it around. Now more people will know about Sfouf! It definitely feels like the world knows about my little family story now. I will for sure bring my grandmother here one day.

Small tip: When you go, make sure you take a picture of their "corner" pictures below; it's their most photographed corner!

[elfxlc]

Les deux petits nouveaux sont enfin arrivés! Les brownies et les amaretti au matcha 💚 The brownies and the matcha amaretti are finally here 💚 #gustvcafe #49thparallel #lesglaceurs #coffee #coffeeshop #mtl #montreal #mtlcoffee #montrealcoffee #mtlcoffeeshop #montrealcoffeeshop #mtlfood #montrealfood #mtlcoffeecrawl #montrealcoffeecrawl (à Montreal, Quebec) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HM7sVhWVN/?igshid=1fdl500fs8v53

[evecrepeau]

Tartine de luxe @leclubespressobar #tartine #prosciutto #avocado #lunchtime #montrealcoffee #freshingredients (à Le Club Espresso Bar)

[sweetcarotte]

I love discovering new vegan cafes, they are popping all across town! It really is the easiest time to be vegan! This place is @pourquoipas_espresso they have one of the best coffee ☕️ and a hell moist and delicious carrot cake 🥕! #montreal #montrealfood #montrealcoffee #veganmontreal #vegan #carrotcake #coffee #latte #veganfood #coffeeshop #sunnyday #foodphotography (at Gay Village, Montreal)

[mhagen69]

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF! ☕️☕️☕️ #livbravedesign #goodenergy #goodmorning #coffeeshop #coffeetime #montrealgirlonthego #montrealcoffee #naplesflorida #toronto #la #freespirit #morecoffeeplease (at Downtown, Montréal)

[hiverscanadofrancais]

après une matinée un peu stressé un petit reconfort avant la route pour l’estrie #montreal #montrealcoffee #coffeelover #coffeeshop #explorecanada (at Café La Cote R)

[makemontrealcool]

Sasha Mei

[jimmyyckuo]

Me singing with all my heart at my Saturday concert ❤️I want to thank the very talented Francoise for capturing this beautiful moment! #montreal #mtl #montrealmusic #montrealsinger #montrealcoffee #singer #withallmyheart #singersongwriter #mtlmusic #mtlconcert #mtlmusicscene #montrealer #mtlcafe #mtlcoffee #mtlevents #montrealevents #keyboard #piano #producer #singing #musicislife #musicismylife #soul #yamaha #concert #montrealgallery #lafincamtl (at La Finca café & bureau) https://www.instagram.com/jimmyyckuo/p/ByS2vDcgsDP/?igshid=ixijptymks3e

[exploringmontrealcafes-blog]

Darling

Location: 4328, boul. St-Laurent, Montreal

Metro Station: Mont Royal

End of April... marks the end of finals. School’s out!... Well only for about 3 days until I go to summer school. 

Nonetheless, gives me enough time to explore my city without any pressure from my academic responsibilities!

Today, my boyfriend and I were planning on having a lunch type date in the Mile end until our plans miserably failed when we realized our chosen restaurant wasn’t going to open for another 4 hours. We decided to hop on a random bus on the corner of the street since it was pouring like crazy and we didn’t feel like staying out in the rain. We got off a stop when we started feeling like we knew the neighbourhood and ended up in the Plateau... again. 

After finding a place to eat, we decided to walk around some new areas in the Plateau we hadn’t discovered yet. Although it was raining, breathing in fresh air was so refreshing considering we had been locked in our room the past 3 weeks trying to stuff 5 courses worth of information in our heads. 

I felt like I was in a European dramatic movie - walking in the rain with a little umbrella with my favourite person, discovering places with nothing else in mind. Queue the Parisienne music. 

We suddenly stumbled upon an exotic looking shop on the corner of a street. From the outside looking in, while we were dripping with water, we could see plants and wine and bright lights and greenery and comfortable couches and... coffee! Sold.

We went into the coffee shop and was immediately warmed with welcomes from the waiter. A coffee shop - but a different kind at that. The first thing that caught my eye was with no hesitation the lights on the ceiling. I don’t really know what the letters spell out, but they sure look aesthetically pleasing so I rolled with it.

The section next to the windows was very casual with the couches. There were mini candles decorating each table and plants flowing around every corner, making the space extra inviting - battling the coldness of the weather outside. As the Jazz music was playing in the background, we took a seat on the couches, avoiding the tables since we didn’t have laptops since we didn’t have school. Emphasis on the comfort!!! No school equals we can sit on the nice couches and relax. 

I saw students around me on their laptops still working very hard on their studies... accompanied with their glasses of wine instead of the usual latte. I liked it. I love coffee but i live for these different little details in shops. 

Let me explain the wine though, because it is a very important part of this “coffee shop”. It’s not really a “coffee shop”. It’s a hybrid. Half coffee shop, half bar. You heard that right. It’s also a bar. Order food, order alcohol, order coffee - sit at the huge circular bar for a nice glass of wine or beer or anything else, or sit on the couches like me and still order your usual. I got a chai latte this time so I tried to be a bit different than my regular latte. And it was delicious! One of the best I’ve ever had.

I felt like I was in a different country in this cafe. With decorations like mini instruments on the walls, to the candles on the tables, to the vintage looking decor, I also felt like I was in a Jazz club. Everything was so perfectly shaped together. 

I know I say I love all the cafes in Montreal - and I do, don’t get me wrong - but this place is really one of my favourites now. It made me feel like I’m in 1920s Paris and I lived for it. Next time, I’ll even dress for it.

Sometimes, your plans might go awry and your chosen restaurant will open only 4 hours later. However, sometimes... those moments are calls for better adventures and more exploration with improvisation. Let the rain guide you to beautiful shelters.

[exploringmontrealcafes-blog]

Visit my official Montreal Cafe Crawl website to discover my cafe explorations!  

Insta: legendoftamar

[exploringmontrealcafes-blog]

Cafe Perko

Location: 753 Rue Villeray, Montréal

Metro Station: Jean Talon

Hello lovely people!!! I have finished finals and am currently in my summer semester (already, I know). I’ve been in the process of also applying to almost a 100 internship positions for Fall 2017 as a “software engineer intern”. It’s been hard. It’s been tiring. Exciting, but energy sucking. What could possibly help me in these stressful times? What could possibly fuel me up to be motivated and alert in my job application process? 

You guessed it. Coffee.

I came here last weekend and it was a true refresher. My cousin drove us in this lovely spot in Villeray since she wanted to work on her writing (she’s amazing by the way, you should check out her poetry on her account @doekent ). 

In contrast to other coffee shops in Montreal, I hadn’t heard of Perko too much. I had stumbled upon it on a few posts on Instagram but hadn’t noticed any hype. So why did we go? By the time she picked me up it was around 5 and almost all coffee shops close early - except Perko, which closed at 9. So we went for it. And I’m VERY glad we did. 

This is how you discover hidden gems. And it is the best feeling. Stepping inside this relatively big coffee shop, I immediately noticed the one table that was open. The place was packed. We bolted for the one table. The picture I took and posted above is from right before their closing time and does not represent the amount of people that fills the cafe on their regular times.

The space was gorgeously decorated and felt almost home-like. There were cute signs and sayings all over the place. The baristas were very nice too. 

I ordered a latte (obviously) and my cousin ordered a chai latte. Both were very delicious and my latte definitely fuelled me up and motivated me to continue writing my cover letters. 

One thing I noticed was that there were a lot of kids and babies around. Some really loud… I wondered why there were so many babies in this one coffee shop. I got my answer when I saw that Perko had a little section for kids where they put many baby toys and couches for parents to relax on. I found it very cute and inviting for families. There were also changing tables in the bathrooms. 

Another cool aspect about Perko is that it’s a student friendly coffee shop. There are many plugs, AMAZING wifi, a room you can rent (I think for 10$/hour) to study in… and they even have a PRINTER. Isn’t that unusually cool? And very nice of them? You can donate some money if you do print but they’ve made it completely free which is… amazing. And generous. 

In conclusion: I got a lot of work done here. I loved the vibe of the cafe, I loved the coffee, I loved the people, I loved everything about it. I will definitely go back. And you should too!!!

[exploringmontrealcafes-blog]

Hello beautiful people!!!

So... I have some pretty big news for you.

As you may know, I’ve been using Tumblr as my primary blog but I’m so happy to finally announce that I have made a Montreal Cafe Crawl blog online!!!!

It would mean the world to me if you checked it out <3

www.exploringmtlcafes.com

Insta: legendoftamar

Facebook: exploringmontrealcafes

[jimmyyckuo]

I had such an amazing time at my acoustic café concert! I appreciate all your love and support ❤️ You guys were fantastic 😍 #mtlcafe #montrealcafe #cafemontreal #lafincamtl #mtlmusic #montrealmusic #montrealmusicscene #montrealmusician #mtlsinger #montrealsinger #montrealer #montreal #mtl #music #musicians #musician #singersongwriter #singer #singers #montrealcoffee #mtlcoffee #mtlconcert #montrealconcert (at La Finca café & bureau) https://www.instagram.com/jimmyyckuo/p/ByNx-phAOjw/?igshid=yq8shme9tpj

[jimmyyckuo]

Tomorrow evening I will be playing and singing for the most wonderful audience at my favourite coffee shop La Finca café & bureau. Thank you for all your love and support ❤️ I am sure we are going to have an amazing time together! Come join us ☺️ #lovemontreal #mtllove #mtlcity #mtlcafe #mtlconcert #mtlconcerts #montrealcafe #montrealcoffee #montrealnightlife #mtlnightlife #mtlevent #mtlevents #montrealer #montrealevent #montrealevents #montrealmusic #mtlmusic #montrealshows #mtlshow #mtlsinger #montrealsinger #lafincamtl #mtlbynight #mtldrinks #montreality #montrealmusicscene #mtl #montreal (at La Finca café & bureau) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByIR8IAgiyW/?igshid=y8j09l8qevr1