Visiting Vancouver? Here Are 5 Unique Spots to Grab a Coffee Before You Start Exploring

In a city fuelled by caffeine, do as the locals do by sidling up to the bar of these java hubs for your coffee-matcha-tea fix (with a baked treat too, obviously). While you’re waiting, tap the just-as-cool baristas for their neighbourhood tips.

1. Mishmish

3485 Fraser St.

The name means “apricot” in Arabic and this bakery-slash-café, open since summer 2024, serves up Middle Eastern-inspired treats and specialty drinks (like the cardamom latte that landed on our recent ’25 Things to Eat’ list) that you won’t find anywhere else. Take a seat in Mishmish’s light, airy Fraserhood space with hanging greenery overhead to sip a nutty, foamy sesame-vanilla halva latte crafted with beans from local micro-roaster Modus.

The house-baked snacks are downright transportive and include warm ka’ak bagels—eat them filled or as a sandwich, or tear-and-dip into one of the many spreads on offer, like harissa hot honey and labneh (strained yogurt)—and osmalieh with crunchy layers of kataifi pastry, a milky filling and floral syrup to finish. mishmish.ca

READ MORE: The 2025 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards Winners

2. Revolver

325 Cambie St.

Two words: coffee flight. Gastown’s most-loved urban coffee shop is not only the place to pause after a long day exploring—preferably on a stool by the front window’s wooden bar—it’s also the place to supercharge your battery with a four-shot-total coffee tasting flight (two macchiatos, two espressos).

This shoebox-sized café serves up both traditional and ultra-experimental coffee  (espresso tonic, anyone?) from world-class roasters across North America, Europe and Japan. Taste something you love? They sell most of their coffees online to ship to your doorstep. Keep an eye out for locally produced merch as well, such as hand-stitched leather keychains stamped with a Revolver “R” in collaboration with local company Oscar and Wells. revolvercoffee.ca

3. To Live For

1508 Nanaimo St.

The ever-changing selection of merch might tip you off to the fact that To Live For is a plant-based eatery—we love the “animals in my heart, plants in my tummy” totes—but everyone, vegan or not, should pay a visit to this café. Owner, founder and animal rights activist Erin Ireland has created a haven of unique pastries, custom cakes and city favourites like her banana bread and coconut peanut butter power balls, which can also be found in cafés around town.

Two items sell out especially fast: the croissant breakfast sandwiches, made with vegan egg and dairy-free cheese, and ever-changing “cube croissant” flavours—yes, they are cubes of croissant pastry filled with pastry cream and they are as delicious as they sound. All espresso-based drinks are served with plant-based soy, almond or oat milk (at no extra cost, of course) and the café is kid-friendly with a toddler play area, complete with books and tiny chairs, and a playground two blocks away to run off the sugar rush. tolivefor.ca

READ MORE: How to Shop Like a Stylish Vancouverite

4. Nemesis

555 Great Northern Way

Though Nemesis also has a location in Gastown (and others in North Van and Surrey), you can’t miss this café’s architecturally stunning GNW location beside Emily Carr University of Art and Design: it looks like a huge, red-tiled flower and is even more striking once you step inside. The beans are roasted in-house and they only buy from farmers they know and have developed relationships with (you’ll see the names on the to-go packets). Order up a full brunch here, like Turkish eggs or blueberry French toast, or select one of the mind-numbingly good pastries from their Dope Bakehouse program, such as the tiramisu croissant with mascarpone chiboust, espresso chantilly whip and cocoa.

Nemesis also does cool collabs, like with Olympic gold medal breakdancer Phil Wizard (a Vanmag Power 50 winner!) for a Golden Boy red bean kouign-amann, among other delights. nemesis.coffee

5. Cowdog

3720 Oak St. & 1927 W 4th Ave.

Small but mighty Cowdog opened last summer with a rare outlook: its owners, Ryan Dean Dexton and Joe Lee, believe it is their responsibility to pay staff right, so they have a no-tipping policy and offer a living wage. We think it translates into a positive energy throughout their spaces.

To order? Go for a strawberry matcha, cardamom bun or seasonal delight like the matcha-hojicha affogato with locally made Rain or Shine roasted strawberry ice cream. They also offer a by-reservation-only five-course “fika” tasting menu (a Swedish-style “coffee and cake break”) designed to share the intricacies of tea, coffee and pastry. It’s all in the name of slowing down with friends—what Cowdog is all about. cowdog.coffee

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