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Cafe Vasco Da Gama
5 reviews for Cafe Vasco Da Gama
5 reviews in English
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Review from Scott S.
11/19/2011
Popular lunch cafe on Peel Street. A friend from home recommended Vasco de Gama when she heard I was coming to Montreal. She highly recommended duck and fig sandwich which was a great choice. Variety of sandwiches, wraps, salads. Check in with staff for a table number, order at counter and they bring it to you at small tables. Good looking desert selection to go with large coffee/hot chocolate selection. Cafe is owned by Ferreira Cafe with is a very good Portuguese restaurant a few doors down.
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Review from Tara F.
Montréal, QC
This place is worth exploring!
I personally prefer the opposite of a large franchise coffee shop. Vasco da Gama is just that - Ever since it opened up a few years ago on Peel St., it's been one of my favourite coffee spots. Espresso is excellent, as are the desserts, and they have a liquor license. There is also an appealing feel to this place, it's relaxed meets slightly-more-upscale-than-your-average-coffee-sho p in a afternoon downtown hangout.
The place always feels kind of sunny - weird I know, I think it's because the walls are yellow. There are no chairs here, beige couches line one wall, and there are number of low pouf-style style stools at every table. These little stools look great and relatively ergonomic, but as it turns out not that comfortable. Fine for the duration of a cup of coffee, but not a full meal.
The food here always looks amazing, but has never tasted as good as it looks. My last visit was no exception. We tried the tuna burger, which was decent, but in no way exceptional. The tuna patty itself wasn't particularly exciting, and was slightly overcooked for my liking. But the flavoured mayo, the very fresh bun, and other garnishes rendered it a pretty decent dish.
In the same way, the duck sandwich on ciabata did not exceed any expectations. The shredded pieces of duck meat were a little dry and sort of unflavourful, but were resting atop a bed of seasoned sweet fig cabbage that actually succeeded to counteract the dryness of the duck. The bun here was also fresh and doughy, and overall, the concoction worked.
The exceptional aspect of this meal was the beet salad. The large chunks of red beets tossed with goat cheese and grated carrot were awesome.
Café Vasco da Gama is one of your best options for an afternoon espresso downtown, or a glass of wine after work, as they close at 7. Come here and snack, have a salad or dessert, expect to enjoy the bright, relaxing cafe, but don't expect the food to blow you away. -
Review from Kim W.
9/12/2011
We ate here for lunch our first day in Montreal, at the suggestion of the concierge. The food was good - especially the salads. My husband had the Greek salad and I had the salad with artichoke, avocado and tomato - amazing. Most of all, the staff was friendly and helpful. We'd highly recommend this one for a light meal.
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Review from Lalaine V.
3/29/2011
I passed this cafe many times and noticed they served Illy coffee which I love. So on my last day in Montreal I went here to have Sunday brunch. I had the croque matin, a mocha, and pasteis de nata. The food was satisfying but not out of this world. The mocha was great. The cafe is a very cool place to hang out with friends. They offer all sorts of pastries and products you can take home like wines, coffee, teas, spices, etc.
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Review from Tony S.
Toronto, ON
9/18/2009
This place was very close to my hotel. My first day I just wanted a mocha to whet my appetite for caffeine and coffee after a 5 hour train ride. If its a place not known for good espresso/coffee and they grind Illy beans it essentially means they're all show, so their espresso actually sucks - I deduced, I never tried it. However, I don't know what they do with their mocha mixture, but that cup of mocha was so delicious I couldn't believe it. It was like a semi-sweet with cocoa... I dunno, but it was actually heavenly. Just be aware that I went there 4 times and got one bad one...so keep that in mind if you're looking for this amazing mocha because of this review in Montreal. Essentially though this place isn't much different than the 1000's of other cafe places in Montreal, but this mocha is amazing.
