- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Rustic Owl Café
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Arts & Entertainment Art Galleries Shopping Art Galleries Coffee & Tea, Art Galleries [Edit]
993 Bloor St WToronto, ON M6H 1M1
Neighbourhoods: Dovercourt, Dufferin Grove
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 8 am - 6 pm
Sun 10 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
8 reviews for Rustic Owl Café
8 reviews in English
-
Review from Kent P.
4/6/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Nothing to complain about here. My observations:
Great espresso based drinks,
Plenty of seating choices,
Fewer annoying people than most other independent cafes,
Appealing selection of grilled sandwiches and brunch items (burrito!),
Big art space in the back,
Cutie patooties,
Inexpensive. -
Review from Alex K.
Toronto, ON
4/7/2012
Never again!
Ambiance was cute and casual - no issue there. There's a ton of unique art that's quite interesting too.
But the cappuccinos have nothing but a slight hint of espresso to them. So otherwise... Horrible.
The Real Pumpkin Latte was sickeningly sweet. So sweet it was Undrinkable to us. But everyone has different tolerances i understand.
What I did not understand was how uninterested and lackadaisical the cashier was. Barista? No she wasn't. Could not have been a barista!
She wasn't the least bit helpful trying to dilute the latte. What she did do was just put a slight amount of frothed milk on top which only had a subtle effect if any.
Then after I couldn't take any more of my bland cappuccino, I asked her to refund both drinks because we hated them so much.
I asked the cashier for a refund, and she asked why. I explained that the cappuccino was flavorless, and the latte was way too sweet. Then she gave me attitude. "What would you like the cappuccino supposed to taste like?", and said I should have told her they were bad before we asked her to fix the latte.
So now it's my fault that I need to say at a specific time that their product is sub par?? Or should I have mentioned that after paying but before I could taste how bad it was?
She even had the nerve to say the reason for the latte being sweet is because when they steam the milk it gets caramelized. WHAT?!
If by that weird logic it does result in a super sweet drink, then change something about it!
She begrudgingly refunded the money (thankfully) but we won't be going back. -
Review from Zoe R.
2/25/2012
3.5 stars.
Pros:
-kid-friendly (yay!);
-trendy;
-charming decor;
-tasty bites;
-vegetarian options;
-prices are a going rate;
-nice touch of modern art;
-service is friendly, with a smile and positive attitude.
Could be improved:
-faster service would be extra appreciated**. we had ordered 2 sandwiches, and 2 desserts. Sandwiches took a long while to arrive today, for some reason. Probably because other customers regularly came in to grab a coffee to go. They were serviced, but we ended up having to wait extra. **We went there with a newborn, who was very quickly losing patience. Trust me, you don't want to be in the same room, trying to leisurely enjoy a warm cuppa with a baby's constant wail in the background.
-prices weren't too bad, but my mental wish list would prefer if prices were .25, .50, .75 cheaper here and there. The place I usually go to has reliably good hot drinks, tasty treats, and still the prices are overall a bit cheaper than elsewhere.
**It's Cash only, btw. -
Review from Emma A.
Toronto, ON
1/28/2012 1 photo
Well, this space definitely looks better than it did when it was the NDP campaign office! It's downright beautiful now.
Good coffee, great cookies (brought on a plate, decorated with cinnamon, and WARMED), and great design. A chat with the owner revealed that more is coming, design-wise! The art is also wonderfully curated and definitely worth a look. And if you want to buy something, it's actually reasonably priced! Everything is painted with adorable owls, and there's free pocky at the register. What more could you want?
Quiet and pleasant but still kid-friendly (lots of space for strollers and fidgety kids - while I was there, a group of five or six kids sat in the gallery in the back eating a snack and it was totally cool) and relaxed, his is definitely, definitely going to be one of my new hangouts. -
Review from Chris P.
This place just opened a few days ago. Rustic is definitely the right word here. It's quaint and cozy. I'm not sure what was here before but I'm going to guess that it was a bar. Everything about this place looks like they didn't do a ton to turn it into a coffee shop. Which I think adds to it's charm and appeal.
I just grabbed a simple earl grey tea. They have jars of loose leaf tea for your choosing at $2.75 a cup. They have a lunch menu with an offering of sandwiches and a few other goodies. In the display case you can find muffins, bars, and squares. All look quite tasty.
There's a back area which looks like a gallery of sorts. There's benches but no real seating otherwise. Also on the walls throughout the cafe there is art hung up which you can purchase. -
Review from Krystyn S.
Toronto, ON
5/2/2012
This is a cute little cafe with a gallery space at the back. I see the other reviews refer to either a slow or rude barista. This has not been my experience. When it is busy and the poor girl is by herself it might be a bit slow but I think they recently got more staff. They have been consistently pleasant to me. The pumpkin latte is not as sweet as major coffee chain lattes - but they add sugar, so if you don't want it sweet ask for no sugar. Great ambiance. Also, they have a nice selection of teas. It's relatively cheap and there are vegetarian options.
-
Review from Jake G.
Toronto, ON
1/28/2012
Freshly opened, large space with a gallery in the back. The woman working came over and brought me a glass of water without asking and then brought me a larger glass when she saw I drank the first one. Super friendly service.
-
Review from Ian M.
Toronto, ON
1/29/2012
Great espresso, delicious cookies, swell service.
