Arbutus Coffee-Cafe + House?

There's one small cafe caught my sight every time when I was going to W 4th Ave/Kitsilano. Its old, cottage-like outlook always seems fascinating to me. Then I told myself, I must come someday, not necessarily for their food and coffee...but definitely for their setting ;P

I woke up early one day (as usual) and felt like going for breakfast. Since I also planned to spend my day at Kitsilano that day, I decided to find a relaxing cafe there and grab a quick breakfast. Wait...Kitsilano? Isn't there a coffee shop I've always wanted to try?

So, here I came, the long-waiting Arbutus Coffee.


Arbutus Coffee
2200 Arbutus Street, Vancouver BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 4
Price: 4.5
Service: 6
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 5

• The antique interior looks like Finch's Tea & Coffee House, but Arbutus Coffee looks even older, and very homey.
• The thing is, some people may not like its old style. So if you plan to come, don't expect it's an ordinary cafe like Starbucks ;)

• Cookies, muffins, scones, squares, cakes...baked goods you normally find in other cafes.
• Other than baked goods, they also have grilled paninis (can pair with soup/salad), quiche ($4.50), and lasagne ($6.99).
• "All of our food is prepared and baked at Arbutus Coffee...Also...none of our food contains hydrogenated or Trans Fat products."
• There are quite a number of staffs. My server was a really nice and friendly lady :)
• Free wi-fi
• Different kinds of coffee beans are sold in store.
• They offer matcha drinks now (i.e. Matcha Latte). If you want to have something that can cool you down a bit in such hot weather, they also have iced drinks on their menu.

Hot Dark Roast Coffee-3.5/6

• $1.80
• Freshly brewed in house everyday
• It was served in a mug because I chose to stay there, and it came in one size only.
• They have four sizes for take-out though: 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, and 20oz.
• It was average; but not as rich as I thought.

Banana Loaf-3.5/6

• $2.75
• I love everything made made from banana! So banana loaf is kind of a staple for me in cafes.
• If you like to add some nuttiness/texture to the bread loaf, they also have Banana Walnut Loaf.

• Back to the bread loaf, it was very moist.
• For a banana loaf, it did not have much banana flavour. It got that banana smell, but that's not really what you would look for in a banana loaf, right? Well...I mean the flavour should be the main thing to consider first...at least for me :D

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin-3/6

• $2.67
• I love poppy seeds, especially when it is mixed with lemon! I was struggling to order this or the Mixed Berries Muffin, but the poppy seeds just made me drool!

• Like other typical muffins, a BIG and crispy muffin top, and a small cake under that.

• The muffin was very soft and fluffy. Once I started to tear the top into pieces, few cranberries began to fall off. Since the cranberries were a "plus", I could not expect more; but it sure would be better to have more ;D
• While I was enjoying the poppy seeds and appreciating the cranberries they added, I felt like something was missing. Yes...Where's the lemon? There wasn't any lemony in the muffin.
• After all that, I broke that down into two parts. If I were to think on the good side, they might have put the wrong label on the muffin. On the other hand, they might have run out of lemon, or forgotten to add the lemon...

Another tick on my wishlist. Despite the food and the coffee are only average, Arbutus Coffee actually gives me more than I expected. Next time when you are around Kitsilano and want to find a quiet, relaxing cafe where you can spend the whole day, Arbutus Coffee is absolutely another great choice. If you also appear to be an antique/vintage fan like me, you will like its interior as well ;)

"Have a nice day!"