The Best Coffee Houses in Canada

Ottawa

Both Ottawa places are run from behind the counter by their owners. At Opulence Coffee on Dalhousie Street the owner roasts in view of customers, serves the drinks himself and talks coffee and travel. There is a window counter and no seating, and the shop has no iced drinks or WiFi. Café Raphaël is a place to sit. Guests choose a vintage cup in the antique-filled rooms, and Raphaël asks about taste, milk and texture and builds a drink without the menu. Cannoli are filled to order, and there is live music on the patio some days.

Guest roasters

The three bars west of Toronto pour beans from other roasters and rotate them. One For All Coffee in Hamilton brews them as espresso and pour-over in a spare white room, beside Japanese teas and its Peanut Cloud latte. Lucero Canteen in downtown Kitchener, formerly Show & Tell, keeps a retail shelf of many Canadian and international roasters and bakes its own filled donuts and croissants. School Specialty Coffee, in Mapleview Mall in Burlington, sells beans from third-wave roasters and hands out samples of Nutella latte and matcha at the entrance.

House rules

Seating is limited at all three, and two of them restrict laptops: Lucero allows none, and One For All bans them on weekends. Pastries at Lucero sell out on busy weekends, and its sign is small.