I guess you could call this my Midtown coffee haunt. From appearance alone, this would seem to make sense. It's very cushy and homey but still has that urban look that's so popular these days. It's like Ikea meets Martha Stewart. I don't like either of those institutions independently, but put together, the look isn't too bad.

The first thing I noticed when I introduced myself to this place was the stores of fresh pastries. I felt like I was back in Nice where bakery fresh bread dominates over the packaged invasion of Wonderbread and Dempsters. They have everything from challa braids and baguettes to croissants and brioche. Fresh baked bread truly is irresistable.

In addition to looking good, this bread also tastes good. But don't think that this is just another poshed up version of the Dominion Bake Shop (they're both fresh obsessed). It's much more than that. Once you've selected your bun of choice, you can bring it over to the counter and request that they transform your simple bread product into a sophisticated sandwich (probably won't want to do this with a whole loaf unless you're really hungry).

If a sandwich doesn't suit your fancy, they do have hot food but I would recommend against it even though they've got the giant 967-11-11 oven. Trust me... the bread or some other pastry would be your best bet here.

Now since I said this place is my Midtown coffee haunt, it should be pretty obvious that I don't come here for the sandwiches (although they really are very good). Unfortunately, I don't come here for the coffee either.

First things first. Their coffee isn't bad. The bean quality and degree of roast perfectly suits my tastes. Their coffee, be it drip or expresso, always has that full-bodied dark roast flavour that I love. There's no after taste, and just enough caffeine punch.

The problem is the way they're prepared. I'd say 60% of the time, my latte has been plagued with the dreaded coffee grinds. Coffee good. Grinds bad. I mentioned it a couple of times, but the probably wasn't rectified quickly enough so I just stopped ordering lattes and switched to drip. No problem there.

Another problem they seem to have, is PDSS (Perpetual Dirty Spoon Syndrome). I love having my coffee served in a ceramic mug. But at this place, I must be one of the few people who uses a plastic stir stick with my ceramic mug. The thought of putting one of their disgusting dirty spoons into my cup of joe is so absolutely revolting that even the mere thought of it makes me cringe.

I have no idea why they don't do something about this. It's just so gross. To be fair, I can honestly say that its not really a problem of them not washing their spoons. Rather it's a problem of inconsiderate patrons who toss their dirty spoons on top of the clean spoons. It's only the staff's fault for not noticing their spoon problem.

All in all, I can say service has truly been impeccable; friendly, cheerful and courteous. Baked goods and sandwiches are delicious (although their Pain au Choclate still can't quite compete with the ones from the vending machine in the canteen of Le Lycée du Parc Impériale) but the hot food could use a bit of work.

Final rating is:

Service
Ambiance
Food/Coffee