Mondays are hard, especially during the rainy season in Vancouver.
It’s often a struggle to get yourself up and straight into that 9AM board meeting. The SkyTrain’s full, the traffic’s bad, and you’ve forgotten the lunch you lovingly prepared last night. Let’s face it, that caffeine kick-start can’t come soon enough.
After arriving into the city center you deftly skip past Tim Hortons - its light kick is not going to do it for you today (especially with that line-up). Today you fancy something with a little more depth, a coffee experience with clout. Luckily for you, thanks to Vancouver’s awesomely diverse and independent eateries, you don’t have to look too far to get your fill. Downtown boasts a thriving caffeine culture and if you’re a real ‘amante del café’ you’ll know that Gastown and Granville are the places to be. The sumptuous smell of in-house roasted blends waft about the brick and concrete streets. Even the non-stop rain pounding outside only adds to the ambiance. Who wouldn’t be lured in for a warm cup? As an added bonus, they’re hotspots for the cool, young creatives, so you’re bound to make some new contacts as you bop through!
We reveal our favourite Downtown coffee hotspot that will provide the perfect pick-me-up to the start of your working week:
Incognito Coffee
823 Granville St
Located on the Granville strip, Incognito Coffee is light relief for any passerby looking to escape the chaos outside. Not only does it win the top prize for the best cup of coffee, it’s also our favourite secret hotspot of the week - setting it apart from the rest in more ways than one.
The street sign outside boasts ‘Best Coffee’, a statement that exudes self-confidence, and might I add, rightly so. Have you ever had a cappuccino so rich, so flavourful that you taste every flavor note, and you let the light froth sit on your lips for slightly too long? Typically this is not an everyday experience, but Incognito defies such temporality. Each sip has the same exquisite taste as the last, with their in-house blends made from coffee beans imported from Brazil and Sumatra.
Let’s talk frothy crema - and lots of it. With their menu offering caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, dark mocha, and white mocha lattes, there’s so much to choose from, even for the highly experienced coffee-goer. Europeans love their tea, none more so than the Brits. A firm favourite on their menu is the elusively named London Fog, ironically originating from Vancouver, and consists of warm milk combined with the sweet delight of earl grey tea.
Get in there quick though, as floor space is taken up quickly. We’re not kidding. Coming in second place as Canada’s smallest coffee shop, the beauty of this little hotspot is its great coffee, great food, and familiar service.
In a hurry? Don’t want to get caught in the morning coffee line? Why not use the Grab & Go service available from ClickDishes. The app allows you to jump to the front of the queue, so you can receive your order at the exact time you need it most.
Available on iOS and Android, it’s free to download and you get $7 off your first order when you refer a friend or colleague. Have your coffee on us!