#coffeecrawl

Leaves Cafe

Location:  2051 Rue de la Montagne

Metro Station: Peel or Guy-Concordia

Hello!!! I know I’ve already posted about this spot, but since I come here a lot, I felt like updating my pictures for you guys! I first came here when it had just opened and it has evolved since then. 

If you haven’t read my old post about this place, worry-not! I’ll give you a nice little summary of this wonderful cafe. 

First off, this cafe is located very close to Concordia University (and relatively close to McGill University). I enjoy the short walk through downtown to get here from my school. Especially if you have classes in Hall building (Concordia students), Leaves is about 3-4 block away. 

What I love about this place is its peacefulness. Every time I come here, I feel instantly relaxed. Their playlist includes relaxing acoustic songs (a lot of them I listen to regularly myself). Their simplistic and minimalist decor strips down your stress and reveals peace of mind. Almost everything here is white, with touches of pale wood and plants. So many plants. And cacti. Leaves is here to satisfy your love for cacti. Mini plants fill the cafe and introduce color and nature to their little space. A lot of the plants are planted in little white coffee cups with their logo printed on them. Perfect for Instagram.

An interesting aspect of this cafe is that it is the only all vegan cafe in Montreal. Yap, no milk. Any lactose-intolerant person’s dream. And paradise for vegans too, of course. But don’t worry, if you order a latte, you won’t just get latte minus milk (basically an overpriced espresso). They have some yummy substitutes: Almond milk, Soy milk and Coconut milk. I find that the coconut milk tastes best but almond milk results in better latte art. So for your Instagram junky (like me), get the almond milk!!!

Cafe 1880

Location: 1186 rue St. Denis

Metro Station: Berri Uqam (or Champs-de-Mars)

If you read my previous post, you would know that I recently bought my Indie Coffee Passport. You would also know that my first stop using the passport would be Cafe 1880...

And here we are! Why did I chose this place as the first location? Partially by gut feeling and partially because it’s on my way to school. I haven’t heard much about this place other than from the passport. Which is why I wanted to try it: pure curiosity. 

My main fear when going here was its proximity to UQAM University. Although being close to a university is great for the cafe, as a cafe crawler I am always scared to show up and find 0 available seats. It’s the worst feeling when you’ve transited for a good 45 minutes only to find out even that little smaller-than-a-laptop table by the bathroom is taken. Especially, I was going to a cafe this morning mainly to work on a Lab Report and I would be “devastated” if I couldn’t find a proper seat to complete it. But I did. No excuse to procrastinate because this place was pretty empty when I walked in. 

I appreciated the seating arrangement here because they had 2 average sized tables with multiple chairs (YAS), many smaller high tables for two and a bar that goes along the window where you can enjoy sunlight. And they were close to plugs: essential when your laptop is old and dies in about half an hour. 

The decor of this cafe was exceptional. Mainly because they had drawn a caffeine molecule on the wall. I should get that tattooed to be honest. The atmosphere of the place is dark since the walls are black and has a few bright accents. One one of the walls, a huge “1880″ is painted in turquoise (like their logo). Gorgeous!

The coffee (AKA latte (I (always) order a latte (woops)) was delicious. Even my boyfriend loved it, and he hates lattes or coffee in general. Don’t worry, I still love him though (gotta accept each others’ flaws). The latte art was very well drawn and didn’t bubble up. If you think that’s a non important factor, please let me know how calm you stay when your latte bubbles before you even take it to your table and loses its prettiness and you can’t even take decent pictures. You won’t be calm. It bothers all of us. Or maybe just me, I don’t know. 

I decided to also get a croissant, which I never do but should because croissants are great and make me feel French (my priorities in life are amazing). A cool thing about their pastries is that they get them from Premiere Moisson, a well known chain bakery in Quebec.

Oui Mais Non

Location: 72 Rue Jarry E 

Metro Station: Jarry

 It’s 1:30 am and I should probably be sleeping because I need to wake up early tomorrow to go to a career fair my University is hosting. It’s 1:30 and I should be sleeping but instead I am here, writing about coffee because I prefer spending my time thinking about happy memories and sharing them with 800 of you lovely souls.

That’s right, I just hit 800 followers and I still don’t believe it. To think that even a couple of people read my posts is already heartwarming enough, but 800?! Thank you guys, really.

I am here because I love to talk about my favorite experiences (that obviously involve coffee). I am here at 1:30 am because I want to push away the anxiety of reality for a few moments. And because I dream of coffee. Always. Please tell me I’m not the only one who still wants caffeine in the middle of the night… There must be some other crazy person like me out there. Or maybe not.

This next cafe is special to me because it’s one of the few that enabled me to connect with the ‘atmosphere’ so deeply. I’m going to be honest, this isn’t a very well known coffee shop - certainly not on Instagram or social media. But it’s showed up once on my “nearby cafes” on google maps and I’ve heard about it from one of my friends so it ended up on my list.

I’m not one to look at too many pictures of the location I want to go to because I do like that surprise factor when walking in the shop for the first time.Going here, I wasn’t expecting anything. I didn’t know what Oui Mais Non was all about.

But once I walked in, it’s as if my whole reality shifted to this whole different world. A warmer, colorful world. A more unique reality. A place in a child’s imagination. A safe haven that was real and there and in front of me and smelled like coffee and pastries and … warmth. Looking around, I saw so many various vintage furniture items that decorated the cafe. Some of them looked seriously gorgeous and some of them were hilarious (especially the “it’s Britney Bitch” banner).

The shop was pretty small. It had few seating and was a bit crammed towards the back. But wait. Don’t scroll through my post now in disappointment! Not yet - because the cool thing about this place was what I discovered next. As I was sitting in my little corner with my latte, I saw a little passage way in the middle of the cafe. I left my seat in curiosity and walking towards the passage, I saw that it lead to a whole other section of the cafe. More seating, more decor, more unique details, further into a child’s imagination. More people working and talking and being happy. They all looked at me as I walked in on them enjoying their coffee and good company. I looked way too excited and might have overwhelmed them with my excessive picture taking. I’m sorry…

I went back to my seat, opened my Calculus 3 notebook and attempted studying for my midterm. After about 5 minutes of reading equations, I decided to go the bathroom as a form of productive procrastination. I looked around for the bathroom. I noticed a door that looked like bathroom door but on it, it said “Not a bathroom, it’s the efls’ hiding place. Obviously.” Ah well, better not disturb them. I then saw stairs that went down so I automatically assumed the bathroom was there. I started going down and with each step I took, I was getting more and more convinced the basement wasn’t only for the bathroom. I heard voices and glass clinging… and suddenly - before me was yet another dimension to the cafe. A basement. I invite you to please look at the huge photo set I have provided because no combination of words can describe the originality of this space! Each corner was picture perfect. I made that a point by obviously taking a billion pictures. There were so many people downstairs! How could they have known? Were they looking for a bathroom as well and suddenly stumbled upon the basement like I did? There were no signs pointing downstairs… it was as if it was the cafes secret.And now I was in on it.  

This whole experience made me realize how powerful a place can be. I realized how much a beautiful environment with friendly people can affect my mood positively. At that second, I knew my week was made. My MONTH was made.

And just as I got back to my seat, closing my Calculus notebook, I saw a sign on my table that said: “Ici, on encourage les rencontres entre inconnus. Tasse donc ton sac pis invite quelqu’un qui se cherche une place. Ca va te donner des beaux points karmiques.” This means “Here, we encourage meeting strangers. So push your bag to the side and invite someone who’s looking for a place. It gives you really nice karma point” in French. What a beautiful concept. In all aspects, this coffee shop has made me feel so welcomed and amazed.

Cafe Nocturne

Location:  19 Rue Prince Arthur O

Metro Station: Sherbrooke

This next cafe is one of the most aesthetically pleasing cafes I have gone to. For all you Tumblr folk - get your cameras at the ready.

Walking in, the space is pretty small and cozy. I found myself lucky to get 2 seats for me and my friend. Everyone was working on their laptops and it really seemed like a productive atmosphere. 

The special aspect about Nocturne is its huge lit sign on the wall as you can see in the pictures. Contributing to its beautiful image is also the signature map and their vintage looking bookcase. 

We both ordered lattes and they were delicious! My friend was able to get hers with almond milk (for all you vegans out there). 

Interestingly enough, this cafe was called Kistune before it was Nocturne. The owners changed - therefore, they had to change the name but the layout is basically the same! You can find Kitsune in another location in Griffintown now (will be posting about that one soon).

This place is a charming addition to the Plateau area! It’s almost a classic despite its new name. A MUST visit in Montreal!

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*Storytime***

This whole journey of cafe crawling has made me learn valuable lessons about coffee of course, but also in life.

Up until last year, I could have been the most unadventurous individual walking on Montreal ground. I would stay in my house for days, sometimes drive for 10 minutes to get take out and basically be scared of everything out there. In the city. 

I had concluded that I was never meant to be a person who enjoyed sacrificing 2 hours for transport just to be in the heart of downtown. I had concluded there was nothing even to see in Montreal - nothing to love. In all honesty, I hated my city. But all of this was because I never went out to discover anything. I never tried. I never gave it a chance. I lived in Montreal but never felt like I belonged. 

Being an Armenian, I grew up surrounded by my own in a small community. I went to an Armenian high school, spoke Armenian with everyone I knew and that’s how simple life was. I loved how close I was to my culture but the easiness of my lifestyle never helped me evolve as a person. Instead, I remained in a box, unable to grow. Fearing the unknown.

In Summer 2016, I wanted to put an end to this lack of motivation and I wanted to jump out of my comfort zone. I wanted to know what my city had to offer and I was desperate to find a way to connect with it. 

And the best way was coffee. Cafe crawling.

I made my list (about 15 places at the time) and I went to each - one by one - dragging my boyfriend along with me. Slowly but surely, my list grew and my passion for discovering new coffee shops was blooming. I started going to cafes alone - facing my fear - being independent. 

That thrill of walking in a new shop with the fresh smell of coffee makes all of my anxieties fade. 

You might be asking yourself now, where am I going with this? Why did I write this much about my life when I have clearly titled this post “Nocturne Cafe”. 

My story behind this cafe is really linked with everything I mentioned above. The reason I came here in the first place was because my friend from Cegep asked me to take her on an adventure in Montreal. She might not have noticed, but her request was an honor to me. For the first time ever, I was able to reflect back on everything I had done the past year and the places I had discovered. I had never realized that I had become some kind of ‘adventurer’: a term that was unknown to me before. All I was doing was following an activity I truly loved.

When thinking about this very aesthetic cafe, I don’t only think about its beauty but I also think about it as a marking point in my life. The start of a new ‘me’. And I’m not saying that cause we just entered 2017.. 

It goes to show that anyone can be an explorer. All you need is the passion and the drive. Look at who I was before and look at who I am now - writing on my coffee exploration blog. If you want to discover more about where you are or who you are, take that first step. Go out. Get lost. Make a list. Throw out the list. Improvise. Anything. It’s up to you - you’re in charge. Just take charge and you’re set. 

Shaughnessy Cafe

Location: 1455 Rue Lambert Closse

Metro Station: Atwater

First off, sorry for the bad quality pictures. I did the best I could do with an iPhone 5c.. didn’t have place in my school bag to carry my huge Canon. 

Shaughnessy - nope, not the one in Vancouver!

I came to this adorable semi-underground cafe on two different occasions with two different people. Both times were interesting experiences..

The first time I came here was during Fall. When we were all still wearing leather jackets since it wasn’t cold enough for winter coats. But it was still relatively cold. My boyfriend hates the cold... so you can imagine that I had to literally take him by the hand during one of our school breaks to bring him here. 10 minute walk from Concordia - oh no - how far away! It was for him. Therefore, he hated the whole experience. Well, to be fair, I also made him walk around Shaughnessy Village for an hour afterwards so I don’t really blame him. 

Shaughnessy village? Where is that, you ask? Shaughnessy Cafe is actually in Shaughnessy village (shocker), which is a small area of Montreal near Atwater metro. There’s nothing significant about the area but it’s a gorgeous neighborhood to walk around if you want to see cute houses. Which is great when you have the perfect cup of coffee to go from the cutest cafe around with you fussy boyfriend who refuses to walk in cold weather. 

And that’s what I just did. Walking in this cafe, as soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with a little staircase that took me to a semi-underground level. This is an interesting aspect of the place. I realized the cafe was packed. So many people! Some were talking with their friends, some were getting serious work done. The decor in this cafe is neutral toned with some pops of color. Most of the interior is beige except for the bar next to the windows. Honestly the best seats in the entire shop is at this bar. Unlike the bars at other cafes, this one was long and extended to a distance larger than your average laptop. Finally, a place where you have space at the bars to actually get work done. Oh right - and it’s not beige or wooden, it has this cool glossy black and white design on it which is sure to keep you happy (and slightly distracted..) during your studies. I took way too many pictures of it on my second visit. 

 I ordered a latte. I must admit, the prices here are a tiny bit higher than other places I’ve gone to. The coffee was good. Nothing too special - it tastes like any other average coffee place. Of course I got my latte to go cause my ultimate plan was to make my boyfriend model for my pictures when walking around Shaughnessy Village. Coffee keeps me warm. Guess it doesn’t work for him...

The second time I came here was on a Monday afternoon and the place was empty. Like... empty, empty. No one. Just me and my friend.. and 2 baristas. I didn’t mind cause I got to have the window seats as I wanted. My friend and I wanted to cracking on our studied so we both brought our laptops and took over the entire bar. It was as good as a Monday can get!