We were recently asked by a customer what cafes we'd recommend in Vancouver and we thought we'd also share the list here. This is by no means an exhaustive list as Vancouver is full of great cafes and everyone has their own preferences. The list below is just our favourites that we frequent, which are mostly specialty third-wave cafes serving light roasted coffees. We've roughly sorted by region and added some additional notes. Some cafes have multiple locations but we made sure to specify which one. For some extra context, we usually enjoy flat whites and pour overs with light roasted beans at home.
Burnaby/East Van
Single V Coffee
5000 Kingsway #140, Burnaby, BC V5H 2E4
Nice selection of single origin coffees, they roast their own beans, good pourover selection and possible espresso choice of beans too.
Prototype
883 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1R8
Usually a large selection of single origin beans for pourover and espresso, they roast their own beans.
Richmond
Sunny M Specialty Coffee & Tea
4540 No. 3 Rd #1345, Richmond, BC V6X 4E4
Small shop, serves a great "pourover of the day" which also frequently changes. Coffees range from all around the world and sometimes own roasted. Sometimes a selection of very high end coffee is also available. Espresso is default on the medium side
R Ki Coffee Lab
8280 Lansdowne Rd #110, Richmond, BC V6X 0B2
Small shop, rotation selection of own roasted coffees. Choice of beans for pourover and espresso. Nice single origins.
Moving Coffee Roastery
13880 Wireless Way Unit 118, Richmond, BC V6V 0A3
Own roasted coffees, previously won some awards for roasting. Has a good selection of pourover single origins
North Shore
Barrio Coffee
4840 Capilano Rd, North Vancouver, BC V7R 4K5
Hidden away in a church, they carry coffees from other roasters. Great batch brew in addition to flat white. You may find some beans by Australian roasters here like Ona.
Vancouver
Kahve Coffee
1822 W 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1G5
Clean interior.
Revolver
325 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2N4
Can get pretty crowded, often hard to park at, but serves interesting and top coffees roasted from around the world.
Coffee Roastery Modus
112 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1P1
Roasts their own beans.
Small Victory Bakery
3070 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3J8
Pourover and espresso on rotation. Usually has choices for coffee beans.
Other Notable Locations
These locations have notable interior/exterior designs but the coffee is not the type that we are typically into.
Kafka's Coffee Roasting
860 Richards St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3B4
In a Downtown urban park, coffee on the medium roast side.
La Forêt
6848 Jubilee Ave, Burnaby, BC V5J 4B3
Large spacious interior, coffee is medium-dark roast.
Nemesis Coffee GNW
555 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, BC V5T 1E1
Interesting building, their own roasted beans from light to medium roast coffee but a significant portion of the times we were a bit disappointed with their coffee.
Isetta Cafe Bistro
4360 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1P1
In a peaceful location away from the busy city life. Some nice classic cars occasionally show up there. Medium roast.
Pallet Coffee Roasters HQ, Cafe + Roastery
395 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C4
One of the larger scale roasters in Vancouver. Their coffee selection ranges from regular beans to premium, interesting single origin beans. Likely has pourover beans on rotation.
Photos are our own. Used with our own permission 😉