Specialty coffee in Toronto

Sterling Road and the old aluminum plant

Sterling Road, in the Junction Triangle, puts a roaster, a bean importer and an Italian bakery within a short walk. The landmark is the 10-storey brick and concrete building at 158 Sterling, built in 1919–20 for the Northern Aluminum Company, which made utensils, bottle caps and meter covers. Auto-parts maker Tower Automotive was its last industrial tenant before the plant shut in 2006; the Museum of Contemporary Art opened on its lower five floors in September 2018.²

Forno Cultura runs a biscotti bar on the museum's ground floor and also pours filter coffee there.³ Across the street at 213 Sterling Road, Ethica Coffee Roasters buys only single-origin, specialty-grade lots rather than blends, and charges C$8 for every pour-over as of 2026, however rare the coffee.⁴ Its pastries come from Bakery Pompette, and local musicians play on Sunday mornings.⁴

Portfolio Coffee, at 163 Sterling Road, imports beans from Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua, roasts them in Toronto and sells them below the usual specialty price.³ Davang Luna shares that address and opens at 08:00 every day, staying until 19:00 on Saturdays.

Roasters on Cawthra Avenue and in Roncesvalles

Further west, Cawthra Avenue is a short industrial street in the triangle between the Junction and the Stockyards. Subtext roasts and packs all its coffee in its unit there, sells seasonal single origins as espresso or pour-over at a long bar, and runs classes for home brewers.⁵ Its address, 130 Cawthra Avenue, is shared with Alternative Grounds Coffee Roasters; Travesia Roasters is at 20 Gothic Avenue.

Reunion Coffee Roasters opened its flagship café at 385 Roncesvalles Avenue in July 2015, two decades after the family business began in 1995. A black-and-white tile floor at the door spells out COFFEE, and in 2016 the bar used washed coffees for espresso and Americanos and naturals for milk drinks.⁶ Outpost Coffee Roasters is on the same side of the city, at 1578 Bloor Street West.

What specialty coffee costs in Toronto

Café prices climbed through 2024 and 2025. In April 2025 Matthew Lee, owner of Louie Coffee in Liberty Village, said his wholesale costs had climbed 12 to 18 percent, and shoppers were reporting C$8 Americanos and C$7 mochas.⁷ Ethica's flat C$8 for any pour-over in 2026 sits at the top of that range.⁴

Menu prices exclude Ontario's 13% HST, which is added at the till.⁸ The Canada Revenue Agency counts heated coffee as a qualifying beverage for Ontario's point-of-sale rebate, so a qualifying order of C$4 or less before tax can have the 8% provincial part taken off at the register.⁹

Specialty bar hours: mornings first

Few specialty bars stay open past 18:00. Thor Espresso at 180 John Street opens weekdays only, 08:00–15:00, and Queen Bean Coffee Roasters at 1378 Bathurst Street closes at 15:00 on weekdays and 14:00 at weekends. Ethica on Sterling Road closes at 17:00 on weekdays and 18:00 at weekends.

Mornings start at 08:00 rather than at dawn: Ethica, Queen Bean, Thor and The Library Specialty Coffee at 281 Dundas Street West all open then on weekdays. The Library keeps the longest weekday hours, until 18:00, and opens at 09:00 at weekends.