In all our travels around the world we constantly find ourselves embarking on a mission to find the very best coffee each city has to offer; and the fact that one half of us grew up in this little city in the Prairies, we couldn’t help but make a day of exploring the best coffee shops in Edmonton.
In comparison to other Canadian major cities, Edmonton is tiny. Interestingly enough Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta, winning that title over Calgary, though none less beautiful.
Although we have to admit we couldn’t do all of them in one day because we realised we had begun vibrating on the spot.
There’s so much delicious coffee and amazing coffee roasters hidden in Edmonton, we’ve decided to create a list of the Top 9 Coffee Shops in Edmonton to start your coffee adventures off.
The Top 7 Best Coffee shops in Edmonton
So we initially set out for a day to immerse ourselves in the Edmonton cafe culture, and not surprisingly did we find it very similar to the local cafe culture of Melbourne, Australia. The niche-ness of discovering locally roasted coffee shops in the various quarters of Edmonton made it that much more fun.
Little Brick Cafe
Probably our favourite coffee shop in all of Edmonton and the closest to where Laura’s parents live, this well disguised cafe lives in Riverdale, north of the North Saskatchewan River between Strathearn and Boyle Street.
It’s unassuming location is what makes it all the more intriguing, with a large, seated outdoor patio area with tables and chairs, a mix of outside and undercover with bike stands to hook your bike up, Little brick cafe makes a name for itself as one of the best coffee shops in Edmonton.
Little Brick regularly change hands when it comes to coffee beans, however the last time we were there they were using Henrique Dias Combraia in Minas Gerais, from Brazil.
Little Brick comes with a small inside area for sitting and enjoying a meal or one of the scones or muffins they have to purchase from inside, or sit and and enjoy their wide menu selection, including Eggs benny, a breakfast Burrito or vegan options such as the Vegan Hash.
Laura and I regularly rode our bikes from her parents place to get here which makes it all the more fun.
Little Brick is located at 10004 90 St NW Edmonton
Check out their website here
Kaffa Roaster and Studio coffee company
This is one of those coffee roasters you will have to work hard to find, partly due to the fact that it’s hidden amongst a few other amazing cafes and restaurants that deserve honourable mention, such as Eleanor and Laurent and High Level Diner.
Lauras Dad and myself stumbled upon Kaffa Roaster and studio unique and fascinating cafe after our second time bike riding into Garneau to visit SugarBowl.
Chances are you will miss this place if you blink, so when you choose to visit here, take the door to the right of RedBikes entrance to the upper level, and this will connect you to the upper level of the building next door, which is Kaffa.
At the moment they’re working towards their own opening, but for the moment showcasing freshly roasted specialty coffee for Sugar Bowl & Eleanor and Laurent.
One of the best coffee shops in Edmonton also doubles as coffee roasters, with in-house roasting, a wide open space for entertainment and live music as well as being an event space.
In the winter time, this Edmonton coffee house is cosy and inviting, however in the summer time its the perfect place to sit near the windows that looks over 88th street with sun in your hair.
Sugar Bowl
Doubling up as a cafe/restaurant, we felt Sugar Bowl should be included on the list of the best coffee shops in Edmonton as they make an awesome drop of coffee, as well as having a mouth watering selection of freshly baked cookies and cinnamon buns hot off the press.
Sugar Bowl offer an extensive list of food including pulled pork hash, breakfast sandwiches and Belgian waffles. They currently serve breakfast/brunch 9-3 daily.
Uniquely positioned to serve the Garneau community & the wider University community, Sugar Bowl are not too far from downtown Edmonton south of the North Saskatchewan river.
Get your caffeine fix right here most days from 7am -5:30pm, 8am Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 5:30pm.
Ace Coffee Roasters
If you’ve spent enough time in Edmonton, Alberta then you’ve liked sampled a wide variety o great tasting coffee beverages, and they have most likely passed through the hands of the locally roasted Ace Coffee roasters.
With three locations in Bountiful market, West Ritchie and Garneau, not only do they produce great coffee, they offer a variety of coffee products and services such as Barista courses, coffee brewing gear, grinders and even a coffee subscription, helping you make the finest cup of coffee around.
Coffee lovers will know that it’s best to grind and consume your beans within a week of brewing, which is perfect because Ace coffee roasters brew daily.
Transcend
Now with two locations in both Garneau and Ritchie, Transcend coffee shops have been roasting coffee since 2006.
Transcend coffee roasters are unique in that they provide full transparency into their roasting process, how they have sourced their green coffee beans and the politics around being sustainable from growing to selling.
As one of the top coffee shops in Edmonton you’ll also be able to purchase many coffee grinding and brewing accessories here, knowing you are contributing to fair and equitable coffee practices all along the line.
Remedy Cafe
If you thought the Edmonton coffee culture wasn’t booming enough, you clearly haven’t been to a half Indian and Pakistani cuisine restaurant that doubles as an amazing coffee shop.
With over 11 cafe’s situated between Downtown Edmonton, Strathcona, Terwillegar and Southgate, this Edmonton Coffee shop is known for its spicy chai and over 90 different types of tea lattes and 20 types of beer!
Their drink menu has as much depth as their food menu, offering both gluten free nibbles, vegan and vegetarian options all from locally sourced Canadian bakers, roasters and farmers.
For over 20 years Remedy Cafe has been serving Edmontonians with delicious coffee and a twist on traditional Indian and Pakistani cuisine to it’s customers and have made a name as one of the best coffee shops in Edmonton.
Reccommendation: Try the Butter Chicken wrap
The Colombian
We did some research on The Colombian coffee shop, scouring Trip Advisor to bring you the best reviews and we can confidently say this place has some of the best reviews we’ve seen!
Founders Santiago and Kristin discovered their passion for producing quality coffee on their farm in Colombia, Finca Santa Rita, and now proudly supply great coffee to 3 main locations in Glenora, Edmonton’s French Quarter & Parkallen.
They also run an impressive coffee truck called The Coffee Mule that runs Friday to Sunday, 9am to 2pm, typically parked at 116 street and 100 Ave.
Both sustainable and traceable, The Colombian are a real treat for coffee aficionados.
Glenora: 10340 134 street NW
French Quarter: 8816 92 st NW
Parkallen: 6529 111 st NW
Coffee Bureau
Right on Jasper Ave and 105th is the Ace coffee roasters supplied Coffee Bureau from a husband and wife team that run this independent coffee shop – one of the best coffee shops in downtown Edmonton.
Open weekdays from 7 am onwards, this stylish, grungy looking building reportedly brings in fresh bagels from Montreal every week and is a favourite amongst locals and known for some of the best espressos in Edmonton.
Enjoy your coffee like a true local on one of the chairs out front, or step inside Coffee Bureau and admire the 1950’s brass chandelier and the array of freshly baked cookies, muffins, croissants and gluten free food.
Coffee Bureau is located at 10505 Jasper Ave Edmonton AB
Lock stock coffee
You cant go past this top Edmonton coffee shop without stepping onto Jasper Avenue and admiring the wooden finish, dim light ambience that is Lock stock coffee house.
Freshly baked pastries and savouries that are heated on order, a delicious selection of English muffins and Focaccias of which the Zucchini and Eggplant is our favourite!
Lock stock coffee are open Monday to Friday 8am-30m, Saturdays 9am to 3 pm and closed on Sundays.
The stylish wooden interior makes it so inviting to coffee lovers who want to enjoy an excellent coffee with a breakfast sandwich, or stay a while and read a book while people watching, this is a fantastic place to do so and its in the heart of downtown Edmonton opposite Coffee Bureau.
Other Edmonton Coffee shops to give a try
Whilst above is not an exhausting list, if you’re time limited then these are our personal favourite, however if you’d like to stray from this list then we’ve put together a few more local coffee shops in Edmonton to stop by.
Sober Cat cafe – Offering more than just a great tasting coffee beverage, Sober Cat cafe offer a full cocktail bar and steakhouse. Sober cat cafe source their beans from rogue wave coffee roasters in NW Edmonton and its a dam fine cup of coffee.
You can find Sober cat cafe in the Metals Building of the historic warehouse district of downtown Edmonton.
Credo Coffee– Three locations in total but one around the corner from Lock stock coffee and Coffee Bureau, Credo (as the Italian word for ‘believe’ suggests) believe in so much more than. simple cup of coffee. A place of relaxation, admiration and a place to feel at home.
On the premise that every cup of coffee is served to the highest quality you can simply turn up and know you will enjoy your coffees here repeatedly.
How to visit the best coffee shops in Edmonton
Edmonton is known for having a small town, big city vibe which makes it perfect for transportation in and around the various regions of Edmonton.
Hire a bike or scooter
Edmonton, much like many other major cities has adopted a fun, cheap and easy to use bike hiring system that lets you find the closest bike or scooter to your location, and ride it around town.
Lime This helps avoid using public transport, reduce your carbon footprint and gets your exercise in whilst travelling between the local coffee shops in Edmonton.
Or if you prefer, you could walk everywhere; but that might take some time. Edmonton is small, but not that small.
