Waves Coffee House

A girl walks into a coffee shop in need of an extra large green tea, a seriously strong double shot of espresso, and 2 large coconut waters… because she has the BIGGEST hangover in Canada!!!
From the moment i walked in, I felt better — the atmosphere is inviting, the tables are widely spaced creating an airy feel (too many coffee shops feel cramped and uncomfortable). The phenomenal and truly fabulous barista had me laughing. The tea selection is wonderful and my tea was perfectly steeped. The espresso was lovely, and thank you Waves for having coconut water. Seriously, regular water will just not do when you have a Stampede sized hangover!
This is my new fave go-​to coffee house on 17^th!

I had a regular latte and mixed berry scone. The latte was delicious! The scone was enormous but a bit too sweet. The café itself has a ton of seating and is not too loud. I will say, though, that it gets really hot inside, but hopefully the patio opens up soon! This place definitely gets packed in the evenings so I would say if you’re looking for a quiet place to work it’s best to come in the mornings or afternoons. They are also open quite late and the staff are super friendly! This is definitely my favourite Waves location in Calgary!

Over priced and artificial. Ordered a caramel macchiato with almond milk. All I could taste was the almond milk and the nasty taste of artificial caramel sweetener syrup that they use. It did not taste good. 5 $ for a hot almond milk with artificial sweetener that doesn’t taste like caramel. At least use really caramel and perhaps more coffee instead of almond milk if you’re going to charge that much.

This place used to be listed everywhere as «open 24hr» and had an «open 24hr» sign, but was actually closing at midnight or whenever they felt like it. They seem to have changed this information and I want to give them a good review for that.

Great coffee — latte is just like a like it — nice foam. They remember my name. The place is ALWAYS spotlessly clean — including the bathrooms — no matter how busy they are. Thanks for that!
Food is good — wish they had more salads and «gooey good things» but other than that it’s coffee shop food.

I got the blackberry zest soda and I can’t tell you how good it was! it was amazing, I was honestly blown away!!! SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS SODA WHAT THE HECK and I loved how sweet the service was and it was comfy and nice

The reason i go hear every day is because of the friendliest and greatest customer service and the atmosphere. Free Smiles, free wi-​fi and lots of great tasty choices on the menu. The staff are the best of the best of the best of the best. They always have a way to make your stay a memorable one. I love this place and its people. I would recommend it to everyone … Again thanks to all the staff for the great customer service! We love you too :)

The staff is very welcoming and have taken the time to get to know my regular order and to greet me with a smile every time. This location is very spacious and comfortable. I recommend this place over any other coffee shop on 17^th ave.
As an update to Laura B. And Arc P’s previous reviews… the meeting rooms are no longer available for renting as they’re being rented out by a local small business full time.

I was hungry and needed coffee quick. My daughter and I popped in here. I heard great things, but wasn’t madly in love with it like I expected I would be.
I ordered a decaf (had to go home and nap for work after) white chocolate mocha and it didn’t taste as yummy as I expected. I’m not a coffee snob so maybe it’s considered great amongst them, but I kind of felt ripped off. It was bland.
For food I got the breakfast burrito which I did love! They heated it up for me, but the middle was still a bit cold. However, I devoured it so fast that I barely noticed.
My daughter got a milk chocolate hot chocolate which was yummy. She loved it and I tasted it. It was good. She got the tuna wrap and liked it, but found it had a lot of tuna and would have liked more veggies in it. She did enjoy it tho.
I found them to be a bit pricey. I would go back, but it would be more likely on a rare occasion treat situation.

5 stars for being such great hosts to a couple of meetings I helped organize in their board room AND for the attention they always give to their clients.
Great service and great coffee shop!

Goodness me, it’s been a while since I’ve written a review!
Oh Unilocal,how I’ve missed you…
…er, right. Reviewing the coffee house. Not getting all sentimental over a social website. Got it!
I frequent this place for food and beverages. A lot. Be it with my friends, or on my own to work, I come here about 3 to 5 times a week normally (which I realize is probably more than I should). But, there’s a few reasons I keep coming back.
One of those reasons, is the food. While it’s far from gourmet, it’s still pretty tasty. The Roast Chicken Wrap is my favorite for lunch (or a quick supper if I’ve got a lot of work to do), and if I’m willing to become a temporary diabetic, the Cinnamon Bun is massively delicious! (No, really, it’s huge. You probably want to drag a friend down to consume it with you).
Another reason is the staff & service. These folks are super friendly, good sense of humor, and they will attempt to memorize your ‘usual’ if you visit this particular location often enough. They even occasionally will bring your food to your table (I can’t say if this is a standard practice or not, as it seems to strongly depend on how busy they are).
As for the beverage side of things, I have no complaints, just compliments! Drinks are never ‘rushed’ (which to me, is a good thing), and maintain an excellent level of consistency (the flavor doesn’t change every time you order your favorite, which I really can’t say for a few other places). I personally like my iced (dark) mocha, frappes and smoothies, but my friends love the lattes and hot chocolate sold here.
And I feel like I’m beginning to ramble, so let’s see if I can shorten this a bit…
Other perks to this fabulous little coffee house:
–Upbeat & warm atmosphere
–Fun, clean décor (lots of blue, as you can imagine)
–Unique artwork that changes periodically
–Open early, close late (used to be 24 hour I believe)
–Outdoor seating, for those few precious days of summer we get
–Bookable meeting room (for all you business savvy folk), separated from main room by a glass wall & doors
–Just steps away from my home (this one likely won’t apply to you =P)
And I believe that’s it…
OH! One thing I will note, is that when it gets busy, it can be a wee bit crowded, and a touch noisy. However, this doesn’t bother me much, and allows Waves to keep it’s 5 star rating from me.
Hope you folks enjoy it here as much as I do.
Be well, and much love! =)

Number 1 sign I knew I would like this coffee shop: there was no sectioned off area for kids to play in (unlike another coffee shop I frequent in my neighbourhood that may rhyme with Hood Worth). I like my coffee with crossword puzzles, novels, and adult conversation.
My fiancé, Jason, and I had a couple of hours to kill, so we decided to step out of the rain. This location is busy, but quiet. He ordered a caramel machiatto and I ordered the Waves Latte. For the record, Jason is a huge fan of another-​corporation-​that-​rhymes-​with-​Tar-​Mucks’ caramel machiatto. Now that he has tried Waves, he has converted and scours neighbourhoods looking for the closest one.
I really like this location because it’s clean, it’s in a trendy part of town, and people watching is fabulous. The staff is super friendly and I like the added touch of the leafs drawn into my foam. they also have a meeting room that you can book for $ 25/​hour.
We now make a point of making this our meeting spot when we need to meet people downtown. And Jason makes a point of ordering two machiattos to tide him over till his next fix.
So obviously, we will be back!

They had me at Hello. After a meeting one evening I wanted to go for a walk and seek out a coffee shop. Waves was on my radar. It was snowing big billowy type snowflakes outside so by the time I arrived and walked in I must have looked like the abominable snow-​woman. I was immediately greeted with a Hello. Even with a blizzard outside this place was busy.
Since I filled up with snacks earlier I wasn’t hungry, just looking for a hit of espresso in a cappuccino form before making what would probably be a long slow drive home. I did take note they had a nice selection of baked goods & sandwiches in the display counter and offered free WIFI.
The customer service blew me away and the coffee is definitely worth coming back for.

Updating my rating to 5 Unilocal STARS!
Because it is NOW OPEN 24 hours!!! FINALLY a place in this city where I can go satisfy my random 3am coffee cravings!
WIN!

24 hrs a day you can get a coffee or whatevers.
Too bright! lol
Music too loud! haha.
OK enough of my old lady ranting.

I was a big fan of waves when it first opened, but the quality and service have slid a lot since then. Waves is a franchise, and from what i have gathered, they are under mentorship for the first few months of operation– where they are trained on the franchise standards for drinks etc. During that time i really liked waves, slightly better prices than other similar shops, and a decent cappuccino.
However, lately they have slipped– a lot! My friend has even had to actually instruct the barista how to steam milk properly, and how to hold the spoon over the pot to control the amount of foam that goes into the cup, you know, so you can tell the difference between a latte and a cappuccino… Pretty basic barista stuff, but they seem to forget it every time we returned… Coupled with awkward vibe from the owner/​staff, we have chosen not to go back.
Too bad though, because the location and the layout were pretty great, but there are lots of alternatives that don’t involve having to watch the manager yell at his staff in front of a full coffee shop over spilt milk– literally…

I always make a point to stop by Waves if I’m on 17^th.
Waves offers a nice mix-​up from the classic Starbucks addiction that I have. Their selection of drinks is generally larger than most coffee shops and it doesn’t impact their speed of service. The baked goods also look quite delicious although I have never indulged in them. I imagine the paninis they offer would also be quite delicious.
The staff are also quite nice and friendly. They keep the place very clean, including the bathrooms (they’re locked so remember to grab the key first).
For now I’ll just stick to my iced Canadiano’s.

When I came into town, I was happy to see a Waves! Unlike Vancouver, Calgary doesn’t have a Starbucks every other block. And Waves is kind of a Vancouver thing.
Walking around, the only other places around here with wi-​fi to just sit and chill out is McD’s and Starbucks.
This Wave’s also has a boardroom for use. There are only a few Wave’s location in Vancouver with a Boardroom, and it’s nice to see that if you’re in Calgary and need a boardroom, good ol’ Waves here has it!
Coffee’s alright and free wi-​fi. Not bad at all.

This place makes a pretty good mocha latte, but for a lactose intolerant, it sucks not being able to get it in soy. Good selection of pastries and other baked goods at this location compared to the waves on 5^th Street. And this location has ample free parking. Much bigger seating space and selection. On the last several visits it looks like a lot of people call this their work nest. (free wifi is always good). Waves is not as crowded as other coffee places, and the music is not blaring so it’s the perfect place to catch up with friends or get to know a new friend over coffee.
This location also features a cool glass board room in the back for office meetings but I also spotted a karaōke contraption and mics. Yunno, cause I’m Asian and I always have my karaōke radar on.

Waves has an outstanding atmosphere. From the moment you walk in the light blue color of the interior reminds me of water, which reminds me of sun and beaches and this makes me smile! I like the fact that the shop is littered with music concert posters, hooray for Duran Duran and Aretha Franklin, respect!
I ordered a medium dark roast coffee and a toffee pudding square. The coffee was good, but the square was just too sweet for me. It was also a hefty $ 4.99, which seems high for a square. Next time I think I will try one of the delicious-​to-​the-​eyes-​sponge-​type cakes displayed in the window as well as a latte or another specialty coffee to see how it compares.
Found the place really clean and the staff very friendly. They even said «see ya» as I was leaving.
Waves also has a meeting room at the back of the shop that is encased in glass with a boardroom style table inside. Very nice touch!
Though Waves has WiFi, I had trouble connecting to the network. Kind of disappointed about that.
Giving my experience a 3.5 stars rating with possibility to upgrade to a 4 or 5 based on my next visit. Will be back soon!