Cafe Rista

Ordered the Turkey, Swiss, Egg & Salsa Bagel.
Not only was receiving REAL turkey over flowing out of the bagel excellent — but the cost was equally as exciting.
$ 5 bucks. Can’t beat that for a healthy filling breaky eh!
Looking forward to trying lunch next !
A

Very lovely little café in the west end, almost hidden from view. I stopped in here for a coffee during a recent trip to the medical clinic in the building and found the coffee rather average. However, I was impressed with the extensive menu of sandwiches and flat breads, as well as the wonderful reviews here on Unilocal.I want to go back to try some food and perhaps one of the expresso drinks. We definitely need as many locally owned and operated coffee shops as the city can handle.

Excellent little café off the beaten path. They have a mean Ruben sandwich on marble rye. The drink selection is great as well that also includes alcoholic beverages.

I only have one thing to say: Mocha Peanut Butter Latte!
Basically if you love a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to the point of a dirty-​love-​affair, you have no choice but to stop in this fabulous, locally owed shop, and by a latte. You’ll thank me, I promise. Oh, and their sandwiches are to die for as well!
Happy West End dwellers? I thought so!

Read the reviews but avoided the place because it seemed in an odd location. I was wrong. Could be the best coffee in Edmonton actually. Great sandwich options and the owner serves the beverages and meals himself.
I’ll be treating this place as my current coffee place for a few months and see how it goes.

Lovely coffee and sandwich shop that makes wonderful variations on classis sandwiches. Love the range of different breads they use, particularly the pretzel roll. The star is the Reuben, which is the best in city with the recent closing of Col Mustard’s.
Lots of off-​street parking too.

This café is a bit hidden, but considering there are not a lot of local coffee shops in the west end of Edmonton Café Rista is a gem.
I came here for a late breakfast, and to get some work done. There’s a good selection of breakfast bagel dishes, some paninis, soup. I wanted a bagel and lox, but they were out of lox, so I opted for a bagel sandwich with egg, turkey, cheese and salsa. It was good, and unlike many bagel sandwiches made with the yucky fake eggs from a cartoon, this stuff tasted like the real deal.
I also got the peanut butter latte because it sounded so weird I just had to try it. I love peanut butter, and this was interesting. Not good, not bad. It’s quite sweet, and there’s a lot of peanuty aftertaste. I liked it enough, but I think next time I’d order something else. There is a wide variety of drinks on the menu.
On a late Saturday morning, this café wasn’t busy at all. There’s lot’s of parking, and the space was bright. The man who was working (the owner perhaps) was quite nice. If I lived or worked anywhere remotely close to Café Rista I’d probably be a regular patron.

I’m so thrilled to have found this neat little out of the way café! I was going for lunch with a friend and it’s in her neighbourhood, so she had suggested. I had never been, so I was looking forward to something new to Unilocal about!
Once you find it, you wonder how you haven’t been here before! Because it’s not along a train route, I appreciate the big parking lot and 3 hour parking.
The café is open all day for coffees and hanging out, but we ordered from the lunch menu. Karen’s quesadilla smelled and looked heavenly, but my silly low-​carb thing wouldn’t allow for that. Still, I loved my spinach and goat cheese salad! A very tasty and filling lunch dish, for the right price, too!
The staff were very nice, and all of the patrons here just seemed, well, happy!
I’ve heard rumours of a peanut butter mocha. Never fear, Unilocalers — I will be returning soon to investigate!

I have something to say that was irking me for the most part of my morning. The barista, or server, whatever you wanted to call him was oddly unenthusiastic. It felt like he wasn’t happy to help me, I just didn’t get a very warm vibe from him. So, right off the bat, it wasn’t a 5 star experience.
It is a pretty cute place. They display local artwork, the seating area is mostly tables and chairs, but there are a few comfy looking seats. I would have sat in those seats if they weren’t so close to the only other people in the café — it would have seemed like I was inviting myself into the conversation.
I went all out and got the yogurt parfait, a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and a soy latte. The latte was okay. It kind of reminded me of Starbucks to be honest. The yogurt parfait was excellent — crunchy granola, yogurt, fresh blueberries, sliced bananas, and honey — and he put everything together on a cute plate (please see photo). This place also offers a decent selection of sandwiches and paninis.
Overall, I was expecting better. I was especially put off when I was asking for lunch suggestions in the area and he just kind of gave me closed ended responses. Otherwise, I would have probably given this place a 4.
¹⁵⁄₃₀

Café Rista is a bright café tucked away in a building just off 142 Street that opened in September 2010. It’s a charming little place, but if you blink, you may miss it.
Inside, you’ll see a black and white checkered floor, bright red tiled counter, and a smiling face, hard at work preparing for the rest of the day. You’ll hear the soothing sounds of Italian music, as you sip your latte.
The café is fairly steady in the morning, but I imagine it picks up around lunchtime. Breakfast is fairly simple. Bagels (white or whole wheat) with a generous helping of plain cream cheese. Add tomato or cucumber, or have it with egg, ham, and cheddar. Yogurt parfaits are also served.
For lunch, the café serves a variety of paninis, sandwiches, salads, and more.
The selection for lunch is probably the most diverse. As for beverages, they serve coffee, lattes, hot chocolate, and espresso. I’ve heard great things about their coffee, and I was quite happy with my latte.
I’ve heard the hours aren’t the best, but it’s a great neighbourhood coffee shop, which I recommend checking out if you’re in the Grovenor neighbourhood.