Black Squirrel Books

Nice ambience, and if you’re into buying dead pieces of wood at 20 $ apiece then they do have a nice, mostly typical-​looking selection. Great looks though, and decent coffee.

This is an AWESOME place! The book selection is a nice mix of classics and eclectic finds, so it’s always fun to browse. I drink both lattes and tea, and both are delicious here. The café ambience is fantastic to read, ponder and work. LOVE IT HERE!

Great neighborhood place for a coffee and to browse some books. Book selection is eclectic and they move things around so you can always sit in the same place but with different books around you. They have some fantastically outdated selections and things I normally would never read but still pick up because I am lazy and they are within reach. The last time I was there I read about some wealthy art collector’s incredibly biased, arrogant, and preachy take on Japanese art (preachy about art, not about the Japanese). It was refreshing.
The coffee is great — especially when the woman is making them (I think they have only 1 female staff). Surprising number of options to choose from. They even have options for kids. Staff are all friendly.

Please don’t buy your books here. They are really unethical. They essentially make money off of stealing people’s people books (ie, taking your books and «losing» them — or rather selling them without you ever knowing). You try to ask them what happens and they either act like they don’t know what’s going on and saying they’re looking into it but never getting back to you, or they avoid you screen your calls. It seems to have happened more than once. I didn’t care so much about the money, but if I knew this would happen, I’d much rather have donated it to a library or charity. Not so some unethical business could make money off of it. So please, if you would like to sell your books, do not bring them here. You won’t ever get any money back from them. And if you care about ethical businesses, do not buy them here.

I imagine this is a cool spot to meet some friends up for some homework or something, but for the frugal reader looking for a good deal, I don’t think this is your place. The cost of books are relatively on par with what you might spend online (~30−40% off); with that being said, their books are also in really good condition. Big plus is that you’re supporting a local independent book store, which I am all for.
The café makes a pretty mean coffee. Servers are very friendly.
The décor is unpretentious-​pretentious, meaning that it looks like a dump but purposely so. It’s nice-​ish.
Cool find, but not for me.

*This is a near identical, though updated, post to my previous review, as my opinion hasn’t changed much about the new location.
Black Squirrel Books is near the top of my list of my most favourite book stores ever. It’s far more organized than the previous location on Bank Street, but still a bit disorganized. I believe that a bit of disorganization (to an extent) really makes a book store. I could spend hours in here examining the book shelves, stumbling over potentially new reading material. You’ll find books group into categories here (i.e. Fiction, Classics, History, Politics, Music/​Art), but then you’ll find mixed stacks of books on tables amongst the shelves. Moreover, I haven’t found books to be organized alphabetically.
It’s a second hand book shop, which means many of the books are more than half of the original price. They are incredibly discounted, and incredibly affordable — a fraction of the price of Chapters/​Indigo. PLUS, you can support a local business, which is super awesome. You can also trade books in for a credit to the store or cash. Books, especially the odd text book that can be found here, are so much more affordable!
They even have a new café at this location. Though I haven’t got a chance to explore their menu options, I know their barista here is a super skilled coffee crafter.
There are awesome vibes coming from this cute little shop and it seems they are even happy to let you linger and read. I love supporting independent book stores. I will absolutely be returning here, and would certainly recommend you visit.

One of my favorite places in the city. The space is welcoming and the staff is wonderfully friendly. It is probably one of the only stores in the city that has used comics. Their drinks are tasty and I recommend the Vietnamese coffee in ice.

I confess, based on other Unilocaler’s reviews I must be missing something. No one greeted me or in fact said anything to me when I went in or while I was browsing. The selection of books is nicely eclectic but rather small. I just didn’t like the vibe — it seemed «clique-​y» and rather pretentious (and this is coming from someone whose bookcases [yes, plural] have a dedicated Russian Literature section). Just not my cup of tea (heh heh), which did by the way did look tasty but I felt too awkward to indulge in.