Balzac’s Coffee

Stratford, Canada

4.2

Closed now

19 reviews

Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 519-273-7909
Website:
www.balzacs.com
Address:
Stratford City Centre 149 Ontario St, Stratford, ON, N5A 3H1
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.5 miStratford
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Bussiness info

Accepted Cards
Credit, Debit
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Good for Working
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Stratford) 04:00 Sunday, 1 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 6:30 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 6:30 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 6:30 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 6:30 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 6:30 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

In addition to our artisanally-​roasted coffees and expertly-​prepared espresso beverages we offer fresh and locally-​prepared sandwiches, salads, croissants, muffins, pastries, snacks, and a variety of cold beverages.

History

Established in 1996.

The very first Balzac’s was opened in 1996 in this delightful city, revered the world over for its classical theatre at The Stratford Festival and its renowned Stratford Chefs School.

‘All the world is a stage’ when seen through Balzac’s Ontario Street picture window, which offers glimpses of actors hurrying to rehearsals, visitors on their way to curtain call, and an assortment of local characters.

Meet the Business Owner

Diana O.

Business Owner

While earning a university degree in French Literature, Diana Olsen, President and Founder of Balzac’s, discovered a kindred spirit in Monsieur Balzac and his genuine passion for coffee. Upon graduating, she immersed herself in authentic French culture, spending a year and a half in France. Passing many enchanting afternoons in the Grand cafés of Paris, Ms. Olsen was inspired to bring this sophisticated celebration of coffee and social tradition back home to Canada.

San Francisco was her next stop in 1993, to learn the craft of coffee roasting and bean selection at the West Coast Specialty Coffee Training Institute. In 1996, the first Balzac’s café was opened in Stratford, Ontario. Today, Diana oversees all aspects of café operations and coffee roasting from the Balzac’s Roastery in Stoney Creek, Ontario.

On the première episode of the sixth season of CBC’s Dragons’ Den, Diana ventured into the Den and won over two Dragons with her unique pitch.

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Diana O. says,

«A gorgeous spot to grab a coffee and treat while exploring one of Toronto’s historic neighbourhoods!»

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«Nestled in the historic Tannery, come discover why we’re a local favourite (including amongst our tech-​specialist neighbours!).»

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Diana O. says,

«Explore the historic Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake region and refuel at Balzac’s (where the food is as great as the neighbourhood!)»

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Diana O. says,

«Fuel your explorations of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, or settle in for a relaxing stay with a great drink and locally-​made treat.»

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19 reviews of Balzac’s Coffee

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Parry Sound, Canada
Great variety nice décor with outside patio and shade in the afternoon awesome service :-) free wifi that worked well
Place rating: 4
Mississauga, Canada
Pretty good coffee and a great selection of baked goods! I really like the vibe of the place too, very small town and cute.
Place rating: 5
Guelph, Canada
Coffee is fantastic, servers are friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere cannot be beat.
Outdoor seating in the back is nice, but the air conditioning units can be a little noisy.
Place rating: 5
Montreal, Canada
Balzac’s is one of my favourite places for lattes in Stratford. Both the drinks and snacks are delicious and there is seating inside and outside by both the front and back door. It is the quality of the coffee, as well as the great atmosphere that keeps me coming back again and again.
Place rating: 4
Crown Heights, NY
We only got espresso which were great. Nice outdoor seating both in front and back. Best coffee we had while in Stratford
Place rating: 4
Edmonton, Canada
This is my second time to Stratford and I always make sure to book some time at Balzac’s. I like the atmosphere. It’s a nice place to work or read, and the coffee is great. I had a lemon tart yesterday that was also really yummy, so not sure what the issues were with other pastries.
Place rating: 4
Royal Oak, MI
Just a great experience every time we come to Stratford. I really like their Atwood brew — I added caramel to it to enhance the lovely caramel notes already in there. Nice array of sides and snacks (butter tarts, biscotti, brownies etc). Great décor.
Place rating: 1
The Danforth, Toronto, Canada
Nice place, but if you want a cappuccino or espresso the place to go is The Grind, just down the street. To me, Balzac’s espresso tasted exactly like Starbucks. Nice place. Good service. Bad coffee.
Place rating: 5
Chinatown, Toronto, Canada
fantastic coffee — my favourite
very hip environment — outdoor seating when its warm but little noisy next to street
Place rating: 5
Stratford, Canada
Best coffee in Stratford. Great atmosphere, and friendly staff.
Street parking is hard to find, especially in tourist season There’s parking around back for a couple of cars, and if you’re lucky one of them will be open. Otherwise, park behind Bentley’s and walk behind the shops to the back entrance.
Only wish they were open later.
Place rating: 4
Waterloo, Canada
The atmosphere in Balzac’s Coffee is like no where else I have been, and the MUSIC!!! amazing, Sinatra, or Little Walter, it just does not get better! I always have the same thing, Vanilla Soy Latte & Granola and it never disappoints. The service is friendly and fast and the faces there are familiar… Lots of Hipster-​Scenester types just really chilling out in there. I love it, I go every Monday! For what I order it is $ 9.
Here are my two feed backs… It is cold in there, I am not comfortable removing my coat when I sit to eat my granola. Turn on the heat.
Second… Add a tip option on your debit machine, I am from Toronto I don’t carry cash but I want to tip the lovely server there… just a thought.
If it wasn’t cold and tipless I would give it a 5.
I recommend Balzac’s
Place rating: 2
Guelph, Canada
Stratford is a great little city to visit, they have a pretty downtown with many shops and restaurants. However what they are truly laking is a good coffee shop. The last few times we have gone to Sputnik, but we wanted to support another place. Balzac’s is a chain, they only have five locations, and they are in historic buildings, but lets call it as it is. I am glad that i stuck to a coffee instead of shelling out the extra money for a latte and being disappointed. The coffee at Balzac’s isn’t terrible, it is just a plain cup of coffee. The service was good and the insides, including the tin ceiling were stunning, but i would not come back for the coffee.
Place rating: 5
Woodland Hills, CA
Nice atmosphere. It kind of has an elitist feel to it, if not poetic. I really liked it. It’s hard to pin, but i’d say the décor is somewhere in between european and american country. I believe I had the Roasted Almond Latte and it was good. I also ordered the mixed berry muffin, which looked kind of crazy (you either see it as” rainbow” looking or more like fungus (because of the greenish hue to it) but it was really tasty! :)
Recommended!
Place rating: 5
Kitchener, Canada
Coffee is great (best latte art I’ve seen so far). I also ordered their Parisian Mist (French Breakfast tea latte) which tasted amazing.
Love the atmosphere & décor. Especially the back patio. Even on a chilly afternoon it felt wonderful sitting there.
Service is fast & friendly. I’m very pleased.
I noticed how someone complained about the pastry… but as you all know cafes have their pastries catered from bakeries, so they can’t be that fresh. That is why if it is good pastry you’re after you should go to a bakery /​patisserie instead. I ordered their peanut butter crunch square and biscotti. Frankly their taste already surpasses the disgusting stuff that Starbucks has to offer, so really it is quite decent.
Anyway I think this place definitely deserves a 5 star.
Place rating: 5
Brampton, Canada
Always a pleasure.
Place rating: 5
Philadelphia, PA
Attention to details at its finest! Loveee this coffee shop.
Place rating: 3
Philadelphia, PA
Balzac’s almost gets four stars because they host the local Chess Club. Which makes them cool. But their pastries look better than they taste. And their iced tea isn’t great. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I can’t really comment on the quality of their coffee (which makes it almost unfair for me to review a coffee roastery). But based on their other stuff, they aren’t fantastic. I really want to love Balzac’s, but I really only kind of like them.
Place rating: 3
Waterloo, Canada
One of the best mocha lattes I’ve had. A very relaxed atmosphere that’s also kid friendly.
Place rating: 5
Toronto, Canada
This is our second visit to the Stratford location. I had the maple latté. It was outstanding. Of course, the company makes it good too. So doe the ambience. Great location. I really love this place. I just found out that there is a location in the Distillery District at home in TO. Now I have yet another reason to move to Distillery District. If you’re in Stratford, grab a coffee here. You will be quite happy with it.