Dark Horse Espresso Bar

Tried going to the other location on Spadina initially but it was too busy and there were no tables available. Decided to keep walking, checked on Unilocal for more coffee shops and came across this location. This location is kind of hidden and hard to find. It’s a lot smaller than the Spadina location, a lot less busy as well. It’s quite dim inside but a nice, calm and quiet environment.
There aren’t really any tables in here, just one small narrow one and high tops along the side of the wall. A good place for take out I guess.
The drinks itself was amazing. I loved the latte I tried. My friends also enjoyed their drinks, they had americano, London fog, and espresso. All very bold flavours and aromatic. The latte art could be improved though.

No flaws to talk about in this cozy coffee shop. Didn’t really stand out, but 5 stars for the pleasant time I had.
The Americano I had was excellent. The décor is pleasantly inviting. There is one long bar table against a wall with stools, as well as a couple of tables for seating. Quiet and casual vibe. It seems like a quieter location foreshadowed by their below steet-​level entrance. The washroom was clean, too.
Would recommend for a chill and casual experience, topped with good coffee.

When it comes to picking Starbucks or independent, I’ll always go with the little guy. However excited as I was to remember this Dark Horse (as I’m not from this part of town) I was immediately disappointed upon my first sip. Not only was it during TIFF and there were a bunch of super-​important-​feeling people around, but I felt like the service was much the same. The barista shouted at every customer in the most obnoxious way, and when his friend came in he completely disregarded anyone else. He then proceeded to eat a cinnamon bun whilst continuing to make drinks and talk SO loudly. Dark Horse on Queen East used to be a favourite of mine, so my standards were high coming in this morning. Such a bummer.

My favorite cup of latte in Toronto and I’ve tried quite a few places. The blueberry muffin was delicious too. I was able to snag a table outdoors on a beautiful day, which beats the dark interior seating option.

Love this place. Great coffee, great service, cute little shop and a nice little patio to watch the world go by.
Free Wi-​Fi so you can also work here, which I have done a few times, quite pleasant, you end up sharing the table with other people working and it gets that vibe of co-​workspace.

Do you spend a lot of time with someone who really likes coffee? I do. It’s so annoying. Talking beans? Blah blah blah. Pour over? Get a grip, that takes forever. To make time go faster in these such establishments, I have created a game: Embarrass Jon A in front of a barista. It’s a lot of fun. Some clutch ways of playing include: pinching the person’s ass while they order, asking «why are you getting that instead of your usual skinny nutella latté?», etc. If you love someone like who is a dork about coffee, give it a go. Great game.
This Dark Horse location is little and underground, which a lot of people noted as a con but I think it’s really cute. It also has a patio that is ripe for people watching, and of course, all of the pretentious coffee you’ve come to know and love from the other Dark Horse locations.

I’m no longer a coffer drinker, but the ginger cookies here are the best in Toronto. And their teas are high quality and well brewed. Recommended.

I came to Darkhorse because of my great experience with the Spadina location. I was really disappointed by the experience with the staff it was hard to enjoy my cortado. I will never return to this location.

Great flat white and latte. Both had nice designs in the foam and tasted great! Better than Starbucks and mcafe by a long shot and for less money. Cool music and atmosphere.

I really like the beans at this place and the friendly baristas! The latte art is great to admire. It’s relaxing and at a convenient location for me.

I was invited to meet up with the marketing manager of Zomato awhile back to discuss the website launch. Our original meetup place was The Office Pub, except they didn’t have Wi-​Fi. So we ended up at Dark Horse Espresso Bar just a door down. Dark Horse Espresso Bar was always on my café list to visit. I passed by often but never went in. They have four locations and the one in the Entertainment District I visited is their latest addition.
The café is underground, which is pretty cool. However, it consists mainly of bar stools against the wall. There are a couple of tables, but not enough if a large group comes by and wants to socialize. They do have a patio though with tables that seat 2 – 3 people each.
I ordered a lemonade and was not a fan because it was completely sour. The Muscle Masala snacks were interesting though. I tried the Vanilla Fig Saffron and the Chocolate Cherry Cardomon. I forgot which one I preferred, but they were unique. They are protein snack bars that are made locally in Toronto.
This particular Dark Horse Espresso Bar isn’t so bad. I like how it is underground. Though I think I would rather prefer their Spadina location because of the open concept and windows.

SUPERB SUPERB SUPERB. I could kiss the barrista’s and roasting team here. I am a coffee geek and my family and I are in the business. I lived in NZ and missed the Flat Whites, this place and one other (out of 15+ places I have tried in Toronto) get it right. SPOT ON! The barristas I have had are properly trained and actually know what they are talking about. Excellent excellent flat whites and americanos. I took my family from London here and they were so suprised at the excellence. My absolute favourite place in Toronto! The beans are superb. Thanks Dark Horse.

Lovely coffee! I had a cappuccino. The milk was really good– creamy, not too fluffy or airy. Great micro-​foam. The shots were amazing– slightly sweet and great in a milky drink.
I had to get my drink to go, but the atmosphere seemed nice. Free wifi, mostly bar-​type seating inside. Nice seating area outside. The barista that served me wasn’t very chatty, but friendly enough.

I never realized that there is a Dark Horse so close to Town Crier Pub! Maybe I never really been in this area during the day.
Walking into Dark Horse I was having some Déjà vu as I remember the set up of this place! It used to be Smokeless Joe where I came here to drink beer instead of coffee.
As usual nice and friendly barista made me a perfect Macchiato with nice latte art. Love the nice espresso cup it came in too!
For a nice day, I would suggest sitting outside on their small patio or even the seating right on the road and just enjoy the weather!

Dark Horse is another really great place for an excellent espresso. They have lots of locations downtown Toronto. I’ve been to this one and the one on Queen West. I think the location of this one is so unique. It’s nestled down some stairs and when not busy it’s a great place to relax and enjoy your coffee.

Nice cute little coffee shop in an unlikely location. I was searching for a place to do some work and did a quick search where I saw that the Dark Horse was well known as a working environment. Apparently I got the locations mixed up as this is not a place for working. There are no windows and no power plugs.
Their latte was nice, but I’m going to be honest and say that a coffee shop’s atmosphere is equally if not more important than the quality of the coffee. To conclude, I don’t recommend this coffee shop as a place to be productive and get some work done but it could be nice for a quick caffeine fix on-​the-​run.

Super cute little coffee shop on John Street, another addition to the Dark Horse Espresso Bars across the city.
I was very excited to see this place open up, it’s a nice alternative to all the Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and Second Cups in my neighbourhood. Met with a friend for a latte on a sunny Saturday morning. They have a nice little patio out front and the décor inside is warm as cozy, as you would expect in an intimate little coffee shop.
It’s easily one of my favourite spots for coffee with a friend, as it’s never very crowded and they’ve never once screwed up my order.

Like a few Unilocalers have already pointed out, this location is more suited for a coffee to go thanks to its limited seating options especially when it’s cold out and there is no patio. Apart from that, I have always had trouble coming here during their open hours since they close so early compared to anything else in the area, sure I should research when it closes br but they really should have longer hours than they currently employ.
Apart from those, this location serves your typical Dark Horse options, for the most part I enjoy their coffee and their food options are also well done. And I am a fan of the Dark Horse deco. I did find service here a little slower than I would have liked and in true Dark Horse fashion (at least in my experience) the staff could have been friendlier.
All that being said this is still the best place for a coffee in this area that’s high in volume of corporate coffee shops, it has potential to be a 4 star place since they do serve up good things, but taken on a bigger scale they coutld be a lot better.

John Street now has some good coffee!
Among the series of chains on this strip, there’s a little gem which honestly if you blink you would miss it. I know, I did. I have gone past it a number of times and didn’t see. Not anymore!
Just like every dark horse espresso I have frequented — customer service here is, well, let’s say, they aren’t a cheery bunch. Really unfortunate. I do come for the coffee but that bit of customer service I have a feeling could go a long way.
It has three seating areas, patio, indoors and this small area in between both, like an alcove. I find the last one the most intriguing.
They have a loyalty program for those with smart phones and if you don’t have one of those fancy phones there is a way to still take part so don’t fear.
In the winter, I hope they put a bit more seating. So few options if you want to chill indoors.
I would totally come back for the coffee but always be a little worried about the customer service.

I really want to love this place, mostly because its so much better than Starbucks which has been my go-​to in this area — But after today’s first visit, I have a blah feeling about it.
When I walked in, one of the staff (barista guys) was being overly attentive to a lovely MILF and her little toddler. Said barista was overly eager to make her uninterested toddler a chocolate milk that’s not on the menu. Great right? Well not really when there’s 4 paying adults waiting in line; One of 2 staff is personally tending to the kid, while the other guy is busting is ass behind the counter trying to get everyone’s order, cash them out AND make the drinks.
It took 14 minutes to get my iced coffee. sigh/​Normally I’d never wait that long for an iced Americano, but lucky for me, I had the time to wait around. Next time, I won’t.
My drink was awesome. The service was … well, the one guy tried? Not too sure what else to say.
In a nutshell; shitty service. amazing coffee.