Early Bird Espresso & Brew Bar

My new favourite coffee shop in Toronto! From atmosphere, location and the quality of their coffee and food options, this place is a must visit!

Cute spot, friendly staff and one of the best hot chocolates I’ve ever had. I liked it cause it’s really not super sweet. It’s actually just dark chocolate melted into hot milk.

yup, 5 stars!
Ordered a Cortado, was thoroughly impressed. This may be in part to the fact that I had just been to another café who will go unnamed for now and literally could not finish the machiatto I was served, or rather, burdened with…
anyway, very very well done at Early Bird, very nice space, WiFi, seating, they serve Pilot roasters for espresso and have a very well curated selection of coffees for pour overs/​filter coffees, very worth visiting, staff was quite friendly as well and seemed to be bustling amicably among themselves. My friend had a matcha latte he said was delish as well.
They have gluten free cookies, for those who care, though I wasn’t inclined to purchase one.
I ended up here on the recommendation of a barista in MTL who knows his coffee (Jesse from Artistse Affame) and was duly impressed, so thanks!

Excellent cappuccino and perfect avocado toast — toast the fact mix of crunchy and chewy, piled high with avo that’s been hit with just enough salt and citrus. The slices of watermelon radish and sprinkle of chilli flakes didn’t hurt either. I’ve been working here for a couple of hours and will definitely be back.

I only ordered 2 things here, a Cortado for a friend and a Latte for myself. The latte is 4 bucks which isn’t bad and it went down right. As far as seating this place is sort of tight. We ended up sitting at the large table near the front of the store.
I like the fact that there’s a bench to sit to the said and wait for your order to be made because it’s more comfortable than just hanging around near where the pick up counter is.
I didn’t have anything to eat but it’s not really the kind of place I’d eat at anyway. Like many coffee shops of many people seem to be doing work in here which is so common to see these days. Gladly there weren’t a gazillion cables all over the place like some places I’ve seen.
I like the feel of this place and it’s nice and bright inside.
It’s a «Clean, Well-​Lighted Place».

This place is like a real life Pinterest board, it’s almost too beautiful. But I’m not complaining, especially when the coffee is absolutely incredible. The pastries are good too.
I have a few minor complaints though. The pour over is good, but they serve it in a poorly-​insulated glass and decanter, so that it’s cold within minutes. Not that I necessarily mind lukewarm coffee, since I find it allows you to taste different aspects of the coffee. I just wish the first cup would stay hot. It’s also very crowded and there are only two power outlets, which makes it a bit inconvenient at times.
That said, it is a wonderful place to do work if you can get a good spot. It remains one of my favourite spots in Toronto.

This place has perhaps the best coffee in Toronto. From the outside, the café is completely nondescript and slightly hidden behind a pile of garbage (perhaps on Wednesday’s only). However, I got wind of the place via a shop clerk down the street who told me (as one coffee snob to another) that Early Bird has the best coffee on Queen Street.
Regardless of its outside appearance, when you enter you are delivered into a land of people working on shiny Mac laptops, great coffee, great food, and bouncy friendly funny baristas. For me, Early Bird was a welcome reprieve after a long morning of walking and exploring Toronto.
As an added bonus, not only is their coffee fantastic, but half of their baked goods are gluten free. They also have homemade peanut butter cups that are to die for!

Lovely place situated downtown on the hussle of Queen St W. It like a little escape for studying (what I was intentionally trying to do), working, reading, or any café-​type activity.
The physical indoors is very open concept with their large front windows and wooden tables spread out near the from of the window. The chairs are comfy, but not too much where you’ll fall asleep doing your work.
The baristas are super nice. You can see they put in real effort to make your drink in front of you and it feels ten times better to drink it. Which leads me to say, their coffee smells and is magnificent. I got a cappuccino that I could of downed in two seconds because it was that good. Except I wanted to have it as long as I could, plus I don’t want to be bouncing off the walls and do even less studying.
Crowd is generally young and hipster which is right up my alley and atmosphere is really cosy with amazing music playing. There were times I was contemplating not to put on headphones since their play list seemed to be better than mine.
Would of five starred this place, if it didn’t close so early! (hinthint).

Amazing cappuccino. I loved it. The espresso had everything I love about coffee. Customer service friendly. Good seating space. I like the brick wall n rustic look. I only wish if the open hours were a bit more longer.

I was on Queen St W and had found Early Bird on BlogTO’s best of list. Let me tell ya, the place looks good. I dig the plating schema they got going on with the wooden saucers. It was busy, as one would expect right, but I found a place to sit, no problem. There were three baristas on to handle the volume in good spirit. I ordered a cappuccino, and I received it, promptly with a free-​pour tulip.
Oh yeah, also I got a vegan cookie on an oblong ceramic plate. It was decent as ****.
The cap was alright. A little too hot, not steamed extraordinarily well. It came out separated, already bubbling on top. The bean came through distinct in this medium roast way, not too sweet, lil smokey. It was OK. It was fine. I was fine.
And I sat, and I wrote some stuff in a notebook. Attractive young hip haircut persons all around me, in this neat interior, trap flavored moody beat playing. It’s like, the image of a cool, with it, café.
But damn I wish that cap was better. I’m a barista myself, you know (I’m not gonna come out and say that to them.) I know how it is. Sometimes, the bean isn’t there. Sometimes, a mediocre cap falls through the cracks. I get it, I get it. You can’t really judge a café on one go around. You got to be a *regular.* I’m thinking this, I’m looking at em, right, I put my pen down, I close my notebook, and people are coming and going all around me, and I’m just sitting there, anonymous.
Then I left.

beautiful space for studying, enjoying a drink, or chatting.
as everyone else has said, the décor hits the nail on the head for what’s popular with cafes at the moment. a brick wall painted an insouciant white; wooden tables, chairs, and menu; shelving constructed with polished metal piping; succulents and various other greenery in clay pottery; exposed hanging lightbulbs; a small helping of neon signage; baristas with undercuts, caps, and relaxed demeanors; hip chillwave electro funk nu disco tropical house amalgamation background music.
the environment could not be better.
some small details that really set this café apart:
— notable edibles for sale from other popular toronto locations: coffee from pilot roasters, mast brother chocolates, and jam from kitten and the bear
— donuts from glory hole donuts on fridays (and maybe other weekend days?)
— beautiful publications for browsing and buying: kinfolk, drift (the only stockist in toronto!), trouvé, and others
oh, and about their main attractions: yes, there is wifi; and, yes, the coffee here is great. want my advice? their cortado is my mainstay.
it can get kind of busy but I’ve never been unable to find a seat. the only note I would make is that they really get mileage out of their air conditioning! it can get a little chilly after sitting here for a while. bring a sweater, despite how silly that may sound.
definitely my favourite place to hang out during my downtime. doesn’t hurt that it’s right next to loblaws – come spend a few hours here, and do a little light grocery shopping on the way home!

The only problem with serving a pour over (in a glass) and recommending to let it sit 5 minutes is that it will, without question, get cold. Cold $ 5 pour over. You can only fool me once, though.
Except, I’ll probably still buy inherently overpriced pour overs which means the joke will always be on me.

Amazing! One of the best cortados I’ve had in the city. Perfect balance of coffee and milk, no bitter or sourness here, just straight up goodness.
The cappuccinos were also quite lovely and I love the wooden saucer/​plates they use (what can I say, I’m a sucker for presentation). They also have a good selection of nibbles such as scones, cookies, chia pudding and sandwiches, so if you get peckish they do offer delicious solutions. I’ve tried the cookies (salted chocolate chip and oatmeal) and scones, all very tasty.
The décor is the definition of cool, slick and hipster. Whitewashed brick walls, rustic industrial chic furniture and tunes selected by the baristas (seems to depend whose on duty — I’ve had mellow acoustics and old school hip hop so anything goes!). They do apparently have a great rooftop patio, though I have yet to explore that option since it’s been too hot or raining the days I’ve come by. I will say sometimes seating is limited and the space between the tables is tight so not a place for those who want their own cozy nook (though I’d recommend the bar rail for that).
They also do take orders through Ritual app which is handy for those in the area.

I absolutely love Early Bird. It’s a pretty hipster place, but not in the pretentious sense.
It’s coffee is my #1 in Toronto (to date) and the atmosphere is very laid back.
Their food is delicious — the vegan cookies are perfect with coffee. The egg/​avocado sandwich is filling as a meal and chia seed pudding is so tasty (and healthy!).
I always come here to do some light reading/​studying or to catch up with a friend. I wouldn’t come here with a big group though.

This place is great! We were in Toronto for work and play, so naturally we had some business to take care of. In an effort to complete our task list and experience the city, we setup shop in the Early Bird coffee shop in Queen West where there’s a ton of great shops and vibrant people.
The long tables near huge windows that let in a ton of natural light were perfect for working in our laptops and while sipping cortados and iced Americanos.
The wifi wasn’t great, but we didn’t need it that much anyway. If you’re trying to edit a website, this may not be the place for you.

This place makes me feel great about being in the know about hipster culture but not being an actual duchebag hipster.
It’s great for a cup of coffee that has a distinct flavour, too much of the coffee in the city lacks diversity and there’s excited my pallet.
I don’t come to this part of town often but when I do this is a must. The selection of baguettes, scones, cookies and muffins is great for a bit to eat if you are staying for a few hours.
The patio is a nice touch in the summer.

This was my second visit to Early Bird. I have to say I quite enjoy the atmosphere here. White walls, exposed (but painted) brick, wood accents and industrial touches. This is my kind of place. They even have neon lighting indoors (and I’m a sucker for seeing hipster places use neon signs in sparingly good taste).
But I’m going to give this fancy schmancy brew house 4 stars because I feel like the service is a bit slow for a place that serves caffeine. I understand that it’s a craft, but at the end of the day I would appreciate getting my drink a little sooner than 10 mins from ordering. Esp for the price I’m paying for your craftsmanship.
Thankfully I’ve never gone in when there was a huge line up, but I wonder if it takes as long when there is a morning crowd?

This place is a gem on Queen St West! I love coming here to get some serious work done with a great cup of coffee/​chai latte.
It is relatively quiet which is great, and offers quality coffee as well as quality service.
Because it’s a great place to work, sometimes it’s hard to find seating — I myself have had to walk out a couple of times because there was no empty tables. But, if you’re early enough (hah!) to get a seat, you will fall in love with the café in no time.
The café closes relatively early, compared to other indie cafes/​regular cafes like Starbucks or Second cup, but that being said, it makes you become an early bird to enjoy this little place! ;)

You really do have to be an early bird if you come here. Whenever I have a coffee craving, this place tends to make my shortlist. They have the usual drinks done well, and their baristas are talented enough to never put out a bad pour. Service is also professional, and stays out of your way.
I do notice that the place is usually quite full, even on quieter days, which means you have to get a seat quickly if you spot one. Wifi is quick, and the seating is comfortable and well lit enough to get through some light reading.
The last time I came, they were closing up early, which means they had to blare out heavy metal music to get everyone out of the place.

I’m going against the grain here and say I didn’t love this place the way everyone else does. Sure, the décor is nice and there are tables if you need to stay for a few hours but I wanted to just grab a drink and go.
Fact: I’m not a coffee expert. However, I do like a nice chai latte every now and then.
I found theirs to be heavier on the milk and not so aromatic. I felt like I was drinking plain, warm milk with a hint of cinnamon (which was sprinkled on top at the end).
Sense Appeal is at the top of my list for now.