Linuxcaffe

For the last couple of weekends, thanks to my (silly plug even though I am not getting any financial recompense for it, but what the heck) Indie Coffee Passport, a few friends and I have have been doing what I now baptize as «Latte Crawls.»
That’s basically when we pick three, possible four locations on our cards and we literally «walk,» not run or take the TTC, nor «pass GO» across Toronto, going from one to the other, to the other… to sometimes, the other. It is great exercise and sometimes we have have done 8km+ in our search for lattes. Now, blame the calid weather, our desire to walk, or the unstoppable and blinding caffeine-​high fueling our crazy marches, either way, this was our final stop a few weeks ago after walking it from the Junction.
Now, this is a local corner joint where they do take their Linux references seriously. It is a relatively small joint where lots of penguins abound. A nod to the Linux OS… ‘but of course!’ You would say.
Also I did enjoy the tech-​vibe and if you sit outside, you will find they two picnic tables or (2.0) for people to sit, enjoy the view of Bickford Park across the street, catch some sun, while enjoying… well… in our case… cold coffees.
You see, when we got there, their espresso machine had «just broken down,» or maybe had given them a blue screen of death (Linux has one too!), I do not know… but what I do know is they could not make us a latte or ANY espresso based drinks. So the lady, seeing that I had an Indie Coffee Passport gave me a ‘cold coffee.’ Sadly, whatever special mixture she was using ran out halfway through my pour so she ended up adding warm coffee to the mix. So basically hot coffee with ice… nice? It was a patch in the strangest sense of the word, and then she punched my card, which technically entitles me to a free $ 4 drink. So… I thought ‘whatever’ and moved on.
Now the messed up thing is she did the same thing to my friend: Pour him hot, albeit regular coffee in a glass full of ice… which should have cost about $ 1.75 at the very most, called it «ICED COFFEE!» and charged him $ 4!
WTF?
So although we liked the place and the geek chic, and I do like the park view you get from the benches outside, I do think they sort of scammed us.
Now, since this place is on Harbord and Grace St., which literally translates to «out of the way to most except the locals and the techies who love their coffee served with a Linux pun,» I do not see many non-​locals coming back here.
Don’t get me wrong the place seemed nice, the barista was friendly, however there was nothing that screamed «COME BACK!»
…And getting overcharged $ 4 for just coffee and ice pretty much CTRL+ALT+BackSpace’d our desire to ever come back here again.

My review is not as detailed as Vivek’s. He’s pretty much got this place down.
VIBE
Friendly and practical. Love those comfy chairs by the window where I can get some internetting done. I always manage to get some work done here (or procrastinating. – take your pick). I love looking out the window to see all of the dog walkers across the street at Bickford Park.
I DRANK
Citrus cider. It was ok. I don’t come here for the goods. But service is very friendly.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
If you can get yourself out in an odd area and want to get some work done on your laptop this is a great place to do it. But the better coffee is across the street at Sam James Coffee Bar.
And they are open until 9. Sometimes, 11. Yay!

is there anything better than a great café right on a park? I say no. except maybe wifi on the picnic tables under the trees, tea on one side of my netbook and something tasty and vegan on the other. if your eyes need a break, you can always engage one of the baristas or the owner in what I guarantee will be a lively and interesting conversation.
Bickford tobogganers take note: Linux has the best hot chocolate in the city.

I understand the appeal of Linuxcaffe for many reasons — but there are a couple of things that bother me enough to knock this down to a low three stars.
But i’d like to start with the positive. I love the community involvement of the café, hosting meetups and whatnot — one afternoon when Chad M and I were sipping drinks at the tables outside, the Toronto Cyclists Union set up an info tent and had a bike stand with a knowledgable bike mechanic on hand to ask questions of. Neat!
Location is awesome — on a bus route, not too far to walk from Christie station, and definitely accessible by bike. There is also a lovely park nearby! Awesome.
Also, it’s cozy and comfy in there — tables and chairs in little nooks, and stools at window seats let you enjoy the atmosphere and also the passers-​by on Harbord. They have free wifi! Yay!
The cozy comfort extends to the fare on offer — delicious sweets (many vegan!) from local bakeries or made in-​house fill the display case. Soup and sandwiches are also on offer (again with vegan options), so you can have something more substantial with your coffee if you need.
However. I have three main issues with the café. Firstly, customers who camp out with laptops at tables, taking up the space of many when they are just one — the seating/​space of the café creates a lot of this problem, but I think it’s mostly down to how these people are kinda dicks. Secondly, it’s a bit unkempt, in a «your straightedge vegan anarchist best friend’s armpit of a sharehouse» kinda way — books and magazines and pamphlets strewn about and not a lot of dusting/​cleaning of the café in general (I must point out that the food and drink prep areas plus the tables are kept well enough clean, though). Last of all is their espresso — it doesn’t make a great drink (I think I just can’t stand Ideal Beans, but it’s probably not prepared in the best way, either). Our lattes were 3 times as frothy as they should’ve been, too. Awww.
I’m down with the Linux café (i’ve been a user of various flavours of Linux for many years now, I love that there’s a café with it as their namesake/​influence!), but i’m also a bit of a coffee snob and sometimes don’t want to feel cozy but also at ease, too. I guess i’d stick to the sweets and the brew next time to avoid espresso-​based sadness.

This place seems like a neighborhood hangout with an unassuming setup and style. There were quite a few people in the café both inside and out and seemed like regulars. WiFi is free.
Now all the good things stop here. I asked for my regular drink cappuccino in ceramic cup and was offered an extra shot by the barista (a stretch of this word IMO) The shots were poured in a metal container first (as they only have mugs that won’t fit under the sprout of the espresso machine) Then milk was frothed and poured in a mug (even though I asked for a sweetener it was not put in) and then the shot was poured over the milk.
End result was nothing even close to a cappuccino (scalding hot milk and espresso shot) no crema’ whatsoever. I left my drink after a few sips and just walked away.
One can do a lot better even if it means a 10 minute walk down the street to get better coffee.
Stay away folks.

Sigh. Like it’s namesake, this café has some great functionality and a rather clumsy user interface. Slightly out of the way with all of the charm one would expect of such a place… but…there’s this overarching feeling that the whole thing is somehow scripted. Badly. The creeping sense that this place didn’t actual arise from the molten core of primordial OpenSource stew stayed with me the whole time I was in there. Everything from the veganism to the ad-​hoc nature of the décor felt forced. Oh yeah — a bunch of Apple fanbois and girlz in the LINUX café’? Puh-​leeze! True linux folks would rather shave their heads with cheese graters than give Steve Jobs a nickel.
The coffee was decent, but there are far better examples to be had all around the city. The main draw of a place such as this is how it makes you feel and this place did not make me feel good. I’ve been to great places like this — and this is just another case of emulation gone awry.

This place is A-​OK. Like many of the java-​swilling laptop-​loving Unilocalers who’ve visited here, I wanted more out of this tiny shop. Their aesthetic is geek chic: every surface is covered with lacquered OSB, there are penguins everywhere (a tribute to the Linux logo), an OS Rubik’s cube at the cash, and more electric outlets than you can shake a stick at. This is definitely a place where you can (nay must) whip out a laptop and work. You can even rent a laptop if you want to fit in. ($ 3 first hour, $ 1 every hour thereafter.)
I like all these things.
I’ve never had a problem with the service here, even if they are linux-​enthusiasts. Last time I was there, this beardo approached me and asked me if I would mind sharing my table with someone else. Before I could answer ‘yes’ he asked the girl at the neighbouring table if she would mind sharing *her* table with someone else. And thus we were joined in coffee matrimony. My point: you might have to share a table.
Coffee-​wise I was a little let down. My first latte here was not amazing, and a subsequent americano was just OK. They offer a variety of vittles though, including some gluten-​free treats which are actually quite delicious. Smoothies are also available here, though I’m not sure if they sell the Froyo on its own.
There is of course Wifi, lots of electric outlets, and while it is cramped I really don’t mind sharing a table when all I’m doing is drinking a latte and reading Unilocal reviews. It’s close to Bickford Park, has bicycle parking out front, and reaches out with both hands to embrace the inner geek in me. I dig.
Obligatory Title Pun: And you thought you GNU coffeeshops…
Menu Readability: Look up, waaaay, up. There’s a chalkboard.
Need to mention: Cash only.
What this place teaches me about myself: That girl was way out of my league. But I can admit it.

This place is like a scene out of Portlandia. Seriously. The guy that works there even looks and sounds like Fred Armisen.
For those who haven’t seen the show, basically I mean that this place drips with hipster ooze. You get the feeling if you don’t order your drink vegan, they’ll refuse to sell it to you. I have never felt so unwelcome in a coffee shop. .
Funny thing also, every other person in the café was bunkered down with their macbooks. In the linux café. right

Like Bijan I really wanted to like the Linux Café. Old timers might remember the Binary Café and Hexadecimal Emporium (
). A place you could go for a coffee and read well thumbed copies of 2600.
The Linux Café features lots of penguin symbolism to set it apart from a certain unnamed chain that features a rendering of a certain mermaid tucking her legs behind her certain ears. Like the aforementioned chain, the Linux café also suffers from the one table, one person, one laptop, one cup (but not two girls) scourge. Sunday table space is a premium. I don’t know why people scream about certain unnamed chains that supposedly destroy someone’s fantasy of an indie coffee house culture that never existed until certain unnamed chains moved in to not destroy them. Last time I checked certain unnamed chains were just taking over abandoned bank buildings. These places are always packed to the gills.
I guess complaining about certain unnamed chains is the same as just throwing «goatse» into the lunchroom conversation when you’re mildly disgusted by your friend eating an egg salad sandwich. If these indie coffee houses are suffering, it’s because they haven’t figured out a guy drinking one coffee while sitting at one table for 3 hours doesn’t make economic sense.
That biatching aside, when you do find a table, it is a pleasant enough space. The service is very very friendly. They never quite got my order right despite checking with me 3 times but the error was in my favor (I tried to order just a normal drip coffee but they kept insisting I ordered the cappuccino). I had the goat cheese panini which runs under $ 6. Certain chain coffee places with sailor erotic mermaid logos would probably ring you up more for anything food product-​ish. I got hooked on panini in England (
) and I was pretty disappointed. It was on the smallish side and the goat cheese didn’t have that goat cheese bite that tells you you’re eating something that came from a goat.
I did appreciate they have a shop toboggan. Some indie coffee and tea places think they’re all so cool if they have a shop house cat. But, wow, a toboggan for customer use but not in-​store use. Focusing beyond their patio is a Christie Pits style park with pretty wicked sledding hills.
Eco-​conscious newspapers are also found throughout the café. My wingman Joaquin Phoenix commented on the way out «at least it’s not loud in there.» So true.

Linuxcaffe will always stand out from most other passport stops just because it had all sorts of random things hanging from the walls and all sorts of other decorations. It took me a while to really look around and I came to the conclusion it reminded me of the «Midsummer Night’s Dream», it’s close to a park and some decorations were very magical foresty looking, it did have random «movie set» themed deco as well which I assume comes in to full effect during open mic nights?
But overall, it is nice, quiet and cozy although seats are just your typical tables and chairs.
I was unhappy they only took cash and the ATM was in a corner and I would have had to weed myself past people to reach it so I let the idea of ordering a snack and a coffee to go at rest. I was slightly disappointed that my latte came in a regular mug, I assume I would appreciate it more if I was a regular so it seemed more homely, but if I wanted a latte in a mug I would have made one at home.
The drink was not bad though, I would definitely go for it again if I return here. I would like to try out some of their food items next time, just need to remember to bring some cash with me.

It’s awesome, awesome, awesome! How can it be rated at only 3 stars? This place just freaking ROCKS. Yes, it’s a bit grungy inside, but in a homey, comfy way.
First, the hours are a delight. The place is open till 11 p.m. every night except Sunday. This is such a refreshing change from the ridiculous 7−6−5 and ever 4:30 p.m. closing times of so many other Toronto cafes.
Then there is the food. It’s freshly made in-​house and extremely tasty. Lost of vegetarian options are available. The prices are slightly on the high side, but I’m willing to pay a little bit more for a delicious, healthy, fresh meal. Never had any issues with menu readability.
The drinks are quite interesting. There are the usual espresso-​based drinks, a big selection of teas, and some offbeat offerings such as ginseng lattes.
The service has always been prompt and friendly. There is wi-​fi that’s free for patrons as well as for people just hanging out at Bickford Park! There is a bowl of doggie treats for those coming by with their four-​legged friends. This place is nearly perfect.
The only word of caution is to avoid the bar stools — I find them extremely uncomfortable; I’m always sliding off them, and there isn’t a decent place to rest my feet. So I just make sure to always get a table seat now.

Just walking to Linuxcaffe is a really relaxing experience. the open park area, kids screaming, dog barking at Bickford Park.
The inside is crowded and cozy… the deco remind me of Ideal Coffee down at Ossington. but at least the chairs and the tables are not ready for garage sale yet.
Really nice barista… the Matcha Latte I ordered using my Indie Coffee passport was served in one of those garage sale grandmother’s mug! And when I looked at the coffee beans they have for sale, they are from Ideal Coffee too!
Sunday afternoon… demanding kids screaming into the Café demanding hot chocolate and cookies. Linuxcaffe is the only coffee place I been to have so many kids coming in at once! In fact maybe the only one aside Red Rocket at Leslieville that kids are roaming the place!
People studying… People on WIFI… Kids going on sugar high… Me sipping Latte…
What a nice Sunday afternoon!

I really want to like Linux Café a lot more than 3 stars but there are some things holding it back… mainly the rather soft cappuccino I had.
The location is a little hidden from everywhere but is surprisingly great with the park across the street and being in a quiet neighbourhood. The café is really ghetto but in a homey cozy way. They also have tons of Ubuntu and linux paraphernalia scattered throughout the place which warmed up my geeky heart a bit.
Prices seemed pretty standard although as per Vivek’s review criteria, the menu readability is pretty poor. I’ll definitely be back for the novelty of being part of a Linux crowd but maybe only if I happen to be in that part of town.

#indiecoffeepassport stop #6
It’s definitely a freelancer’s haven. The café’s intimate atmosphere invites a lot of people to stay here for several hours and work on their laptops. I, without a laptop, stayed for a while, and read my book and drank my Americano.
If it wasn’t for my Indie Coffee Passport, I probably wouldn’t come here because it is far from my area. But with the park across the street, I would consider making a trip up in the warmer months and hang out longer.

Since this place is one of the Indie Coffee Passport stops, I skipped buying my typical latte and ordered a (vegan) soup instead. I asked the server if the bread that came with it was vegan too, and he said he didn’t think so.
Now, this is the part I really liked. He quietly gave me a bit of a discount on the soup (which is normally 3.95) I thought that was a nice (and unexpected) touch. He was very friendly in general, and asked me how my soup was when he walked by later.
I wish they got their vegan baked goods from somewhere other than «OMG Baked Goodness» because I can’t support that place at all. Please get some Sweets From the Earth!
It’s got free wifi (yey!)
It charges extra for soy milk (booo!)
The soup was decent, the first bite was kind of oddly sharp and unpleasant, but by the end of it I was really enjoying it, so I think I’d probably order it again.

C O F F E E P A S S P O R T S T O P (#19)
Drink: Ginseng Latte
Atmosphere:
Reminds me of a cross between:
(Rooster Coffee House) ’cause of the location which is ALMOST facing a park, Bickford Park to be exact, but nonetheless in a remote neighbourhood with two big picnic tables in the front that would be great during summer time. Still, Rooster has the best location.
(I Deal on Nassau St.) ’cause the interior is dimmed with mismatched furniture, but I like this place better ’cause it gives more of a ‘chill’ vibe. It’s also almost the same amount of seating.
(Moonbean) ’cause my drink had A LOT of ”leftovers”. Plus, it was way too milky! But but BUT, the foam was delicious since it had some ginseng syrup drizzled on top.
Verdict: You guys are my 19^th stop. I’ve raised my standards by now and you guys just don’t cut it. On to the next one.

I wanted to like this place. I wanted to get a cup of coffee, pay for it and drink it. I might have even bought a muffin. Oh well…
The counter servers, two of them, completely ignored my friend and I. They looked through us like we were invisible, as we stood there like idiots. I tried to get their attention and they turned away. Meanwhile it wasn’t as though they were busy. We stood there for a few awkward minutes and then left.

Super geeky. I’m a geek so I love it.
Staff is great. Knowledgeable about open source software as well as coffee. Free wi-​fi, lots of coding books, free linux cds, large projector screen available, clientele is as geeky as the theme, and great coffee.
This small coffee shop is a cute place. Everything about it reminds me of my days in San Francisco. Very hippy-​ish feel to it. Nothing matches and things are inside because they work not because they necessarily look nice.
Apparently there is a huge online community, I’m not part of it but I suppose it’s cool, expand the coffee shop outside of the coffee shop. This place offers many seminars and discussions on programming. If you want to learn how, this would be a great place to learn from others as the people are pretty open to help. There are many programming books they let you borrow.
When I went the very cute girl behind the counter decided she wanted an ice cream sundae and went out to pick up a few ingredients and made a bunch for the patrons too. Pretty cool. Place is very laid back but may not exactly be a place for the average coffee consumer as the vibe is kinda geek chic.
Overall, I like the place a lot. Prices are reasonable and the coffees are great. Treats are good too but its the atmosphere of geeks wanting to be with other geeks and willing to help is what makes this place different. Great view of Bickford Park too if you get a seat by the window.

Granted, it has something of a hippie-​computer-​geek-​dorm-​room décor (overgrown plants, mismatched furniture, dusty programming manuals).
BUT Linux serves a rockin’ espresso and has tasty sandwiches. Vibe is chill, music is good, staff is friendly, if a bit zoned-​out, and you can sit here from 8 am till 6 pm mooching off of the free wi-​fi, nursing a pot of Jasmine tea without a single dirty look.
Big windows look onto Harbord or Grace, and it’s across from Bickford Park (dog-​central).
That said, service is at a snail’s pace, so if you order food, be prepared to wait as each tomato is sliced with great care, your cheese is aged while you wait, etc. And while gluten-​free and vegan desserts don’t have to taste like cardboard, here, unfortunately, they do.

Linux Caffe if one of those places that looks really great from the outside, yet isn’t anything special on the inside…
I’d compare it to the first time I had a twinkie. Every one told me twinkies were delicious, filled with yummy whip cream and would be great for a sweet tooth craving. But, when I had it, I didn’t get why everyone loved them so much. It was mushy and didn’t satisfy my sweet tooth at all… My experiences at Linux Caffe were kind of the same.
I loved the look from the outside, but wasn’t that impressed overall. I found it over priced and the service was a bit complacent. (I tried it twice just to make sure).
I guess if you’re into programming you may be drawn to Linux as I know they offer free software and have an online community, which is pretty cool. But, if you aren’t part of this little group, you don’t really feel as welcome.
If you don’t care about the welcomeness and you like twinkies, it isn’t a bad spot to sit across from Bickford Park on a sunny day.