Propeller Coffee

1^st of all, a great roastery (third wave). The brewing (so many different methods, first place I’ve ever seen a Clover machine!) is also top-​notch. The baristas are friendly and it is a lovely, open, bright space with plenty of room to sit and work or chill. What more could you want? :)

Great place to get some work done! The space is airy and bright with ample seating — no fighting for a spot here. There is plenty of room to spread out and you don’t feel hurried out at any point. Wifi is good, music is quiet and not too distracting. The coffee is excellent — I think their beans recently won an award? This is not the place for fancy flavoured lattes. Rather, just get something simple and enjoy. They offer a small selection of cookies, croissants, and sandwiches in case you get hungry. This is a lovely spot and it’s just a short walk from Lansdowne station. Part of me wishes it were more centrally located, but I think part of the charm (and the reason it is nice and quiet) is because it is on a side street.

Wow, what a gem! Went to Propeller Coffee for a coffee tasting and education event through Toronto Commons, and had such a great experience! The owner Geoff is super knowledgeable about all the origins and brews of coffee, and was a great host. The coffee and space is well-​thought out, sourced, and environmentally conscious. Highly recommend a visit to see the beautiful space and to try out their single-​origin coffee. Overall, amazing coffee roasters and event!

Location: Being from Montréal, I couldn’t even begin to tell you how to get here. It’s in a ghetto-​esque part of town where you would never really expect to find this type of coffee house. We took the street car (or bus — I forget) to get here but unless you live in the neighbourhood, you might want to drive. I would definitely consider Propeller to be of the ‘hidden gem’ variety.
The place: Loved it. The space resembles a large loft, with garage-​style windows making up two of its walls, beautiful wood tables (communal-​style) and a large bar. They also have a tasting room where you can try their various blends! Note that this is only open on weekdays. Overall, the space is spacious and clean. Very airy joint where I would park myself with a book or laptop for several hours, if I lived in the T-​dot.
Coffee: Awesome. I don’t really think I need to say more other than the roast they used for my Macchiato was the Ace.
Service: OK. The girl behind the counter wasn’t overly friendly or smiley but she did take the time to tell me about their different blends before I left, since I wanted to stock up before heading back to Montréal.
Price point: Expensive. I had a Macchiato and a plain croissant and it cost me $ 8.

Wonderful hidden gem for coffee, beans or a break. Friendly helpful staff without attitude.

Had the nitro coffee and thought it was excellent, new and interesting, so glad I tried it. The space is absolutely stunning, I could sit there and work or people watch all day long. Hopefully they amp up their snack game a little, with a bit more food variety (maybe prepared stuff from Food Benders hint hint) I could see myself spending the entire winter there.

There has been a lot of (negative) discussion about «hipsters» serving coffee, however, this place can benefit from a friendly hipster barista/​server. I had followed the build and opening of Propeller and visited with anticipation and was impressed with every detail… except the server. That said, I’m not looking to be entertained although a simple acknowledgement, while being the sole person in line for five minutes, might be nice. Ask for skim milk and be shamed, and I am confident that this was, and remained, the highlight of our young servers day. As far as the coffee is concerned, we gulped it back so we could run to another «hipster» coffee shop where the server AND the barista actually acknowledged our existence and smiled whilst taking our money.
Summary;
Hipsters — 1
Miserable Server with Attitude– 0

Expansive, airy space and the bean arm of my favorite coffee shop (Crema) in TO so what’s not to love? Didn’t get a chance to check out their roasting operation and the place is maybe too loud due to high industrial ceilings, but will definitely return.