A Masterpiece on your plate

The 411

A recent arrival to the scene, Cafe Art Java (2005) has carved out a niche for itself in making latte coffee art. If your not familiar with coffee art it’s basically designs made with the foam of the coffee. You can take a look at the video posted bellow to see how it is done or simply by clicking HERE . Now, the good thing about Cafe Art Java is that coffee is not the only thing they do well; they also serve up a pretty good breakfast and they make it look nice as well.

At 1st glance

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that it was partially wheelchair accessible in regards to the entrance (this is always nice to see). The place is broken up into 3 areas with a front spot near windows, a to-go counter with some banquets, and then another dinning area at the back. There are also many small LCD TVs on the wall showing random shows – I found this is distracting since I have no willpower when it comes to TV. Though, for others, it makes a nice touch by having some background noise and a touch of home.

Food

I find the menu is a good mix of your classic staple breakfast dishes like pancakes, waffles, omelettes etc as well as some nice touches like cheese soufflés. There are 9 choices of omelettes ranging from $9.50-$10.95; 3 french toast options from $9.00-$9.25; 4 waffle options from $10.00-$10.50; 2 eggs benedict options from $9.50-$11.75 and 2 soufflés at $11.00. The bagel lox is well priced at $2.95 and coffee is $1.95. The coffee is good although not a bottomless cup and at 1.95, the price is not amazing. Although considering this is a coffee place I am not shocked I did not get free refills. Although the latte ($3.50) did have an awesome design, not only did it made it look better but it tasted amazing. The presentation on the dishes is really esthetically pleasing. The fruit plate looks like a giant flower and tasted as good as it looks. The fruit plate ($12.50) came with a generous offering of fruit, yogurt, and chocolate and banana bread. I had the Birdie ($10.00) which is an egg in basket/window/frame. For those who do not know about what an egg in window is, it is a piece of toast with a hole cut out in the center and an egg fried in the middle. The taste was excellent, and this is the only place where an egg in window is listed on the menu. I wanted to have the soufflé but it takes 25 minutes to prepare and it is a light dish so my being hungry would have gotten in the way of me truly enjoying it.

Service

Our waiter was very helpful; he did a great job of explaining the menu and was suggestive with various substitution options. He checked up on us often enough and the bill came quickly.

Vegetarian

There were a good few vegetarian options. Most of the omelette options were non-meat, the fruit plate was filling and offered little extras. This would also make a good vegan option except for some of the sides that came with it but you can ask to hold them. As well , there are coffee beverages with soy options.

Wrap up

Although I was not initially expecting the most amazing food here, I was pleasantly surprised. The taste was very good, options were plentiful and the attention to detail for the plating (and even the coffees) makes for a very pleasant brunch experience. I think that if you are on Mount Royal Street you should not pass up the chance to try out Café Art Java.

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Price	$$$	<$15
Overall		3.5/5
Wheelchair Access		1/3

latte ($3.50)

Fruit Plate ($12.50)

“Le Birdie” ($10.00)

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