New Humble Lion

Humble Lion has opened their second location! I was happy to walk by it the other day and see how much bigger this spot is. My first time visiting was back in 2013 when they had one small shop across from McGill's iconic Roddick Gates.

The second location is still very close to the original, and just a bit more south on the corner of McGill College Ave and St. Catherines. There is a ton of natural light and in the summer you can slide open the doors for a breeze! There are comfy tan booths along the walk, and gorgeous marble tables with cute mugs! There is also some bar seating. My favourite part is the antique map hung right above the booths. My photos didn't do it justice but you can check out their instagram page here.

Congrats Humble Lion on your second location!

Café Bloom II

Café Bloom is a gorgeous spot with great brunch! The flower tiles are iconic and I love their simple yet delicious menu. This was my second time coming to Bloom (both times for brunch!) thanks to the Indie Coffee Passport. Check out my first brunch visit here.

I had a cappuccino and got the croque-épinard which was basically toasted rye bread with spinach, feta, olives, cheese and a sunny side up egg with a maple sesame dressing. It was so delicious and the portion was really big!

I would definitely recommend this spot for brunch. The food is amazing, but try to go a bit earlier on the weekend so you don't have to wait in line!

Café Perko

I discovered another cute café with my friend C in Villeray called Café Perko. This is literally the perfect study spot!!

The owner opened this café because when she was a law student, she spent all of her time studying in coffee shops. She found herself either at a big chain coffee shop with expensive and terrible coffee, or small independent coffee shops where the coffee was great but the space was small, and the hours were not conducive to night owls. That's where the idea of Perko was born: a big enough coffee shop, open late, with good wifi and most importantly good coffee and good food at reasonable prices!

Perko offers everything from coffee and pastries to salads and sandwiches. They even have chargers that they can lend you if you forget yours - free of charge! One of the coolest perks about this café is their printing corner. They offer notepads, paper, pens, and envelopes! Finally, they even have a conference room with a large TV available for rent by the hour.

I absolutely loved the cozy and comfy vibe here, not to mention the motivation I felt being surrounded by so many focused students that were plugged in and working away! I suspect you need to come early if you want a table to work on because it was was packed when we got there on Saturday afternoon! Nevertheless, we loved our coffee and were so glad we discovered this spot.