Last Updated on May 3, 2023 by Sammie
18 Best Specialty Coffee Roasters in Montreal (2023)
Montreal’s coffee scene is waking up if you catch my drift. This list of the best coffee roasters in Montreal highlights this artistic city’s newfound love for micro and nano coffee roasters.
Hi friends! Coffee Enthusiast, Sammie here, and I’m back in Montreal. I’ve been staying with some friends at the Cirque Du Soleil Headquarters while I train aerial straps nearby. Since I’m not on contract at the moment I have had far too much time on my hands to do my favorite thing; get coffee.
I’ve rounded up the best local coffee roasters that Montreal has to offer. Each one making a name for itself in this colorful city. We’ve got local shops with plenty of single-origin roasts, great ambiance, friendly staff, and of course, excellent coffee.
List of Best Coffee Roasters Montreal
What is a Specialty Coffee Roaster?
In technical terms, specialty coffee refers to coffee that has been graded in the mid to high 80s or even up to the 90s for special releases (which simply means it’s the real quality stuff). However, the coined term “specialty coffee roaster” or “craft coffee shop” does not have a distinct definition.
In the general and accepted sense, this term means that the coffee shop has a deeper connection and respect for the entire coffee supply chain. From the flavors derived from the soil to stocking the shelves, there is distinct appreciation. Specialty Coffee Roasters tend to have a strong moral desire for a fair and equitable supply chain.
21 Great Coffee Spots for Specialty Coffee
FROM OLD MONTREAL TO LACHINE CANAL, THERE IS SO MUCH GREAT COFFEE TO DISCOVER
1. Humble Lion
This great place has a steady flow of locals, professionals, and the creative folk. Located right in downtown Montreal, Humble Lion has a strong 90s vibe (which I absolutely adore). The music is on point, and the decor is interesting enough to get you in the door but not so distracting it takes away from any work that needs to get done. If you’re coming from out of town and want a sweet hit of Canada, try their maple latte. They also supply a selection of freshly baked sweet and savory scones as well as an assortment of other delicious treats. Their coffee beans are available online or in their coffee shops.
Location: The Heart of Montreal
📍 1904 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G3, Canada
2. Pastel Rita
When arriving at Pastel Rita you’ll be immediately greeted by the bright and airy colored design of the space. Located in the creative mile-end neighborhood of Montreal, this local third-wave coffee shop features the roasting house ZAB. Come for a cappuccino, stay for a natural glass of wine, and maybe get a tattoo on your way out? That’s right. Pastel Rita shares its space with Merci À Vous Tattoo Parlor. I want this to become the norm. Who do I talk to about that? Little coffee, little tattoo. Perfection.
Location: Mile End
📍5761 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2T 1S9, Canada
✉️ info@pastelrita.com
3. Cafe Myriade (Multiple Locations)
There are a few Café Myriade locations in Montreal, each one trying to be as novel as the next. The owner Anthony hates being associated with third-wave coffee, heck just check out their website, “not a third-wave coffee shop”. He just wants to create a product based on freshness, seasonality, and locality. Anthony prefers 49th Parallel Roasters for his coffee and sometimes features guest roasts from North America and Europe. The cafe is no bullsh**. They believe good coffee starts with the products, the rest is just hoopla.
Location: Mile End
📍28 Mont-Royal Ave W, Montreal, Quebec H2T 2S1, Canada
A staple of Montreal since the 70s, you can consider them espresso purists. Their menu is short, simple, and done right. Founder Rocco Furfaro wants to keep to his Italian roots so he hasn’t messed with the espresso recipe since day one. “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” You won’t find baristas bending over backward for milk alternatives or substitutes here, so don’t expect too many coffee alterations. But you can expect people who are committed to Italian traditions of authenticity, generosity and family. It’s the best place for your go-to coffee staples and a nice cozy atmosphere.
Location: Old Montreal
📍124 Rue Saint Viateur O, Montreal H2T 2L1 Canada
The owners of Paquebot (often called twopaq by locals) want you to experience all the glorious sides of coffee. This includes traditional recipes to grand experimentation to illustrious coffee cocktails. You’re in for a treat at this beloved cafe. Of course, you can sample their well-known cold brew but maybe you’d rather venture out and try their curry latte. And if you’re wandering the streets with a noncoffee companion, (ditch them, they aren’t good for you) they can enjoy the kombucha on tap.
Location: Old Montreal
📍 520 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 2Y9, Canada
The brightly colored turquoise door is enough alone to entice you to check out this unique shop. When passing by, you may mistake it for a regular depanneur but it is oh so much more. Besides offering local beers, natural wines, goodies, and candies, this place makes a serious cortado. Perfectly balanced. And to top it off their baked goods are made in-house and the freshness does not go unnoticed. Their freshly baked croissants are a great option, sometimes they get creative with the flavors. The other day I had a mushroom and gruyère one. SO GOOOOOOD. This place is one of my favorite coffee shops in Montreal.
Location: Old Montreal
📍179 Saint-Paul St W, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1Z5, Canada
7. Cafe Origine
A beautiful cafe in the heart of the arts and entertainment district. Cafe Origine will give you your fix of silky cappuccinos or lattes with latte art so beautiful it will be difficult to drink. They also have built quite a reputation for having some amazing pastries. Try their scones or their fresh croissants to dip in your coffee. The ambiance is relaxed and welcoming so don’t be surprised if you accidentally pass the entire morning here. I know I have.
Location: Quartier Des Spectacles
📍8 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H2X 4C9, Canada
📞 (438) 823-1353
A fantastic local coffee shop on the plateau with lots of single origin roasts. But if you’ve had one cup too many, check out their vast assortment of tea! It’s a wonderful retro-feeling buzzing environment with people chatting away and enjoying their espresso. Though inspired by Australian coffee shops, Pikola gets their Canadian coffee roasts from Phil & Sebastian and Micro-Torréfacteur Saint-Henri. Don’t leave without grabbing a muffin, pastry, or artisanal loaf!
Location: Quartier Des Spectacles
📍1635 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC H2X 2R4, Canada
Housed on Saint Laurent Boulevard, Cafe Pista is a beautiful cafe. They have amazing third wave coffee roasted personally by one of their owners, Alexandre Séguin. Cafe Pista has quite a charming atmosphere, with lots of wood and brick and distinct brightly-colored decor. If you happen to be thinking “Boy oh boy, this would be a great space for my birthday party”, you are in luck. You can rent out the local coffee shop any day after 5 pm. This is also the only place on the list that turns into an awesome wine bar on Thursdays and Fridays at 5 pm! Sit back and relax while you watch as the staff transform this coffee shop into Vin Public Wine Bar.
Location: Quartier Des Spectacles
📍1587 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2S9, Canada
They believe bad coffee needs to be a thing of the past. This specialty coffee roasting company has its door open to patrons in multiple locations across the city. Café Saint Henri Micro-Torrefacteur gained its reputation by purchasing its beans directly from the source. This Montreal coffee roaster gives customers the option to choose between multiple perfectly roasted beans to pair alongside some ridiculously beautiful and delicious artisanal doughnuts. Did I mention they have a twice-baked croissant? My mouth is already watering.
Location: Latin Quartier
📍301 Rue Émery, Montréal, QC H2X 1J2, Canada
11. Melk
Since opening its doors in 2013, this company has stopped at nothing to produce specialty organic coffee in a fair and sustainable way. Sourcing organic beans not only protects their farmers from nasty pesticides but also produces a standout product. They fully acknowledge that as a coffee producer, they are makers and sellers of not only coffee beans but also coffee bags. And this is why all of their bags are 100% compostable with their small batch coffee roasted weekly safely inside.
Location: Monkland Village
📍5612 Monkland Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H4A 1E3
📞 (514) 508-5789
A beautiful community co-roasting space that offers super duper new and exciting equipment for Montrealers (Montrealians?) to use for getting started in the coffee business. Before, the Canadian Roasting Society was mostly just that, a roasting company. Now after spending time trial and erroring a small coffee supermarket out of its shop, they have developed something that I have never seen before. The only place that you can find this many different local roasts on a shelf at one time. Whatever does not get sold they send straight to coffee shops around town or ship it directly to people’s homes. And no worries, of course, you can grab a caffeine hit and a biscuit while you shop.
Dreamy Coffee Supermarket is located inside the Canadian Roasting Society, open 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Location: Lachine Canal
📍3780 Saint-Patrick St., Montreal, Quebec H4E 1A2, Canada
13. Canal Roasters
Just along the bank of the Lachine Canal, the team at Canal started this coffee project after being dissatisfied time and time again with the coffee beans from their existing supplier. It was time to take the beans into their own hands, which is exactly what they did. Canal Roasters wants people to appreciate the entire specialty coffee process. From how it is harvested, picked, dried, bagged, shipped, roasted, and served to your hands. It takes a village to create a beautiful cup of specialty coffee and Canal highlights these humans and their skills as much as possible.
Location: Lachine Canal
📍3780 Saint-Patrick St., Montreal, Quebec H4E 1A2, Canada
14. Barista
The first 100% carbon-neutral coffee roaster in Quebec! They do not have their own cafe at the moment but they will deliver their specialty coffee beans by either bike or electric vehicle to you at your leisure. The owner, Iouri, was shocked to find that there was no carbon-neutral coffee fair trade company in Quebec so he decided to do it himself. And alas! He did! The coffee is spectacular and comes in biodegradable bags while being delivered in eco-friendly ways. Have your coffee while reducing your environmental impact. Iouri makes multi-tasking so easy.
Location: Mile End
📍5333 Avenue Casgrain, suite 603A
✉️ cafebinocle@gmail.com
Serving their coffee beans at their own coffee shop as well as quite a few spots around town, their mission stays the same; coffee and society. They want to add to the environments they inhabit not simply exist within them. Le Brûloir stops at nothing to search for the best flavor profiles that exist. Don’t forget to pay attention to their social media handles for cupping events. I had no idea what this was before but a cupping event is akin to a wine tasting. You’ll be able to decipher the various aromas and flavors of the coffee like the coffee connoisseur you are destined to be.
Location: Ahuntsic district
📍318 Fleury Street West and 8485 Saint-Laurent Blvd
Oh, the allure of Dispatch! This place has had a following since 2012 when it entered the coffee scene as a food truck. They have now expanded to three separate brick-and-mortar locations. Each one offering its famous, perfectly balanced, cold brew. And if you’re hungry, there are lots of options. Between having the classic breakfast pastries you’ll also find breakfast bowls, yogurt and granola, vegan options, and gluten-free options. I, unfortunately, do not live in Montreal so I’m delighted to hear that they now offer their signature roasts online through a subscription service.
Location: Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
📍4021 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2W 1Y4, Canada
📞 +15145042351
A pure coffee laboratory. Which for some may sound frightening but I assure you it is where you want to be. They have been using the Canadian Roasting Society since its opening and they are the real deal when it comes to sustainability practices. They only source sustainable beans and ship locally within Quebec and Montréal. The deliveries are on bikes in Montréal! This specialty coffee shop believes that each cup of coffee should be a moment to appreciate and escape into. This specialty coffee company is one to surely try in the city.
Location: Griffintown
📍1420 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal, Quebec H3C 1K9, Canada
18. La Finca Café
This place is so much more than a coffee shop in Montreal. Don’t get me wrong, what gets me excited about La Finca is their ethically sourced beans and sustainable trade with coffee bean farmers. Since 2012 they have been sourcing beans from the Don Eli Farm in Costa Rica, prioritizing ethical stability for the family-run farm. And to give variety to their products they also do business with Semilla Coffee, roasted in Montreal by PS Roasters. Besides coffee, La Finca Cafe offers a whole range of fine and local products, microbrewery beers, and natural wines.
Location: Downtown Montreal
📍1067 de Bleury Montreal, QC
📞 514.903.8911
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