21 Best Restaurants in Canada

Located in a former firehouse at the east end of Duckworth Street, this trendy beer and coffee bar makes an ideal place to chill at the end of your downtown explorations. The architecture features industrial elements like exposed beams and massive glass garage doors that open to an outdoor space in summer. The atmosphere is friendly and calming, a choice spot for work or for fun.

One of the hippest coffee shops you'll ever set foot in—but completely devoid of snobbery—shares space with a bicycle shop, cleverly named Icycle Sport. The service is superfriendly, and the coffee is, quite simply, stellar, as are the baked goods. Several members of the same family run different angles of the operation.

So much more than a specialty coffee shop, Radium's only café offers a full selection of grab-and-go soup and sandwiches, breakfast burritos, quiche, and baked goods for breakfast and lunch. A bright, spacious room with high, open-duct industrial-style ceilings contrasts nicely with the warmth of the custom-made Douglas fir tabletops, plants throughout, and a wall filled with locally made BC products. Free Wi-Fi is available, as well as charging stations if you need to catch up on work or research. The outdoor patio (with umbrellas) is the perfect place to enjoy a beverage and people-watch.

This cozy café serves a variety of hot beverages, breakfast, and lunch options. Windows all-round provide light and an airy interior seating, while outside tables provide a sunny alternative during the summer months.

Sip a house-roasted coffee or nibble a bright shrimp salad while pondering art that decorates this colorful café at the heart of the town. The owner's intention was to create a delicious place that helped support local artists. Paintings, stained glass, and other objects decorate the sunlit space, where timbers support high ceilings. Generous salads and sandwiches characterize the menu. Homemade soups and desserts are available, too. For a nightcap, try a spiked coffee.

This café is a great place to enjoy coffee, tea, or ice cream, grab-and-go breakfasts, fine chocolates, or baked goods before or after a hike. There's also a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, pizza, hamburgers, stew, burgers, fries, and poutine. They even micro-roast organic fairly traded coffee beans in small batches, and you can have local beer or BC wine with your meal if you dine inside. There are picnic tables if you wish to dine outside and enjoy the magnificent scenery.

More than 80 varieties of loose leaf teas, craft beverages, and artisan coffees are served alongside fresh, healthy, and local food at this downtown café. Look for pad Thai noodle bowls, rice bowls, salads, sandwiches, and delicious wraps. There are many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options on the menu as well.

Calgary's oldest restaurant started as a milk bar in the 1950s serving organic food before it was trendy; today it's best known for breakfast, which is served until 3 pm, but it’s a fine place for lunch and supper too. While this gem is not technically in Kensington, it's certainly worth the short walk. 

On any day, this specialty coffee roaster carries 15--20 different environmentally grown and socially responsible coffees which they roast on-site---they've won numerous roasting competitions. Each aromatic blend is perfectly brewed and can be enjoyed with baked goods, snacks, wraps, and other light fare. There are two locations in Canmore.

Spacious and bright with large tables, Beltline’s Good Earth is a great spot to grab fresh-baked goods and as ethical and responsible a coffee you will ever find. This feel-good coffee house also serves fresh and nutritious sandwiches, soups, and salads. It's also just one of several locations in the greater Downtown area.

Everything is local, fresh and made from scratch at this coffee shop in downtown Pincher Creek. Soups are made fresh daily and sandwiches are prepared to order. There are a variety of fresh baked goods made daily and the coffee is fresh ground and locally sourced.

Always cozy and full of sunshine, Higher Ground has been the go-to coffee shop in Kensington for decades. They serve 100% organic coffee and tea, so you can feel good about quaffing a hot beverage while sampling one of their fresh-baked goods or all-day breakfast items (particularly the Tuscan Sunrise---a panini with egg, sausage, tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, and basil pesto).

Alexandra and Axel Leonhard have gone from humble beginnings selling homemade bread at a local farmers' market to running a full-fledged café where food is made from scratch without additives, preservatives, or artificial flavorings. The room is bright and cheerful, and the devoted clientele keeps coming back for breakfast, casseroles, hearty gluten-free soups, sandwiches, and delicious desserts. Organic teas and freshly roasted coffee are served as well. Wait times for a seat are not usually an issue—but you can always grab something to go. In any case, come early: Leonhard's closes at 5.

This little café has great coffee and snacks as well as a variety of fresh options for a quick breakfast or lunch. It is located perfectly to help energize you before hiking Signal Hill or to let you refresh and relax after a tour of downtown or the Battery. Enjoy the cozy indoors on chilly days, or order through the window and enjoy the sun at an outdoor table. 

Choose from fresh-baked breads and pastries, homemade soups and sandwiches, and salads and quiches at this charming café and deli. Locals love the chocolate cake, a moist, rich delight.

Originally constructed in 1915 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, this building has been home to a variety of businesses, including a ham radio spot and a grocery store, and has been operated as a café by the current family since 1991. The café's small menu can be dine-in or ordered to go for a picnic somewhere in the park. Menu offerings include dishes like curry and rice bowls, burgers and sandwiches, and a variety of cold drinks and grab-and-go items. The Siding is also the local general store and liquor agency.

A youthful place with two different energies, Toslow serves coffee and light breakfast fare in the mornings, then at night switches to a dinner menu with bar service. Whatever time of day, you're sure to get delicious offerings prepared with local, seasonal ingredients. With a playful decor using antique pieces, the windows provide a view of St. John's Harbour and the Narrows.

Local work crews, mountain guides, and park wardens love this small café for a hot breakfast, lunch, or early dinner (until 6). Baked goods, made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, and salads are the specialties, and the coffee is excellent. This is a good place to pick up a meal to go if you're driving north on the Icefields Parkway. There are only a few seats along the window and a few chairs outside.

This fun local café's slogan is "Eat Butter," so it's no surprise that their massive buttery croissants are amazing, and freshly roasted beans from the coffee roastery next door—Anchored—means that the caffeinated drinks are perfect, too. 

First established in 1978, this company produces gourmet cured meats and artisan sausages. In the on-site deli, you can buy locally grown and made foods and enjoy a variety of freshly made sandwiches, chicken pot pies, sausage rolls, paninis, snacks, and treats served alongside coffee or tea.

This little coffee shop is attached to the Waterton Lakes Opera House and is a great spot to grab a nibble and re-caffeinate. Excellent breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and hearty lunch sandwiches can be picked up before heading out on a hike. A wide variety of coffees---from your basic cup of joe to fancy options like caramel macchiato and Vietnamese---are on offer. There are also a variety of teas, cold drinks, baked goods, and snacks on the menu.