GREAT HALIFAX CAFÉS IN EVERY NEIGHBOURHOOD
Halifax and Nova Scotia boast many local coffee roasters so you will see repeat brands at the great cafés listed below. Everyone has their favourite potion, so try them all to see what you think. Our local roasters are committed to ethical and transparent practices and quality control so peruse their sites to see if you find your perfect match, or play coffee bingo and try them all. Halifax’s commonly featured beans are:
HALIFAX: Anchored Coffee (Home base is Two if by Sea); Roastery 46 (Home base is Espresso 46); HAVE FUN. COFFEE (Home base is Café Good Luck); Java Blend (Home base is Java Blend).
SOUTH SHORE: Laughing Whale Coffee.
FUNDY SHORE AND ANNAPOLIS VALLEY: North Mountain Fine Coffees; Sissiboo Coffee Roasters.
In order of our central neighbourhoods, from South to North, here is the hit list of our favourite coffee spots and breakfast food highlights.
South End Halifax
Listen Halifax (Rooms Coffee)
Neighbourhood: South End Halifax | Instagram
Small, peaceful, and groovy café and record shop, curated by Eddie Swee, who is also one of Halifax’s favourite DJs. Listen is part of the Toronto-based Rooms Coffee collective of locations, so if you know, you know. Listen serves up crafted coffee, matcha, and teas, with select pastries.
PHOTO: @listenhalifax
Trident Booksellers & Café
Neighbourhood: South End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Dusty bookshelves weave between small tables at this relic café that still draws the South End scholars, open mic strummers, and feminist snappers. Tride and true, spend some time here in the day or evening, and grab some of their baked goods (with gluten free options).
Photo: @trident_cafe_halifax
Glitter Bean Café
Neighbourhood: South End Halifax | Instagram
Glitter Bean is a queer-centric, unionized, worker-owned co-op, and an icon, serving up hot beverages, light pastries and lunch, and occasional events (they also have a liquor license). It came to us as a product of café employees uniting against unfair working conditions of a former “espresso bar” (RIP lol), and when that folded, the employees rose from the ashes with Glitter.
PHOTO: @glitterbeancafe
Downtown Halifax
Bird’s Nest Café
Neighbourhood: Downtown Halifax | Instagram | Website
Land safely at this popular locale for coffee, breakfast, lunch, and the downtown working crowd. The Nest features Java Blend coffee, fresh baked sweets, and a solid variety of paninis, soups, and salads, with take-and-bake cookie packages to bake at home.
ALSO LISTED IN [LUNCH SPOTS AND SANDYS]
PHOTO: @birdsnesthalifax
PHOTO: @weirdharbour
PHOTO: @steveorenos
Coffeeology Espresso Co.
Neighbourhood: Downtown Halifax | Instagram
Pour over coffee and bike café, Coffeology is hip to it. Owner, Kay Kim, infused 2 decades of barista knowledge from South Korea, when they opened Coffeeology in 2018, and has maintained a score of 4.9 stars on Google. They feature Laughing Whale Coffee Roasters products.
PHOTO: @coffeeologyespressoco
PHOTO: @dillydallyeats
Central/North and North End Halifax
Seven Bays (Gottigen Café)
Neighbourhood: Central/North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Seven Bays could be mistaken for the Home Office of the North End. With lots of seating varieties (indoor/outdoor), expansive hours, hearty breakfast and lunch options, smoothies, hot/cold beverages, and a liquor license, there aren’t many reasons to leave. You can also go for a climb, if that’s part of your daily grind.
ALSO LISTED IN [LUNCH SPOTS AND SANDYS]
PHOTO: @sevenbays
LF Bakery
Neighbourhood: Central/North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
A very serious French bakery that you should get to early in the day for that special loaf of fresh baked bread. Pastries galore and excellent coffees, get two croissants because you’ll chug the first one before your cappuccino is up. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating available.
ALSO LISTED IN [SWEET TREATS]
PHOTO: @lfbakeryhalifax
Alteregos Café
Neighbourhood: Central/North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Local Alteregos is on the ground floor of Halifax Backpackers hostel, so they specialize in quick and easy sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. Their dedicated customers can be found posted up outside, or inside, writing a novel.
PHOTO: @alteregoscafe
Ramblers
Neighbourhood: Central/North End Halifax | Instagram
It’s hard to pass by this modern rustic gem and not pop in (really cute patio) – so give in. Crack open your laptop for a work sesh or meet up with pals over coffee or matcha, great breakfast sandwiches, fresh baked pastries, with all the gluten free options. Ramblers serves community with lots of cute pop-up events, because they are friends of friends.
ALSO LISTED IN [LUNCH SPOTS AND SANDYS] [GLUTEN FREE HIGHLIGHTS]
PHOTO: @ramblers.hfx
CAFÉ LARA
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Lara is spacious and quaint with an all-day breakfast full of modern classics. Equipped with a liquor license, Lara is a great bookable venue for local events like intimate music shows, album and book launches, mini art parties, and more. If Seven Bays is the North End Home Office, Lara is probably our Living Room.
PHOTO: @laraonagricola
Café Byron
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Byron is the new hot child in the city, with a breezy interior - a love letter to Byron Bay, Australia. Could have fooled us, because it’s giving a dose of surf energy that Halifax is also known for. Coffee, matcha, sandwiches, and a vibe.
PHOTO: @cafebyron_
The Fourth Pull
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Coffee, protein, collagen, electrolytes (be still middle-aged people everywhere) – it’s your pre or post workout dream or a quick stop while you’re on the go. Regularly rotating pulls gives you something new to consider and sip on, and they love a conversation.
PHOTO: @thefourthpull
Espresso 46
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Indisputably the all-around favourite coffee of Haligonians, Espresso 46 is elusive. Located in the North End’s Warehouse Market, it appears to be a coffee window (which people will line up for in all seasons). But venture inside to find a few small tables and sneak upstairs to sit in a sunbeam. Italian owner, Federico Pasquinelli, only came to us in 2017, but with the community of dedicated patrons, it feels like he’s been here all along. This café is the home base of Roastery 46 which you can find on shelves around town.
PHOTO: @espresso.46
Java Blend
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram | Website
Founded in 1938, Java Blend Coffee is one of the Canada's oldest coffee roasters, and their impact on Halifax is immense. You’ll find their coffee at many cafés and retailers around town, and some have even been awarded their own custom blends. This café is their home base where you can get the whole selection of their beans to take home.
PHOTO: @javablendcoffee
Lucy's Hydrostone Café
Neighbourhood: North End Halifax | Instagram
Formerly Julien's Patisserie (30+ years, icon), Lucy’s is a European-style café, with warmth and tradition, found in the beautiful Hydrostone neighbourhood. They provide a huge assortment of breads and baked goods made either in house or by local partners.
PHOTO: @lucyshydrostonecafe
Downtown/North End Dartmouth
Café Goodluck
Neighbourhood: Downtown Dartmouth | Instagram | Website
You can find the fingerprints of entrepreneur, Sonny Adamski, all over Halifax. It’s like he’s creating future nostalgia in real time. He started with Dairy Bar (see SWEET TREATS), and Café Goodluck is her whimsical little brother. Delicious and healthy breakfast and lunch pairs with their expert coffee, roasted by their new baby, HAVE FUN. COFFEE. Pop through Goodluck to daydream and check out their monthly coffee “cupping” to learn about tasting notes.
ALSO LISTED IN [SWEET TREATS]
PHOTO: @cafe.goodluck
Two If By Sea Café
Neighbourhood: Downtown Dartmouth | Instagram | Website
Croissants drop, and we listen, and they’re a meal and more. TIBS has a line-up of croissant and pastry classics, and their weekly feature is available Monday – Friday or until they run out (ie: ricotta-blueberry-lavender, cheddar-bacon-jalapeño, whoooaaaa…). Oh right, they also have drinks – TIBS is the home base for Anchored Coffee.
PHOTO: @twoifbyseacafe
Ori Foods
Neighbourhood: North End Dartmouth | Instagram | Website
Make the trek to Ori Foods by any means necessary (I see the No. 3 Bus does go by it…). This is a small but mighty café with exceptional sandwiches, exquisite French pastries, oh, and coffee. Everything is baked in house and you’re going to want to take a box of sweets to go.
ALSO LISTED IN [LUNCH SPOTS AND SANDYS] [SWEET TREATS]
PHOTO: @orifoodsco
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