Have you been to Colette Grand Café? Recently? It’s a beautiful French Bistro in Toronto. I love finding cute coffee shops in Toronto and whenever I do, the same thought comes to my mind every time: “I wish there were more of these hot spots when I was growing up downtown.” Colette is my go-to cafe when I’m visiting my mom because of its walking distance from her place. Brunch is amazing, dinner is good and the service is always the very best.
Last week I came here for some delicious cake and a latte, while I caught up with my sister. I was told there weren’t serving any desserts at the moment because they closed down their bakery/cafe section and changed it into a private party room. I for one loved that corner of Colette. Here’s an old picture of what it looked like:
ca·fe
kaˈfā,kəˈfā/
noun 1. a small restaurant selling light meals and drinks.
synonyms:
coffee shop, tea room
No More Café at the Colette Grand Café? [TORONTO]
I love this sweater by Tobi!
So no desserts, but they still make one of my favourite lattes. Some places make them too strong (I can’t take too much caffeine) but at Colette, it’s perfect! The interior here is so spot on with the whole French bistro vibe. Perfect for photography. More details of what I wore this day:
These Zara boots are from last year so you may not find them in stores right now. They’re the perfect fit as the heel height is comfortable enough to walk in for hours. I love pointy/round toe boots because they make my feet look smaller. (I’m a size 7-8).
Hat: Big It Up
This hat is really warm! I purchased this right before my husband purposed to me. So around 2009. The quality of this hat is so great that it still feels and looks brand new. Highly recommend getting a Big It Up hat.
I love the flared sleeves on this Tobi sweater dress. You can easily wear the sweater almost off the shoulder depending on what size you get. I’m wearing the small size. This sweater is currently on sale for $34.
Cafe Cancan is a fairly new cafe that opened up on Harbord Street in Toronto. Harbord street is a nostalgic area for me because I went to high school near there. The night before going to Cafe Cancan I did some research about the place and went on to their website to do some light reading about the cafe, the owners and anything I needed to know before I went there.
Patio lights
I love the fact that this cafe is actually designed by Tiffany Pratt. I love her happy go lucky style and everything she touches with her sense of design is incredible!
If you decide to visit this place, keep in mind that parking is a little bit hard to find in this area. We were fortunate enough to find a spot in the residential area, a block from the cafe. I was so excited to check this place out I didn’t mind the walk, although it was really hot. So I got Baby Z cozy in her stroller and we were on our way! So anyways, we get to the cafe and the front view of this place is just so pretty! If you know me, I have this thing with coloured doors. And a pink one! I died. It’s so cute! Immediately I thought, photo opp!
There are a few steps to enter into the cafe, but that’s no problem with the jogger stroller I have.
As soon as we entered Cafe Cancan we were welcomed by a lady and I asked for a booth for two by the door so I can tuck my stroller away. She looked at me and said “Okay, just a second.” and walked away. A few minutes later..
another lady came over. She leaned forward and said “Sorry, there are no strollers allowed here.” You can imagine I was taken aback and baffled. I had never been to a place, no where in Toronto and even in all of our travels with our stroller (Italy, Mexico, Niagara Falls *lol*) did anyone ever say to me, no strollers allowed. I guess I was at a loss of words so I was just staring blank at her and my brother who was with me also didn’t know what to say either. Then, and I don’t know why I said this… “I guess I could just leave my stroller outside and try to watch it from this booth?” And she replied, “sure.” I walked outside, and then of course after baby brain stopped kicking in, I realized, no way. I’m not leaving my $1000 stroller outside!
I started to think, forget it. I’m not staying here. Let’s just go home and eat whatever we can grab. But as we started walking back I thought, I shouldn’t change my plans because of one road block. I should find a way around it and do what I wanted to do. Why have this ruin my excitement to go there and enjoy the food and ambiance? So we walked back to the car, dropped off the stroller, I put a hat on Baby Z and we walked back in the heat. It makes me sad to think that what if I was a new mom and this was my very first day coming out of my house and treating myself to a nice lunch with my little one and then to have them say to me “no strollers allowed.” I know for sure I’d go back to my car, go home and cry. Thinking perhaps moms shouldn’t go to cute places. Or maybe, baby and I don’t belong in a restaurant. But truth is, that’s ridiculous. And if a restaurant doesn’t allow strollers, then they should do their due diligence to write that on their website or by the door. Because I did mine by going on and checking to make sure it was a big enough facility. There was lots of space there for me to fold my stroller and tuck away. It wasn’t even busy the entire time I was there, there was a total of 3 tables being served and 2 people came in to get coffee to go. There’s also a decent long hallway to the patio in the back of the cafe.
We ordered burgers. I got the veggie burger and it came with a side of fries. I was really happy with the amount of avocado they used in this burger. I love avocado. It was nice. If I were to go back I would try something different as I wasn’t in love with it. It’s a messy burger so I cut mine in half. The soda was really good, but it’s $6. I’d love to go back for lattes and dessert. The owners of the cafe were there and they were super nice. I didn’t mention what had happened. Would I recommend this place to others? Sure. Would I go again? Maybe. Only because the owners are nice, food was good and the place is so damn pretty!
P.S Later that same day we went to Lavelle and they were super accommodating. I folded up the stroller and put it against a wall that was pretty out of sight. Lavelle is a restaurant/lounge on a roof top on King St.
Have you ever gone somewhere and you felt not welcomed or discriminated?
No More Café at the Colette Grand Café? [TORONTO]
No More Café at the Colette Grand Café? [TORONTO]
