Leaves House Cafe: a Review

Last Friday, Leaves House celebrated its 3rd year anniversary with the opening of their brand new cafe on McGill College Ave, which I went to. I had walked pass their first coffee shop (situated on de la Montagne) a couple of times, but had never set foot. So I thought, what better moment to try it out than at the grand opening of their new cafe?

What makes this coffee shop special though? First and foremost, they don't serve any cow milk. Instead, you get to pick which plant based milk you want! There are 6 different options: coconut, rice, almond, macadamia nut, soya or oat milk. The best part? It's not even an extra! Only the oat and macadamia milks are an extra expense, and even there it's only $0.22-$0.43 .

Leaves House Cafe drink menu

This makes Leaves House 100% plant based, yet they don't rub it in your face. Thank god, cause some places just have to tell you about it and it's freaking irritating. Jerry, one of the employees at the cafe, explained to me that "the Leaves House Cafe is discrete with promoting their products as being plant based, because they don't want to make a big deal out of it. They want to normalize it." Honestly, more companies should have the same philosophy.

The coffee shop has a minimalist decor, but is adorned with many plants, giving it its name. They have a bunch of adorable mini cactuses, which not only give the shop a pop of color but can also be purchased!

Okay okay, enough blabla and onto my experience of the place.

WHAT I PICKED

Super-Latté à la Betterave

Betterave & Cacao + choix de lait (I picked oat milk)

Donut

Cherry & Almond Paste glaze

When asked what I wanted to order, I was about to ask for my usual pick, a Chai Latte, but I told myself that an independent coffee shop as this one would probably have something special on their menu. My body was probably like thank fucking god she's trying something new for once. As I thought, when I asked if they had any specialities I was told that theirs was their Super-Lattés. But what makes these lattes so super? They call them this way because their main ingredient is rather special: it's either beet, matcha or curcuma.

I picked the Beet Super-Latté (stop crunching up your face in disgust and continue reading) with oat milk and a Cheery & Almond Paste glazed donut.

My first comment about the latte is gonna sound really basic: it's super pretty! Sure, it doesn't have a fancy design made with the milk, but come on it's pink! The Instagram hoe within me came alive y'all. Sizewise, I was happy too. It was not too large, not too small. [ Because sometimes size matters. ] Tastewise, it was surprisingly spicy! I definitely did not expect that. When you first sip it, it has a very mild milk & beet taste. It's when you swallow (let's keep it serious people) that it's spicy in the back of the throat. Don't worry though, this isn't the same kind of spicy that'll make your nose runny and mouth feel on fire. Something else that surprised me is that it did not taste like coffee... I'm not a coffee maniac, so personally it didn't bother me, but if you enjoy a strong coffee I wouldn't pick this drink.

Now onto the donut. Leaves House receives all its donuts from Trou de Beigne, a Montreal donut shop. The size of the donut was quite small, much smaller than your usual Tim Hortons donut, but the quality was evidently better. I had already eaten donuts from this company before (and really loved, it, their donuts are ah-mazing), so I was pretty excited to try out this new one. The cherry and almond paste flavours fit well together, cherry being the most dominant. It was also very sweet. Seriously, very sweet. I have a sweet tooth so I enjoyed it, but I didn't scarf it down like I usually would. That said, my recommendation is if you want to have a donut, you're better off pairing it with a non-sweet drink or eating it slowly. I really enjoyed the balance of sweet & spicy my latte and donut created together.

THE AMBIANCE

I loooooooved the ambiance and location of this shop!

For me ambiance in a coffee shop, or anywhere where there is a shopping experience, is very important. Ambiance, apart from the product, is kind of a deal breaker. If a product is good, but you hate the place, chances are that when you'll want to hang out in a cafe with your friend, you won't go back.

So first off, the coffee shop is located in the Bell Tower on McGill College Avenue, which makes it central. Second, if you've never been in the Bell Tower, it has a fountain in the lobby. The Leaves House Cafe is directly next to/in the lobby, which means that you can hear the water falling! I really loved this. It gave such a serene vibe, especially early in the morning when the shop is relatively empty. Plus, they play some chill music in the background that isn't annoyingly loud (I sound so old). This means you can actually do some work there! THANK YOU. If you're someone like me who has a hard time working when there's music on, you'll really appreciate this. The loudest noises are the people's chitter-chatter, and the occasional "pshhht" of the coffee machines. There's also a lot of natural light thanks to the ceiling high windows (and the ceiling is really high too). Finally, what I also really liked is that the seating area is placed behind & above the counter, meaning you could watch the baristas quietly go about making drinks.

... I sound like such a stalker.

ALL IN ALL

All in all, I definitely enjoyed my experience at the Leaves House Cafe. The staff was very friendly, the ambiance was lovely, the products were original and... I'm definitely coming back!

What I must've looked like taking a gazillion pictures of my latte: