Dark Horse Espresso

Cappuccino is smooth and tasty. Something has to be said about the quality of the beans and resulting espresso when an independent café can survive in the hyper competitive market of Toronto.
Saw some people FaceTiming, so safe to say that the internet is decent. Ample seating over the weekend though can see it being a challenge mid day during the week.

The ambience is nice, the staff is nice, the food is nice — but mostly I come here because they make good coffee and even better espresso.

Amazing food, drinks and atmosphere. Pleasant and friendly staff. I don’t mean for this to sound angry or anything. I understand people frequent cafes for the reasons to follow. But now you’re losing regular customers due to this.
Why the 3 stars? They allow squatters in here using wifi without buying food or drinks. And if they do they stick around for hours.
I frequent here regularly with work and often to meet and lately have never gotten a seat due to people sitting with either water or no food/​drink in front of them for (some people) an hour+
Starting to look for a new café now.
How to resolve? Put a limit on use of wifi or how long customers can stay without food or beverage purchases.
As I wrote this, 2 people came in and set up their laptops with friends — not getting anything. I waited 15 more minutes and left, still not getting a seat.

We had a great experience here, nice staff, LOVED the coffee, and the space was perfect for us to sit, surf the net, and watch the street through a great big window. Lovely clean atmosphere, we bought a bag of coffee to take with us ;)

I went to this café today with my family.
I was so up set. Americano didn’t tasted like Americano. Late didn’t tasted like late.
Hot Chocolate was worst. I mean how bad can hot chocolate be?
My nephew didn’t drink the HC.
I am not sure why this place is so popular.
I guess it’s all about location location location.
I think they should improve.
Lastly, customer service was not great at all. I don’t expect a huge over reaction.
How about just a smile and thank you?
OMG! WTF ! I just check my bank account and they took money out 2 times. I really don’t know what to say. I can not believe these Unilocal rating anymore. I even told the guy not to take my money out 2 times. And he said, «don’t worry I only charged u once.» (Stupid of me take his word for it) I am so up sept right now. I don’t write anything like this in Yearsssss. Now u guys know how I really feel. Some people might say I have no life typing this. It is what it is.

Dark Horse! I like to visit regularly to work on my laptop, study, or read. I should mention it is a pretty good people watching or catching up with a friend location as well. I really enjoy the Americano here, I have also tried a few of their teas, and the flat white; all are great options.
Besides the great coffee, I believe the ambience is what keep people, myself included, coming back. They provide a unique experience with their communal tables, as well as more intimate options in the area behind the bar where they have one-​on-​one tables. The space they occupy is beautiful, with the large windows, exposed brick, wooden beams, and chandeliers etc. They play all kinds of music, and you will encounter anything from a mellow to more upbeat atmosphere. Located in an office building, they share a washroom with the first floor offices that is located outside their actual space. It can be found up stairs, around the bend, and it requires a code. I think that is usually the biggest confusion experienced when people first come here… Also, it can get pretty busy around lunch since they serve some food items as well. I totally recommend visiting to see for yourself what it is all about.

i dont like studying here. no matter the day, time, part of academic calendar — this place is crammed. the communal tables are full and so are the tiny tables in the back. they also dont have laptop chargers — probably to get rid of the students. wifi can be incredibly slow. music is loud and annoying — more akin to bar music than relaxing acoustic café tunes. coffee and sammies are overpriced — although i do appreciate their selection and the variety they have for different dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-​free). oh and you have to walk down the hall to a bathroom that requires a security passcode. even hard to catch up with a friend here because (see earlier comment about music and seating).
i appreciate that they sell 49^th parallel beans because that’s my favourite brand.

Very good and consistent tasteful coffee. My latte was very foamy and creamy. Will come again

Big and cozy place. Great coffee and pastries selection. the place is always busy. The place is very relaxing.

In love with their latte, no other places make it this good.
Don’t think cold one, drink the hot one. I did, even in hot summer days. Because it’s worth it.

Nice modern café decorations. Dark horse definitely knows how to create a café vibe. I just love the decorations. Nothing more

If you want a good cup of coffee, and your walking by, sure this place is good. But it’s not a place, like Spyglass in SF, where it’s worth walking a few blocks, or taking a Über :) to get to.
The food was good, not special, and the cordato and chai latte were not as good as expected. The space is big but not as comfortable as it should be. If you need a place to spend sometime it will do, but consider Starbucks.

Out of all the Dark Horses, this one on Spadina is definitely my favourite one :) This coffee shop is trendy, chic and spacious– with huge windows to absorb all the sunlight, has two large wooden communal tables and also a cozy second floor just behind the coffee bar.
The vibe is calming and relaxing, with trendy music playing in the background. It certainly takes me away from my busy schedule… a place where I often lose track of time lol. I enjoy watching the people on the busy streets as they move in time lapse while the time slows down inside this coffee shop.
Service has always been friendly, courteous and prompt. I love their delicious pastries… keeps me coming back! There is a whole display case full of them… assorted croissants, brownies, cookies, scones, low fat muffins– just to name a few: D I’m curious about their steak and brie on baguette stick… I shall try that next time ^^ They also offer water at the communal tables and fruit infused water at that coffee bar area (self served)… very thoughtful, thank you.
So if you need a coffee break, a place to catch up with friends or simply a quick getaway from work, I would recommend this Dark Horse be one of your go-​to destinations :) You won’t be disappointed!
…unless you’re frantically looking for an outlet to charge your device, then you WILL be disappointed lol.

I’m not sure why it took me this long to check out Dark Horse, because it’s amazing! The space is larger than I thought, with tables upstairs, behind the cash area. Large communal tables were mostly filled with creative types doing work or people (friends/​coworkers) catching up.
I ordered an iced mocha and roasted turkey sandwich. The coffee was great. My sandwich was okay. I definitely wouldn’t buy that sandwich again. The friend I was meeting also got an iced mocha, only with almond milk, and the substitution didn’t even cost her any extra pennies! This is a nice change from other coffee shops we’ve been to. She also got this mufeletta sandwich. from the look of it it had roast beef, salami, avocado and a whole bunch of other veggies packed in. I didn’t try it because of salami, however, she’s been raving about it ever since.
Pretty sure we’ve both been sold on their coffee and will both be back again! All in all, a really nice place to just pop in and either grab a drink to go or enjoy some sunlight and people watching by the large windows.

This coffee shop is very handy as it is open early and is right across from the super8 where I am staying. The staff are really pleasant and quirky. I recommend the Mocha and the pastries! It has free wifi which is an extra little bonus. It is a bit pricey but in times its worth it.

The atmosphere is that of a sophisticated coffee shop, with some large tables and chairs for sharing as well as an upper level with smaller tables for 2 – 3 people. I like that people will sit together and work/​eat. It feels very relaxed here.
I had:
Cappuccino
Chocolate Beet Muffin
The coffee was good, but it was actually a little cold which was surprising. The muffin was rich and moist, more like a cake. I wasn’t able to finish it because it was just too much chocolate, but would be perfect to share for a sweet treat.
I will be back here!

Friendly staff and prompt service. The space at the front is a bit weird though since there’s two large tables and everyone sits at those. The price is a bit on the higher side but the quality is also on the higher side. Definitely a good place to catch up with a friend rather than going to Starbucks all the time.

Came here as a meeting point on a Saturday afternoon. The space is large, but it was quite crowded with students doing work. That being said, if you snag a table, it’s a great place to do work or catch up with friends over a cup of java. The décor looks very industrial, but it adds character to the coffee shop. Location wise, it’s quite convenient. You can easily access DHE by TTC and there are also heaps of funky shops around so you can look around pre or post coffee. I had a latte, which was pretty good. It was made promptly and it also came with latte art (my favourite!). Although I didn’t have anything to eat, the snacks looked good; they have something for everything because I saw gluten free stuff too.
Good for: coffee, snacks, dates, meet ups

First time here as I’m not much of a coffee person, but was meeting a friend there for a catch-​up date and was pleasantly surprised at how nice and open the place was.
Dark Horse was pretty spacious with big shared tables on the main level and smaller tables in the upstairs area. The place was busy, but wasn’t too loud and we were able to carry on conversation easily. Hot chocolate was delish and came with pretty frothy designs.
I will definitely have to come back again for their tasty pastries.

Checked this place out for its rave reviews and hype. I can say that it’s well deserved! Ordered a detour Brazil blend (?) French press and was really happy with it. Got a cranberry coconut bar on the side and that was pretty good too, if not a little more dense than I’d preferred.
Worth checking out.

À la limite entre le quartier branché de Queen West et le quartier de Chinatown, ce café semble être très fréquenté par une génération hyper branchée à la fois au niveau culture qu’au niveau informatique. Le café? Pas mal.