The Common II

Great coffee! Great service! I love the atmosphere and the baristas are like magical unicorns that bring me rainbows of caffeine. Highly recommended

Wasn’t impress by the service I had at this place. Extremely disappointing since I had been recommended this place by many people.

Loved the latte and ginger molasses cookie, liked the no frills inside. The people in this area are friendly and you’ll find people enjoying their coffee on the indoor benches (they might be old pews) just chatting away.

Coffee is good, but that is about it. To get a latte, you need to endure a long line, a dull décor and a friendly but not so fast service. I really prefer Cafecito, just around the corner from this place.

Having lived in Melbourne, Australia for 5 years, I won’t lie in the fact I have high standards when it comes to my daily caffeine fix. The Common is one of the few cafes in Toronto which really hit the mark for me. I highly enjoy and recommend!

Amazing. Didn’t know anything about it and just walked in. Amazing coffee, nice athmosphere. MJ is really funny. Try the almond croissant.
Makes starbucks look obsolete.

Best coffee in the area. Excellent music. Excellent workspace. Great hang out/​catch up spot. Good-​ish service with your typical Batista non-​charming, service with a scowl charm.

I really enjoy this place, and split my time between this location and the one on college. Both are great, but this one has a bit more space (if that’s your thing).
The prices are incredibly reasonable ($ 2.50 for a cappuccino, for example), and unlike other places, you do not get charged an extra 50 – 75 cents for non-​dairy milk. The coffee is great, the barristas are great (especially when they play Fleetwood Mac). On weekends, the owner’s parents make tasty hand pies — definitely try one out!
There are a few outlets, but they are a little awkward to get to — but I think that’s fine.
One negative thing other reviewers keep saying is they don’t like the noise of kids. I have to say, even as someone without kids, I enjoy that it’s a child friendly place because my friends with kids/​babies feel welcome here. And really, if you want more quiet, the Gladstone library is a 2 min walk away.

I love this place. It’s relaxed, has great coffee, friendly staff and delicious croissants from Pain Perdu. My only frustration is that all of the tables seat four and inevitable every single one of them has only one person. So if you come in a group of three or four you end up sitting in a row on one of the church pews. A few two-​seaters would be a wise idea.

The common easily stands as the best coffee in the city.
one star for 2 $ americano, I prefer the dark roast.
one star for the staff always being nice and friendly.
one star for 3 $ iced americanos, (1 $ for ice but. meh they’re great)
one star for the Music being good.
no outlets (I hope limiting your stay to your battery life may free up a seat for someone else…)
Kids (I shouldn’t view this as a negative but…)

When I was a kid, we wall enjoyed hanging out at a house where the parents didn’t mind a mess; that way, you felt «at home.» I think this is a coffee shop where 20-​somethings feel at home in the same way. It’s the living room of students rooming together. Brick walls painted grey, no paintings, old tables and chairs from second hand shops, sharing tables with people you don’t know who are also on apple computers — what could be a nicer place to meet someone to chat a bit and do some work (ie catch up with email). It’s… a commons!
As an Beacher, I would say it’s distinctively west-​end vibe. Great coffee (espresso only) and tea; would be nice if they featured fair trade. – wayne roberts

Every dark roast Americano is a gift: the taste, the price, the chit-​chat. Bonus: Wi-​Fi reliable, delivered-​in selection of croissants, granola bars & cookies is also. You can choose from a wide range of Silk Road herbal teas. Tunes range from early a.m. Bach cello to 70s folk, reggae, blues, Neko Case & Beck.

Being a fan of the original Common on College St. W. I decided to check out the new location on Bloor. First thing you’ll notice is the generous amount of space which contrast it’s mother location where room is at a premium. The coffee is as equally as good as Common 1.0 and I found the baristas friendly. The Common gets bonus points for having organic milk and crème on offer to mix into your brew, I think perhaps the only café in Toronto to do so. I do wish they’d have raw sugar as oppose to brown sugar (too much molasses) though. The place also tends to be quite humid which makes it perfect if you’re feeling a bit on the dry side.
Other notable offerings include croissants from Pain Perdu which are some of the best in the city. I also like their shortbread cookies which are baked fresh not store bought. Prices are reasonable and the music pervading the café is chill. In the sea of indie coffee shops that have opened along the section between Ossington and Lansdowne along Bloor this is a worthy place to consider your next caffeine fix.

I have a love/​hate relationship with The Common.
I love their coffee, the atmosphere (when it’s quiet) and the location. It can be a great place to get work done amidst a bunch of other people doing that freelancing thing.
I hate the loud screaming children, particularly when they are allowed to run up and down the narrow entirety of the shop. I’m not crazy about the coffee-​snob/​hipster vibe either. Take today, for example. I’m sitting at the table working on a client project, when I happen to overhear the staff talking about what they’re going to wear for Halloween. And what do I hear, but that one has a friend who is going as an ‘Indian’. Apparently this is ‘normal’ enough to be unabashedly stated in a public place. Now, besides being incredibly racist, it’s also been done to death. Like, really? ‘Indian’ costume is so the height of last year’s hipster racism.
Long story short? Go to El Cafecito around the corner (Westmoreland and Bloor) instead.

Hey tall Asian guy behind the counter on Thanksgiving Sunday, nice attitude. Are you pissed because you had to work or are you just generally nasty? I understand you have lattes and espresso, because I have ordered them from you before and, although they were pretty good, I won’t ever be ordering them from The Common again. What I was asking was whether you had drip brewed coffee. Yes, that is right, plain old fashioned, non-​fancy brewed coffee. I am sorry if I offended you for asking for something so pedestrian at the mighty Common but that does not excuse your condescending response and not so subtle eye roll. You can stuff your attitude along with your turkey this year.
For better coffee and a nicer ambiance, go around the corner to El Cafecito Café on Westmoreland.

Coffee and tea are excellent quality. The sparse layout is nice — not cramped like other cafes and gives the semblance of privacy.
Kind of annoying that this place only takes cash.

Big. Airy. Painted exposed brick. Stable wood tables. A cast of neighbourhood characters. What’s not to love?
Espresso based drinks, excellent tea selection and small snacks for the grabbing. Do I wish they had sandwiches? Of course. Do I get that they’re just trying to shovel out caffeine in a timely manner? Yes, and I appreciate it. I also appreciate that a hella strong Americano is only a twoonie here. Blessed be.
PEPPER POSES where art thou outlets? Mama needs to charge her laptop.

It’s *really* nice in this place, the coffee is cheap and great, you sometimes get to watch Portugese weddings across the street, and you often get to hear about God, Zion and What Is Wrong With You As An Indicator of an Oppressant Society from occasional non-​paying visitors.
I like the big windows and the depth/​height of the place that allows sun in the front and deep darkness in the back. With the pew seating it feels kind of like a church where people laugh and eat. (Although I have done both those things in church but hear you are not supposed to.)
I’m not sure the morning girl with the long dark hair likes me very much, but she seems to like other people, so I cannot criticize the service. Maybe if I stopped eating the little scraps from the croissant tray.
CONCLUSION: Perhaps.

Really happy to have these guys in my neighbourhood.
The service is always welcoming and cheerful. The layout of the place is super-​sparse but it works. You would think it would be loud and echoey, but most people in there are buried in a book or laptop. Even patrons conversing during a hangout are barely noticeable. The vibe is definitely relaxed.
Hot and cold drinks are delicious, and reasonably priced. Not even really sure how they afford such a large place serving coffee, tea, and snacks!

Similar to the Common 1 this place is minimalist, sparse, and unassuming. Big window up front, great coffee, decent patries and no nonsense.
They are very work/​laptop friendly with plugs throughout the location… and wifi. So either be a true artist and write in your moleskin or be a true hipster sit on your laptop/​iPad/​iPhone/​tablet…
Highly recommend it for meet ups, think tanks, hangs, solo time, or playing with their toy chest.
Coffee is great! Enjoy this place. Pretty sure it is CASH ONLY.