Joe’s Cafe Bar

Cappucino’s the real deal here, with foam confidently overstepping the rim. Served with a sweet creamy pastel de nata, this place is cultural oasis of Portuguese old-​timers with a quaint old-​world feel to it. This is a winner and distinctly Commercial Drivey.

Quand on passé devant… On né fait pas attention, on croit passer devant un lavomatic. En effet la lumière néon n’est pas super attractive. Mais en y pensant, ça fait sens. Tout est à l’ancienne. Vieille vaisselle, vieille déco, vieux carrelage, vieux habitués qui regardent le foot à la (vieille?) télé en portugais!
en même temps cette année ils fêtent leurs 40 ans sur commercial drive!
Le café y est vraiment bon, et il y a de nombreuses tables de billard. $ 5 par ½h, ça me paraît un bon prix.
On entre dans un autre espace-​temps quand on entre chez Joe. C’est d’un charme fou :)

Classic vibe!

This place has been here for many years and I hope it stays that way. The décor hasn’t really changed much but it’s clean and fairly quiet. The guys that run this place are cool and they always remember their loyal customers. Joe has even taught me a few words in Portuguese. They are licensed and you can choose to have a drink and play some pool, or grab a table either inside or outside to enjoy your coffee/​food/​booze/​whatever. There’s also usually newspapers around and sports on tv. It’s not exactly known for it’s food but I’ve never been disappointed either and they have quite a few things to choose from. I admit I’ve never tried their hot food but one of these days I will. I’ve tried their sandwiches and I like them. Made to order on good Portuguese buns. They also have cookies, chips, croissants, big muffins, ice cream etc. if you’re in the mood for a snack. Sometimes I order a croissant and they always offer to warm it up for me which is nice. My absolute favorite here is the banana latte. You can’t get it anywhere else and it’s delicious. I love it. I recommend leaving it unstirred. You’ll see what I mean when you get it. Awesome cappuccinos too. Good selection of stuff and good location on the drive right across from the park and decent prices for everything. I no longer live in the area so don’t come here often anymore but when I am on the drive and have time this is my go-​to place to meet friends since we all like it here.

Same two old guys working the cappuccino machine that look like the two old guys from the balcony in The Muppets. Legendary place, and Joe is one of these guys or they’re both Joe, I dunno! I tell you what, the place is like going back in time, and a good time! Get the ice cream float from Joe – you pick the ice cream and soda! My buddy got Tiger ice cream with root beer or something, I got ginger ale with mint ice cream. People around us were like what’s that! Then, one of the Joes walks up with a quarter, and says in an Italian accent, hey you dropped your quarter lol! Good times.

Joes Café is a landmark on commercial drive. Not a food hub, but a place everyone should visit.

This is one of the places to be if you like an old school traditional cup o’ Joe. Surprisingly, the place is Portuguese, not Italian as you may think. The giveaway is the flag draped by the front window. Then again, there’s also a Brazilian flag right next to it.
Parking is available along Commercial, as well as the side streets.
You can tell the place has been around forever, based on the extremely dated (1960s?) interior, and the amount of stuff (stuff, not dust) that has accumulated around the entire venue. The place seems to double as a social club for many of the older Italian gentlemen in the neighbourhood — they were duking it out at the pool tables in the back. Very friendly and cordial.
The coffee I had was prepared by an older gent (not sure if he’s the owner), who really took his time and care making it — just like the way they’re made back home in Europe, back in a time when people weren’t as rushed. It was delicious.

Solid 3.5 stars if you want the cool, laid-​back un-​pretentious place to grab a cappachino while playing pool and watching soccer with the fellow older-​generation italians.
Also serves sandwiches too.
Total casual place, no pressure here.

Love it… small mom & pop shop… the owners are like family… and it feels like home! They do have amazing coffee!

This place is straight up. Italian coffee. They did have soy milk, which I was really surprised about, but the coffee was not what I was used to. Lots of old men and fluorescent lighting. How authentic.

Good Beef Biffana not cheap for the portions /​/​Burger was of frozen type would not recommend… soccer on TV… Good place to get out of the rain and enjoy a soup and sandwich and watch the Sunday afternoon traffic

This place is like a time machine. There use to be many places like this when I was growing up along the Danforth in Toronto. But maybe that’s why I like the charm in the atmosphere when you walk in. It’s not for everyone but that is a mean espresso. I love this place.

Not a place I would send anyone to. So many reasons why, I don’t know where to start.
I happened to go in because I wanted a simple, cheep, basic coffee close to where I was shopping, and it looked like a place that fit the bill… Well, that’s not what I got, and that’s probably where I went wrong.
I asked for a coffee. There was no prices anywhere. The menu board… well now that I think about it, I don’t even know if there was one. But, I figured it couldn’t be more than 2 bucks or so. So the older man that took my order acknowledged me, and I headed to use the rest room. I DON’T recommend that either…
When I came back my coffee wasn’t ready… no big deal. That’s not the bad part. I just figure pouring coffee into a cup doesn’t take very long.
The worst part was the tiny little beverage they called a «coffee», which consisted of a very long espresso, not even close to being full. Sure I take a little cream with my coffee, but the cup they served it to me in was no more than 8oz. I don’t even think there was a choice of size.
NOT to MENTION it was a STYROFOAM cup. I HATE STYROFOAM. UGH. Who serves anything in STYROFOAM anymore.
After he had already made the drink and served it, then he says that’ll be … GET THIS… $ 3.50. Holy COW! I said what. He said it’s cause espresso is expensive. I didn’t want to argue with a man older than my father. Who, when he was a child, probably paid $ 3.50 for a new bike.
I just wanted a simple coffee! I was so dumbfounded, and didn’t want to loose my mind right then and there, that I just paid the man.
He should have said they don’t have regular coffee when I asked for one when I came in.
THEN, …yes there’s more,…he told me to try it so I could tell him «how good it was». Ahhh! So, I burnt my lip and tongue on the «coffee», gave a half ass smile, and left.
… I thought that supporting a small local business would be at least a somewhat decent experience… I was wrong… I’m going back to Starbucks… or Blenz… or Waves… I mean there are just so many other better choices… Ugh…
If you ever have the miss-​fortune of going there, ask how much before you order.

For a place that claims to have the best Cappuccino in the city (Heck they even advertise it on their website and big sign outside) I was bit apprehensive in trying it. Had some time to kill today so decided to give it a try. A more traditional take on cappuccino nothing special. The foam was almost overflowing. The topping was my favorite cinnamon sugar. Espresso was just your standard Italian Café. 2 Stars out of 5.

I was in the commercial /​broadway hood and wanted a place to chill and play pool. this place is super random, but chill.
they have the really large pool tables with the small billiard balls, which makes things fun but challenging. They have a decent variety of baked goods, but they picked them up from the local grocery store and they are still in the plastic packaging.
You walk in and they have a bulls head on the wall and the look of a deli. They serve beer, wine, and a variety of canned and bottled drinks which is cool. I got my perrier fix and they even had Pellegrino Limonata which was solid as well.
Reasonably priced and laid back service made this a good experience, only downfall — CASH ONLY

This is the best café in North America. Order a Galao (like a no-​foam latte) and observe how colors become brighter and your mind clears as you drink it! Traditional Portuguese pastries to go with your coffee.
When I first discovered it some 20 years ago, we would take thermos’ to fill for the road home to Portland. I now live in Seattle and returned this summer. Joe is still there and looking good! This is a great spot for hanging out.
Don’t miss it if you visit Vancouver.

This is one of the oldest coffee shops on Commercial drive, and it’s also home to some of the oldest people. Considered by many to be the proletariat’s coffee shop, it does do its part for the community by posting flyers and advertisements for local events (some of which have often long since taken place), and distributing free local publications in four different languages. Simple and unpretentious, it draws in a wide range of clientele and hosts record numbers of regulars who appreciate having the coffee brought right to their table when it’s ready.
The space is huge and amazing, with plenty of seating and pool tables in the back. There is an adjoining room with billiards for the middle-​aged crowd, Area 51 the arcade game for the kids, pinball for the connoisseur, and 25-​cent foosball for everybody else.
Affordable and delicious, the only detractor would be the sketchy people who sometimes loiter outside and start drum circles.