La Cuisson Cafe

I stopped at this café and ordered a sundae while I waited for my girlfriend to be done her tasks. When she came to join me at the table, the waiter brings us a menu and leaves us to decide what we want to order. About four minutes later, she asks if we want anything else — I ask for the cheque to pay for the ice cream. She tells us that each person who sits at a table comes with a minimum charge of $ 4 and that if my girlfriend didn’t order something, we’d have to pay an extra $ 4 for her (this, on top of the exorbitant $ 6 charge for a sundae which wasn’t even that special). We attempt to order a coffee but apparently the second order has to exceed $ 5! Unimpressed. Will not return.

Amazing!
If you never had Kopi Luwak coffee — this is a must
First they let you smell the beans, confirm the roast date and then the coffee
Coffee is made on the table in front of you with a Syphon system which basically drips the coffee from steam and back into concentrate liquids — interesting, first time for me and definitely makes a difference
Each brew consists of three cups in different strength so you taste the initial with the strong aroma and chocolate after taste the second cup smoother and bit sweeter and the third very delicate with longer lasting after taste
Definitely will be back — great place knowledgeable in coffee
I did however place the review before I saw the bill which I’m sure will be on level…
Yes the bill was high (very) but I enjoyed the experience.

Having passed by this café several times before on my way to dim sum nearby, I was attracted by the beautiful décor & made it a point to stop by someday.
The interior of this place is lovely. Lots of coffee-​related paraphernalia (such as coffee press machines) displayed all over the spacious and gently lit café.
The lunch/​dinner menu offers combos of homemade soup + sandwich/​panini, or salad.
There were only 2 kinds of soup available, so we decided to try both the Seafood Chowder, and the French Onion soup.
For the combo, we chose the Prosciutto & Mozzarella sandwich, and the Black Forest ham panini to go with our soups.
I also ordered a Green Tea Coffee (Is it tea or coffee? Or both? Read on to find out.)
The food didn’t take long to arrive — first came the piping hot homemade soups. Portion sizes were rather small, but both the soups were delicious! The French Onion soup was hearty and flavourful, with lots of gooey cheese. The Seafood Chowder had a good variety of seafood in it (shrimp, fish, squid, etc) and a very rich, not-​overly-​creamy taste to it. I loved it!
The Prosciutto & Mozzarella sandwich arrived actually looking more like a salad than a sandwich. There were 2 slices of toasted bread cut into 4 mini triangles, topped with a fair bit of salad. Most of the ingredients were actually on top of the bread rather than in it. Taste-​wise, it was just alright, nothing particularly special. I must say though, it was an interesting way to serve a «sandwich».
The Black Forest ham panini came with a side of salad. I actually really loved this panini! The panini bread was toasted to a crispy perfection, and filled with a good portion of ham, cheese, and lettuce. I’ve had other paninis before elsewhere but this place definitely does it right.
The Green Tea coffee was quite a let-​down, unfortunately. The description in the menu made me curious to try this «delightful encounter of the East and the West», a mix of matcha & full-​bodied coffee. What arrived in a tiny china cup (no bigger than a standard tea cup) was merely a slightly bitter & thin-​tasting coffee topped with lots of whip cream & matcha powder sprinkled on top. I’m not exactly a coffee connoisseur, but I can tell when coffee is blah. No matcha taste in the coffee here (aside from the matcha power on top), sorry folks. So that was $ 7 for a blah coffee with a fancy description, in a tiny but cute china tea cup.
Service was friendly and ambience was definitely a plus. The soups and panini were worth their snazzy café pricing (small-​ish portions for a higher price), but I can’t say the same for the sandwich or the coffee. I’m hovering between 3 and 4 stars, so I’ll probably be back again because I’m curious to try their desserts and perhaps afternoon tea service too. Will update my review if I do return later on!

I kind of love their sandwiches and waffles, but oops, I feel like they’re really high in calories. :D A variety of coffee and tea, but EXPENSIVE! I’m not sure if I like this place, because there’s a minimum charge and they charge you for adding one more empty tea cup…

It’s an interesting take on coffee. They do siphon coffee which is a bit esoteric these days, although I do see it at a few places here and there. It has an old school, aristocratic feel, like what you might see in japanese animé when they try to depict europeans. Or at an antique store or a *cough* *cough* thrift store.

There’s a curated menu of coffee blends from regions around the world, including jamaican blue mountain (which they will try to upsell you on) and indonesian kopi lupak, the famous civet-​digested coffee beans. I’m personally against kopi lupak because of the associated stories of animal cruelty and fake beans.
Coffee is served black; you have to ask for cream separately, which comes in the tiniest pitcher I’ve ever seen. Basically like a toy smidgen. I also like the coffee paraphernalia on display. I haven’t seen some of those espresso makers before. They also roast coffee on site and they have afternoon/​high tea.
I give it only 3 stars because I personally don’t like this style of coffee. But I realize some people appreciate it more than I do.

This place is absolutely wonderful.
I was first introduced here by a friend who insisted that this place has the best desserts. I, however, was not a huge fan of sweets and resorted to their Siphon coffee and later one macaroon. They have a large selection of specialty coffee, all of great quality, including Kopi Lewak.
The owner is usually around in the afternoon. He has a passion for coffee and is, obviously, very knowledgeable of coffee. Apparently, all the desserts sold at the shop are made by his wife.
Usually quiet. Does feel like a restaurant sometimes more than a café, which is typical of Asian-​run cafes. I once stayed there for over two hours alone and received great service, so I guess it’s still a café to some degree.

I saw this place reviewed on the front page of Unilocal and since this was relatively close to my best friend’s place I thought that I would make a day of it. I book marked it on March 24^th.
I came here with a good friend of mine and fellow Unilocaler Edwin to have an art day in which we sit and do some art projects together while sipping tea.
We spent around 3 hours together and both of us finished our art piece.
Firstly this place is very easy to miss and is tucked away on the side on W.41^st.
I tried the Siphon Coffee which was like nothing I’ve ever had before and was amazing since it was new. I also had a pot of caramel tea.
They had to change my order ’cause the London Fog I ordered I specifically said that it needs to be sugar free, however, they added pre-​made sugar syrup which made me upset, however, not enough to warrant a bad review since they did apologize and correct the mistake without charging me for my first drink.
The waitress was really nice.
The place was elegant with lots of nice china wear, nice relaxing music and very social atmosphere.
Prices were very reasonable as well.

Anyone who rates this place less than a 4 star must be competitors. The owner has passion for coffee. I have never tasted coffee like this before. Starbucks artigiano or my cups cant compare with the quality and variety of coffee beans here. I recommend the ice dropped coffee, kopi luwak or the regular Americano

I had a coffee and a desert. it was ok the tart base was kinda soft.
the coffee is $ 6 something which is pretty expensive for a about 8oz cup, and it taste not much different, and i was not advice to put any cream in my cup.
oh well why do i need to spend that much money and i can’t drink my coffee my own way, the way I enjoy much more?
The server is very nice but the boss looks not happy at all. there was an other customer with her kid sitting next to me. They ordered high tea. Her kid broke a tiny tea pot lid and was asked to pay for it.
It makes sense if they charge a few bucks for that but no they got charged for almost $ 40 dollars, yes that’s right.
I was shocked. i didn’t believe the boss will charge them since their stuffs are already expensive.

For the price I was expecting more. The chicken with cheese on a toast was great. The seafood chowder was wonderful. Hated the waffle. Didn’t even finish it. The almond pudding was great but I thought it’s a bad idea they put raspberry jam on it.

Not sure if I’m a fan yet. Went briefly for tea yesterday, as my dinner companion and I were waiting for takeout from another restaurant.
Our server was really friendly, and explained the minimum charge (which I think is obnoxious, seeing as we were the only patrons in the restaurant, but at least it was explained upon ordering).
I ordered the green tea with honey (iced) and my companion ordered a fruit tea (hot), both of which were quite good.
They were roasting coffee beans, which created a very strong burnt food smell that permeated the entire restaurant. Investing in better ventilation or perhaps roasting during off-​hours might be a better idea?
Overall, the tea was good and service was great (pot of fruit tea was refilled immediately after one pour). $ 15 for both teas was reasonable for the service and quality of the tea. Will definitely be back to try more.

If you like Siphon Coffee, this is the place to be. They have many rare type of coffee and also the super expensive Malaysian Cat Processed Beans (Kopi Lewak) — at $ 65
They do have a $ 10 special for coffee and dessert, they give you the smallest dessert in the case and there is no substitution if you want the Panacotta or Cheesecake. The siphon coffee Blue Mountain, etc is slightly bigger than Expresso size.
Not worth the $$ at all.
They do offer free Wifi.

«Precious»: If I had only one adjective to use to describe the place that would be it, with all its good and bad connotations.
The atmosphere is precious in a good way. Cute Victorian furnishing, well-​appointed tables, little gem of a location.
The staff is also a little «precious» in a sort of condescending-​with-​a-​language-​barrier sort of way. They happily took our order and then made it very clear that we had to be out of there in 10 minutes when they were closing. They have a very nice selection of coffee and cakes. I didn’t try the cakes, but my friends quite liked them.
The serving size was «precious» in a bad way. They serve what must be about 230 ml (8 oz) of coffee from their siphon. It was the smallest portion I’ve ever seen at the price of $ 6. I love siphon prepared coffee, but somehow they prepared it in no time. The quality of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe was lower than what I would expect for such a dear (expensive), precious (small) serving.
Anyway, pretty underwhelmed by a pretty pricey experience. Maybe their high tea is better?

La Cuisson Café was located at Union Square, Richmond for long time and they have been moved to Kerrisdale almost 2 years.
The coffee shop was much bigger than previous location and the décor look extraordinary still…
They sever the medium to fine coffee (such as Blue Mountain and Kopi luwak/​civet coffee) and home-​made desserts natural ingredients, no chemical involved. I would say the best coffee experience you can find it here… Fine/​Siphon is so good.
My mom had Blueberry yogurt tea + mini pecan tart, the first zip I tasted a bit sour of yogurt and blueberry flavour. Taste funny… but, my mom loved it.
I had Royal coffee + chocolate cake, I loved cognac+ coffee+ brown sugar when it served and burnt it up the cognac. So cool! The chocolate cake pretty good and light.
If you want to treat yourself for fine coffee, this is a right place to go. Just don’t let price scare you away…

Pricey for regular coffee.
This café specializes in siphon coffee. I’ve had siphon before, but not from here. I was actually expecting other forms of coffee prep but I was wrong. They only have siphon or espresso/​americano.
The shop is quaint, and has a nice charm to it. They serve desserts and other treats that you would find at other cafes. That said, expect to pay minimum $ 6 for a cup of siphon coffee that is roughly the volume of an English tea cup made of bone china. I’m guessing it is roughly 175−200mL for one cup at $ 6.
I had a Kenyan bean for take out. They were expecting me to sit in, but I didn’t. All patrons were Asian. I was looking for something that was low acidity. The girl didn’t know what I was talking about. That’s OK, she was ESL. I ended up going through their coffee menu and I read all of the descriptions. I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. Everything was going to be bright, fruity, with a bit of acidity. That’s how I ended up with the Kenyan bean. The coffee itself was OK. It was fruity with bright citrus notes, and very slightly acidic/​sour.
Would I do this again? No. I’ve tried siphon coffee twice now, and to me, it’s a novelty/​gimmick — something you would find on late night TV,(think Shake Weight), and not worth the price.
However, I would come again for desserts and stuff, but for coffee, only an americano, not siphon.

Overrated. Overpriced. Overbearing about minimum charge per person. Service unfortunately poor due language barrier.
I have no problem with minimum charge but I don’t need to be reminded three times, espcially having agreed to it when we first sat down. Panini was average but brown, wilted romaine lettuce in a grilled sandwhich? No thank you.
The ambiance is nice, upscale tea house with Victorian styling. The location is great, lovely little side alley in Kerrisdale.

What an adorable little gem! We saw this place while walking on 41^st — you wouldn’t even know it exists if you didn’t happen to turn your head at the right time and glance down the beautiful little alleyway where it’s nestled.
Luckily for us, it was a gorgeous sunny day, and the little chairs out front were so inviting. Lunch was good — the caramel iced cappuccino was really nice, and the turkey panini had garlic, which made it an instant win!
The server was polite and checked in a couple times to make sure we were happy. If it’s an ugly day and you want to sit inside — all the better for you — they have beautiful classical music playing and the café is decorated with dark wood — it makes you think you’re in a little european bistro/​café — it reminded me of Vienna.
They have a lot of specialty coffees, but we didn’t try anything — the kind made using fancy contraptions that look like they came out of a victorian sci-​fi scene.
The menu is limited for food, and they charge a whopping $ 3.50 for buttered toast — but they had an assortment of pastries and they serve afternoon tea.
This is the place to come for a picturesque pause in your day, or if you’ve misplaced your teleporter and the last place you were thinking of is Vienna.

High

I found this hidden jem by chance after I had sushi dinner next door.
This was a really great surprise for me. The interior looks great with a relaxing atmosphere with chic furniture and so on.
It is particularly worth noting that they care for the coffee they make, and their coffee was exquisite. Servers and a guy that seemed to be the owner here were very nice and tried to help us have a great time with their coffee. This is a place for people who love coffee and also for those who love to have happy time with somebody you cherish. Quality coffee and service. Will definitely come back.

I was walking by and saw this little coffee shop tucked inside one of the streets of Kerrisdale. From the outside, it looked pretty quiet with only one customer… me. The interior looked like one of those tea/​coffee shops with little artistic pastries. Lots of good things about this place, but it is on the pricey side. A caramel latte was around $ 8 and with a gingerbread cookie, it was $ 10. However, the coffee was good.
I’d probably check this place out once in a while with some girlfriends for dessert/​coffee on a special occassion.