49th Parallel Coffee Roasters Café Review

49th Parallel is a sophisticated café located on trendy 4th Avenue in Kitsilano (between Yew and Arbutus). They are owned by the same people who started (and later sold) the award-winning, Vancouver born, Caffè Artigiano.

49th has fair-trade and organic coffees + teas, organic chocolate bars from all-over the world, and pastries - including the famous double baked almond croissant, courtesy of Thomas Haas.

I live about a 5 minute walk away, so whenever I want to treat myself, I head to this beloved coffee house.  My usual drink is a regular or iced latte. They have the perfect espresso to milk ratio where you don’t taste all the espresso, and you don’t taste all milk. Unlike places like Starbucks, where their lattes can end up tasting too milky. Or Higher Grounds Coffee (Vine and Broadway) whose lattes are too strong for my taste.

This place smells great! The aroma of brewing espresso hits you right when you walk through the door, as you’re kindly greeted by friendly staff.

The downsides? 49th Parallel Roasters are on the pricey and it’s always super busy, so it can be difficult to find a seat.  In my opinion it’s worth the price – and the wait!