Funny story; I walked by this cafe looking for another cafe I remembered was in the same area called Café Lido. On my second pass, I went in to checkout this 'new cafe', and then the third time I officially confirmed with the counter staff - it was indeed a rebranded version of Café Lido (which is still open in Verdun).
Their new look is more open with bleached hard wood floors, epoxy topped wood grain tables, an exposed brick wall, and a cozy back corner nook with; faux fireplace, arm chairs and other seating options; plus a low counter and chairs located along the back wall. This would become my go-to spot for photos and tastings. Also of note their decor went from yellow and blue, to pink and green - which even adorn their much-nicer-than-average restrooms.
I was lucky enough to be served by Anthony - a member of the family who runs this modernized take on an Italian coffee bar. My experience started at the counter talking about Italian specialties. Their specialized menu; focused on coffees, sandwiches and desserts. Not to mention other savoury items like arancini, plus both spinach and cheese filled pies.
They make many of their offerings in-house like made-to-order sandwiches (eggplant parm, chicken parm and caprese to name a few), cannoli and bombolini.
They admittedly import some desserts from Italy like caramel cheese cake, frutti di bosco (mixed berry) cheese cake, and amaretti cake.
I couldn't resist trying one of each category - not a decision I regretted. While I was waiting for my sandwich to be prepared, I got a long espresso with a nice layer of crema served with a mini almond biscotti.
The coffee was authentically bitter and a great accompaniment for the ricotta stuffed bomboloni which wrapped up my meal. As an aside, their latte is literally nothing short of incredible. I bet the way he does his micro-foam is a trade-secret.
I equally enjoyed my sandwich with fresh and bright fior di latte with Roma tomatoes, marinated eggplant and peppers on focaccia - which was not overly salted or seasoned, heavy or greasy.
Overall, quite a satisfying sandwich and enough to take the second half home for a pre-dinner snack. Despite the sandwich being of such high quality the highlight for me was their golf-ball-of-ricotta-topped, sugar crystal dusted, circle of Italian dessert happiness.
The source of this happiness was their chock full of slightly creamy ricotta with a few chocolate chips, having just enough body and sweetness. I nibbled at the ball until it revealed the opening to holding chamber inside the medium weight and density dough filling holder. The cheese began bursting forth before I ate from the side. Even though I was pretty full from the half sandwich, I ate it up until not a sugar crystal remained.
I'm glad I didn't give up trying to find them in their new location, since they really never left their old one.
Before I sign off this review, a little shout out to Emilie who was very upbeat - even just before closing time. Ciao ciao! read more
