Coffee Ronin is a new coffee shop that is located near Kennedy and McNicoll in a plaza that was recently built. The cafe is popular on the weekends where there is a no laptop policy enforced on Saturdays and Sundays. I actually remember seeing Coffee Ronin on IG so it was nice to see that they finally opened.
I stopped by on a Sat late morning. Upon entering the space, you are met with tall ceilings. There is seating on the bottom and second floor (however, second floor is not accessible where you do need to navigate a flight of stairs).
Menu wise, you have your usual espresso-based drinks like espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, flat white, mocha, and even an espresso tonic. They do get their espresso beans from a roaster in Quebec. They also have non-coffee options like matcha lattes or hot chocolates. There is also a special menu with options like cheese cream latte, osmanthus matcha latte, or fruit sparkling americano. Lastly, there is an extensive pour over menu which looks impressive, however, can be costly (averaging around $10 a cup).
It looks like they also host workshops in the space. There are also coffee beans and coffee accessories if you'd like to purchase beans to drink at home.
I usually get cortados but it wasn't on the menu. I did request for one and staff indicated that since it was an off-menu item, I would have to pay the same price as a cappuccino. I was okay with that but I just found it odd that a coffee shop would not have an option for a cortado, which is a pretty popular drink order in many coffee shops around the city. Staff indicated that they did not have the right cup size for it...but this wouldn't matter if they knew the ratio of espresso to milk to add (many cafes are able to make one despite not having the right cup size for it...).
My cortado was made at a reasonable time and I retrieved it after my order was called from staff. The cortado was good, the steamed milk was a bit too hot at first sip, however, once it cooled down it wasn't bad.
Service wise, the staff felt impersonal. Despite being friendly and trying to ask questions about the beans they currently are using in their espresso-based drinks, their answers were brief. Maybe I'm just used to the service I get from the many downtown Toronto cafes I visit.
Overall, a decent coffee shop in the area, however, the service felt a bit impersonal. read more