Serious Coffee Aqua Plaza 88 — Restaurant in British Columbia

At just a short walk from New West skytrain station, Serious Coffee (& Tea) is a must-visit for anyone and everyone!

Let's talk people: The team here is beyond lovely and clearly care about every patrons experience from when you enter to when you leave. I don't know everyone by name but the staff are extremely personable and put effort into making sure your drinks are made right and to your liking. Dustin is a gem with more charisma than any one person should be allowed to have. Make sure to ask him how serious the coffee is! :P

Let's talk food: While I've only tried a small selection of what's on the menu, the food here is - I don't know the words to describe it - Chef's kiss Separating the savory from the sweet, their sandwiches; breakfast or otherwise, are the perfect balance of flavors. I've tried a couple of their breakfast sandwiches and their specialty Rustica. Honestly, they pair wonderfully with the coffee or are perfect if you're on the go. Make sure to get them warmed up for full effect!

The sweeter side of their menu is a dangerous area for me (I'm T1 Diabetic) and yet I enjoy it just the same. I've tried their sinnamon buns, lemon bars, and oat & fudge bars. Honestly if you can get a sinnamon bun before they sell out, you won't regret it. Or you may regret it making other cinnamon buns less enjoyable. Gooey centers and a perfectly sweet crown of icing makes these an easy centerpiece for their menu. The lemon bars are so so fine. Dustin convinced me to save one in the freezer to try later and honestly it was a whole different experience. Don't worry though, these aren't sour like lemons, just the perfect blend of lemon and creaminess to be a light and fresh little treat. Their oat & fudge bars . . . Honestly, I went into this one thinking, "how different can one oat/fudge bar be from the next" and I was proven wrong. Serious Coffee adds a hint of crunch to the fudge to make a shining star out of what is normally a fairly neutral snack. Highly recommend!!!

Let's talk drinks (because we can't avoid it. It's in the company name!): They are serious about their coffee. While there may not be as many options for roast levels as some other places, Serious Coffee (& Tea) won't be caught lacking. Full bodied and delightful aromatics make their coffee shine through in any drink involving it and if you're just in for the coffee, you're in for a treat! All their beans are sourced from the island which just feels lovely, and if you want to take some home with you, there are bean bags you can pick up (as well as chocolate covered beans which I have yet to try) if you can't make it to the store very often. I've tried their Americano, Africano, Mochas, and London Fogs and can't quite pin down which one I prefer. The London fog is the perfect weighted blanket on a rainy day. The mocha seems to be made with a blend of dark and milk chocolate so not very bitter and not overly sweet, so pop a choccy and get your coffee fix all in one go! If you're in for the americano or africano, bring your head gear because you're about to get woken up. The americano comes at you with a left hook and the africano gives you that early morning uppercut. Espresso folks know where it's at, and where it's at is in the ring with Serious Coffee. If you're in the mood for cold drinks, pick up a frappuccino with just about any flavor that makes sense to be available. Ask for a frapp and if you're not sure what flavor to get, you may get to see their page long list of flavors. I've tried a mango and pineapple frapp and it was perfect for a hot sunny day. Unfortunately there may not be too many of those so it's going to be on to the next flavor for me :D

If you've made it this far, I hope you're making the right choice and planning on visiting this cafe. What I've mentioned here is only the smallest sliver of what's available so if you go there looking for something different, don't be too surprised by the selection! There's a lot of it!

The only way I could rate this place higher is if I rated them with my other...

I have been in search of high quality coffee in New Westminster since I moved here 2 years ago. On the verge of giving up on my search, I came across Serious Coffee. Serious Coffee is the BEST coffee I have ever had. The owners and staff are kind, and professional and really love what they do!! Wondering why I am saying that?? Well, let me tell you. I have an extremely hard name to pronounce and dreaded going to a coffee shop, and having the barista butcher my name. I started using a fake name. The running joke amongst my friends was I have a coffee shop name. I would give a fake name that was easier for the barista to pronounce and would say, oh that isn't my real name, my name is too hard so call me Sarah. Just so I can see if they would take the time to ask me my real name. Not once did they ask me for my real name, and would continue to say Sarah with an H or without, and I would reply doesn't matter that isn't my real name. The second time I walked into Serious Coffee the owner (Dustin), called me by my name. I cannot express the warm in my heart I felt that he had taken the time to remember my name. I have been going there everyday. I do have to say, when I move out of New Westminster I am definitely going to miss Serious Coffee. Not just the coffee but also the people who work there. They care about their customers and it shows. Hands down BEST coffee shop I have ever gone to. Great people,...

A SERIOUSLY wonderful coffee shop.

I ordered a chicken BBQ calzone and a Cinnamon bomb which were super fresh, hot and delicious. It was my first time eating calzone so not the one to judge but the it is stuffed with chunks of chicken meat, covered in nicely-seasoned bbq sauce/paste. Mild tomato taste. The dough was soft but quite thick imo.

APPLE CINNAMON BOMB is a MUST-TRY. I didn’t have high expectations for this one but it came out looking fabulous. A cinnamon muffin (i guess) topped with nuts then a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce to finish the dessert. A spoon of these together was heavenly good-flavorful balanced in sweetness. My favorite part was the crunchy texture of nuts combined with the softness of ice cream. Absolute perfection. Please come and treat yourself with this unique creation by the store ❤️❤️

As the food wasn’t enough. I got to have a great conversation with the most welcoming owner ever-Dustin. He shared the story/journey from being a salesman in the car industry to buying the NewWest location to opening Serious and glad to be liked by the community. He said the most of the foods and snacks are made on the Island and shipped to mainland but are always kept and served fresh.

Mid-convo, he noticed I didn’t have a drink so he asked if I wanted one and said it was on the house. I was so thankful for my latte-...