Weird Harbour Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Halifax

As a Barista and former Chef I have my opinions about food and coffee. I also value the opinions of other Chefs and Baristas greatly. However, there is a line that crosses into the "No let me tell you what you want" territory. I am French and in French culture we have a version of luongo called Allongé. Yes, pulling a shot for 60+ seconds changes the profile and messes with the delicate forward notes and blunts the complexity of the base notes. But that is how we like it, it's cultural, it's coarse, it's stubborn. But so are the French. I don't need to hear blasted across the shop "In my opinion blablabla..you shouldn't pull a shot that long". I'm sure you are exhausted trying to explain your art to people and that you are trying to leave your mark, add culture, refinement and legacy to the coffee scene in Halifax, but settle down a bit. You're not God. If someone goes to Nobu and says I want my tataki medium well they need to make it medium well regardless of their opinion. People drink coffee every day and so it's an intensely personal ritual for coffee drinkers. No amount of hipsterism or 'as an artist' posturing should ruin that for people. As for the coffee they made me, yes classic citrus forward, mid body light roast, weighed every shot. Pretty good, too acidic for my palette. It's not something I would drink everyday but it's not something I would give a second chance based on the pretentious vibe. If the cup was out of this world amazing, then I would bow to this mysterious provenance of coffee wisdom. But it wasn't. It was good, but not as good as they think, not good enough to assume the person in line knows less than you or doesn't know what they want. Good luck with your 'art' and...

I've been meaning to check this place out since before they opened. I finally made my way in here the other day and am so glad I did. This place is somewhat hidden. They only have a window decal up to identify the storefront. Inside is bare-bones (in a good way!), eclectic minimalist decor. It's very clean and bright. There isn't much space for seating, however. It's a bit of a smaller space - maybe 4-5 seats?

The guy working here was SO nice. Also, an incredible multi-tasker. I overheard him talking to the customer ahead of me regarding milk options and he was offering to bring in a few cartons of customer's go-to milk. How sweet is that?!

He described all of the yummy snacks they were offering. There wasn't much, but it all looked delicious. I had the muffin-cookie thing and a latte. Both were fantastic. I'm picky when it comes to lattes, and this one was exceptional. Prices were reasonable too - exactly what you would expect for an espresso-based coffee drink.

10/10 I definitely recommend checking out this little coffee joint. It's...

When a café’s main problem is that there’s not enough of it, that’s a good sign. This shop was like a shot of espresso — small, condensed, and packing as much flavor, personality, and charm as is possible. I ordered an espresso and a cappuccino. There were about 5 people waiting ahead of me when I ordered, and I managed to get my two beverages within 5 minutes. Truly impressive for two people working behind a tiny counter with one espresso machine on it. The espresso was very light, sweet, and acidic, with notes of cherry. Very good for those who like that sort of thing. It had a rich and deap crema, and came on an adorable saucer matching the espresso cup with a demitasse spoon on the side. The cappuccino was brilliantly frothed, with the rich milk cutting into the acidic espresso — the micro-foam perfectly combined with the milk. If only it had a place to sit down, weird harbor would go down as one of my favorite café’s I’ve been to....