Café La Bine — Restaurant in Montreal

I'm of two hearts.

In the first, I couldn't be more proud of an institution from my hometown opening their first Montreal location. In the other, I can't deny the socio-political dynamics of coffee between Montreal and tiny Saint-Bruno are worlds apart. So despite encouraging you, full-stop, to visit this shop, I also know I'd just as soon recommend you visit Dispatch, Cafe Falco, Névé, or the many other stops within a 2km radius. Places where the coffee is simply better.

Setting coffee aside for a moment, Cafellini's city transplant is impressive. I'm not usually that impressed by storefronts but their's stands out: I love the stark black on white lettering and the faux wood moulding detailing. Nothing else like it comes to mind in the St-Hubert Plaza. (There's gentrification flag-waving to be made, but Yelp doesn't quite seem the place to do it.) The decor manages to both expand on the slow rebranding that's been taking place at the Saint-Bruno location and find its own distinct voice. If 3rd wave coffee aesthetics here tend to moonlight as industrial showrooms for up-cycled furniture, Cafellini sports the customized combination of high end Ikea white, Pantone colours, and birch veneered surfaces. You won't ever find me complaining about a place that's flush in daylight and clean lines.

Onto the more pressing parts.

If I'm torn about the beverages, here's why. I think owning a successful coffee shop in a tiny suburb of the South Shore has isolated Cafellini from being a full participant in that culture, and perhaps crucially, isolated it from the experience the vibrant coffee market Montreal affords.

Here's isolation at work: Despite being over a decade old, Cafellini's coffee over that time has hardly changed. To my taste, their only roaster (Montreal based indie roasters Barista) compares poorly to any of the B.C. (49th Parallel/Bow & Arrows) or Ontario (Detour) products you can find here, let alone any staple U.S. roaster. So even if the coffee drinks are prepared to spec, I can't remember being excited, surprised, or particularly pleased from a Cafellini coffee. But being from a suburb where you're fighting for attention against Second Cup and Tim's, I suspect few clients have ever complained, suggested an alternative, or purely off-the-cuff opened up a dialogue about different coffee roasts to Cafellini staff in the way I suspect baristas across the city are accosted about these matters on a daily basis.

Worse, my sense is that the outright friendly and dedicated staff--across both locations--have never been comparatively passionate and serious about coffee. But it's a chicken and egg problem I don't lay at Cafellini's feet. No one from the city who wants to dedicate themselves to coffee craft is going to travel to Saint-Bruno given the plentiful options at home. And the local student body comprising the majority of the Cafellini staff over the years is a small pool from which to produce year after year classes of passionate baristas. And this specially given most of them have never known better coffee than Cafellini itself. An absence of clients and staff of the types that make small food cultures thrive, Saint-Bruno Cafellini has sadly become staid coffee-wise.

This is what makes me reticent to suggest the Beaubien location. My own hometown nostalgia is a siren song that'll drags me through its door, but I can't find the same frequency...

Great fresh sandwich with tofu, eggplant and marinated veggies. Bread was very fresh and the tofu was covered in a flavourful spicy sauce. It had tomatoes, cheese (not sure if vegan but tasted like normal cheese — good and light ; just those thin slices probably brought up the sandwich experience up a level or two lol) and raw onions as well which I wasn’t expecting. a warning about the onions would have been nice 😅

Edit : I showed up again last week for coffee with a friend and there was a sign on the door saying they’ve been bought out and the name will be changing but they aren’t open for business. Oh well :( but please change the google maps profile to say temporarily or permanently closed . It’s not nice to waste...

Il faisait un vent à vous glacer les os dans les rues de Montréal et j’étais bien mal vêtu pour l’occasion. Même avec mon (mince) chandail blanc aux soi-disant propriétés thermorégulatrices et mon manteau de laine, j’étais transi de froid. A., elle, avait prévu le coup, mais alors que nous marchions vers la Bine, Mère et Fille, je sentais son pas pressé.

Côté saisons, on se retrouve dans cet étrange entre-deux, où les lattés à la citrouille sont rangés dans l’armoire, mais où il est encore trop tôt pour sortir les bottes. Qu’à cela ne tienne, nous nous sommes délectés d’un suave chocolat chaud, aux notes discrètes, mais enveloppantes, et d’un matchai (matcha + chaï) qui a le potentiel de plaire aux amateurs des deux breuvages, bien que j’aurais personnellement souhaité qu’il exprime une plus forte personnalité.

Les sandwichs, d’une candide simplicité, possèdent un certain « revenez-y » par leur quête de fraîcheur et la justesse de leur cuisson. Par leur taille, ils demeurent de parfaits en-cas, ce qui se reflète dans leur prix (7,50 – 8,30 $ pour le fromage grillé, 6,75 $ pour le « big dill »). À déguster lentement, une petite bouchée à la fois.

C’est que l’ambiance invite à la douceur, avec ses murmures, ses plantes suspendues, le bruit étouffé de la rue et le calme de ses occupants. L’espace est intime, accueillant, on s’y ancre pour travailler, discuter, siroter une boisson. Avec ma bonne amie à mes côtés, mon esprit était logé à la paix absolue.

En conclusion, la Bine est un sympathique café de quartier où il fait toujours beau, juin comme...