I live in a nearby neighborhood but lately on trips back from Willows beach I started stopping here for sweet treats. For about 6 months that's about all I did--until a friend and I grabbed some delicious to go salads before Xmas. This past week I wasn't feeling like sweets (must have been ill!) and I noticed while browsing a fellow sitting down and eating the most delicious looking large lunch. I just about leaped on it and dove in! So this week I deliberately made my way to Demitasse to get something interesting for dinner. And boy did I strike it lucky. I got this delicious homemade beef curry with a very interesting rice salad (with chunks of squash--unique and divine) and I couldn't believe the price for a huge take away meal. In a nutshell what I love about this place--and not necessarily in this order--the selection of quality take home meals, the fantastic garden centre with plants you don't see anywhere else, the delicious sweets, the small grocery selection AND the very nice and efficient staff. Also if you are vegetarian it;s really nice that they make it quite clear on the front display case which foods are likely to be vegetarian or meatless or gluten free. In other words you don't have t quizz the staff for hours--you can look and easily see what might work for a restrictive diet. What blows me away--and my sister owned a catering business similar to this--is the NUMBER of freshly prepared selections they have throughout the day. They don't seem to run out like alot of places do. Whole Foods could lesrn a hell of alot about how to run a take out department from these people! You got o Whole Foods in the early afternoon and their hot food case is ALWAYS nearly depleted with just some pathetic looking "paleo" carrots or other unappetizing concotion. What I love about Demitasse it is that it's clear to me that whoever is running the kitchen cares about the quality and taste of the food they are selling. The staff are always helpful and cheerful and they can be hugely busy. Just before I arrived about 30 people on bikes descended on that tiny little cafe and it was amazing how quickly they procssed all those orders. One of my biggest complaints about Victoria bakeries (especially Wildfire) is that you go in there and have to wait 10 minutes while they pour a cup of coffee and retrieve a dessert for someone. They just don't seem to care. Kudos to Demitasse for keeping up standards for many years. Not many food establishments can say that!