Taloola Café — Restaurant in Ontario

My boyfriend and I just moved to Windsor and set out on a mission to get to know all the best local spots. We stumbled upon Taloola by accident on a Sunday afternoon.

Taloola has a unique atmosphere and a notable vegan selection. The service and coffee however were not ideal.

We showed up at 3:00 pm (it closed at 4pm). We order two cups of house brewed coffee and a vegan peanut butter cookie.

The space is very small and there was only one table available, which was dirty. We waited there for a few moments to see if someone would come and clean it. Eventually, we gave up and cleaned it ourselves. It appeared as if they were in a rush to close early or something because they were out of house brewed coffee at ~3:15 pm and informed us they would brew some more without asking about our desired roast.

Instead they gave us coffee from a french press, which was far too strong and swimming with coffee grinds. They didn't bother to inform us of their desire to avoid brewing another pot or ask if we wanted anything different, which was quite bold. We are avid french press lovers and make it at home all the time, so not only were we unimpressed with the hack job, we were irked we weren't given the option of getting something else more suitable (like tea etc). When I asked the gentleman about what type of coffee he had given us, and he was quite cold, mumbled something about a french press and pretended like he was too busy cleaning up. Furthermore, the coffee station was a mess and out of cream. I realize it was ~3:30pm and they closed at 4pm, but the lack of professionalism left a bad taste far worse than the coffee did.

The peanut butter cookie wasn't anything to write home about, but we did see some of the dishes others were ordering and it looked quite good.

Lastly, there is no wifi available here, which was disappointing but understandable given the limited space.

If you're looking for a place to have a quick vegan/healthy lunch - then this place is ideal. However, if you're looking for a decent spot to spend a couple hours sipping coffee, studying, reading etc., this is...

Ambience: Cool vibes, quirky decor, not too loud

Food: Had the: Devonshire sandwich, it was really good, the garlic aioli sauce wasn't too garlicky and didn't leave a strong aftertaste.

Sesame bagel: Montreal style with butter, yummy and fresh.

Blueberry bagel: Pretty good, tasted fresh and soft

Blueberry, mango, berry and aloha smoothies: All with oat milk and were enjoyable, preferred the mango the best but all were good, not too sweet and got one without yogurt for my nephew who's lactose intolerant.

Customer service: Staff were friendly, you pay and order at the front and they'll bring you your food / drinks. Food came out in a timely manner

Price: Average price for most cafes, sanwhiches were a touch on the pricey side but were delicious. Would offer a bit of a side for the price with the sanwhiches though, they came with a couple pieces of cucumber and dressing so maybe increase the serving size of that a bit?

Accessibility: Mostly wheelchair / mobility accessible, however bathrooms are downstairs. They are service dog friendly, staff were friendly and...

I personally for the longest time have loved and adored Taloola! It’s the vintage, vibey, locally loved and quaint cafe that is and always will be unique to Walkerville. The absolute best and favourite thing I will ever order from them is the Taloola for 2 meal combos because of its excellent value and price. Whenever we order it, it’s always a variation of the Roberto, Devonshire or Patricia Paninis (tip - get the panini over the rye if you want a bigger sandwich), the Greenhouse Dressing mixed green salad or African Ground Nut stew with a varietal of desserts (we get the date square and the lavender shortbread cookie). Every time we are beyond satisfied with this combo. We also loved their Breakfast Bagel and a cappuccino in their gorgeous cups on the patio or indoors which in my opinion is the coolest indoor spaced cafe in Windsor. Forever will love Taloola! Although I will admit the staff a handful of times could be a bit warmer and welcoming, but perhaps they’re trying to maintain that hipster vibe LOL

Also BONUS: their patio is...