Switchboard Cafe — Restaurant in Salt Spring Island Electoral Area

Iconic location, top notch espresso drinks, great selection of pastries and food items served freshly prepared by a friendly, talented crew. This is a Salt Spring Island gem loved by locals and a must visit for off-islanders.

The other day I asked about the customer balance between regulars. That question first produced a quizzical expression.

"Hard to say. Some of our regular, weekly customers don't live on the island," was the final response.

Ok, Switchboard is a destination coffee shop!

Being on Salt Spring, the beverage menu goes well past simple lattes and cappuccinos.

Just for fun you can try a Turmeric, Beetroot, Chili, Cacao or Mancha Latte. The Lavender Hot Chocolate is also praise-worthy..

All of the Croissant options - regular, Almondine, Chocolate, Cinnamon swirl - are a perfectly sized balance of excellent dough and high quality butter, offered...

Last cappuccino I ordered was so bad I threw it out - probably only the 3rd time I have ever done that ever. I have been a loyal customer for years and have always loved the coffee here. There was a change of ownership and after the coffee and food got better but then suddenly - as of late October it went to crap. No idea why but just a complete disaster. The coffee reeked of perfume (maybe the barista had it all over her hands?) but the actual quality of the drink was just terrible - overheated milk, bad espresso, I am just baffled why it was so bad. It was the second bad drink in two days. I drank the first (it was really poor) and just could not stand the scent and taste of the 2nd. I must have ordered 80 drinks from here over the years and spend nearly $1000 here with food and multiple drink orders but...

Cute spot in an old heritage building, which I love—Salt Spring does a great job preserving its buildings character. The vibe here is cool, but the matcha was average. They only had oat milk instead of coconut milk, and the quality of the matcha wasn't great, so it didn’t have much flavor and was quite bitter. My drink tasted more like oat milk than anything else.

The server also over-poured my drink, causing it to spill, so I couldn’t put a lid on. When I asked if they could pour some out, they let me, but then ended up pouring away a large portion of my drink, which was a bit frustrating. Not the end of the world, as it was already a...