L'Espresso Bar Mercurio — Restaurant in Toronto

Who could be in greater need of coffee than the hard-working and often sleep deprived students at the University of Toronto. In my days at the university, much more studying was done in coffee shops, then even the Robarts library. If the l'espresso bar Mercurio had existed at the corner of St. George and Bloor Street when I was a student, I would've spent enough time there they would've begun to charge me rent.

Before you even step into this delightful Italian inspired Café you are greeted by a beautiful and, incredibly serene patio given its location, right on bloor street. There is a quieter, more leafy patio to the east side of the café, which was a perfect oasis on this scorchingly hot July day.

The seating inside the café is ample and well spaced. The vintage Fiat displayed right by the door immediately brings you to the delightfully cramped and crowded streets of Italy.

I visited the café on a Sunday morning and there was a 50-50 split between laptop, users, and patrons indulging in coffee and a chat. For those using laptops, the access to electrical outlets was extremely limited, but there were a number of single or double tables which seemed designed, or at least appropriate, for working space.

The bakery items and sandwiches on offer looked absolutely amazing. I however, limited myself to a Cortado and a piece of the homemade almond cinnamon biscotti. The espresso in the Cortado was a blend which I understand the café roastes for their own use , L'espresso Misto II. I am not certain that this same roast is on offer every day.

The coffee was absolutely perfect. The espresso was rich, chocolaty and with a hint of caramel . The drink was served in the perfectly appropriate sized and shaped glassware.

I am often disappointed with the quality of biscotti, even at Italian cafés in the city, but this biscotti was perfect. It had enough flavour on its own and was even better when dipped in my Cortado.

My coffee was so good, I asked the barista for a recommendation of a bag of beans to bring home and brew as a pour over. The selection of beans on sale was limited and therefore I ended up bringing home the same beans which had been used in my espresso. Although they made an exceptionally rich and dark coffee when prepared as a pour over, I believe it was still obvious that these beans were roasted to a profile more appropriate to a proper espresso preparation. I hope in the future there is a bean designed for home use available at this café.

If you are a caffeine deprived student or in need of a small piece of Italy in the city, the L'espresso de Mercurio is an absolute perfect choice for coffee and work, or...

I was here this summer, the Café was already less busy than it used to be. I just came back, tonight for the first time in the winter, and it’s clear to me now why the business was slow. The service is not what it used to be.

In the summer I had to go get water myself a few times (more than a couple of times). Tonight, they decided to close early because the business seems slow. Without informing the customers about it, they just start to cleaning up and taking people’s plates and coffee mugs. Without telling the customers when they order that the café is closing early today. They let people order “for here” and before they can even finish eating, they’re told to leave. Before your friend could show up, you’re told they’re closing early just for today because it’s the slow season - if it’s slow season, shouldn’t they change the hours of operation on Google for the season? But what they really meant is that they decided when to close on a daily basis - depending on how slow the business is. I might not be a regular, but they definitely lost all my future businesses. A Starbucks’ service attitude is better than whatever is here.

This is very sad, consider all they have now is an empty shell - a slightly better food than Tim Horton with a service like one.

In all fairness here is my review 2 years ago: “I've been to this place numerate times - for brunch, coffee/tea, lunch, afternoon snack/early supper, or just pastries/dessert. I've never had a bad experience. The service and food are...

Like other reviewers have mentioned, there is a woman who works at the counter who clearly hates her job and takes it out on customers. I ordered a glass of wine to go with our two paninis, and we waited patiently by the door until the woman called my name to hand us our order at the counter. After picking up our food, we were looking for a seat on the patio when this woman came up behind me, and told me the wine I was holding was for a different order. I was more than happy to return it, and I even apologized because I had already taken two sips out of the glass. She gave me a dirty look and said sarcastically, "YEAH, I KNOW," before yanking the glass out of my hand, shoving another glass at me, and turning around without another word.

This was the SAME woman who called MY name and handed us our tray when we went to pick it up by the register. I don't understand what we did that warranted such a rude response from her when the mistake was clearly hers.

And the food? Ridiculously overpriced and mediocre. The pancetta in my sandwich might as well have been elastic. $50 for two paninis and a glass of wine. I get it, it's downtown and we're paying downtown prices. But when you factor in a server who goes out of her way to be rude to customers, to the point that several other reviewers have mentioned her terrible attitude? It doesn't matter how good or affordable your food is.

And now, apparently, the owners are advertising to anti-vaxxers and are anti-LGBTQ+? Stay away. This...