Manic Coffee — Restaurant in Toronto

Hands down, one of the best coffee shops in the entire City of Toronto. Jovially led by Tony, the staff are always welcoming and friendly. I’ve personally seen a few of Tony’s baristas move on at some point to become cornerstones of other reputable coffee shops.

And coffee. Tony knows his coffee. His espresso is creamy and smooth and never leaves any bitterness. I’ve introduced Manic to a number of coffee aficionados and I’ve yet to have one not be won over.

Not only does Tony know how to make great espresso, but he’s happy to talk about it too. Even if it isn’t coffee from his shop, he gladly discuss the attributes of any given bean or grind and how to get the best out of it. He has given me some fantastic advice over the years, including how to perfect my aeropress on the road.

Of course, if coffee isn’t your thing, Manic also has a lot of tea and other options to choose from. Just not the dizzying, ridiculous and saccharine-drenched array of options available in the big shops. In my opinion, that’s not a bad thing. And kombucha on tap.

Given that it is a coffee shop, you might expect pastries, but Manic goes well past that a great array of food offerings, all made fresh daily and in-house. None of that pre-packaged and re-heated fare often found in large ubiquitous coffee chains.

So well-made is the food at Manic that I know local businesses, including large hospitals, rely on Manic for catering.

If you haven’t had a good coffee in a while, make your...

Cute shop! Biggest thing working in this shop's favor is the warm and comfortable decor and great location. My experience at this shop wasn't fabulous, however. Not bad, but not good enough to come back.

Pros: The employees are friendly and fast, they're dressed in "casual-professional" attire that fits the atomosphere, and the temperature of the café is comfortable. The ice cream flavors and other food options are creative and artistically presented (I had a single scoop of burnt marshmallow. Delish! A bit on the pricy side though because a "scoop" is little larger than the size of a melon ball).

Cons: where are the electric plugs?! They are few and far between. They have plenty of seating so they obviously know that people will want to use their shop to sit and work while sipping their coffee, but, how are you supposed to write a paper or browse social media if your devices are all dead? The "regular" drip coffee was $2.14 CAD and was pretty small in size. Additionally, my cup was full of burned coffee. When was it brewed? Who knows! But it had that metallic taste of coffee that's sat in the pot for too long at too high of a temperature.

All in all, not a terrible experience but also not one to write home about. It looked so nice from the outside but was ultimately exceedingly disappointing. I could have made better coffee at home with corner store bought Maxwell...

Just wanted to leave a word to commend the integrity and excellent customer service provided by Tony.

I naively ordered a few bags of coffee beans a few months ago that I had to return by mail because they weren't for me and I wasn't aware of the fresh by dates when it comes to coffee beans. I spoke with Tony on the phone, who was more than understanding and flexible with the situation and allowed me to return to the store later to grab the bags when I would finally need them.

A whole 2-3 months later, I walked into the store to grab the bags, thinking that I bought 2. Tony remembered that I actually paid for three and took the time to pull up my order to show me that I actually paid for 3 bags, and not 2. He truly went above and beyond for the customer, and that is SO appreciated!

Will definitely always return. You've earned a...