Merchants' Restoration Cafe — Restaurant in Toronto

Do not order anything from Merchants of Green Coffee online. They will cheat you out of your money, waste your time, ignore your emails, and generally treat you like a chump.

After ordering 4 lbs. of green coffee on April 29th, and having it not shipped out in a week I sent out an email asking about the status of the order. This is strange, since I paid a $20 Canada Post shipping option, and I live in the same city they are located. It was only after that email that they started processing my order, and told me that they would send it out when possible. I know that things are more difficult during a pandemic, and that lack of staff make daily operations challenging, so I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The next day I received an email saying that they were in the area to deliver another order, and stopped by my apartment to drop off my coffee and also refund some of the Canada Post delivery fee i paid. Since the buzzer for my apartment doesn't work, I couldn't hear them. They also said that they could drop by the next day and deliver my order. I emailed them back, indicating that I would be home the next day, and not to worry about the delivery refund. That was the last email I received from them. They didn't show up the next day, and I was fine with that, thinking that they didn't have any deliveries near me, and it was the weekend. However, repeated emails about their sudden silence went unanswered, as did more emails about if they had actually shipped my order, and requests for a tracking number if they did, and a refund if they didn't.

Finally, after many unanswered emails, threatening to go through my bank to get a refund on my order actually prompted them to reply. I'm sure that if I hadn't invoked the banks these dorks would've kept my money and continued to ignore my emails. Unfortunately all I got was a boilerplate email saying my order was refunded. No apology, no culpability on their part, just straight up cowardice and avoidance. This also led me to believe that after two weeks they still hadn't shipped my order, an order which I paid a $20 shipping fee for a delivery in the same city.

If you are looking to order green beans in Toronto or Canada, there are much better alternatives. For example, after placing an order with another local green beanery they shipped out the order the same day, and I received it the following day. All this for a much cheaper $7 Canada Post Xpresspost option, as opposed to Merchants vague $20 Canada Post shipping.

Calling themselves Merchants of Green Coffee is a misnomer, since they aren't merchants; they're scammers and cowards whose arrogance towards its customers...

Worst customer service ever! I was looking for Forbes Wild Foods, I opened the door and there was a lady about 2.5 metres away behind a plastic shield wearing a mask. Straight away she shouts at me, "you cannot come in with out a mask"(in a tone with an attitude, which she kept using the entire time I was talking to her), I accidentally forgot to put it on after riding my bike there, I apologize and put it on straight away, which took me about 2 seconds. She was still complaining about me not wearing a mask while I was putting it on, so I then say "sorry, I normally wear one, it was an accident, sorry". She then moves on to complaining about me putting my mask on in the doorway instead of going outside to put it on and closing the door. I would of done so if it would of taken me a while to put it on, but I literally took it from my pocket and put it straight on, so I said "why does it matter, I have my mask on now, I forgot I am sorry, I am here to pick up an order". She then very grumpily says "right then" like she was not going to allow me to have the order, then she grumpily asks for my name twice. She then explains, "it is not there, what is it?". So I say it is a maple gift set, then when the penny drops she starts complaining that I came to the wrong place, "you want Forbes". I said "sorry I thought it was Forbes, there is a sign on the door". She then starts complaining they have there own door and she is not there to deal with their customers, I ask " where is the door please" she says "it's not here", like she just wants me to go now. "It is round the side she says", then starts complaining about having to deal with people who are not there to buy from her store, by this point I say "thank you for the attitude, have a nice...

Okay. I don’t even want to write a good review because I want to keep this wonderful cafe all to myself! But I also think hard work deserves to be rewarded. I hope everyone in riverside hits up this cafe at least once.

I am a regular here, and use this cafe as my go-to study spot when I don’t want to go to the uni library.

STAFF They are SO nice without being sugary/annoying. The staff are absolutely unpretentious and are genuinely interested in educating the customer in an accessible way. I’m not a coffee-connoisseur or anything so it was fun to learn a little during my visits. Baristas are really nice and speedy, and if the drink is going to take a while they’ll let you sit and call you to grab your drinks when they’re ready.

AMBIANCE Of course the space itself is just perfect for getting stuff done. Plenty of chargers available all over the space. I’m pretty sure they deserve credit for at least part of my graduate school work lol. Also nice and quiet, as some cafes like to blast the music which makes it impossible to focus or have a decent conversation, but not this one. Their ambiance is what keeps me coming back.

CUSTOMER BASE Patrons are also normal, polite, and keep to themselves which I appreciate too.

COFFEE & FOOD The scones are amazing. Coffee is delicious because they help you choose a bean that you like! So it’s coffee that suits your taste. Their fair trade and low waste principles have won my heart. I’m a low-waste individual, and their values are what make me recommend them to anyone who will listen.

OVERALL The best cafe in Toronto. A true hidden gem. I wish they had another location in Ottawa (I’m moving away). I will miss this place so much. Thank you for...