Trying to find a good coffee shop? Look for the ones with a line of people outside its doors.
Cherry Bomb Coffee, located at 79 Roncesvalles Ave, is a café you’ll commonly see queues forming for. Specializing in Prince Edward County roasted coffee and baked-in-house pastries, the café is worth the wait in line. Try the shop for yourself Monday-Friday 7:30am-5pm or Saturday-Sunday 8am-5pm*.
ATMOSPHERE
Located at the end of Roncesvalles just before Queen St W, Cherry Bomb Coffee’s exterior is a little underwhelming. Situated between a laundromat and construction scaffolding, it would be easy to miss the café if not for the common queues… and the giant floating cherry hanging over its storefront.
As for the coffee shop’s interior, its look remains a mystery. To adjust to the pandemic’s capacity restrictions, Cherry Bomb has opted for a take-out window in place of its door. From the window, people can place and pick up their food and drink orders.
Safety is top of mind for Cherry Bomb, so the café encourages its patrons to be respectful of one another by keeping six meters apart in line and wearing a mask. To minimize the spread of germs, the café only accepts payment by card during this time.
MENU
Coffee
Cherry Bomb Coffee first opened its doors in 2005, but in 2012, they started Spitfire Coffee Roasters “in order to explore, more deeply, our enthusiasm and passion for the coffee industry”.
Cherry Bomb’s coffee is hand roasted in Prince Edward County, is ethically sourced, and is high in quality and flavour. You can purchase their bags of coffee in-store or online (more on this below), or simply enjoy one of the beverages on their menu.
Cherry Bomb offers a wide beverage menu of coffee shop favourites that range from $2.25-$4.75. Menu items include brewed coffee, americanos, macchiatos, flat whites, mochas, steamers, tea lattes, and more. Making your drink iced or adding a flavour shot of vanilla will cost an additional $0.50. Milk options include 2%, lactose-free, almond, oat, and soy. My go-to drink order is the shop’s cortado.
Baked Goods
The coffee at Cherry Bomb is undoubtedly delicious, but it’s their baked goods that are the true showstopper. With everything baked in-house, no matter what you order, you’ll be in for a treat.
Cherry Bomb’s baked goods vary by the day, but expect options like croissants, scones, cookies, muffins, and loaves. Every pastry I’ve tried has been incredible, but I would highly recommend grabbing one of their croissants as the shop offers a variety of sweet and savoury options daily.
Note: The baked goods commonly sell out so I would suggest visiting before noon!
HOW TO SUPPORT THEM
Cherry Bomb Coffee strives itself on serving its community, and the café has been a pillar in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood for over 15 years. As the pandemic has taken a toll on all businesses across the city, it’s still important now as ever to support locally.
If you’re in/near the Roncesvalles area, you can support Cherry Bomb Coffee by simply stopping in for a drink and/or pastry. If you’re not located nearby but still want to support the café, you can do so by ordering their bags of coffee at cherrybombcoffee.ca/coffee
Some details about their mail-order coffee:
· There is a strict order cut off of every Monday at noon
· Coffee will be freshly roasted to order, packed and delivered to you via Canada Post; free shipping applies to Ontario delivery addresses
· There is a 5lb minimum or 10lb (2 x 5lbs) maximum for orders
SUMMARY
Located at the end of Roncesvalles, you’ll commonly see queues outside Cherry Bomb Coffee for their delicious Prince Edward County roasted coffee and house-baked pastries. The coffee shop is open until 5pm daily, but I would suggest visiting before noon for the widest selection of baked goods. Due to the pandemic, customers cannot currently enter the coffee shop, but instead can order from a take-out window. The café offers a wide drink menu that range from $2.25-$4.75, and a daily assortment of pastries like croissants, scones, cookies, muffins, and loaves. The shop’s coffee and baked goods are both excellent, but the latter (especially the croissants) are not to be missed. Support the coffee shop by visiting them in-person for your next coffee date, or buying a bag of their weekly roasted coffee in-store or online.
*Given the COVID-19 pandemic, hours and offerings depicted in this post may be skewed as businesses adapt to better serve its staff, customers, and community.