I stumbled on Cafe St-Henri when I visited the Jean-Talon market. This is a satellite of the original cafe St-Henri located on rue Notre-Dame.
Jean-Talon market is one of the prettiest market in Montreal and his a must for tourist and locals.
Cafe St-Henri can be found on the South-East border of the market. It’s located in a gorgeous renovated building.
The space is wide and open with exquisite decoration. The original Cafe St-Henri has a warm woody feel and this shop is more pure white tiles.
If you are a sucker for good space design, Cafe St-Henri is the place for you. Cafe St-Henri is one of the most popular local roaster and we decided to order a drip coffee and an espresso.
The espresso was flawless.
The drip coffee was prepared on some kind of cyberpunk contraption.
I was offered a Kalita Wave since the Chemex is only available for 2 cups or more. The automated coffee maker is controlled by a tablet.
Call it whatever you want, it’s nothing like an hand drip coffee, it’s just a glorified coffee maker.
The cup we drank was very average, it lacked character. The result was a bit weak, drinkable, but nothing memorable.
While the coffee shop is beautiful, Cafe St-Henri made me think about the human factor in making coffee. There is no logic in offering a Kalita Wave or a Chemex if you let an application do the work for you.
While I understand the need to quickly crank out the orders when there is a rush, they should seriously consider trading the robot for a simple pouring kettle when things are a bit slower.
Please visit Cafe St-Henri for the design porn and enjoy their espresso drinks. I have yet to find a drip coffee I like. The coffee is on the lighter side of roasting of course. If it’s your thing, you might just be in heaven.
Café Saint-Henri Marché Jean-Talon
260 Place du Marche du Nord, Montréal