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Vancouver’s Top Work-Friendly Coffee Shops

Need to get some work done while caffeinating? We've mapped out Vancouver's best cafes and asked Scout readers to rank them.
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Vancouver’s Top Work-Friendly Coffee Shops

We’ve mapped out Vancouver’s most work-friendly coffee establishments so that visitors and locals alike can get their stuff done while sipping the good stuff in great environments.

— in alphabetical order (ranked by readers at bottom) —

49th Parallel Coffee Roasters & Lucky's Doughnuts
2902 Main St

Beyond the good coffee, we love this place for its seating variety (communal, corners, lounge, windows, and more) and the fact that it’s also home to Lucky’s and its delirium-inducing PB&J doughnut.

Agro Roasters
550 Clark Dr.

Located in the industrial netherworld of Clark Drive between Venables and Hastings, this tiny underground roasting house has a sunny communal table that makes for a good working hideaway.

Aperture Coffee
243 W. Broadway

Delicious baked goods, cozy seating, a great atmosphere and excellent coffee combine for a solid gotta-do-stuff environment (if you can tune out all the good conversation going on all around you).

The Birds & The Beets
55 Powell St. Vancouver, BC

With over two years now under its belt, this attractive, well-lit space has proven to be a consistent winner on the food front (mostly healthy and hearty snacks and sandwiches) and the bean execution (Bows x Arrows) is proper.

Bows & Arrows
4194 Fraser St.

We love the beans produced by this Vancouver Island roaster, so we were stoked to see them open a cafe/restaurant here last summer. The long communal table makes for good brunch hangs. Wi-Fi hours limited.

Bump N Grind
3010 Granville St.

The second location of the original East Side fixture is in the heart of the South Granville shopping district. Always an interesting mix of beans (Timbertrain and Anchored at the time of writing). Great window perches.

Caffè Artigiano
740 West Hastings St.

A local chain that found success where every cafe ought to, not in slick branding and moustache wax but in consistency and excellence. This small outpost – attached to the Opus Hotel – has a sophisticated traveller’s vibe to it.

Cartems
534 W Pender St

A specialty doughnut shop at the foot of the nicest residential building on Main Street, dishing wondrous doughnuts like Canadian Whisky Bacon, Chocolate Triple Threat, and Earl Grey. Beans by Elysian, so you know it’s good.

Elysian Coffee
1100 Burrard St.

An Elysian joint with wifi? Yup, the other three locations might still eschew the trend toward Mackedness, but their newest outlet is umbilically attached to the Burrard Hotel, and what is a hotel cafe without wifi? Rejoice!

Federal Store
2601 Quebec St.

Located away from the Main Street crowds, this ancient neighbourhood corner store-turned cafe serves good beans from Bows x Arrows and some downright delicious treats. Good spaces to work and people watch in the window.

Finch's Market
501 E Georgia St.

One of the more charming and atmospheric spots on this list. Good meeting spot, though it has the power to remove idle hours from your life if you’re not careful, so boot up and concentrate. Pro tip: baguette sandwiches are legend.

Gene Coffee Bar
2404 Main St.

Occupying the glassed-in prow of the flat-iron building at the junction of Main and Kingsway. Lots of plugs, strong wifi signal and satisfactory coffee with plenty of distractions. Aka: Gene Pool.

Greenhorn Espresso Bar
994 Nicola St.

If there were a model for how we’d like all neighbourhood to operate, Greenhorn would be close to perfect. Part art gallery, part record store, part coffee bar, it’s the full package. Bonus: good granola with vanilla-spiced pear.

JJ Bean
3010 Main St.

The city can count boast many locations of JJ Bean, but if you’ve got some work to do none rival the communal, co-working atmosphere of the one on Main Street. Lots of space. Lots of good, constructive energy amplified by caffeine.

Kafka's Coffee Roasting
2525 Main St.

A swell Mt. Pleasant hangout that attracts a representative cross-section of the neighbourhood with a cozy variety of living room-style seating. Always buzzing, but never too distracting. Serious about their beans. Good pour overs.

Le Marche St. George
4393 St. George St.

We prefer to sit outside in a cozy chair and tether for wifi here rather than join the crush inside. On top of the good coffee, they serve outstanding toasted croissant sandwiches layered with ham and cheese.

Matchstick (Chinatown)
213 East Georgia St.

Local coffee roaster and baker with killer design sense, highly efficient service, and lots of variety when it comes to seating (communal, window cloister, banquette, high-top). Want to spike a cup? They’re also licensed.

Milano Coffee (Gastown)
36 Powell St.

Tucked sufficiently away from the Gassy Jack tourist track to almost always guarantee a free seat, this bright, reliable and work-friendly joint has a deep menu of house beans and a slick but comfortable modern European design. Hours are easily well spent here.

Moja Coffee
1102 Commercial Dr.

This new addition found instant success on account of the quality of their beans and the cozy, modern-meets-industrial look and feel. If you ever find time to lift your head from your laptop, the window perches make for awesome people-watching.

Musette Caffé
1325 Burrard St. (Closed)

The reliable bicycle-themed cafe moved out of their Chinatown digs last year and into this Ste. Marie-designed stunner directly facing onto the Burrard St. bike lane. Beans are from Phil & Sebastian and local roaster Pallet.

Nelson The Seagull
315 Carrall St.

Housed in an open concept heritage space and doubling as a bakery, this is one of the better looking cafes in the city (and probably the most aromatically alluring). Avocado toast + Matchstick beans = good working environment!

Nemesis
302 W Hastings St.

This newcomer facing Victory Square is one of the biggest surprises of the past year. Not only is very easy on the eyes with a superb coffee program, but the food is also shockingly good for a coffee shop – perhaps ‘best in class’ for Vancouver.

Nourish
3742 W 10th Ave.

This looker is recessed deep on the West Side and makes for a good interlude between home/work and hikes in the Endowment Lands. They make plenty to snack on and grind beans from East Van Roasters.

Pallet Coffee Roasters
323 Semlin Dr.

A good-looking neighbourhood cafe that roasts its own beans behind a glass partition. A little off the beaten track but well worth repeat visits on account of their evident and delicious dedication to quality.

The Paper Crane
531 East Broadway

There’s a great little window bar to work on while sipping well made coffee drinks (beans from Origins Organic Coffee) and snacking on tasty baked goods from the Swiss Bakery. Flies under the radar on quality wings.

Prado (Fraserhood)
4208 Fraser St.

The 3rd location of this local chainlet is the best of the bunch for getting work done (as evidenced by the daily invasion of Macbooks). Plenty of space to spread papers out and sip on your 49th Parallel espresso. Bonus: electrical outlets.

Propaganda Coffee
209 East Pender St.

We use owner-operated Propaganda a lot both as a meeting place and a midday caffeine re-up station. Great selection of beans and seat options, from communal tables and lonely deuces to window hightops and lounge seats.

Revolver Coffee
325 Cambie St.

This is our regular go to for a number of reasons, starting with the attention to detail paid to every cup that’s made to order. It’s also beautifully designed, offering a mix of tight booths, window seats, and a lengthy communal table. Killer bean selection, too.

Small Victory
1088 Homer St.

We’re suckers for their scones with jam and clotted cream (also the bechamel-heavy chicken pot pies), but for a double shot and a solid work sesh it’s definitely our main port of call in Yaletown.

Timbertrain Coffee Roasters
311 W Cordova St.

The seating is a bit labyrinthine and tricky to suss at first, but you’ll figure it out (it’s one of the 1,000 coolest things in Vancouver). Definitely one of our favourite cafe interiors in town. Bonus: excellent beans.

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There are 3 comments

  1. No Platform 7? That’s a miss, have been to both locations, excellent coffee and a friendly atmosphere. Not sure about the “work” component of this survey, I feel sorry for coffee places that have to endure “campers” taking up spaces for excessive periods for the free wifi.

  2. Timbertrain has amazing pour over, nice decor and nice food, but they don’t have wifi or plugs available for customer use, so I am not sure this is a really good place to work at.

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