Loved drinking my coffee there and eating the avo toast! The sourdough bread is absolutely delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avo on Toast
Emerson Roth
I rarely feel so compelled to write a review for a store, but this cafe is 5 stars all around. The workers even went above and beyond to accommodate my needs (and mistakes) when I ordered a hot instead of iced mistakenly. They also gave a label for my loaf of bread so I could take it over the border. The cafe is super cozy, the food is amazing, and the coffee is also top tier. I spent my day getting some work done here and was very satisfied with my experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maurice Castonguay
I've only tried the sourdough but can confirm that it's legit.
Yuma Baker
I like the coffee, i like the atmosphere, and the bread smells delicious. Sadley, the Full Nelson sandwich is the whitest, plainest sandwich i have ever had. I mean $16, and there isn't even mustard on it, it's literally just white. Bread cheese, lettuce tomato and ham, idk why it couldn't taste good for the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Brittany
Bustling cafe and lunch spot in
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Cinematic Street
I usually have a brewed coffee and a “Chocolate Chip & Walnut, Oat Cookie.” Both are very good but the cookies are a little too good because now I have a low key addiction to them. Not too sweet but still quite tasty, with just the right amount of crunch.
There are two kinds of brewed coffee; the “Nelsons Custom Roast-Rowandan” and the “Modus Coast-Nicaragua.” Both are nice but I like the Modus Coast the best.
The vibe at Nelson The Seagull is very cool. Laid back, lived in, relaxed, homy. The decor is vintage and stylish, yet very practical. Good wi-fi and the staff are quite friendly and helpful. I work and live nearby and I'm not fancy, so I appreciate the lack of pretension.
There's a huge picture of Nelson Mandela behind the front counter, who was apparently a boxer at one time. He didn't go pro but it was a good way to deal with his stressful life. He was also part of the inspiration for the name of this coffee shop.
Nelson The Seagull has a lot of character and part of that can be attributed to the building itself…The Rainier Hotel. It's an official heritage building of Vancouver that was built in 1907 and is now an SRO that offers supportive housing for vulnerable women on the upper floors, and commercial business space on the main floor. There's another great coffee shop next door called East Van Roasters, as well as a vintage clothing store called Community Thrift & Vintage Frock Shoppe.
The surrounding community is called Gastown and it's chock full of character for a lot of reasons. For one thing, this is where Vancouver began in 1886. It's where the Canadian Pacific Railway met the Pacific Ocean, on a deep ice free harbor, united Canada politically, and created a massive industrial hub that fueled the national economy, and became known as the “Gateway to the Orient.” Gastown was the beating heart of Vancouver before there was a Gastown, or a Vancouver.
The Rainier Hotel and the entire Gastown area have traditionally catered to the working class. Even the indigenous people who lived here before the European settlers were certainly not considered rich by today's standards, and nor did they aspire to do so. But they were still attracted to this area of British Columbia for largely the same reasons as the Europeans...the climate and the abundance of life.
The original clientele of the Rainier Hotel were predominantly single men working blue collar jobs in the logging and shipping industry. Not surprisingly, the first bar in Vancouver opened here in Gastown and the area was famous for its music, entertainment, and nightlife. It was a rough and tough crowd of people who were just struggling to survive and spent a good part of their time unemployed and looking for their next job. In the 1960’s the city was going to demolish Gastown and build a freeway through it, but Gastown and its supporters rallied together and it was spared. Never say die should be the motto of Gastown.
To this day, Gastown still reflects the same working class roots, hustle, and struggle for survival as it did in the late 1800’s. It's deceptively beautiful but raw and unforgiving…like the rain forest it was built in. To survive here you need to be tough, resilient, and strong in spirit…like the indigenous people, or perhaps Nelson Mandela.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Harrison.L
Weird experience. The menu wasn't the menu, we could only pick from an extremely short list of options. Seating was limited/unavailable as all the tables are gigantic and had 2-3 people at each (when some could fit 8). Clearer menu options and more 2 tops would really help
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Emily Van
That sourdough! We brought a starter to take home ? Yum!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aly MacPherson
$13 for a sour yogurt parfait. Definitely the worst I’ve ever had, don’t get it!
Food: 1
Matthan Churchill
Obsessed with Nelson the Seagull! We first tried their sourdough at a bar the night before and it was SO good with butter, we had to go to the source! This place is the real deal. The bread is incredible (obviously), and the coffee was top-notch too.
Everything about this cafe is laid-back. I love the ambience here and want to add 10 stars for atmosphere. A cinnamon roll is absolutely our favorite. I’ll try their sourdough toast next time. Staff even bakers are friendly to us. Drip coffee is well-balanced and easy to drink, while espresso is a rare type with a strong acidity. The cinnamon rolls have a perfect crunch from the sugar and fluff from the bread. It was perfect for us to replenish our morning sweets. I liked it so much that I would go there just to eat it. The sourdough is the most popular, so I'd like to try that toast next time. The inside of the store is spacious and has seats so you can relax. However, it seems that it is not very safe outside the store, so I think it would be best to go in the morning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pastries
Parmis Meshgi
This is my favourite Cafe in Vancouver, although the neighbourhood can be a bit sketchy, but when you step inside you will forget about outside and will be drawn in coffee and bread smell. All the toasts are fantastic. The vibe is awesome as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado Toast with 2 Poached Eggs, Pastries
Bodhi Valentine
Mmmm. Coffee and immaculate vibes. Hard to beat and hard to find a great Americano for $4.20.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tommy “Powerbuilderwannabe” Xiao
We're extremely satisfied with their figs/ walnuts sourdough and olive/ rosemary sourdough. The texture of the bread was rich in flavour. Both sourdoughs were delicious. We will definitely order again in the future.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Olive & Rosemary Sourdough
Rika Inoue
Everything is great here except there’s a Japanese girl who is not able to communicate in English. Wonder how she’s got a job here.
Loved drinking my coffee there and eating the avo toast! The sourdough bread is absolutely delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avo on Toast
I rarely feel so compelled to write a review for a store, but this cafe is 5 stars all around. The workers even went above and beyond to accommodate my needs (and mistakes) when I ordered a hot instead of iced mistakenly. They also gave a label for my loaf of bread so I could take it over the border. The cafe is super cozy, the food is amazing, and the coffee is also top tier. I spent my day getting some work done here and was very satisfied with my experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I've only tried the sourdough but can confirm that it's legit.
I like the coffee, i like the atmosphere, and the bread smells delicious. Sadley, the Full Nelson sandwich is the whitest, plainest sandwich i have ever had. I mean $16, and there isn't even mustard on it, it's literally just white. Bread cheese, lettuce tomato and ham, idk why it couldn't taste good for the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Bustling cafe and lunch spot in
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
I usually have a brewed coffee and a “Chocolate Chip & Walnut, Oat Cookie.” Both are very good but the cookies are a little too good because now I have a low key addiction to them. Not too sweet but still quite tasty, with just the right amount of crunch.
There are two kinds of brewed coffee; the “Nelsons Custom Roast-Rowandan” and the “Modus Coast-Nicaragua.” Both are nice but I like the Modus Coast the best.
The vibe at Nelson The Seagull is very cool. Laid back, lived in, relaxed, homy. The decor is vintage and stylish, yet very practical. Good wi-fi and the staff are quite friendly and helpful. I work and live nearby and I'm not fancy, so I appreciate the lack of pretension.
There's a huge picture of Nelson Mandela behind the front counter, who was apparently a boxer at one time. He didn't go pro but it was a good way to deal with his stressful life. He was also part of the inspiration for the name of this coffee shop.
Nelson The Seagull has a lot of character and part of that can be attributed to the building itself…The Rainier Hotel. It's an official heritage building of Vancouver that was built in 1907 and is now an SRO that offers supportive housing for vulnerable women on the upper floors, and commercial business space on the main floor. There's another great coffee shop next door called East Van Roasters, as well as a vintage clothing store called Community Thrift & Vintage Frock Shoppe.
The surrounding community is called Gastown and it's chock full of character for a lot of reasons. For one thing, this is where Vancouver began in 1886. It's where the Canadian Pacific Railway met the Pacific Ocean, on a deep ice free harbor, united Canada politically, and created a massive industrial hub that fueled the national economy, and became known as the “Gateway to the Orient.” Gastown was the beating heart of Vancouver before there was a Gastown, or a Vancouver.
The Rainier Hotel and the entire Gastown area have traditionally catered to the working class. Even the indigenous people who lived here before the European settlers were certainly not considered rich by today's standards, and nor did they aspire to do so. But they were still attracted to this area of British Columbia for largely the same reasons as the Europeans...the climate and the abundance of life.
The original clientele of the Rainier Hotel were predominantly single men working blue collar jobs in the logging and shipping industry. Not surprisingly, the first bar in Vancouver opened here in Gastown and the area was famous for its music, entertainment, and nightlife. It was a rough and tough crowd of people who were just struggling to survive and spent a good part of their time unemployed and looking for their next job. In the 1960’s the city was going to demolish Gastown and build a freeway through it, but Gastown and its supporters rallied together and it was spared. Never say die should be the motto of Gastown.
To this day, Gastown still reflects the same working class roots, hustle, and struggle for survival as it did in the late 1800’s. It's deceptively beautiful but raw and unforgiving…like the rain forest it was built in. To survive here you need to be tough, resilient, and strong in spirit…like the indigenous people, or perhaps Nelson Mandela.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Weird experience. The menu wasn't the menu, we could only pick from an extremely short list of options. Seating was limited/unavailable as all the tables are gigantic and had 2-3 people at each (when some could fit 8). Clearer menu options and more 2 tops would really help
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
That sourdough!
We brought a starter to take home ?
Yum!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
$13 for a sour yogurt parfait. Definitely the worst I’ve ever had, don’t get it!
Food: 1
Obsessed with Nelson the Seagull! We first tried their sourdough at a bar the night before and it was SO good with butter, we had to go to the source! This place is the real deal. The bread is incredible (obviously), and the coffee was top-notch too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avo on Toast
Restaurantji Recommends
Everything about this cafe is laid-back. I love the ambience here and want to add 10 stars for atmosphere. A cinnamon roll is absolutely our favorite. I’ll try their sourdough toast next time. Staff even bakers are friendly to us.
Drip coffee is well-balanced and easy to drink, while espresso is a rare type with a strong acidity. The cinnamon rolls have a perfect crunch from the sugar and fluff from the bread. It was perfect for us to replenish our morning sweets. I liked it so much that I would go there just to eat it. The sourdough is the most popular, so I'd like to try that toast next time. The inside of the store is spacious and has seats so you can relax. However, it seems that it is not very safe outside the store, so I think it would be best to go in the morning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pastries
This is my favourite Cafe in Vancouver, although the neighbourhood can be a bit sketchy, but when you step inside you will forget about outside and will be drawn in coffee and bread smell.
All the toasts are fantastic. The vibe is awesome as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado Toast with 2 Poached Eggs, Pastries
Mmmm. Coffee and immaculate vibes. Hard to beat and hard to find a great Americano for $4.20.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We're extremely satisfied with their figs/ walnuts sourdough and olive/ rosemary sourdough. The texture of the bread was rich in flavour. Both sourdoughs were delicious. We will definitely order again in the future.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Olive & Rosemary Sourdough
Everything is great here except there’s a Japanese girl who is not able to communicate in English. Wonder how she’s got a job here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
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