A good selection of sandwiches and pastry items. Prices are reasonable and location is quite convenient to meet up. My only complaint is it gets quite noisy when itâs packed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Laura Borealis
We stopped in for breakfast before a visit to the ROM. We both ordered Eggs Florentine, and were told 3 or 4 minutes wait. Fine. Ten minutes later, one order was ready. And we waited a FURTHER 20 minutes for the second order. No apologies offered. The food was good, but I will not be going back.
Laura Culic
We stopped in for breakfast before a visit to the ROM. We both ordered Eggs Florentine, and were told 3 or 4 minutes wait. Fine. Ten minutes later, one order was ready. And we waited a FURTHER 20 minutes for the second order. No apologies offered. The food was good, but I will not be going back.
Paxwell Pereira
The coffee and breakfast was amazing . It's a buzzing place on the street with excellent service .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leslie Currie
Food was ok, atmosphere was ok. Not upscale.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Karen TC
I come here often and itâs great coffee. However, the one thing that is incredibly annoying is their washroom access. You need to enter a code to open the washroom but it NEVER works. Iâve been given instructions by staff and try multiple times before giving up or asking for help. Half the time the staff seem annoyed to have to help, but thatâs probably because they likely get asked dozens of times a day to assist. Iâd suggest they change it to key access for ease of use for customers.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Pamela Munt-Madill
Who could be in greater need of coffee than the hard-working and often sleep deprived students at the University of Toronto. In my days at the university, much more studying was done in coffee shops, then even the Robarts library. If the l'espresso bar Mercurio had existed at the corner of St. George and Bloor Street when I was a student, I would've spent enough time there they would've begun to charge me rent.
The coffee was absolutely perfect. The espresso was rich, chocolaty and with a hint of caramel . The drink was served in the perfectly appropriate sized and shaped glassware.
If you are a caffeine deprived student or in need of a small piece of Italy in the city, the L'espresso de Mercurio is an absolute perfect choice for coffee and work, or coffee and a chat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Waleed Nassar
I really want to love this place. The location is perfect, and the outdoor patio has so much potential. The food and drinks are genuinely good. But every time Iâve been here, the service has been consistently disappointing. The staff come across as impatient, curt, and at times, downright rude not just to me, but to other customers as well. Itâs made the experience uncomfortable enough that Iâve stopped going, despite living nearby.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Sebastian Hersa
Nice food and space. But horrible customer service
Busy place, very popular, great location and I like itâșïžIâve been here a few times and always enjoyed it! Food is always fresh and delicious đđ„đ„Șđ„âïžđđŒ Very large patio in summer timeđ»đ±đł
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yeon S
Terrible customer service
Jared Hatch
LâEspresso Bar Mercurio is selling a âcold brewâ on the menu, but what theyâre actually serving is iced coffee⊠a standard hot-brewed drip coffee (from a Bunn commercial machine) thatâs been cooled down and poured over ice. That is not cold brew.
Cold brew is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold or room temperature water for 12 to 24 hours. This slow extraction process produces a smoother, less acidic coffee with a naturally sweet flavor profile.
What theyâre serving lacks all of thatâit has the sharper acidity and bitter notes typical of hot extraction, because thatâs exactly how it was made.
Calling hot-brewed coffee âcold brewâ is not just a technicality, itâs misleading. They are separate products. Cold brew requires time, care, and an entirely different brewing method. Selling iced coffee under the cold brew label misrepresents the product and undermines savvy customer trust.
Sandwich đ„Ș
Coffee âïž
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A good selection of sandwiches and pastry items. Prices are reasonable and location is quite convenient to meet up. My only complaint is it gets quite noisy when itâs packed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
We stopped in for breakfast before a visit to the ROM. We both ordered Eggs Florentine, and were told 3 or 4 minutes wait. Fine. Ten minutes later, one order was ready. And we waited a FURTHER 20 minutes for the second order. No apologies offered. The food was good, but I will not be going back.
We stopped in for breakfast before a visit to the ROM. We both ordered Eggs Florentine, and were told 3 or 4 minutes wait. Fine. Ten minutes later, one order was ready. And we waited a FURTHER 20 minutes for the second order. No apologies offered. The food was good, but I will not be going back.
The coffee and breakfast was amazing . It's a buzzing place on the street with excellent service .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was ok, atmosphere was ok. Not upscale.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
I come here often and itâs great coffee. However, the one thing that is incredibly annoying is their washroom access. You need to enter a code to open the washroom but it NEVER works. Iâve been given instructions by staff and try multiple times before giving up or asking for help. Half the time the staff seem annoyed to have to help, but thatâs probably because they likely get asked dozens of times a day to assist. Iâd suggest they change it to key access for ease of use for customers.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Who could be in greater need of coffee than the hard-working and often sleep deprived students at the University of Toronto. In my days at the university, much more studying was done in coffee shops, then even the Robarts library. If the l'espresso bar Mercurio had existed at the corner of St. George and Bloor Street when I was a student, I would've spent enough time there they would've begun to charge me rent.
Before you even step into this delightful Italian inspired Café you are greeted by a beautiful and, incredibly serene patio given its location, right on bloor street. There is a quieter, more leafy patio to the east side of the café, which was a perfect oasis on this scorchingly hot July day.
The seating inside the café is ample and well spaced. The vintage Fiat displayed right by the door immediately brings you to the delightfully cramped and crowded streets of Italy.
I visited the café on a Sunday morning and there was a 50-50 split between laptop, users, and patrons indulging in coffee and a chat. For those using laptops, the access to electrical outlets was extremely limited, but there were a number of single or double tables which seemed designed, or at least appropriate, for working space.
The bakery items and sandwiches on offer looked absolutely amazing. I however, limited myself to a Cortado and a piece of the homemade almond cinnamon biscotti. The espresso in the Cortado was a blend which I understand the café roastes for their own use , L'espresso Misto II. I am not certain that this same roast is on offer every day.
The coffee was absolutely perfect. The espresso was rich, chocolaty and with a hint of caramel . The drink was served in the perfectly appropriate sized and shaped glassware.
I am often disappointed with the quality of biscotti, even at Italian cafés in the city, but this biscotti was perfect. It had enough flavour on its own and was even better when dipped in my Cortado.
My coffee was so good, I asked the barista for a recommendation of a bag of beans to bring home and brew as a pour over. The selection of beans on sale was limited and therefore I ended up bringing home the same beans which had been used in my espresso. Although they made an exceptionally rich and dark coffee when prepared as a pour over, I believe it was still obvious that these beans were roasted to a profile more appropriate to a proper espresso preparation. I hope in the future there is a bean designed for home use available at this café.
If you are a caffeine deprived student or in need of a small piece of Italy in the city, the L'espresso de Mercurio is an absolute perfect choice for coffee and work, or coffee and a chat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really want to love this place. The location is perfect, and the outdoor patio has so much potential. The food and drinks are genuinely good. But every time Iâve been here, the service has been consistently disappointing. The staff come across as impatient, curt, and at times, downright rude not just to me, but to other customers as well. Itâs made the experience uncomfortable enough that Iâve stopped going, despite living nearby.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Nice food and space. But horrible customer service
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Busy place, very popular, great location and I like itâșïžIâve been here a few times and always enjoyed it! Food is always fresh and delicious đđ„đ„Șđ„âïžđđŒ
Very large patio in summer timeđ»đ±đł
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Terrible customer service
LâEspresso Bar Mercurio is selling a âcold brewâ on the menu, but what theyâre actually serving is iced coffee⊠a standard hot-brewed drip coffee (from a Bunn commercial machine) thatâs been cooled down and poured over ice. That is not cold brew.
Cold brew is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold or room temperature water for 12 to 24 hours. This slow extraction process produces a smoother, less acidic coffee with a naturally sweet flavor profile.
What theyâre serving lacks all of thatâit has the sharper acidity and bitter notes typical of hot extraction, because thatâs exactly how it was made.
Calling hot-brewed coffee âcold brewâ is not just a technicality, itâs misleading. They are separate products. Cold brew requires time, care, and an entirely different brewing method. Selling iced coffee under the cold brew label misrepresents the product and undermines savvy customer trust.
In my opinion, if a cafĂ© named âLâEspressoâ wants to charge premium prices or appeal to cold brew drinkers, it should use the proper method, or label it honestly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
The terrace is beautiful and peaceful, the food and beverages are good.
đŻ
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yeah it has affogato here, and it looked quite good, but still alright
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Loading...