Steve O Reno’s Cappuccino

When it’s not midday on a Saturday (busy), the Steve O Reno’s in the Seaport Market makes the best cappuccino in the city. Seriously!

Best coffee in the city! I crave their De Lox bagel sandwich on a regular basis. It can be a very busy which makes me happy (support local!) The staff is very friendly and they look like they have a great time! All around great atmosphere and did I mention they have the best coffee?

Lovely little morning coffee place. Cooked breakfast nothing fancy but perfectly nice and sufficient. Pastries not sampled but looked delicious. Would happily return.
An old review said cash only, but now they have a Square terminal. Also tagged as hipster (i.e. GenY) but mostly GenX and boomers when I was there.

Cute little spot for breakfast. Busy. Had eggs and soldiers. First class and brought me back to my childhood. Great coffee as well. Steve is actually there too! Lol. Give it a run. Cool little hipster’ish place.

Best coffee in the city. Every time I go in there I am so impressed by the consistency of their drinks and the friendliness of staff. They have a range of great food, including Heuvos Rancheros which is my personal favorite. It feels warm and welcoming I could spend all day there. Definitely recommended!

Awesome restaurant, if you like the Coastal, you’ll love this place. Service is friendly and patient. The menu is vegetarian/​vegan/​gluten free friendly! There are lots of options, even large meals are prepared fairly quickly and they taste fresh and healthy.
Despite the full menu, the atmosphere is similar to that of a café, its small and quiet and you seat yourself; definitely a great place to study or work. Highly recommend to students.
My Order: traditional breakfast and tea: $ 11
included 2 med boiled eggs, salmon, 2 slices of g/​f toast and sliced tomato. Awesome value!

I love going to indie coffee shops! We came in for coffee and breakfast on the go. We were on our way to catch our flight back home.
WOW it was busy! The line went just out the door. We were probably in line for a good 20 mins. Once we ordered our breakfast sandwiches and coffee we had to wait till our food was up.
The interior has that cozy, indie bistro look and the people in there were all very colorful with different shades of background from family to hippy. I love it.
Our food came up and we munch them hard and fast they were delicious. I had the veggie breakfast sandwich and my friends had some with meat.
I would love to come back and order something off their regular menu because while waiting I can smell some real good eats.

One nice thing about a city oriented to university students is that there are places near the universities with fine coffee choices and low-​cost but hip and tasty meals and snacks. Steve O Reno’s is one of those in Halifax.
One of the functions of a student hangout is that it functions as what is called a «third place» — not home and not work (school), but a third place where you can let your hair down (not me; i’m bald).
The argument in my e-​book, Food for City Building, is that restaurants and café’s always do more than provide food. They also set the tone and taste of a main street and main street society. That’s why cities should nourish the ones that bring a certain standard of quality, including a quality of uniqueness and character that only independently-​owned places can bring.
It may mean that the staff are not as quick to flash a toothy grin as at chains, and may not yet be comfortable with serving others, and that may bother some people. To me, they’re just fine, and I take it as part of a spirit we hope for in youth.

I sometimes forget about Steve O Reno’s and then I have a wonderful reminder by going to the Market or walking down Brunswick St and I think «How could I ever forget about this GEM?!?»
I think with all the Starbuck and Tim’s bombarding the market it is an easy thing to fall into and get comfortable, but Steve O Reno’s keeps things fun and exciting by having an eclectic mix of ingredients and an outgoing staff that always makes you feel amazing about your choice! They keep it simple with the coffee choices, which I prefer. I love me some coffee but I really don’t want to to have to think to much when ordering!
I also love to support a local hot spot, and Steve O Reno’s is just that! They have survived the infiltration of ‘mainstream coffee big shots” and are still thriving… That tells me there is something worth supporting there! Not to mention it is always an awesome experience and delicious at that! (My only peeve is it is usually TOO busy to sit and enjoy or meet a friend and relax. To go is the best option but sometimes I am in need of a «eat in» kind of day, and it can be a little difficult.)

I would say this is Halifax’s best coffee shop. Their egg-​o-​Reno breakfast sandwich is incredible as is their espresso. I always make sure I visit when in town.

Hey their coffee beans are amazing, but the service is typical Halifax pretentiousness.
What is it about Halifax that makes most people behave in such a condescending manner? Is it because they’re actually suffering from an inferiority complex? That’s my guess. Whatever the case, Steve O Reno’s is all about heavy sighs and irritability. Maybe the staff are consuming too much coffee.
I was in there today and it was disorganized chaos. The staff are so disinterested in the customers that they have no idea who ordered what and spend half the time trying to sort it out.
My little group ordered three pour-over’s and I could see they were only making two and were going to serve them in mugs instead of to-​go. This is how I met my favourite employee: Professor Bean.
I call him that because he looks old, grouchy and wears horn-​rimmed glasses. He’s probably ten years younger than me, but he’s got a Masters Degree in Coffee Beans and he suffers to brew them just right, which understandably takes years off one’s life.
Anyway…it’s very hard to get the staff’s attention except to call over to them (they try their best to avoid contact with the Unwashed Masses). So I call over to old Prof. Bean and let him know my coffees are to-​go. He pulls a very slow turn to face me, peering up over his Shuron Ronsir Revelation Eyeglass rims and says (barely audible) «we can make them anyway you want.» As he slow-​turns back, I feel like apologizing for questioning him.
See, I respect that Prof. Bean has given his life to coffee beans. He probably talks to them and puts some on his pillow at night so he can fall asleep comforting them. Maybe even carries some in his bikini briefs, the way a Kangeroo carries her joeys in a pouch. He’s a Bean Martyr.
But at the end of the day, his coffee tasted too acidic and was a waste of 3 bucks. His attitude infected the product. His suffering was meaningless, and so was mine.

Went to Steve O Reno’s for the second time yesterday. It’s a favourite spot for my friends downtown, so we stopped in for a relaxing Sunday morning coffee.
I’m not big on coffee to be honest, so I can’t really comment on their brew. I was hungry though and scanned their menu to find something I can eat. I have a pretty strict doctor-​mandated diet that forbids dairy, gluten, a bunch of veggies etc … but last time I was at SOR they had Schoolhouse gluten-​free goodies. I had psyched myself up for a Cappucino cookie and was disappointed to see they didn’t have them.
Apparently the Schoolhouse baked goods was a one-​off, as I was snootily told by the barista. I inquired if there was anything else suitable for my tummy and was directed towards the GF chocolate macaroons. Which sit in the case with gluten-​filled delights. Doh! Why would you ruin a perfectly good GF cookie by contaminating it? Frustrating.
I’m not a celiac and took the risk with the cookie anyways. It wasn’t too sweet and filled by tummy, but I was still disappointed.
Until SOR starts offering some options to people with dietary issues, I’m going to stick to Sunday a.m. dates at Just Us! or the Seaport Farmer’s Market.

My friend and I went in on our way downtown on a Friday afternoon, it was not overly busy.
This company has a staff member who I remember very well from Marginal road at the market. Steve o’s, he was on the phone for 5 minutes until he told me oh I was on the phone to my girlfriend, you can go down there and get a coffee. What a total dick. First I don’t care who you were talking too, serve me. Hello, I m here… customer service. Prick show!
Secondly, I didn’t even think for a sec until yesterday we went into Brunswick street location, there he was texting behind the counter, with some freak show server/​barista…
My friend and I asked if he was working because he just stood there ignoring us, he himmed and hawd and put down his cell, asked what we wanted.
Lets just say my single shot espresso was a squeeze, and not even a full shot, he gave it too me with an attitude. And looked shocked when I returned his negative attitude for a thank you and have a nice day.
This is the same guy. This company needs to get rid of him or will risk many more customer complaints.
I m sure the coffee is good but the whole scene stinks. and secondly I can go around any other corner and spend my money. So shove it Steveo’s!
Straight up the guy with the blondish hair and glasses, been around awile I take it. Time to take your sour bitter attitude and maybe go be a garbage man if you want to treat everyone like trash.
Yo Steve O reno, hear you clientele speak.
You re fired!

I won a fantastic free week of coffee at Steve O Reno’s last week and every non-​fat single latte was a winner to!

I love Steve O Renos. I wish it was more on my regular path to caffeine instead of an occasional visit for me because I love their coffee.
The staff are always friendly and helpful and the baked goods (fresh made daily!) look delicious. (Although I’ve never tried them). Today’s temptations included a seedy oatcake, flour less peanut butter cookies and fudgy brownies among other treats. When I make back to Steve O Reno’s I’ll give them a try and let you know.
But in the meantime my recommendation is this: If SOR is on your path to caffeine by all means make it your regular joe. You won’t regret it.

I appreciate any coffee house that has ready brewed cold coffee for my love of iced coffee.
I don’t want a hot Americano poured over ice that quickly melts and leaves it watered down. I want coffee brewed that’s been cooled down in the fridge for a few hours poured over ice…
That’s an iced coffee.
I’ve found very few places around the downtown Halifax area that can satisfy this somewhat quirky nuance of mine and Steve O’s is one of them.
The place is always full of people so that’s a good sign. However the multiple times I’ve been there it’s been too bloody hot to stay and enjoy the ambiance.
The service is always grand and I’ll be damned if the baked goods are not always begging me to give in to temptation! Not sure who is supplying the tasty looking treats but hats off for making them look that good (I’ve yet to give in!)

The cappuccino’s here are really good. Get it for stay in and it comes in the classic style cup. The coffee here on the other hand is just blah. Perhaps was not fresh the time of day I visited. Otherwise great location but hard to find a seat. Mostly tables of 4 with one person taking up the whole table. Some outdoor seating.

I have had nothing but great experiences from Steve-O-reno’s and would go back anytime. It is a nice break in my day when I can go and get a nice cup of exquisite hot chocolate or cup of yummy herbal tea (although I really wish you could get back the African sunrise herbal infusion again) That was my favorite to date.
The atmosphere is great and no wonder the people love coming back. Cheers to keeping up the great service. You will always get a tip when I drop by!

Inside is small and always kind of crowded, but I do like it a lot. Steve-o’s serves some of my favourite coffee in all of Halifax. Maybe even in my top five coffees of all time. I love their Americano and Canadianas, but usually go for a straight up black dark roast. I will sometimes go out of my way for their coffee.
Their baked goods aren’t really my bag. I’ve only had the oatcake and it was a bit on the seedy side for me (literally. It has seeds in it) and not quite sweet enough. But that’s just my oatcake preference.
FYI: I do believe it is cash only. On the plus side, I find it reasonably priced for such delicious coffee (I could be wrong, but I believe it is cheaper than Starbucks and the coffee is better).

Not sure what the fuss is all about.
The coffee is good. Mind-​blowing? Nope. But good. Their snack selection is a wee-​bit lacking when compared to other places. They are so healthy, at times the food ends up not having much taste or overall appeal.
Here is the good side to it all. I like the seating. It sort of forces you to break a personal barrier about space by having a large table in the middle of the room where everyone sits side-​by-​side. Its intimate and fun. They have a cool outdoor patio so you can people-​watch. Its quite small though so getting a seat out there on a warm day is difficult. They are also on Brunswick street, very close to Spring Garden, one of the busiest streets in the city. This is good because you aren’t far from Spring Garden but not close enough to get all the noise a major street has to offer.
The staff are alright. Once again, not mind-​blowing and not quite consistent as far as friendliness goes. I have had great experiences with very friendly staff there, and not-​so-​great experiences. Never rude staff though and I should make note of that.
Steve O Reno’s is an average coffee shop. It definitely attracts regulars so there may be a few more positive things about it that I’ve missed. But overall its not the most comfortable, roomy spot when compared to other coffee shops in the city. Their food selection isn’t amazing and doesn’t have a lot of taste. Its okay in a pinch, but there are literally three or four coffee shops within a three minute walk of Steve O Reno’s. I suggest, if you can, walk for a few minutes and try one of them. Check out my favorite coffee shops in the city list for some suggestions.