Take Five Cafe

I love 4^th Avenue! Between Burrard and MacDonald, there’s a ton of great little shops and restaurants to visit (and Unilocal!about). What better way to spend part of my nonchalant-​Sunday afternoon then at a new coffee shop nestled between Vine and Arbutus?
This was my first time visiting Take Five Café and admittedly when I first walked in I thought «ho-​hum»… but the fantastic, positive people behind the counter, the great tasting coffee and the fact they gave me an extra shot in my Americano — well I’m a raving FAN! (or just high on caffeine)
There’s lots of seats, but a bit on the loud side of things… overall a great coffee shop experience, which I plan to come back and visit again next time I find myself in the Kits area.
(This is review ²⁹⁄₃₀ for the #30DaysofYelp event)

Nothing special but it does compete with several of the other cafés in the area for a few important reasons:
Usually it’s not too busy, which means quiet, and there’s a table. Good luck finding those at the Starbucks down the street or 49^th Parallel.
It has comfortable leather couches and chairs. You can relax here for long periods of time without losing feeling in your legs and butt.
It has free wifi without any annoying passwords that always change or restrictive time limits (ahem Kits Coffee).
So, even though the coffee is pretty average and it has a form-​factor sort of atmosphere (it is a franchise, after all), it is nonetheless a good place to read, write, study, contemplate stuff. I go here regularly for all of the above.
Also, in summer they have gelato!

Fellow students –it’s April, and it’s exam season. Which means there’s always a mad dash to hunt out the best study spots. :P
As much as the libraries become my second home for the 3 weeks or so of, every so often I need to get off campus and switch it up a bit. So my friend and I have been coming here quite often the past couple weeks — getting our caffeine boost to start off the morning, then powering through our lecture notes, slide by slide. If we come here early enough, we get the high-​chair booth seats looking out the window — I’d say these are prime seats for anyone looking to get some work done, and at the same time intermittently watch what’s going on around 4^th and Vine.
We’re usually here for several hours at a time, and every time we get so much work done! It’s got a comfortable amount of noise — the music is not too overwhelming, and has a refreshing playlist mixing combining some oldies, jazz, and some alt.
We both agree that it’s going to be one of our regular go-​to places for getting some much needed work done. :)
As for the coffee — it’s alright; I wouldn’t say it’s spectacular, but reasonably priced. The muffins definitely taste better warmed up! Try the Morning Glory.
I keep hearing of this Maple Chai latte — mental note to try that next time.
Happy Studying!

Best Italian coffee!

Walked by and was starving for lunch… after leaving Capers with No Food as well I just cant pay those insane prices anymore «organic» or not. I saw a sign. Sandwich, Soup and Coffee $ 9.99. Both the man and women at the front counter were super friendly. Im not one for usuallly having lunch in a coffee shop but I thought I would give it a Go. All their Sandwhiches were huge and looked very Fresh… Soups too. I got the Cranberry Turkey and Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Both were fantastic and even better then Terra Breads up the street. Coffee was Fresh and the people working there even came over to see how everything tasted and cleared my plate… Not the Norm in a Coffe shop these Days.

I was feeling neither here nor there about Take 5, but Unilocal kept insisting I review it. No real atmosphere in this café, what I guess you would expect from a chain. I did like that they thanked me on Twitter for my check-​in, nice customer service there.
Coffee wasn’t amazing but their grilled cheese on sourdough bread with rosemary was really good. I’ve actually been thinking about it ever since and will definitely go back for another.
Ps. That $ 2 latte all you Unilocalers have been raving about has gone up to $ 2.50.

Eh…
Didn’t hate it, definitely didn’t love it. I would return if no other coffee shop was in the area and to give this place another chance.

Like everyone else says, the prices are more than reasonable and it’s a great little café — lots of room, friendly (and fairly cute!) baristas, free wifi. Sadly, I sort of froze. I sit by the window everywhere I go and usually that means I’m right next to the door, but I don’t remember being this cold anywhere else. Also, as tempting as those cinnamon buns on the counter are, they’ve been sitting there all day. They’re decent, but it took so much muscle to saw through one that I’m pretty sure it was enough to burn off the calories I consumed.

I live around the corner and so end up grabbing my coffee from there often before hopping on the bus (bus stop right in front of coffee shop). The prices are very reasonable, e.g. $ 2 lattes, $ 2.50 coffee+muffin specials. The services is good, and the coffee is decent. Free wifi is also very nice for casual surfing with morning coffee on weekends.
Only complaint is that muffins and banana bread loaves tend to be dry and sometimes taste a bit stale. If the quality of these would improve, this place would definitely be in the 4 – 5 star range.

I find it hard to pass up a $ 2 Latte and they were definitely good in my books although I don’t need an ultra strong kick of caffeine. The staff were friendly and the café had enough space to eliminate any race for the last table or chairs. Grab a toonie and try it out. If your not satisfied?.. well it was only a toonie!

You gotta love a $ 2 latte with a flavour. The espresso isn’t the strongest, but it does the job and they even put a design in it! That’s what makes this place as good as it gets. You’d be hard pressed to find a $ 2 latte with flavour & design anywhere else in Van.
Oh and the extra bonus: they have Maple flavour syrup! It’s my new favourite flavour but no one else has it that I’ve checked out. So they kind of have a monopoly…

There’s 2 $ lattes so that’s a sweet deal and they taste really good :) the shop doesn’t open before 8 am and closes relatively early.

Browsing for wireless in Kits led me to Take 5. It was the nicest of the cafes with wireless I passed. Big outlets on the wall beckoned by big brown leather chairs but there are some sweet high-​seat spots at the window too. The huge cuppa coffee I received for 2 bucks lasted for hours and tasted pretty good too. My friend liked his two loonie latte. Staff were smiling, sweet and attentive, cleaning often. Couldn’t ask for more for $ 2 really.

So we stopped in at Take 5 on our tour De 4Th ave to get a little pick me up. He ordered a sugar and spice latte and I ordered something I have never ordered before… it was called a red americano. Now I am an americano expert and I can tell you this was a cup of tea masquerading in sheep’s clothing. My first sip was a bit unnerving b/​c I was expecting something «like» and americano but instead I just got a plain ol swig of rooibos tea… bleck! I know the stuff is good for me and all but again people IT IS NOT AN AMERICANO AND SHOULD NOT BE MARKETED AS ONE! now I will get off my soap box.