Solstice Cafe

Cute little café with free wifi and tons of outlets to plug your computer in! Makes it a wonderful little spot to sit down and do some work for the day! They were out of a lot of products when I was there so that kind of sucked but I had the greek salad and I have to say it was one of the best salads I’ve had in my life! Would highly recommend! :)

Hard wood floors in an old brick building with high ceilings attracted me to this cozy café but the coffee will keep me coming back. Love the feel and the vibe of this place. The americano was dark and creamy from the crema. Looking forward to trying the food next time.

Good coffee at a good price. Can’t ask for much more. Aside from the availability of decaf iced coffee. However, they gladly made me an iced decaf Americano. Plenty of non-​dairy milk options.

What an splendid coffee shop!
The space is warming.
It always smells like fresh baked goods.
The staff are all such joys and genuine people. The quality is lacking depending on what day you go.
All the same nice spot to try.

A lovely, funky spot with lots of interesting drink options and the added benefit of some gluten free snack options. Plenty of space for sitting with a laptop to work, though not always the most quiet atmosphere, depending on whether there’s a band playing, a local meeting happening, etc.

Came here last night for Nite and Day’s first show at this’s Café, I came with my Grandparents, who claimed we were going there for dinner. Having never been there before, I didn’t know that they didn’t have table service– however, they do have a diverse and fresh-​sounding menu. I thought the grilled vegetable sandwich sounded pretty good, so I ordered that– mainly because it included tofu (gotta have protein!) and sundried tomatoes, which I’m a huge sucker for.
BEST I EVER HAD. No exaggeration. The bread was thick and substantial, and it certainly didn’t skimp on the sundries tomatoes– or any of the other veggies. The only possible improvement would be if the tofu were seasoned or marinated– as we all know, tofu is flavourless on it’s own.
But I will definitely be back, not only for the sandwich, but for the quaint atmosphere afforded by the wooden panelling, floors and tables… not to mention the huge totem standing regally against the left wall. The walls were decorated with expressionist art, the best one being an amusingly distracting beheaded Stephen Harper! Throughout the evening, my eyes kept wandering back to it, wondering if the resemblance was just my imagination.
The Café is not huge, and as a result, the music was EXTREMELY loud. So much that those with sensitive hearing might find it too much to handle. The Café could also benefit from a bona fide dance floor. During the show several couples got up and danced, bit they had to make do with the space between tables.
All in all? If you’re looking for a beer, a healthy bite, and some uplifting music, this is the place to go after work on a Friday night, (They also have a ‘secret’ patio behind the stage area– which would be perfect on a hot summer evening).

I’ve come to this café over many years and it’s consistently a good experience. The food and drink are great and the environment is super chill. I usually come for my morning coffee and bagel, the coffee they roast themselves and the bagels are local Mount Royal bagels so you know you’re getting a good product! They are also often the host of great music and spoken word shows in the evenings and they’re licensed so that’s always good! :D
I’m always drawn to this café when I really want to relax in a cool environment with a delicious coffee as my sidekick:)
My only «complaint» is that they don’t open until 10:30 am on Sundays but at the same time I don’t blame them for wanting to sleep in:)

Wonderful leftie café that roasts its own coffee. Owners work at the café. Great supporters of local music, poets and caffeine.

Solstice café is a cool and hippy café located in the middle of Chinatown in Victoria. I really like the red dark brick wall and the red high ceiling. It gives the place a very warm feeling. Cool paintings are displayed on the wall. All the customers (and the servers) have tattoos and/​or piercings. Most of them are vegan/​vegetarian/​tea lovers, so I felt at home with my sister. I was missing a tattoo or two though to completely fit in but the servers made up for us with all their tattoos.
The servers were very nice and polite. The couple before me asked for a vegan mocha and they were only glad to do it for them.
The food was good. I ha the curried cauliflower and potato soup. It came with some slices of bread. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes but it“s my fault since I don’t handle spices very well. The price was fair. 7 $ for a large soup and 2 $ for a small pot of tea. My sister had a gluten-​free carrot cake which she finished entirely so I am going to hazard a guess and say she liked it. :)
Overall, I liked the Solstice café. My sister spent her grade 12 studying for her IB exams in there and I understand why she did. It’s a nice place to hang out especially for vegans/​vegetarians/​gluten intolerant/​pescatarians. They even had Wi-​Fi if you need to study.

Nothing extraordinary about this place but I prefer smaller coffee shops as opposed to big chains so for someone like me it’s a very cool little place. The general atmosphere of the place could be a little warmer and friendlier but it’s just me. Cool place overall.

I love Solstice Café. I love absolutely everything about it. I love the staff, I love the décor, I love the food, the coffee and the location. I love it so much I have tried to move into it while working on projects and at school. Oh Solstice.
Solstice is great for many other things too:
Their Mayan hot chocolate
Their poetry slams
Their public space
Their open mind
Their cookies
Their love.
Yes, see, they are fabulous. They are located really centrally on Pandora, hold really good hours and while they can be quite busy, they are the perfect place to snuggle down on a rainy day with a cup of hot chocolate.

Victoria is full of organic, coffee fresh from the bean to the organic seed muffins and baked goods. I was expecting a rich flavour from this café when I went with my sister and friend!
The orders:
Friend — herbal tea: too expensive and the smallest tea pot imaginable. Granted we could re-​fill…
Sister — latte: average. There was too much foam and too little coffee! It was 3pm and the amount of coffee couldn’t keep us awake from the monotonous atmosphere.
I thought I would order a London fog and the barista said she could make it easy! However, that was not the case. When my sister picked up the order, the girl said «I don’t think your friend knew what I meant by ‘I know how to make a London fog’ so I’ve just put milk in the tea pot with hot water» and that’s exactly what it was… milk-​down water with leaves.
We were going to order a tasty treat, but there wasn’t really anything that three hungry people wanted.
I forgot to mention how a door slammed and dust came falling down on all three of us… that and the box with straw bags on top was the highlight! I’d like to go back and give it a second chance since so many Victorians make it a regular pit-​stop.

Good coffee, good food – the European style potato salad is a winner, and friendly service make this a favourite of mine for coffee dates and studying. Knowing it’s one of the most ethical cafes in Victoria cements my allegiance. Fair trade coffee, lots of vegan food, organic and local when possible. All things I love to support!
Plus, it’s a great venue for cozy concerts and readings.

Pandora seems to be a street devoid of cafes in the early morning. I wound up waiting outside Solstice for their 7:30 a.m. opening so as to not be caught unbreakfasted and uncaffeinated for my 8:00 departure on Via Rail’s Malahat train up to Courtenay.
At precisely 7:30 the owner unlocked the front door, put out his sandwich board, and served a large American family before turning his attention to me. I ordered a medium medium roast coffee and a cranberry scone, still warm and soft from the oven.
Upon first sip of my coffee I thought maybe the cream was sour but realized it was just a really complex, interestingly flavoured coffee. The ‘notes of cherry’ raved about on the sign really were there. Super tasty, and the scone was perfect, moist and packed with berries. A laid-​back spot for a good start to the day.

I recently started going to Solstice, and enjoy the comfortable, non pretentious atmosphere and the tasty smoked salmon bagels. The tea is served in a cute little pot too.
But (and there always is a but, it seems) as a germophobe I must complain about the bathroom situation. A few weeks ago I noticed that they were out of soap in the bathroom. it seemed that the tiny bit of soap in the pump bottle had been watered down to the point where it was not enough to even lather in my hands and you had to pump the bottle repeatedly to get even a little tiny bit. I let them know behind the counter, but no one actually topped up the soap. They weren’t busy or anything and I wasn’t overly concerned because I figured they would get around to it eventually.
Two days later I was back and when I went to wash my hands before sitting down I was shocked to see the exact same container of soap — still empty! They have two bathrooms so I went to the other one and found the exact same situation — no soap. Not only that but one of the counter staff used the bathroom both times I was there! Gross. (To be fair my boyfriend assured me that they are required to have soap and running water in the kitchen so they probably washed their hands there — but still!)
I haven’t been back since, so I can’t attest to whether or not this is normal but I have to admit I was pretty grossed out. I give them three stars because the food is good and they must be washing their hands in the kitchen … right?

I had high expectations of this place and I will try it again, but their coffee (from Fernwood roasters) was awful and the Anarchist bookstore event they were showing was the very annoying.
My cappuccino tasted burnt, it was not a traditional size and the foam was light and floofy rather than thick and silky. I don’t remember being impressed by their coffee machine either.
I expect this is more of an ambiance place than a food place on days where the anarchists aren’t ranting and raving about how we ought to kill cops.

A friend of mine introduced me to Solstice Café. I wish I had a space like this in my neighborhood.
It’s centrally located, owned and operated by a bunch of Nice Earnest People, green/​organic/​local/​ethical-​up-​the-​wazoo, featuring high ceilings and interesting local art — and for all that, it’s really unpretentious. It could have been an unapproachable Smarmy Hipster Space, but it somehow manages to stay down to earth (and free of hordes of laptop-​toting freelancers).
The Café hosts a variety of events, including spoken word nights, folk/​rock shows, and philosophy discussion groups. I just got back from a Tom Waits tribute show at the café, featuring a variety of local performers, including several café employees (all of whom were very good). It’s that kind of a place.

Good coffee, cozy atmosphere and tasty sandwiches to boot. Yet another high quality coffee shop to make you never need to go to a Starbucks in Victoria.