Dark Horse Espresso Bar

Honestly the best cappuccino I have ever had. Friendly staff. Cool atmosphere and good selection of takeout foods and bevvies.

I was honestly expecting more. The coffee was ok - my matcha latte was lackluster. The truly objectionable thing was that the pastry case was absolutely crawling with fruit flies. The staff was friendly and the service was good. The space looks like it would be nice to spend time in, but I don't think the chairs are comfortable enough to make this a place where you can stay and work for extended periods.

Great interior, but coffee is lacking everything. Really the weakest dark horse: (Disappointing experience.

Having my third bad experience with the barista with short hair and glasses, I was about to write a review. Then I see customers who share the same sentiments. Its a shame because I enjoy grabbing coffee at this location when I'm in the area. Better off going to Fika or Moonbean in Kensington Market.

James
3 months ago
The Asian cashier/barista with black short hair and glasses has the worst attitude I’ve ever experienced. She shouldn’t even be working in the service industry with that attitude. Other staff are very unfriendly as well. It’s clear that the owner doesn’t train the staff. The worst customer service experience ever. Never coming back.

Carolina Villegas
3 months ago
The cashier with short hair- glasses and Asian shouted us because we asked her twice to repeat what she was saying about our order and she got mad about that. We couldn't hear and understand her because her voice was so low. Besides the coffee has nothing special, I would say is not good. My Fiancé and I didn't like how she treated us that's why we won't go back.

Day Good
2 months ago
who short hair she makes the coffee dirty, also not friendly.: (

Lil Lee
3 days ago NEW
I really love this cafe but today (May 25) afternoon a female cashier who has short hair and is wearing sunglasses is unfriendly, no smile.

I really love this cafe but today (May 25) afternoon a female cashier who has short hair and is wearing sunglasses is unfriendly, no smile.

Simply the best.great coffee and great staff.i will live there once the restrictions are lifted

One of the baristas, nate, is super nice and talkative, he makes better coffee than the rest of the staff even though he's the newest barista.would give this place 5 stars if he trained the others, i was once handed a cup full of coffee grounds by one of the other baristas and have since stopped ordering from here.

Good hot chocolate but with only 1 person working, it certainly takes a while to get your order

The price for the mediocre quality they have is so high. They give you a small latte for 6 dollars which is no different from other places quality wise but they charge you 30% more.

My 2nd favourite java beans in the city.maybe just stoke up the service attitude a bit.just a hint.

Excellent iced chai lattes.a bit pricey. Washrooms are a bit far. Upper seating section is cosey. The place is popular there are not enough seats. Managed to get a 4 seat table to orchestrate a meeting with my project client and friend.

Good vibe, good seating area. Free WIFI only valid for 1 hour, but can be restarted. A bit cold if you sit up front by the windows though!

I had iced latte and was delicious. I just didnt like the no straw idea for iced drinks. But will b back

Great space, nice location and caffeinated drinks. Perfect place to get some work done. I got the egg frittata croissant, really nice flavor and portion.

Coffee is quite good, like the location as such. But staff isn't really that friendly. We've been there three times in two days and experienced that same behavior.

The Spadina location has honestly the worst customer service I've seen from any coffee shop I've been to in my life. For some reason your business is a huge nuisance to every employee there, and they have the audacity to prompt for a tip making it difficult to not tip. Coffee is acceptable, but not worth the attitude you get anytime you order a drink. Want something to eat? Expect an eye roll if you want it warmed up.

Great place for coffee of course, but also a nice place to open up your laptop and do some work while you sip an espresso or cold drink.they have lunch items as well sandwiches and salads and small stuff but the coffee is really the star the show

This is a good spot to hangout, have meetings and just drink coffee. Their food selection is pretty good too, which I find rare in Toronto coffee shops. Their cold brew is very good and strong. I don't usually get that, because it's a little too strong, haha.

Bring your own cup and save 25 cents!

Their customer service could be improved on. It's not usually a friendly bunch, or they seem to get distracted very easily so there's almost always a few people infront of me but it's not even that busy. I'm not super bothered by this so far, but I can tell from other people's reaction that they're not very happy too. This is true also for their other location on John st. That might just be their vibe?

Really decent place! I grabbed a cold brew that was really nice and smooth. My girlfriend got a Chai that she also really enjoyed. The baristas seemed well knowledgeable and were helpful!

Great coffee and light snacks. Cool atmosphere. Tables made from old blowing alley hard wood (I think).

Coffee is good but overpriced. The insanely loud music makes it unsuitable for work, reading, or even having a conversation.

Make sure you don't get there too early, you'll be eating day old croissants that are very stale and pay full price.

Super cute spot! Prices were a little high but not outrageous. It was very busy when I arrived so finding seating was a little difficult. Nice place to sit down and meet with someone, or just get some work done if you don’t mind other people.

The 1 Star is for the space and location, it stops there. Coffee was luke warm, staff was unfriendly and stoic, no outlets to plug in, WiFi inconsistant. Too bad because the space is beautiful. And unfortunately only cafe on that stretch, next time I'll go the distance and go elsewhere.

Dark Horse on a hot Sunday was quite warm and pretty loud, but that doesn't mean the coffee wasn't great and baked goods were in strong supply.

Always wanted to check this place out. Lots of seating, nice ambience, great coffee. Got stood up by a date here and still enjoyed every second of chilling in this cafe.

Get their cortado! It's expensive but honestly so good and bold flavours. They have complimentary all you can drink water station. Really nice cafe. The food items aren't that great tho and cookies get stale.

Ordered a chocolate croissant and cappuccino, the coffee was bitter setting and little bit if acid if you like it then you should come to this place. The place was great to hangout.

I've had some bad coffee in my time but this place takes the gold medal. This without a doubt is the worst coffee I have ever had. The term bitter doesn't begin to describe it.

The staff is also rude and disrespectful. The kid making my macchiato not only didn't know how to do it properly, but was rude when I told him to stop pouring so much milk into my cup. He's lucky that there were people around, otherwise he would have heard a few choice words.

Was there this past Sunday afternoon.

Love their coffee, love their ham and cheese croissants, love their brownies. This location has big tables and gets lots of light.

The location is great, very much central downtown and pretty close to Chinatown and the hip Queen street. There was lack of electrical outlets to charge your devices and the wifi was iffy. For a person who is working remotely, these are big factors. Great staff, and selection of food.

Amazing service! Amazing coffee and the food is great — love the Patagonia power salad! Everyone who works there is so cool and interesting. They are badass women and they do NOT need to be fake and plaster on a smile to provide an amazing experience. Plus look at how gorgeous:)

They don’t offer straws. However they do serve coffee in plastic cups! Well I don’t drink my coffee without a straw. Say it from the start so I can get it somewhere else.

Spacious cafe with plenty of desk space and dust bunnies. The service is weak, but it's location is solid. Coffee was nothing spectacular. The location just north of Queen is solid for people who are in the neighborhood and need to spend time on their smart devices catching up in the world. My first review was deleted, which isn't cool.

Coffee is ok. But the prices have been wrong on their big overhead board menu for a bit now. Sucks when you are trying to buy a coffee and it comes out to over a dollar more than it says on the board.

Usually when a menu has the wrong price (which Ive very rarely encountered in the first place) they will offer it for the listed price still

A cute, family and student friendly location that makes first rate lattes and coffee. One of ten best in Toronto for sure.

Continues to be my favorite coffee shop when I visit Toronto for its excellent choice of espresso and fresh food for breakfast or lunch.

I thought this was a great great coffee shop with a nice atmosphere. I really liked the big open windows and large tables to work at. Their coffee is good and the staff is nice. Definitely will be coming be coming back to this spot in the future.

Very affordable coffee and nice place. But since you only get 2 hrs of free wifi daily it is not an ideal place to do work

Excellent space, great vibe and good coffee. There are no electrical outlets so bring your laptop with enough battery juice. Also, the washrooms are at the back of the building, as the server for the codes.

A cool place to hang out, meet friends or just get some work done. It’s a pretty spacious caffe with lots of different seating, lots of light and cool vibe.
Service was quick and easier, but the coffee itself was a bit too acidic to my liking.
It was pretty busy in the middle of a week day, but service was smooth with lots of people coming in and out.
Will definitely stop by next time when I’m the area.

The cashier and barista’s face look like I owe them $200 bucks no smile nor greetings. The cafe’s wifi is not working. Poorly managed coffee shop. What a shame, it’s got a cool name.

One of my favourite locations - tons of natural light and two large communal tables to sit and work at. Wifi is free for one hour.

Stopped by randomly for a latte. Was pleasantly surprised. Great place to procrastinate and be amongst others working or chatting away.

Coldest coffee shop in the winter and hottest in the summer. Not great if you plan to come and do work. You can see the large HVAC system but it must be just an art installation.

Not bad, but you should really have more than one person making the beverages. 15 people waiting in the queue is unacceptable during peak times.

Always top notch coffee. I find it's getting more and more expensive each time. It was always important that shops like this stay below the Starbucks prices. The gap is closing quickly though at DH

Lovely place to sit and have a coffee or tea with a couple friends. It can be a challenge to find seating sometimes though!