Where to find great coffee on the Plus 15 in Calgary
If there’s one thing Calgary’s Plus 15 indoor-pathway system has, it’s coffee spots. But while most of the joe you’ll find along its corridors and skywalks is standard fare, these coffee spots serve a better class of brew.
Butcher & The Baker
181-250 6 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 3H7You’ll find some of the best takeaway breakfasts and sandwiches in the downtown on the main level of Bow Valley Square Tower 4, just inside the building’s west door. At the Butcher and the Baker kiosk, you can choose from some seriously robust sandwiches (prosciutto and scrambled eggs, shaved Alberta sirloin) and salads, but also get yourself a cup of premium tea or organic Colombian coffee.
Pâtisserie Du Soleil
205-500 Centre St SE, Calgary, AB T2G 1A6Where the skywalk from Suncor Energy Centre meets The Bow building high above Centre Street, you’ll find a sunny French café counter that serves Calgary’s own Phil & Sebastian Coffee. Order yourself an espresso with a slice of quiche, a roast-pork Cuban sandwich or a mini apple pie, and take a seat in the airy Bow atrium overlooking Wonderland, the massive mesh sculpture colloquially known as The Giant Head.
Waves Coffee House
110-140 10 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0R1On the far southeast corner of the Plus 15 system in Palliser Square at the corner of Macleod Trail and 10 Avenue Southeast, pop down to the main floor where you’ll find a pleasant, blue-hued Waves Coffee House location. This British Columbia-born counter-service café chain serves its own small-farm bean blends including three medium-roast and one dark. Try the white- or iced-dark Belgian mocha. On the food menu, find paninis, wraps, soups and sandwiches as well as muffins.
Holy Grill
200-444 5 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 2T8Perched on the sunny southwest corner of the 444 5th Avenue building, Holy Grill’s beautiful Bennies, burgers and panini creations earned it a profile on Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here. Apropos of its cuisine star power, at the breakfast and lunch spot’s front-entrance drink station, the coffee on offer is brewed with a fair-trade grind by local better-bean sensation Fratello Coffee Roasters.
Rosso Coffee Roasters 8 Ave
J-140 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0K6Where the Plus 15 skywalk from the Glenbow Museum and the back-hall corridor from the Hyatt meet at the TELUS Convention Centre, take the escalator to the main floor where you’ll find a Rosso Coffee Roasters location. The local café and roaster’s house beans are produced by small farms in Costa Rica and Ethiopia. Enjoy your primo joe (espresso, cappuccino, latte or Americano) with breakfast wraps, lunch ciabatta or anytime pastries.
Eighth Ave Trattoria Ltd Partnership
15E-525 8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 1G1A bright and spacious room on the Plus 15 level of Eighth Avenue Place, Eighth Avenue Trattoria (EAT for short) features multiple seating options. Serving breakfast and lunch as well as featuring a take-away snack ’n’ drink counter, this eatery also serves bakery-fresh pastries and desserts warmly suitable for coffee-time sit-downs. Its west-wall coffee bar covers your caffeine cravings from regular and chai lattes to espressos and macchiatos. Or simply order a good old cup of joe.
Caffe Artigiano
203-530 8th Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 3S8At the top of the Watermark Tower escalators at the inconspicuous second-floor Holt Renfrew entrance, red-and-white-tiled Caffé Artigiano offers more coffee-based beverage choices than perhaps any other Plus 15 hot-drink destination, but espresso is the signature sip. Cups include straight-up espresso, Spanish latte and caramel macchiato. Also order cups of single-origin drip. The café features its own seating, and there are additional tables in the adjacent lobby area to the north.
Juice & Java
Calgary, ABOn the Plus 15 level of the 715 Fifth Avenue building, the lobby of the Fifth Avenue Club features a tidy café that’s open to the public. Likewise literal in its naming convention, Juice and Java serves, well, you guessed it. Pick up a nice cup of locally roasted Fratello drip or espresso with coffee-friendly snacks that include muffins, oatmeal and soup. As well, green and fruity protein smoothies answer to the nutritional needs of gym goers.
Ca'puccini Theatre Cafe
205 8 A SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0K9On the east end of the Plus 15 skywalk from City Hall to the Arts Commons building, pop downstairs to the theatre facility’s Centre Court for breakfast (paninis), lunch (pizza, baked pasta, Italian sandwiches) or dinner (pasta) as well as coffee. The Ca’Puccini hot-drinks menu features drip coffee, espresso, mocha, cappuccino and more. A handsomely designed open-air spot operated by nearby Teatro, it offers table and counter seating and is open most performance evenings.
