Coffee Shops of Nelson, BC

Where Visitors Enjoy the Best Capuccinos, Lattés & Espressos

Jun 22, 2009 Simone Keiran

Fair trade, organic, freshly roasted coffee is easier to find in Nelson, BC, than cheeseburgers & fries. Distilled, brewed or flavoured, here's where to find the best.

The small city of Nelson, BC, is chock full of cafés where a traveller can find excellent, fresh roasted coffee. It is easier to find a coffee house in Nelson, than a diner or a drive-through restaurant.

Oso Negro Coffee House

The name Oso Negro, Latin for "Black Bear" and chosen to evoke the long journey which coffee takes to get to Canada, represents one of the most popular fixtures in Nelson: the Oso Negro Coffee Roasterie and Café. They roast and sell their own coffee, usually—although not exclusively—fair trade and organic, but if you like your coffee to taste more like a milkshake, this isn't the spot for you. You won't find flavoured beans here, or blender drinks, but the lattés, espressos and cappuccinos are first-rate, as is the standard cup of joe. The beans are always fresh, and the price hasn't changed for a few years: $15.00/lb. or $8.00/½ lb. (Ordering information is available on their website.)

Oso Negro's panini are delicious. It features a case of tasty, but carbo-heavy, sweets and savouries made with whole grains and nuts. The Spanakopita is about the only selection available for those who want to restrict their carbohydrates, but it is delicious and absolutely packed with spinach.

Oso Negro is hands-down Nelson's most popular meeting spot and this keeps the service hopping. Usually packed during the peak morning rush and lunch periods, it can be hard to find a table, especially on Saturdays. This makes it a bit tricky for wheelchairs and sight impaired, but it is the most accessible of all of Nelson's coffee houses for the disabled. There are plenty of spots to sit in its gardens. There is a tie-up area for dogs, where the staff thoughtfully provide a bucket of water on scorching days. The two restrooms are large.

604 Ward Street • (250) 352-7661

Open: 7 am - 6 pm M-Sat; 8 am - 4 pm Sun. all year long.

The Dominion Café

This tiny traditional café, tucked in a heritage venue between a secondhand store and a bar on the SE end of Baker, encapsulates Nelson's arts-&-crafts era heyday in the wainscotting and woodwork of its décor. If there weren't so many laptops open, it would be easy to believe that time had ticked back to 1910.

The Dominion serves vegan, organic fresh-baked goodies and sandwiches to go with its perfectly brewed or distilled coffees. Their muffins are particularly delicious.

There aren't a great abundance of tables at The Dominion, and chairs are wooden and hard, but it is a quiet and calm place well-suited for reading, laptop composition, and quiet get-togethers with friends. The washroom is clean and roomy, but the layout of the café is too cramped for wheelchairs. Expect to pay with cash. The Dominion does not accept debit or credit cards.

334 Baker Street • (250) 352-1904

Open: M-F 6:30 am - 5:30 pm, Sat. 7:30 am - 5:30 pm, Sun. 8 am - 4:30 pm

Sidewinders Café

At the NE end of Baker, next to Gerrick's Cycle, Sidewinders is another popular Nelson hot-spot. They serve the traditional distilled and brewed coffees, along with flavoured blender coffees. Oddly enough, it isn't the coffee that is the most attractive feature of this coffee house. That would actually be their food.

Sidewinders features delicious stacked sandwiches with ingredients like herb-roasted chicken and brie. They also offer sweets, and the Solo Bar, a sticky granola bar replete with nuts and chocolate chips is a definite favourite!

There are a nice variety of very comfortable overstuffed or café style chairs, along with a off-counter-raised railing with bar-stools. This place also tends to get very busy. The washroom is horribly inconvenient. Patrons have to ask the counter-attendents for a key, and it is at the bottom of a narrow, dark set of stairs. The room itself is cramped and doesn't always look clean. No wheelchair access here!

696 Baker Street • (250) 352-4621

Open: M-Sun. 7 am - 6 pm, closed Stat holidays

Infusion Coffee & Tea Parlour and The Only Bagel Co.

This attractive granite building across from Cowan's Office Supply and near the Kootenay School of Art is home to a fine tea parlour and coffee shop as well as a delicious Bagel bakery. Infusion offers lovely teas and The Only sells a variety of good savoury and sweet selections, as well as cream cheeses and salads.

The café style tables are available inside or out. The washrooms are clean but not roomy. It is not wheelchair friendly.

522 Vernon Street • (250) 345-1200

Open: M-Sat. 7 am - 6 pm, Sun. 8 am - 4 pm

Grounded Organic Coffee House

This little coffee house set in the corner of the St. Louis hotel features the usual distilled, brewed and flavoured coffees, but with a commitment to keeping them organic and fair trade. Their teas, from Herbal Republic, are not only delicious, but aesthetically beautiful as well. Their iced coffees are particularly refreshing on a hot day. They also serve tasty sandwiches, sweets and delicious gelato.

There are a nice combination of stuffed armchairs and café chairs inside, as well as the latest copy of the Saturday edition of the New York Times and internet access. They are also one of the only places where a person can get a late night dessert and capuccino during the weekend. The counter area is accessible to wheelchairs, especially in the summer when the French front doors are opened wide, but the restroom facilities are not.

636 Vernon Street • (250) 352-1712

Open: M-W 6:30 am - 7 pm, Thurs. - Sat. 6:30 am - 10 pm, Sun. 7:30 am - 5 pm.

Other coffee houses include Jigsaws, on the corner of Ward and Baker Streets, Chesters House of Cinnamon on Nelson Avenue coming into the city off the orange bridge, The Hip Drip Coffee House in the Prestige Inn, and The Java Garden in Chakko Miko Mall.

The copyright of the article Coffee Shops of Nelson, BC in W Canada Travel is owned by Simone Keiran. Permission to republish Coffee Shops of Nelson, BC in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Garden at Osso Negro Coffee House	Exterior of Dominion Coffee House in Nelson, BC	Interior Osso Negro Coffee Shop in Nelson, BC
Infusion Coffee & Tea Parlour, Nelson, BC	Grounded Coffee House, Nelson, BC