‘Tis the season for warm mittens, holiday shopping, and delicious treats. One of our favourite ways to treat ourselves, and an excuse to get out of the house and meet up with friends and family, is a hot holiday beverage. We looked all over town for the best decadent holiday drinks for you to try out this season, and here are some of our favourites.
Little Victories Coffee Roasters
44 Elgin St.
801 Bank St.
Little Victories on Elgin is the perfect spot to tuck away and watch the passersby make their way among the Christmas lights while you are warm and cozy on the inside, enjoying a festive treat. As far as festive treats are concerned, Little Victories has a handful of great offerings. The incredible spiced cappuccino from the fall remains a feature on their holiday drinks menu, but they’ve added a peppermint mocha which is really quite special. One part chocolate, one part mint, one part coffee, and all parts perfectly balanced and delicious.
Beandigen Café
106 – 900 Exhibition Way
Beandigen is the best place to grab a hot drink at Lansdowne, which becomes Christmas Market central for the whole month of December. Before you begin browsing, stop in for a white peppermint mocha, hot chocolate, or salted caramel apple cider. The gingerbread latté is also spicy and rich, and an excellent choice on a cold evening. The café is a great place to pick up some local Indigenous art and crafts for your shopping list.
Beandigen at Lansdowne. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
Ideal Café
176 Dalhousie St.
Lowertown’s Ideal Café specializes in small-batch dark roasts, scratch-made food, and an extensive seasonal drink menu. Candy cane features prominently (do you want it in your latté, mocha, or hot chocolate?) and drinks come topped with crushed candy canes. The menu also includes a few classics: eggnog latté, gingerbread latté, and hot apple cider. If you’re looking to try something more adventurous, don’t miss the dirty hazelnut oat chai!
Drip House
340 Parkdale Ave. Unit B
692 Somerset St. W
121 Parkdale Ave.
Drip House is really bringing it this year with their holiday drinks. Not only do they offer the classic peppermint mocha and hot chocolate, as well as a gingerbread latté, but they also have an eggnog chai latté for something extra creamy and spicy. It’s the perfect balance of richness and spiciness that makes for a super comforting holiday drink. They are also offering a holiday brewed tea, which is a nice addition to a well-rounded holiday menu. The Nutcracker brewed tea is a spicy rooibos with notes of marzipan, perfect for an afternoon tea and cookie on a cold day.
Wise Town
329A Elgin St.
This recently-opened café on Elgin Street is open late every night, a rarity for coffee shops in this quasi-post-COVID-19 world. Step inside and into a Christmas Wonderland, complete with a full-sized Christmas tree. While they had only one holiday drink when I visited, the giant mug full of gingerbread latté was a tasty one. The cinnamon brings warmth to the ginger, which is unmistakably there at the forefront. Coupled with notes of nutmeg and allspice, this latté has a lot going on. They’ve since added a peppermint hot chocolate, which looks equally delicious. Wise Town also serves alcohol, so while not advertised, I am sure you could have them add a little something to bring a little extra warmth to your drink.
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Ten Toes Coffee House
1109 Cyrville Rd.
593 Bank St.
837 Somerset St W.
All three Ten Toes locations tend to create their own signature drinks, so you can always try something different if you’re café-hopping across the city. The Cyrville location has a delightful spicy hot chocolate you may not find elsewhere, but the house-made gingerbread syrup can be found at all three locations, for a subtle, spicy, and comforting latté. At Somerset, try the cardamom latté if you’re looking for something a bit more complex and spicy without the extra sweetness. You can never go wrong with a peppermint white mocha either, especially with the fun little peppermint sprinkles on top for some festive colour! It’s also good to note that milk substitutions never cost extra, so get that oat milk without paying a premium!
Art House Café
555 Somerset St. W
While Art House may still be featuring their fall drink specials, I can guarantee that enjoying their delicious hot apple cider is exactly what you need to put you in the holiday spirit. Add a splash of rum and it will keep your cheeks warm while you venture your way home.
Arlington Five
5 Arlington Ave.
Arlington 5 is offering up some inventive holiday flavours this year. They have a butter tart latté and a blueberry crumble latté on the menu. Both sound very sweet, but the blueberry crumble latté is splendidly subtle. It’s like eating blueberry pie and having coffee at the same time.
Happy Goat
35 Rue Laurel St.
317 Wilbrod St.
326 Elgin St.
307 A Richmond Rd.
1124 Bank St.
229 Rideau St.
145 Main St.
380 Sussex Dr.
734 Bank St.
Happy Goat has expanded on their delicious fall menu, adding classic holiday favourites for the winter. In addition to their special orange chocolate offerings (with and without espresso) you can get a refreshing peppermint mocha or hot chocolate. The real star, however, is the apple pie steamer. This is the drink that I will keep coming back for. Hot apple cider, steamed oat milk, and a touch of eggnog syrup make it the perfect creamy, non-dairy, non-caffeinated beverage of the winter. It tastes just like an apple pie, without the crumbs. Run, don’t walk.
SuzyQ Doughnuts
1721 St. Laurent Bd.
1015 Wellington St. W.
2015 Robertson Rd.
Our search for festive winter drinks has brought us far and wide, including to a doughnut shop. In addition to their winter doughnut lineup, SuzyQ has a seasonal drink menu featuring candied apple cider, white peppermint snowdrift, eggnog latté, caramel mocha, and more. I can’t wait to get my hands on a cranberry apple fritter and a candied apple cider!
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