The Red Brick is a traditional European style coffee house located on historic Douglas Street in downtown Guelph. Since opening October 2006, our focus has been to provide exceptional coffee beverages, wine and craft beer and simple but sumptuous food. What we lack in quantity we more than make up for in quality. A great place to read, relax or meet. Breakfast: Fresh baked Muffins made daily in house, Grilled breakfast sandwiches, fresh fruit, yogurt Lunch: Grilled panini sandwiches, fresh pasta salad, seasonal fruit and vegetable salads, egg salad wraps, fresh house made soup of the day Evening: Thin crust pizzasmore...See more text
Not only does the Red Brick have the best tasting coffee in the city they also make excellent muffins and breakfast sandwiches, The food and coffee is better than anything at you'll find at starbucks,
I'd heard good things about Red Brick Cafe and it lived up to it's reputation. It has a really great location in downtown Guelph. Charming old ivy-covered building with a nice little sidewalk patio for the summer. The atmosphere inside is nice, I loved all the wood and the decor featuring the work of local artists. Was thankful for free wifi. Staff seemed a little snooty, but not rude. Most importantly, the Americano was one of the best I've ever tasted.
I love the Red Brick. As crazy as it may sound, my favourite part of it is the walk to it. I love that it's talked away on a side street right on top of the side walk - gives it a very European feel.
I've had mixed experience with the service. It's never been bad, but it hasn't necessarily always been a positive. But the coffee has always more than made up for it.
The best coffee in Guelph, maybe even southwestern ontario, for approximately $2 you get the best coffee. I love the atmosphere there, it is warm, welcoming and homey. Great Service. I can't leave to school without getting a cup of coffee and a fresh muffin every morning.
People who where complaining about how crowded the place is, well personally, I prefer going to a place that is crowded rather than empty (this just means it is good)
We stopped in for a week night date away from the kids. Just as we sat down to chat, a local hired artist began singing. There were many students there to study in this small space, and it looked like a Book Club had met there to discuss their latest title. We stayed long enough to finish our beverages but found it too difficult to talk, so we left. We can appreciate how some would enjoy this, yet it seems more appropriate to have Live Entertainment on a Fri, Sat or Sun, when more people would welcome such an experience. Otherwise, it's a nice place.
This place opened when I moved to guelph and I had a feeling it would grow into a little gem. Absolutely stellar beverages (iced and hot). I've never not enjoyed any of their brewed drinks. Paninis have been generally pretty great (I've had one I didn't like, but I think it was just the flavour combination). Free wifi is awesome too. Check it out if you havn't already.
$2 gets you a piping hot mug of the best coffee in town. And it's fair trade coffee, which in my opinion, should be the law to serve. A great environment to relax, to work (wi-fi!), to write, or to meet up with friends. The music on the stereo is usually great and the servers are great people. Now if only I lived downtown and could come more often . . .
Oh, and the menu is small. Don't expect that this is a full restaurant. It's a cafe, similar to the kind you would run into in Paris. Grab a coffee, whatever sandwich is on the menu that day, and enjoy yourself. Meet the staff too, they're great.
I thought I would pop in for a quick lunch and everyone had been raving about this little cafe, so I tried it out.
What a disgusting disappointment!
The salad was lined with lettuce at the bottom of my take-out container and it was limp AND slimey! So nasty!
The chai latte was also below my expectations.
I'm glad this place is tucked out of sight -- nobody should endure such poor quality food and such lousy service.
I found the place ok for a coffee shop. The food...
I found the place ok for a coffee shop. The food is definately below average. Premade and
sitting was the quality we got. Staff were not
pleased when we pointed out our food was not the greatest. It is sort of a - oh well that is
about normal.
When we questioned what might give you the impression that everything they sell is fair trade coffee, it became obvious they are more
about the marketing than about the reason
and purpose behind the fair trade product.
For a coffee, might come back. For lunch or dinner, not a chance.
Editor's note: Mountain View Coffee company has verified that all coffee at the Red Brick is Certified Fair Trade and Organic, and has been since the day the doors were opened.
As someone who longs for a solid cup of coffee, the Red Brick Cafe is a must. The large coffee is only $2 and often there is a flavored brew such as Viennese Cinnamon which is just delicious. Like any specialty coffee house when you buy Lattes etc it will get a little expensive but the combination of atmosphere, quality and heart makes this place a must.
I have shown many friends the hidden gem on Douglas Street. Best of luck in the future.
Our drinks were fine but we found our sandwiches...
Our drinks were fine but we found our sandwiches a little soggy. When we broght this to the attenrion of our server they said that that was normal....??
Pros - Sandwich and desert square were very good...
Pros - Sandwich and desert square were very good. Staff very friendly.
cons - Portions were not terribly large or filling. Menu was short (2 items on lunch menu)
As a student I love coming here to get some reading/work done. The music is always great. (one Monday night there were some old guys jammin and that was really nice!) The staff are the kindest and best in Guelph: always smiling, great service, will let you run a tab and pay when you leave and are just downright friendly. You always see the owners popping in and out helping out and they seem to have a great relationship with the staff, which is perhaps why the staff always seem so happy and are so nice. As a student I do find the drinks and food expensive. As someone that doesn't drink coffee, i usually end up with the Chai Latte, and a large comes to almost $4! But I tell myself I'm paying for the ambiance as well, and it's worth it. The lighting is great, intimate at night, but still bright enough to read in, and some of the tables even have their own lights. There isn't much healthy to eat for vegetarians except muffins. When I've looked most of the sandwiches available have meat. Overall, this is my favorite spot to come to in Guelph. I'm always bringing friends to show this charming place to, and I've noticed that most people I tell about it now have already been there, so I think good news spreads fast. This place is a gem.
