What to know
- Unlike many cafes, Toronto’s Cafe Forêt is designed to welcome remote workers with ample seating, clearly labelled outlets, and an encouragement to stay and plug in.
- The spacious Korean cafe features neutral tones, wood accents, and real plants, creating a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.
- Highlights include the chocolate croffle with generous toppings and the pistachio cream americano, both praised for taste, portion size, and quality.
- Owners Ashley and Martin draw from their Korean roots and family history in coffee to create a space ideal for long hangouts, work sessions, and meetings.
With so many people working remotely now, it is quite common to see establishments put up signs that either forbid laptops, or have designated times. But Toronto’s new Cafe Forêt encourages people to plug in, charge up, and stay a while.
This Korean cafe, located near Bay and Dundas streets, was created from the same minds as Project Seoul in Kensington. They wanted to build a space where people could hang out, relax, and enjoy some Korean specialty treats.
@nowtoronto New cafe alert! ☕️ Cafe Forêt is a spacious, calming Korean café in Toronto that welcomes long work sessions and hangouts with abundant seating, beautiful decor, and satisfying specialty treats. #cafeforet #toronto #torontocafes ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
The first thing I noticed was how large the cafe was. It boasts tons of seating and extra (conveniently labelled) outlets throughout the space. The colour palette is a calming mixture of neutral tones, wood accents, and pops of green supplied by large plants throughout. Many patrons I spoke to remarked on how calming and inviting the interior was.
The spot looks wonderful, but let’s get to the goods. How are the treats? I noticed there was a croffle on the menu, and I went straight for it. For those who don’t know, a croffle is a croissant that has become waffle-ized. They basically take a croissant and press it in a waffle maker. This creates a crunchy exterior and a soft middle. I tried the chocolate croffle ($10.95), which came with whipped cream, chocolate ice cream, and a chocolate drizzled banana. It was very satisfying and I will be consuming it again! I did think the price was fair due to the sides it came with and the execution of the dish. The croissant itself was a good size and provided many bites.
There were so many drinks to choose from, but I went with the popular pistachio cream americano ($8.50). This is an iced americano with a pistachio flavoured cream foam. It was a little pricey, but I will say you get a lot of drink for your buck. So, although it is a splurge on a coffee, at least it doesn’t come in a tiny cup. The drink was refreshing and also very tasty. The foam wasn’t too sweet and the coffee hit just right. I’ve heard the other cream foams on the menu are sweeter, so if you prefer a milder cream foam, go for the pistachio.
After speaking with the owners, Ashley and Martin, it was clear that this is a true passion of theirs. Growing up in Korea, their parents were in the coffee industry and that is where their love of the treat comes from. They knew from the beginning that they wanted to design a space that welcomes long hangouts, or work sessions. The design was also very intentional in creating an atmosphere of relaxation. I was surprised to learn that many of the plants in the cafe were real, so that also represents another level of care that goes into the maintenance of the cafe.
From the good eats to the inviting decor, Cafe Forêt’s vision is clear and well executed. This spot is perfect for catch-ups, business meetings, or work sessions. I think that Cafe Forêt will be serving up relaxing vibes and tasty treats for a long time.
