Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you’re having a great week so far.
Before I get into today’s post, I have an exciting blog update to share with you all! I’ve always had one main goal for this blog: to serve as a useful guide for Toronto and Southern Ontario residents looking for fun local experiences. Whether you’re planning a full trip to a town you’ve never visited or simply looking for a new coffee shop in your area, I want my blog to be a helpful resource for you. So in order to make it easier to find what you’re looking for, I’ve completely redesigned my header menu! Now, you can search all of my posts by category or location. Are you a foodie? Check out the Restaurants section for a list of my best dining recommendations. In need of some retail therapy? The Shopping section will have everything you’re looking for. There’s also more niche categories: from Animal Experiences to Flower Farms to Dessert Shops and everything in between. And if you’re looking for recommendations in a particular area, use the Location menu, where you can find all of my posts for a specific city or county. I hope this change is helpful and makes it easier for you to navigate my blog! If you have any feedback about the new menu or other suggestions for improving user experience, please let me know – I’d love to hear your thoughts.
And if the Cafés category was the first thing you clicked on when browsing the new menu, you’re going to love today’s post! By now, you’ve probably guessed that I’m a big café person. When you want an excuse to go out and enjoy something to eat – but don’t want to sit down for a full meal – a café is the perfect compromise. At this point, I’ve been to so many coffee shops that it takes a seriously special one to wow me – and the one I’m writing about today is truly wow-worthy. This spot definitely ranks among the top five local cafés I’ve visited (yes, ever!) and the only downside is that it’s located about an hour from where I live. Although perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise, because if I lived any closer, I might be here every day!
Pique-Nique is a Parisian-style café and wine bar located in St. Catharines’ Fitzgerald neighbourhood. It’s a new addition to the area, and I’d been meaning to check it out ever since it opened last February. So on a recent day trip to the Niagara region, Tania and I stopped at Pique-Nique along our way to grab breakfast.
Pique-Nique’s interior is bright and airy, with exposed brick walls and lots of natural light, thanks to windows that open up to the outdoor patio. The indoor dining room has creamy wainscoted walls, rustic wood benches, and the most incredible tin ceiling.
There’s nothing that makes me happier than attention to detail, and I can tell that the owners of Pique-Nique are just as detail-oriented as I am! From the wicker picnic baskets behind the counter to the curated wall art to the beautiful font on the menus, you can just tell that every detail was carefully thought out.
Pique-Nique serves freshly baked pastries at their walk-up counter, and also has a breakfast/lunch menu offering sweet and savoury tartines (open-faced sandwiches), French toast, granola bowls, soups and salads.
As gorgeous as the interior is, we visited on a lovely fall day and decided to take advantage of patio weather while we still could. And the patio at Pique-Nique – with its quaint bistro chairs and views of the surrounding tree-lined streets – is especially lovely. We ordered inside, then took a seat on the patio and waited for our food to arrive.
Tania ordered a flat white and the herb and cheese croissant, which was delightful (I admit, I stole more than a bite!) I always say a dish only tastes as good as its finest ingredients, and that certainly rings true here. Pique-Nique sources all of their ingredients from small-scale producers, artisans and farmers, and that shines through in the quality of their food.
I had a latte and the seasonal fruit tartine: fresh brioche toast topped with browned butter, strawberry compote, honey and bee pollen. So simple but so delicious! I especially loved the bee pollen, which I’d never tried before (spoiler alert: it’s like a chewy and slightly more floral-tasting version of honey.)
Tania and I had a busy day ahead of us, but if that weren’t the case, I could have easily whiled away several hours on Pique-Nique’s gorgeous patio. I’ll admit I’m very picky when it comes to cafés, but this one ticked all the boxes: strong coffee, excellent food, friendly staff and a beautiful atmosphere. I’m already looking forward to returning – perhaps this time in the afternoon, so I can check out some of their wine and cocktail offerings!
Do you have any favourite local cafés to recommend? Please share your suggestions with me – I’d love to hear them!
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