Much to the delight of discerning caffeine addicts in Montreal’s southwest, the coffee-mad JF Leduc, owner of the Mile End’s Caffé in Gamba, recently transplanted his obsession into their ‘hood, in the form of Café Saint Henri. Cozy up into one of Café St Henri’s salvaged church pews, and enjoy an aptly named God Shot (as close to the divine as one can get in a shot of espresso). Or, if you’re feeling secular, settle in to a recycled wooden chair and slurp down a Gibraltar (the resultant love child from caffé latte and cappuccino’s night of passion).

You can also pick up a bag of their fair-trade, organic, in-house roasted coffee beans to enjoy at home. But be warned, if you don’t happen to have an Italian-made, top-of-the-line La Marzocco Strada coffee machine (and you don’t – Café St Henri owns the first and only Strada in Canada) the coffee might not quite taste the same.

Anyway, drinking on-site will allow you to sample the delectable pastries and baked goodies from Sweet Lee’s Rustic Bakery. And for those of us in need of a little mid-week jolt, Café St Henri offers free tastings of new and unusual blends every Wednesday.

Be sure to check out Café St Henri’s weird and wonderful website where pictures of tranquil café life are interspersed with shots of Bootsy Collins, a blood-soaked DeNiro from Taxi Driver, and a nearly nude older gentleman in strolling in pink platform sandals and matching Speedo.

Café St Henri – 3632 Notre-Dame West

Open 7 days a week from 7:30am till 8pm.

~ Heidi Craig

~ Photos: Yannick Andre-Genel from http://www.sainthenri.ca/