Da Capo Via Bianca - Edmonton

This small sliver of a coffee shop appears to be attached to a restaurant and an organic food market (Blush Lane) although each is separate. This nice air conditioned space was inviting after putting up with the crowds and high temperatures outside on the Avenue. Simple fare - coffees, teas, sweet and savoury pastries and gelato. I had iced coffee and a spinach pastry, both which hit the spot. Prices are reasonable.

This was truly one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a food establishment. I went with a female friend of mine who was familiar with the place and she was greeted with smiles from the owner. We grabbed a table and I quickly got up and approached the server and pleasantly asked what is the best thing to order for food? His demeanor changed like the door man at a cheesy night club that is nice to the pretty girls and rude to the males, which I found very confusing because he was so pleasant to my friend. So he continued to say very little and point at the menu on the wall and informed me, as if I was bothering him, that the flat bread pizza is popular. I was like ok I'll get that and then proceeded to pull out my visa card because I wanted to make sure that I payed for the meal. Now looking even more annoyed he simply pointed to one of those generic cash machines not from any particular bank that charges you a service fee and says "we only take cash here." What? A restaurant that only takes cash as in cash-cash? Hello Revenue Canada! So I go and take out some cash to pay the bill and return to the table after ordering. The food came out and it was your standard thin crust pizza that you could warm up out of a box from any grocery store. This chachi needs to get a life. Horrible! Absolutely horrible experience.

I'm a hard marker when it comes to coffee. DaCapo is consistently very good, occasionally excellent. Service is friendly. Fit out is sleek and white (hooray!). And, if you are after something substantial to eat, you can order food from next door (Under the High Wheel). Gelato is ridiculously tempting (and excellent, if you do succumb to temptation).

I came here yesterday for one thing.... one thing only... their delicious fresh-squeezed orange juice! A large is $5.25 a pop a believe. But so worth it! They give it you fresh and un-iced. Just pure like mother nature intended =) I treated my friend to one at the same time and she loved it!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I randomly decided to visit this restaurant today. With some time to spare, I felt like having a beer. I opted to sit on the patio as I enjoy outdoor dining.