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Toronto

Pilot Coffee Roasters

time Hours vary per location

Pilot coffee roasters is the Lamborghini of coffee shops – your initial thought may be style over substance, but you will quickly realize there is a supercharged caffeine-fueled beast within.

OUR ARTICLE

BY: Pete Whish Contributing writer

Float into Pilot Coffee roasters as if you were the paper airplane from the logo which adorns the cups, front door, and ceiling. Welcome aboard the good ship pilot – a sleek vessel of caffeinated happiness.

Having built a reputation throughout Toronto as the supplier to the city’s top baristas, the new flagship location is a beacon of caffeinated delight. Located along Toronto’s Ossington strip, where there is no shortage of alternatives nearby, Pilot is the fresh new spot catering to a steady stream west-enders looking to refuel.

Belly up to the laptop-free bar, which feels more like a chef’s table as you watch the baristas hyperactively assemble your drink of choice.

The design of Pilot’s new outpost is as bold as the beans from which they made their name. The café feels much larger than its modest capacity, with massive street-facing windows and a mix of seating options. If you are looking to waste away a hazy morning, this inviting and bright space will do the trick. The people watching indoors rivals the streetwear savvy Torontonians that scurry past the windows along Ossington Avenue.

On the rare occasion that the shop isn’t full, it is easy to simply marvel in the space itself. The Modbar designed chrome spouts that line the counter pour steady streams of Pilot-roasted brew. It is these same spouts that resemble the chromed Lambo exhaust pipes within this Italian sports car of a shop.

Belly up to the laptop-free bar, which feels more like a chef’s table as you watch the baristas hyperactively assemble your drink of choice. Complicated order or not, drinks are prepared quickly and without judgment – side note, almond milk is not milk, its almond sweat. The snack options are on point, ensuring there is no such thing as baked goods buyer’s remorse. Should guidance be required; you can’t go wrong with the salted chocolate chip cookie. Nearly the size of a medium pizza, the soft-baked disc of dough is large enough to share, but best when selfishly inhaled like no one is watching.

Coffee addicts walking through Toronto’s west end are spoilt of choice. Upon closer inspection, many shops will have one thing in common – beans supplied by Pilot Coffee Roasters. Do yourself a favor, go straight to the source, find a spot in the sun, and sip on one of the city’s best brews.

FIELD TIPS

If you got the itch like us, and can’t not have a cold brew—especially in the summer months—they’ve got a 12 pack of cans for the crib

Holla at the crew at the Ossington Avenue shop, all locations are impressive, but this one makes our coffee compass do backflips

Interested in learning the coffee magic from the magician himself? They’ve got barista training classes

Take flight for the day, piloted by the coffee gurus of The Six—Pilot