Café Oui Mais Non
Informations
:Le populaire café Oui mais Non, tout près du Parc Jarry et sa boutique adjacente Oui Manon.
What she thought
I was excited when I saw that Café Oui Mais Non was on the 2015 edition of the Indie Coffee Passport. The café is one I have wanted to visit for a while, even though it is a bit far from Verdun. Before we went, I checked out their web site, Facebook page, and their reviews on Yelp. I loved the idea that they had a boutique next door called “Oui Manon”—very clever. Anticipating a wonderful experience, we set out by métro this time. Unfortunately, the experience was much less than what I was expecting.
- Coffee: I ordered a cappuccino, which was served to me in a small glass in the traditional Italian way—espresso, some foamed milk, followed by thicker foam. There was no latte art. The barista was a bit sloppy while pouring the milk and had to clean the glass before giving me my coffee. I did notice that the cappuccino was creamy, which was nice. A lot of thick foam coated the sides of my glass and two spoonfuls remained at the bottom when I finished drinking.
When we asked the barista what coffee he was serving, he pointed to the bags on the shelves and that was it. No comments about the coffee, the roaster, or why they served that coffee. So here is some information about the coffee. The roaster is Agust, an Italian company that has been in business since 1956. (Check out this charming photo at the bottom of their web page.) The espresso used for our coffees was Cremoso. (At least we think it was since the barista had actually pointed toward the decaf bag of beans.)
There was also a young woman at the register, who was counting money. She never acknowledged our presence at all—no eye contact, no smile, nothing! Even when we purchased something to eat, she just continued with what she was doing and made us wait until she had finished so that the barista could take care of our money. It was a strange experience.
- Seating: While the café offers a lot of seating— upstairs, downstairs, and a terrace— when we went there was really nowhere for us to sit inside. So we sat outside on their large terrace (it was chilly, though), which offers lots of seating but does border rue Jarry, a fairly busy street.
- Atmosphere:This café is certainly popular so there must be a reason why people go there. I am not sure how I would describe the atmosphere. I didn’t find the place welcoming at all and will probably never go back. I would go to the boutique Oui Manon again. The young woman there, although she was working, greeted us with a friendly “Bonjour!” The boutique is a very fun space with interesting offerings.
Final Thoughts: I encourage anyone who is reading this review to go to Café Oui Mais Non and judge for yourself. Perhaps the day we went was just an “off” day.
A Note from Vicky: I write these reviews because I want to encourage other people to frequent independent cafés and to get involved in the Montréal coffee culture. In most cases, I have met many warm and knowledgeable baristas and staff while using the Indie Coffee Passport. We acknowledge them by always purchasing food and leaving a tip when we use our Passport.
To my mind, being busy (even though we were the only people in line at Café Oui Mais Non) is never an excuse for poor customer service.
Cappuccino Oui Mais Non style
Ce qu’il en pense
C’était notre première visite dans ce café ouvert l’an passé. Vicky était particulièrement enthousiaste à l’idée de le découvrir depuis qu’elle en avait entendu parler en bien sur les médias sociaux. Le nom annonce un endroit qui sort de la norme et une recherche en prévision de notre visite nous fait découvrir des trouvailles inusitées, telle que la Brouette pique-nique.
À notre arrivée, on constate que malgré l’automne, la grande terrasse est encore en place sur la rue. Le café était rempli à pleine capacité par ce qui semblait être des étudiants et des groupes d’amis. La décoration était de style plateau-bohème, on remarque l’utilisation de vieux cadres de fenêtre récupérés comme division au dessus des tables et comme décoration sur les murs. Nous étions les seuls clients en ligne et nous avons commandé un cappuccino et un latté. J’en ai profité pour goûter à la cuisine maison, j’ai choisi un morceau de gâteau aux bananes, servi dans son écrin de cellophane. J’ai demande quel café était utilisé pour préparer les breuvages espresso, le barista m’a pointé les sacs de café Agust, sur une tablette, derrière lui.
Comme on voulait se faire une meilleure idée de l’ambiance, j’ai demandé s’il y avait une salle au sous-sol, puisque le rez-de-chaussé était encore bondé. Il existe bien une salle au sous-sol, mais on m’a répondu qu’il ne serait peut-être pas possible de trouver une place. Nous avons donc apporté nos breuvages sur la terrasse.
Une boutique est adjacente au café, elle s’appelle Oui Manon. C’est un peu semblable à ce que faisait Jonah James, mais avec un accent sur ce qui est produit localement.
- Le café (latté): torréfaction style italien, latté format géant (16 onces, je crois), l’extraction semble correcte, mais l’amertume reste en bouche.
- Les lieux: le décor bohème invite à la détente, mais l’endroit était rempli, lors de notre passage.
- Le personnel: on imagine que les créateurs de cet endroit ne peuvent être que sympathiques, mais le personnel rencontré cette journée-là n’avait rien d’enthousiasmant.
Une pause Latté sur la terrasse du Oui mais Non.
