MarkPrince Moderator Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 5,235 Location: Vancouver Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Frankenstein'ed LM Linea Grinder: Anfim Super Caimano Vac Pot: 1922 Silex Drip: Krups Moka Brew Roaster: Hottop
Posted Thu May 12, 2005, 3:09pm Subject: Review: Prado Cafe, Vancouver BC.
Amy York is way too young to be doing this stuff... doing it so right.
York is the former manager of the JJ Bean on Commercial Drive and 6th Avenue in Vancouver, and was one of the main movers and shakers responsible for making that cafe a roaring success in the JJ Bean micro-chain of cafes in Vancouver. And she did this all before her 23rd birthday. She's an ambitious person too - after working within the JJ structure, she had it in her mind to open her own cafe, and started making plans in the summer of 2004. She left her job, worked on financing and finding a location, and after many months of toil, Prado Cafe was opened in January, 2005.
It is located only two blocks from her previous place of employment - at 4th and Commercial Drive ("the Drive") in Vancouver. This wasn't originally planned - York initially sought a location in the South Granville area (Granville, between 7th and 16th Aves), then possibly on Main. The opportunity for a good location on Commercial came up, and she jumped on it.
Prado is basically the poster child for minimalism. The are only two colours evident in the cafe (well, three): white and wood. Steel makes an appearance here and there. There is no art on the walls, no posters, and some (myself included) sometimes feel it is too clinical in there, but York and staff were going for this minimalist look, and achieved it. They even had the body of the FB70 custom painted white.
Scandinavian minimalism is the go word for this cafe.
The cafe is on the north east block at 4th and Commercial Drive, and gets heaps of sun; the windows do not open garage door style, but efficient use of bamboo blinds keep the sun at bay on very sunny days.
The interior of the cafe is small by PNW (US) standards - there are roughly 8 tables inside, all two seaters.
Initially, the traffic flow was come in the centrally located front door, order your drink, and exit via a side door. Steps were built to allow passage via the side door, and it worked well, until the City of Vancouver decided to get involved. It appears that someone tripped over the small steps on the side of the building, and complained; so while Prado initially got approval for the steps, they were forced to remove them by the City.
I mention this because I have real problems with the City policing cafes like this. Commercial Drive has a lot of problems with drug abuse, panhandlers, petty theft, and a lot of aggressive vagrancy. Cafes like Prado work on making the neighbourhood more friendly and more safe - JJ two blocks down did the same thing, and Prado's doing it at their little corner. It's certainly a better "neighbour" to have than convenience stores selling hash and marijuana. But the city has seemed to make Prado target number one. The steps were one issue. Another is outdoor seating. Up and down the drive, many businesses serving food or drink have tables and chairs outside, all sans license... but Prado was specifically targeted by the city in not allowing outside seating. Sometimes, I really have a hard time understanding city hall.
Anyway, back to the review. I think I've covered a lot about the interior and the person behind it, now about the coffee and the people pulling the shots.
York, when she left JJ, brought two legit Barista Rock Stars™ with her... Tina and Matt. Tina was the runner up at the first Canadian Barista Championship, and Matt is one of those unsung (except by me) superstar Baristi who doesn't compete, is way too modest about some things (namely shot pulling), and has serious passion for what he produces. He also happens to be one of the better latte artists in town. Other staff from JJ have made the move to York's cafe as well.
So, what about the coffee? Currently, they are buying from Intelligentsia, but with a catch. York has made the decision to only sell fair trade and/or organic coffees and espresso in her shop. Black Cat ain't that. But Kid O, from Intelly, is their organic espresso blend, and that's what is on tap in both one side of the Swift grinder, and in their Super Jolly.
And the machines? As mentioned, they have a Swift, which houses Kid O and a decaf, and a Super Jolly which also houses Kid O. The Swift is in place to handle high volume situations or the way too typical 16oz drink requests. The Super Jolly is there for people like me, and for the staff. In fact, staff is given permission to work on their shot pulls when they want to, to improve their technique, and the Super Jolly is the go to grinder in this case.
The Espresso machine is a La Marzocco FB70 four group automatic, with the gigleur control, but without PID. The machine is well tuned and I have not ever witnessed a shot pulling problem with it, in my roughly four dozen visits to the cafe.
Drip coffee is pretty standard fare - an American Metalworks. York said that this is changing soon with the arrival of the big Fetco system that all the Caffe Artigiano locations in town are using.
In addition, the shop has a tiny bakery in the back, and they are making all their own baked goods - cookies, banana loaves, etc. No sandwiches or anything, but lots of sweet stuff.
So how's the coffee and service? Well, 90% of my visits are not a fair comparison because I'm a known entity in the shop, and the staff could very well turn it up a notch for me. In these visits, I can honestly say I haven't had a bad shot - the espresso pulled is is always good or better, and most of the time gets an "excellent" rating.
But there are three specific situations I can write about that do show what the coffee is like, as well as the service. Two are very good, one isn't so much.
Situation #1: some of the staff in there (two employees in fact) didn't know who I was on a couple of my visits, and I got more of the "real experience" that the average consumer would get. On two occasions, I ordered a "small Americano", which is my safe drink order. On both occasions, a too-big cup was grabbed - not a mistake per se, because most consumers want the bigger is better thing.
Once, after the cup size was corrected, the Barista did everything right - preheated the cup, pulled from the Super Jolly, flushed, added hot water to the cup, pulled the shot into the cup. The resulting Americano was superb.
The other occasion, the Barista didn't preheat the cup, and added water after the shot pull (into the 6oz cup), but the resulting drink still got a passing grade.
Situation#2: this is the not-so-good one. I actually made use of two secret shoppers to evaluate Prado, given my known entity status. One is a person who works at a business on the drive, the other is just someone who likes coffee, but doesn't necessarily know what great coffee is.
They both said the coffee was excellent. But both had issues with the service in the shop. The Drive person specifically felt that the service was too snooty and cold in the shop, with a lot of attitude behind the bar.
The coffee liker didn't go this far, but did say that she felt the place could stand a bit of "warming up". It is interesting to note that neither had a complaint about the coffee.
Situation #3: after SCAA Seattle, Vancouver was flooded with visitors from Australia, Scandinavia and the US. On several occasions, I would bring in some people to Prado and say "Okay Amy - this is so and so, world champion barista... pull them a shot." Hard stuff. But York and staff were up to the challenge.
So much so that Paul Bassett, after trying espressos from around Vancouver, including Artigiano, JJ, Elysian room and others, declared the Prado shot was the best of his trip. Heavy compliments there.
Conclusion It's hard for me to do this review, because I am on friendly terms with York and her staff. It's hard because it is difficult for me to get a proper evaluation that unfettered with them pulling me shots while knowing who I am. It's also hard because I do want to give an unbiased report.
Here's how I break down Prado cafe - the good, the not so good, and the need for improvement.
The good
Home of some of the best shot pullers in Vancouver. Love the fact they do 100% Fair Trade and/or organic. Passion exists behind the bar. The have WiFi (finally! Just two days ago in fact). Walking distance from my home. Awesome baked goods. Pellegrino (plain, not that flavoured stuff) behind the bar. Awesome milk abilities. Awesome shots.
The not-so-good
Menu focused on the basics, but all larger sizes. Smallest size listed is, I believe, 12oz. I'd love to see that as the largest size. The place is stark. No outdoor seating - essential on the Drive. They close too early: 7:30pm. Service can be a bit snobbish for some visitors' tastes, especially being a place on the Drive, where people are very friendly in most shops.
Room for Improvement
If my secret shoppers' reports are true, the slightly cool reception customers get is not helped by the stark interior. I'd like to see some art, some interest on the walls. Outdoor seating is a must for the cafe's success. I'd like to see the summer hours expanded. While I personally don't have an issue with arrogance behind the bar (as long as it's backed up), it was an issue with some. And, it'd be cool if York could get a liquor license to sell some wines and cold beers, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I wonder if she'll let me slip her a bottle of Grappa for a morning "espresso correcto" for some special customers LOL! ;)
Oh and while the sign board says beans for sale, it's not very evident - you can't even tell what coffee they use. I'd like to see some bags up on display, and I think doing so would increase their whole bean sales.
Overall, this is one of the best places in Vancouver to get a quality espresso. I have also been told by some that, if you go in and know your stuff (ie, espresso) but don't come off all preachy or weird, the staff behind the bar turn it up to 11 (from 10) to pull as many god shots as they can. Nice stuff. ;)
snoboy Senior Member Joined: 4 Jun 2004 Posts: 452 Location: Rossland, BC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: famous Silvia... now PID Grinder: modded Rocky SD Roaster: SC/CO
Posted Thu May 12, 2005, 3:50pm Subject: Re: Review: Prado Cafe, Vancouver BC.
I walked by there a couple of days ago. Yes, walked by... :( Somehow the starkness didn't draw me in, but the white LM sure is an eyecatcher. Next time I'll know better.
On the issue of sidewalk tables, I see that JJ Bean at 6th has lost their license for tables on the Commercial Drive side, and only is allowed tables along 6th now. Way to go for the No Fun City... boo!
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