Before we begin

Before we dig into the list of the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver I should tell you that there are lots of references to Siply in there. It's an app I made that enables you to save on average $1 on each drink inside a coffee shop. You download it, charge it up with credits and use it at the shops that I mention below. If you're interested in checking it out click here to view the website

The Best Coffee Shops to Work or Study From In Vancouver

One of the most common questions I get asked via email is “where are the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver”. It’s a tough one to answer because I don’t want to be the guy that sends someone to a coffee shop that proceeds to sit there for 8 hours after ordering one peppermint tea. That being said, I love working from coffee shops. So before I give you the list of the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver, let’s go over some ground rules.

Note if you’re looking for the map view of this list it’s at the bottom of the blog post.

The Etiquette of Working In a Coffee Shop

I feel that most of the time we can cover the etiquette of working from coffee shops in one sentence: “Don’t be a dick”. Or maybe I can add to that. “Don’t be a dick and if you think you might be pushing it, the baristas have already noticed”.

What do I mean?

Don’t do this:

Sitting with the same drink all day and never buying a new one.

Sitting with the same drink for more than 2 hours.

Taking up more than one space. For example, spreading your gear out over a four-person table. Allowances can be made for 2 person tables, as long as the shop isn’t busy.

Sitting with your headphones on full volume.

Start doing this:

Buy a fresh drink every couple of hours minimum (my rule is 60 mins) – asking for more water on your teabag doesn’t count.

Try to use single seats when possible. For example window seats.

If you use a double table give it up if it gets busy.

If the only table left is a four-seater, then this shop is not for you – go somewhere else

Daytime Shops to Work or Study From in Vancouver

Agro Coffee Roasters

550 Clark Dr

Unlock special pricing at Agro using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Window seats and communal table

Where not to sit: Any of the two-seater tables

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Agro.

The Birds and The Beets

55 Powell St

Where to sit: Stick to any of the smaller tables, at the back.

Where not to sit: The bigger uprights are a no go, as is anywhere that seats lots of people when it’s busy.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of The Birds and the Beets

C41 Coffee

123 Carrie Cates Ct, Unit 114

Unlock special pricing at C41 using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Anywhere!

Where not to sit: Everything here is communal/work/study friendly.

Click here to read my review of C41 Coffee

C Market Coffee

111-100 Schoolhouse St

Unlock special pricing at C Market using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Try to sit on the smallest tables.

Where not to sit: Don’t group tables together.

Kafka’s

2525 Main St

Unlock special pricing at Kafka’s using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Try to find the smallest table available.

Where not to sit: Don’t take up a four-seater to yourself.

Wifi: Yes

577 Great Northern Way

Unlock special pricing at Kafka’s using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Two-seater tables are in abundance here, plus there are a massive communal table and mezzanine bench seats upstairs.

Where not to sit: If it’s busy consider moving upstairs.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Kafka’s.

KAHVE

1822 W 1st Ave

Unlock special pricing at KAHVE using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Only sit in the window seats.

Where not to sit: Avoid the two-person tables as they’re the only way bigger groups can sit in there.

Click here for my review of KAHVE.

KOFFIE

1050 W Pender St

Where to sit: Only sit in the two seaters.

Where not to sit: When it’s busy I suggest leaving the tables to the groups.

Click here for my review of KOFFIE.

Cafe Logos

1207 Kingsway

Where to sit: In the window seats, they even have great access to plug sockets.

Where not to sit: Try not to take over the rest of the room, it’s for book store guests too!

Wifi: Yes

Modus Coffee Roasters

112 W Broadway

Unlock special pricing at Modus using the Siply app.

Where to sit: There are a few seats in the far right corner.

Where not to sit: Avoid the bar seats, they’re for pour-over nerds to sit at! The window tables are usually pretty busy so try to avoid working at those too.

Click here for my review of Modus.

Matchstick

213 E Georgia St, 1328 Richards St, 4807 Main St and 639 E 15th Ave

Where to sit: Any communal tables and bench seats.

Where not to sit: larger tables that sit more than two people. If it’s busy, don’t use a two-person table.

Wifi: Yes

Special Mention 1328 Richards St

Where to sit: This venue is a workers dream – there’s a huge pseudo-communal table on the right as you go in, as well as a sprinkling of two-seaters around.

Where not to sit: Any of the larger seating areas, such as the window sofa/seats.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of the Richards Street Matchstick.

The Only Cafe

2678 W 4th Ave

Where to sit: This place is great to work from – unlimited WiFi, loads of outlets and some headphones to borrow if you want music! Stick to the smaller seats and tables.

Where not to sit: If the place is packed, be sure not to take up any larger tables for two or more.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of The Only Cafe.

Pallet Coffee Roasters

323 Semlin Dr, 1398 Kingsway, 2002 W Broadway, 3820 Oak St

Unlock special pricing at Pallet using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Window seats and communal tables.

Where not to sit: Look for the small signs on the tables that indicate you can’t use them for working and don’t sit at these.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for the reviews of each.

Prado

117 Water st, 1938 Commercial Dr, 100 W Hastings, 1809 Fir St, 4208 Fraser St, 13475 103 Ave (Surrey).

Where to sit: The general rule in a Prado is to stick to either the window seats or any communal seats.

Where not to sit: Prado’s can get really busy so avoid the larger tables.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for the reviews of Prado Surrey.

The Narcissus

109-1701 Powell St

Where to sit: Downstairs has some great window seats.

Where not to sit: Avoid the larger tables.

Wifi: Yes

Nemesis

302 W Hastings St

Unlock special pricing at Nemesis using the Siply app.

Where to sit: There’s a great communal table on the right as you go in, then there’s a window bench you can use too.

Where not to sit: Don’t take up a booth! I see this all the time and it’s frustrating because you can get four people in them!

Click here for my review of Nemesis.

Nemesis also won our Top 10 places to Drink Coffee in Vancouver poll and the Top 10 Brunches poll.

Our Town

255 E Broadway

Unlock special pricing at Our Town using the Siply app.

Where to sit: any of the small tables or the window seats.

Where not to sit: Don’t take over the larger areas, such as the nook at the back.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Our Town.

Paragon Tea Room

2207 Cambie St

Unlock special pricing at Paragon Tea Room using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Go for the communal table or window benches if you can.

Where not to sit: Avoid the multi-person tables if it’s busy.

Wifi: Yes

Quantum Coffee

455 Granville St

Unlock special pricing at Quantum using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Go for the window seats here. Sometimes the back room is open. If it’s setup for single tables you might be allowed in, but ask the staff first, as they hold lots of events there.

Where not to sit: Avoid the multi-person tables.

Click here to read my write up on Quantum

Interlude

So I’ve mentioned Siply a bunch of times in this article and I thought it’d be cool to give you a quick demo of the special pricing I keep talking about.

As a reminder, Siply is an app that enables you to find the best coffee shops in the city then get amazing deals on drinks. Simply put – you can’t get better prices on your drinks anywhere else than this app. I made a little calculator to prove this, have a play with it and see what you think:

If you’re keen to try it out, you can download it by visiting the website here.

Revolver

325 Cambie St

Where to sit: On the Archive side of the shop

Where not to sit: Leave the Revolver side of the shop to everyone else.

Click here for my review of Revolver.

Single V Coffee

5232 Irmin St

Unlock special pricing at Single V using the Siply app.

Where to sit: There’s a great upright table that even has wireless phone chargers.

Where not to sit: Steer clear of the window seats.

Click here for my review of SingleV Coffee.

Spade

1858 Commercial Dr

Unlock special pricing at Spade using the Siply app.

Where to sit: There are some fantastic window seats and a huge communal table you can sit at with no judgement!

Where not to sit: Don’t sit on any of the bigger tables.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Spade.

Sweet Barrel Creamery

2729 Arbutus St

Unlock special pricing at Sweet Barrel using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Try to keep to the communal table or window bench if you can. The window bench has easily located plug sockets for your laptop/devices.

Where not to sit: It’s a small place so avoid anywhere that two or more people could sit, like the tiny tables they’ve got setup.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Sweet Barrel

Evening Coffee Shops to Work or Study From in Vancouver

It’s a pity, but there’s not a huge selection of great coffee shops available to work from at night so going back to the question “Where are the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver?”, I guess most of them are daytime shops. But there are a few really killer shops available, you just might have to wander around a little to look for them.

Aperture

4124 Main St

Open Until: 9:30

Where to sit: I like the back of the shop, on the smaller tables.

Where not to sit: Any of the larger tables.

Wifi: Yes

Our Town

255 E Broadway

Open until 8pm or 9pm Weekends.

Unlock special pricing at Our Town using the Siply app.

Where to sit: any of the small tables or the window seats.

Where not to sit: Don’t take over the larger areas, such as the nook at the back… besides, you may get kicked out of there because that’s where their bands play!

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Our Town.

Sweet Barrel Creamery

2729 Arbutus St

Open until 10:30pm

Unlock special pricing at Sweet Barrel using the Siply app.

Where to sit: Try to keep to the communal table or window bench if you can. The window bench has easily located plug sockets for your laptop/devices.

Where not to sit: It’s a small place so avoid anywhere that two or more people could sit, like the tiny tables they’ve got setup.

Wifi: Yes

Click here for my review of Sweet Barrel

Turks Coffee

1276 Commercial Dr

Open until 10pm

Where to sit: Pretty much any seat that is on a smaller table.

Where not to sit: Ok I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I’ve been in here but I think there are only two-seater tables, so you should be good. Don’t sit on the baristas lap, I guess.

Wifi: Yes

24 Hour Coffee Shops to Work or Study From in Vancouver

OK first off, there’s no truly great places to drink coffee at 24 hours a day. Breka is probably my top pick of the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver at 3 am! That being said, they’re not your typical specialty coffee shop. Their coffee is dark and a little rough to be honest. But their food more than makes up for it.

Breka

812 Bute Street, 855 Davie Street, 6533 Fraser Street, 3750 W 4th Ave, 821 Denman Street

Where to sit: Smaller tables and any communal tables

Where not to sit: Try to steer clear of bigger tables, but if it’s 4 am and there’s no one there, you’ll probably be OK.

Wifi: Yes

Questions I’m bound to get:

But VCS, owners should expect people to camp out in their shops and plan around it

The reality of this is that we live in one of the most expensive cities on earth. Rent is outrageous at the best of times, staffing is a nightmare and shops simply can’t afford to have someone take up a spot that could be used by a paying customer.

Why isn’t shop XYZ on the list?

Because I knew it would annoy you. Also, I probably forgot about it. Email me it.

I want MY shop on the list.

Shop owners, sorry, it wasn’t a snub! Well, unless you suck. Or are a chain. If not, email me.

Summary Article Name The Best Coffee Shops to Work or Study From In Vancouver Description It's finally here, the only list you'll ever need if you want to know the best coffee shops to work or study from in Vancouver. Author Vancouver Coffee Snob Publisher Name Vancouver Coffee Snob Publisher Logo

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