Iced coffee treats to keep you cool in Montréal
Whether you prefer a cold brew made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water overnight or a classic latte made by topping a freshly brewed espresso with cold milk and ice cubes, iced coffee drinks take over the city cafés come summertime. Below are a few of our favourite Montréal chilled coffee treats to try.
The perfect Italian summer treat
Italian Café Baristello’s signature summer drink is a perfectly balanced frozen treat. The Scirocco chilled coffee concoction is crafted first by filling an “old school” glass with lightly sweetened espresso slush, and then topping it with warm, flawlessly frothed micro milk foam which creates a “delicious storm” inside the glass.
709B Jarry Street East and 1330 Therese-Lavoie-Roux Avenue
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Perfect combo of ice cream and coffee
Dispatch Coffee’s icy summer treat is their version of an affogato, made with their own roasted and fully traceable espresso. The popular summer treat is traditionally made by pouring a hot espresso shot over ice cream, which in this case comes from Ripples, the beloved Plateau ice cream shop located a few doors down. The affogato options always include a vegan one. If you’re after something a little more fizzy, Dispatch also does a bright and refreshing espresso tonic. As one of Montréal’s first craft coffee roasters, their drinks always come with a little extra intention and a lot of flavour.
4021 Saint-Laurent Boulevard and McGill University
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Classic iced latte
Little Burgundy café Lili & Oli’s iced latte is probably the best in Montréal. A great take on a classic is always welcome and comforting on a smoldering summer day. Lili & Oli has been open since 2005 and is always a great stop for regulars and visitors alike who come here for the excellent coffee, whether hot or chilled.
2713 Notre-Dame West
4554 Wellington
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Classic cold brew perfection
The Café Myriade cold brew coffee is steeped for 12 hours then poured over ice. The flavours are complex and carry fruity undertones with a slight earthy finale. It tastes more like a complex tea than coffee. You can also order their oat milk coffee slushy made with their Retro espresso blend, oat milk (to keep it vegan) and slightly sweetened with dark brown sugar.
Several locations
Website
The perfect summer blend
Noble Café offers the perfect match: ice cream and cold brewed coffee. This decadent combination beloved by neighbourhood locals and tourists alike is called “le Flotteur” (the Float). The Flotteur now comes in several flavours but only one is caffeinated so enjoy your floating cup of coffee heaven on the go or on their terrace.
430 Laurier Avenue East
7066 Alexandra
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Nitro cold brew for the win
Café Paquebot was the first café in Montréal to serve iced coffee in the form of a nitro cold brew on tap. The coffee is treated with nitrogen, pressurized, then served on draft just like beer. Another great Paquebot drink, the Cafélimo (a mix of cold brew from Zab, homemade lemonade, organic sugar, and CO2, in short, a fizzy cold brew-limeade mix), has been on tap since 2016 and sold in cans since the summer of 2021.
Several locations
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Italian style caffè freddo
Café Ferlucci in Villeray makes the same Italian-style cold coffee you’ll find in Italy in the form of granita. The base brew is made by filling up a large jar with dozens of espresso shots, sweetening the brew with sugar then turning it into an icy slush-type of drink. You can order yours black or with a shot of milk to be enjoyed on the quaint terrasse. If this slushy drink is not your thing, order one of their famous nutellate (a latte with a spoonful of Nutella stirred in) on ice or an iced dirty ginseng latte. They’re the only café in the country making ginseng-based drinks!
432 De Castelnau East
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Sweet and refreshing
Café Bosco refreshing summer drinks can be complemented with their homemade syrups that changed every two weeks or so. Lilac and magnolia-infused honey are just some of the flavours that are infused into these sweet additions.
65 Beaubien Street East
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Soothing latte
Petite Patrie’s Café des Habitudes is a lovely and soothing place that has definitely carved a spot in its client’s daily habits. Among many other great coffees, try their iced lavender latté with a homemade lavender syrup made from organic maple syrup and organic lavender. Enjoy your drink on their year-round terrace which turns into a lush oasis in the summer.
1104 Saint-Zotique East
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A verry yummy brew
Café Léo is a downtown spot that shares a space with a hair salon. They create a new latte every month inspired by what’s in season. An iced Americano with coconut milk and yuzu and a cold brew with a refreshing orange cream are just two examples of their fresh summer concoctions. Check their social media channels for the flavour of the month.
1215 Berri Street
1215 Berri
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Middle-Eastern specialty drinks
Lebanese Café Chez Téta has quickly become a favourite destination for their manouché (flat bread topped with zaatar) and other specialties. They also make some delicious, iced coffee drinks, including an iced halva latte made by mixing halva, a sweet sesame pastry, with pistachios directly in the milk before topping with a shot of espresso. The mastic-infused latte topped with Lebanese cotton candy is also a must. Their unique cold brew is made by infusing cardamom-infused Lebanese coffee beans for 12 hours for a subtly distinctive and sugar-free aroma.
227 Rachel Street East
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Just peachy
Café Saint-Henri is offering a unique, signature caffeinated summer drink this year. The iced latte with their Holycow espresso beans, peach, elderflower and a cold milk mousse with your milk of choice is deliciously refreshing and a veritable ode to this quintessential summer fruit.
Several locations
Website
A little Tiramisu magic
Little Italy’s Café Caron & Frères has carved a spot on Montréal’s best café list pretty quickly, thanks in part to the Caron brothers’ friendly demeanor and welcoming smiles. The Americano (cold brew and caramel) is a refreshing drink best enjoyed on their sunny terrace. Otherwise, their viral sensation, the tiramisu latte (iced cortado, mascarpone cream, Italian cookie and cocoa), is always a very gourmand treat.
26 Bélanger Street
Lemonade done right
With a design inspired by an orange grove and a ceiling canopy with hanging citrus fruit, SoLIT Café is one of Montréal’s most instragammable cafés. Their refreshing summer drink, the Americano Lemonade, is the perfect mix of coffee and lemon.
2030 Mansfield Street
Unique Vietnamese brews
Vietnamese café Lakafe makes quite a few drinks that deserve a spot on this list. First up is their Vietnamese salt coffee, a perfect balance of espresso, creamy condensed milk, and a touch of salted foam. Next is the egg coffee made by whipping egg yolks with sugar unti frothey then pouring it over strong Vietnamese coffee. Then comes the banana latte, naturally sweetened with the fruit pulp and topped with an espresso and milk. There are a few other original drinks suited for all tastes.
2115 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Café Cosé
Pointe-Saint-Charles’ Café Cosé is an elegant and light-filled space that specializes in Vietnamese coffee and other signature drinks. Try the Vietnamese coffee with double espresso topped with the “cosé egg cream” or one of their seasonal drinks like the blueberry cheesecake coffee
1883 Centre
Jaimee Sips
Outremont dessert spot Jaimee Sweets is also home to this new specialty drink bar Jaimee Sip. You’ll find a great variety of coffee-based drinks here, from the chocolate cloud espresso to the blueberry pancake latte. The banana bread latte is especially decadent with homemade banana compote, milk of your choice, brown sugar syrup, cold brew, banana cold foam, and brown sugar topping.
1051 Bernard Street
Alphabet Café
The Greek inspired freddos at Mile End coffeeshop Alphabet have been a viral sensation that have brought animated line ups to this sunny corner café. They use locally roasted Ambros Coffee to make their creations. The Freddo Cappuccino is Alphabet’s modern take on the classic Greek version,
5765 Clark Street
Améa Café
Housed in the historic Maison Alcan in the heart of the Golden Square Mile, Améa Café brings a Mediterranean spirit to one of Montréal’s most unique spaces. Surrounded by the building’s distinctive architecture, it’s the perfect place to grab one of their signature drinks, such as the beetroot latte or the viral iced banana latte.
1888 Sherbrooke Street West
Maison Sauvage
Mile End’s Maison Sauvage is famous for its playful drinks and indulgent homemade cookies. Its signature cloud lattes and matcha drinks come crowned with airy cold foam. Try the famous cloud black forest latte with chocolate and cherries or the seaonal blueberry latte.
162 Bernard Street West
Mayssam Samaha
Mayssam Samaha is a food and travel writer and blogger and the founder behind the blog Will Travel for Food. She travels the world in search of the next culinary discovery. From Iceland to South Africa, she’s already visited over 36 countries and there’s nothing she enjoys more than wandering around a farmers’ market in a foreign city. She is also the founder of the SAISONS intimate dinner series highlighting Québec products and chefs.