Latte being poured at Perchance

Perchance Review

Latte being poured at Perchance
Perchance Review
SHOP DETAILS
perchancetea.com
3363 Dunbar St
Vancouver
(778) 832-0187
Mon-Fri: 8am-9pm
Sat-Sun: 9am-9pm
Coffee
90
Food
90
Venue
90
Location
70
Bathrooms
90
Staff
100
Price
90
POSITIVES
A fantastic coffee program from Phil and Seb
Delicious food
NEGATIVES
Dunbar struggles a bit for transit
89
SCORE

Perchance

Dunbar is a funny area of town. It’s the busiest ‘quiet ‘area of Vancouver in my opinion. You can drive around the side streets at night and not see a single light on inside the houses, but there are cars everywhere and people packed into the shops in the day time.

The logical conclusion? Vampires.

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Good thing Perchance closes before they all come out to feast on the locals because it’s an absolutely killer coffee shop. This is due to a combination of amazing coffee, friendly as hell staff, CHEEKY interior design and some taste bud romancingly great food.

What’s the coffee like in Perchance?

Perchance are on the Siply app, so naturally, I used that to save some money on my drinks. You can see how much in each drink section. If you want to download the app go here.

Cortado

Price: $3.50
Price on Siply: $2.73
Beans: Phil and Sebastian Espresso Blend

Perchance

I was fortunate enough to actually try this drink with Nic, from Phil and Sebastian actually sitting next to me. So obviously I told him it was terrible to grind his gears. But now he’s gone I can actually tell you it was a perfectly constructed espresso drink. A nice bite from the coffee, with some luxuriously smooth milk and a perfect temperature. The caramel notes from the espresso evolved into a nice chocolatey aftertaste.

Filter Coffee

Price: $2.50
Price on Siply: $1.93
Beans: Phil and Sebastian Ethiopian

White mug on table with lemon pie

I always get excited when I see Phil and Seb on batch brew, especially when it’s an African coffee. This drink 100% met every expectation I had. Well balanced, juicy, fruity and got better and better the colder it got.

In addition to coffee, Perchance has an amazing selection of teas. They range from your basic herbals all the way up to rare and elaborate Chinese teas.

What’s the food like in Perchance?

Smoked Salmon Avocado Croissant Toast

Price: $13

Smoked salmon avocado croissant

It’s a mouthful of a name, but a delightful mouthful of a food item! The Avo Toast comes either on bread or croissant and I opted for the latter. However, as they toast the croissant I guess it’s technically toast? Whatever, the time under the grill made it nice and chewy, with the perfectly ripe avocado providing some nice smooth richness to the overal flavour. The salmon was fresh, smoky and salty.
All in all, this was a great example of a unique take on an avo toast.

Lemon Tart

Price: $5

Lemon Slice on plate

At first I was a little worried that this wasn’t going to be big enough for my greedy-ass, but they pack SO MUCH flavour into this slice! Bright, zesty, tangy and sweet.

In addition to the above, there’s a huge range of brunch items and some incredible sweet treats. I’m particularly fond of the delicious almond croissant.

Almond croissant

Venue

The team at Perchance has done a great job of making the venue bright, airy and full of natural light. There are books, plants and amazing bits of furniture around the place that make it look stylish but at the same time really comfortable. There are loads of seats, as well as a large communal table to sit at. The window seats let you sit and watch the world go by.

Communal table in Perchance coffee shop

Instagrammers you definitely want to get this place on your feed, as it’s a paradise for someone with a DSLR and a bit of skill! Check out the Perchance Instagram feed for examples of photos that are far superior to mine!

Side view of the bar at Perchance

Laptop users: try to stick to the communal table and the window seats.

Location

As I mentioned earlier, Dunbar is a strange place. There’s not really much else going on around the area other than this little parade of shops. However, it has loads of free side street parking and there are a few buses that stop nearby. No SkyTrain and no Mobi bikes I’m afraid.

Latte being poured

Bathrooms

SO VERY AWESOME! I’m not going to spoil the surprise in this single bathroom but when you go you should look at A) The walls and B) The picture above the loo. Other than that, the bathroom is spotless and big enough to dance in (but not breakdance).

Pots on shelf

Staff

Vancouver, on average, is honestly amazing for coffee shop staff. Perchance are no exception. I’ve been enough times to get to know a few of them well, but even from my first visit I watched them laugh, joke and chat casually with their customers. They know their products inside out but are not pushy about any suggestions they may have. I turned up with the in-laws’ dogs on one visit and had half of the shop come out to meet them and take photos!

The bar at Perchance

Conclusion

Perchance is a fantastic surprise in an otherwise dead area for Vancouver coffee. They’ve chosen to create a wonderful and beautiful oasis filled with visually appealing decor, amazing food and a killer coffee program. They’re laptop-friendly, dog-friendly and just friendly in general. You need to get a visit to this place in your life.