Crew Collective & Cafe

I'll admit that I'm not a coffee expert.  I'm only an occasional coffee drinker and even with that, I much prefer more watered down versions.  However, I know what I like and don't like, so that counts for something right?  It helps Viv is a coffee drinker and Costanza is our resident coffee expert.  This bode well for us as he suggested we hit up Crew Collective & Coffee down in Old Montreal.  Other than the coffee, the place is known for its location in an old cathedral-style bank building complete with chandeliers and ornate dome ceilings.  The counter is actually the bank teller counters!  They have WeWork spaces for people to use as well (do not go use that space if you are just chilling with your coffee!).

We lined up with the rest of the patrons and waited until it was our turn.  Make sure you are not in a rush!   In addition to our coffee, we got some pastries including the Cheese Croissant.  This "escargot"-type pastry consisted of a swirl of puff pastry.  It was ultimately flaky and shattered when torn apart.  It was marginally cheesy though and could've used more of it.  It was buttery and had discernible layers.

Staying with puff pastry not quite the same, we had the Double-Baked Almond Croissant.  Normally, these can be a bit denser and harder, which this one was.  However, it was actually rather light in comparison to other versions.  It was crunchy and shattered upon biting into it and the buttery and sweet almond filling was plentiful and evenly distributed.  Pretty good for a coffee house that isn't necessarily a patisserie.

Our last item was also our favourite in the Kouign Amann.  Well, it was quite obvious from the first bite that this thing meant business.  It was super buttery and rich while also being sweet.  There was discernible layers initially on the outside, but as we bit further into it, it just became a buttery sweet homogeneous pastry.  Nothing wrong with that as it went very well with our coffees.  We just needed to walk it off.

So onto the coffees, we had a Latte, Americano and a Iced Mocha.  I would say that their coffees are pretty good with a definitely darker and rich flavour, possibly bordering on a bit bitter for some people.  Yet, it was quite smooth in my opinion.  Costanza, who is our resident coffee expert, did say it was good but not great.  However, the real draw is the old bank building.  It is gorgeous and a great place to grab a drink and pastry.

The Good:

- Beautiful building

- Decent pastries

- Good coffee

The Bad:

- A bit slow with only one machine and a long line-up

- Good coffee, but not great