Cafés
The rare Richmond cafe that roasts its own organic beans on site every morning, tucked into a Bridgeport light-industrial strip. Weekday-heavy hours and a no-frills room, but the coffee and the retail bean selection justify finding it.
Coffee roasted on the premises changes what a small cafe is for. It stops being somewhere to sit and becomes somewhere to buy from, which is the honest description of what draws people out to Smith Street. Anybody who grinds at home has a reason to make the trip. Anybody looking for a room to work in for three hours probably does not.
Smith Street sits in the Bridgeport light-industrial belt, among warehouses, trade counters, auto shops and the occasional strata unit that has been turned into something far better than it looks from outside. Nobody walks past here by accident. Everyone in the room either works within a few blocks or came deliberately, and that gives the area a weekday character which empties out fast once the lunch hour ends.
The wider point about coffee in this city is that Richmond never developed the cafe culture east Vancouver has. What exists instead is a great deal of chain espresso attached to malls, some genuinely excellent tea, and a small number of operations taking the bean seriously. Those tend to be scattered across industrial addresses rather than clustered on a high street, because that is where the rent allows for a roaster and a loading door. Driving to a warehouse district for coffee feels absurd the first time and normal by the third. Parking out there is the one easy part of the trip, which is more than can be said for anywhere along No. 3 Road.
In the Bridgeport neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other cafés and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
Unassuming Bridgeport cafe near the Fraser serving diner-style breakfasts and lunches alongside the coffee. A favorite of people working nearby and of cyclists riding the River Road route, with generous portions and prices to match.
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Taiwanese cafe in Continental Centre that works as both a bubble tea stop and a full sit-down meal. Rice and noodle plates, hot pots and popcorn chicken alongside a long drinks list. Open late, which makes it a default after-movie spot.
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A small scratch bakehouse tucked into President Plaza that bakes everything on site using French technique. Croissants are the draw, especially the double-baked salted egg yolk custard one, alongside cream puffs, cakes and matcha or black sesame pastries.
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A busy Hong Kong-style cafe off Hazelbridge Way known for late hours and an enormous menu of rice plates, congee, thick toast and milk tea. The kind of place Richmond families end up at after a movie or a long day of shopping.
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Part cafe, part pet-friendly coworking space near Richmond City Hall, with bookable private rooms sitting alongside the coffee counter. Good for a long working session, and one of the few Richmond cafes that genuinely welcomes dogs.
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