Đan Nguyen took over an unassuming Plateau corner, the same spot on Rue Roy Est where a long-abandoned restaurant stood for years next to a barbershop and a laundromat. She transformed it into Phin Café, brightening the space with wood and green accents, and a menu offering directly sourced Vietnamese coffee.

Customers flocked to get a taste of her egg coffee: an egg white beaten into condensed milk poured over Vietnamese coffee, dripped the traditional way using a phin filter.

On another street corner between Old Montreal and Griffintown, Sara Sabry of Café 2^nd Gen says “this was supposed to be our quiet, soft launch but it hasn’t been quiet at all.”

Café 2^nd Gen on William Street, offering international specialty flavours over a base of Vietnamese coffee, is a love letter to fusion: Their menu has influences from all around the world, showcases a second-generation identity that fuses with the cultural influences around it, yet still stays true to itself.

Đan Nguyen took over an unassuming Plateau corner, the same spot on Rue Roy Est where a long-abandoned restaurant stood for years next to a barbershop and a laundromat. She transformed it into Phin Café, brightening the space with wood and green accents, and a menu offering directly sourced Vietnamese coffee.

Customers flocked to get a taste of her egg coffee: an egg white beaten into condensed milk poured over Vietnamese coffee, dripped the traditional way using a phin filter.

On another street corner between Old Montreal and Griffintown, Sara Sabry of Café 2^nd Gen says “this was supposed to be our quiet, soft launch but it hasn’t been quiet at all.”

Café 2^nd Gen on William Street, offering international specialty flavours over a base of Vietnamese coffee, is a love letter to fusion: Their menu has influences from all around the world, showcases a second-generation identity that fuses with the cultural influences around it, yet still stays true to itself.