Café Castel

Café Castel occupies a bright, compact room inside the Hôtel Ville-Marie. A house blend of espresso is the anchor here alongside café au lait and the usual range of milk drinks, plus iced coffee, iced tea, and smoothies when the weather applies. The food is counter service and geared to the neighbourhood's office and hotel traffic, with bagels, croissants, chocolatines and quiches in the morning, then sandwiches, wraps, pizza, soups and salads through the afternoon. A pastry case covers the rest. Seating spills onto a terrasse in summer, though the skylight ceiling that runs the length of the place makes it a perennial stop worth making.