Cafeography
Vancouver · Commercial Drive

Cafés in Commercial Drive

Italian espresso bars on the Drive from Venables to Broadway, with roasters toward Clark Drive.

Photo: Milladunnabe Arob, Pexels License

Commercial Drive runs 3.4 km from the Victoria Diversion near Trout Lake north to Powell Street.1 Italian immigrants settled in east Vancouver after the Second World War, and the northern part of the Drive became known as Little Italy; a sizable Portuguese community also settled here.1

Coffee is part of the street's character. In August 2007, 19 of the 93 restaurants on the Drive between Venables Street and Broadway were coffee bars.1 Italian Day, revived in 2010 after a gap since 1982, is the largest one-day cultural festival in Vancouver, with patios, stages and street performers along the Drive.1

Local tip: Start early at Continental Coffee at 1806 Commercial Drive, open from 06:00 every day,6 then walk a block north to Café Calabria at 1745 for a second espresso.

At a glance

30Cafés listed
14With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Continental Coffee, from 06:00 (Daily 06:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Caffe La Tana, until 23:00 (Mon–Fri 11:00–23:00 · Sat–Sun 10:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Commercial Drive (16), Clark Drive (3), Commercial Dr (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (17%), indoor seating (13%), vegetarian options (13%).

The Bunny Cafe

  • 1696 Venables Street
  • Mon 13:00–19:00 · Wed–Fri 13:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun 10:00–19:00
  • +1-604-428-0688
  • Indoor seating
  • Vegetarian options
  • Smoke-free indoors
  • Bakery café
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Coffee chains in Commercial Drive

Getting to the Drive

Commercial–Broadway station, where the Expo and Millennium lines meet, sits at the Drive's junction with Broadway, and many bus routes cross the street; the station at Broadway opened in December 1985.1

The Millennium Line's Broadway extension, due to open in the fourth quarter of 2027, starts at VCC–Clark station and runs about 5.7 km west under Broadway, so the Drive will gain a direct line to Mount Pleasant and Kitsilano.2

Italian espresso bars

Café Calabria at 1745 Commercial Drive has served the street since 1976. Francesco Murdocco founded it, his three sons now help run it, and it sells espresso, biscotti, imported gelato and panini.3

Turk's at 1276 Commercial Drive carries the sign "Non-conforming since 1992". Its founders, Linda and Brian Turko, trained under Milano Coffee's master roaster, Francesco Curatolo, and serve the Conca d'Oro blend.4 In 2003 the Turkos and another couple took over Milano Coffee Roasters itself.5 Turk's opens daily 07:00–18:00.

Continental Coffee at 1806 Commercial Drive opens at 06:00 every day.6 Caffè Soccavo at 1321 is open daily 08:00–20:00, and Café Roma is at 1510.

Between the old espresso bars sit newer cafés: Bump n Grind Cafe at 916 Commercial Drive opens daily 08:30–18:30, Moja Coffee at 1102 daily 07:00–17:00, and Giancarlo Cafe at 1865 serves 07:30–15:00. On Venables Street, The Bunny Cafe at 1696 opens in the afternoon on weekdays and at 10:00 at weekends.

Evenings on the Drive

Prado began as a café on Commercial Drive before growing to six locations,7 and its café at 1938 Commercial Drive serves brunch. Grounds for Coffee at 2088 Commercial Drive stays open until 21:00 from Thursday to Saturday.

Azteca Cafe & Gelato at 1858 is open until 22:00, or 22:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, Nasa Bakery & Cafe at 1678 until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and Caffe La Tana at 635 Commercial Drive until 23:00 every day.

Roasters toward Clark Drive

In 2017 Sprudge described Timbertrain's Depot as an extension of its original Gastown café;8 the Depot is at 551 McLean Drive. Doe Coffee Roasters is at 828 Clark Drive and Yuan Coffee at 550 Clark Drive, and Agro Coffee Roasters is at 1359 Powell Street.

On the side streets, To Live For at 1508 Nanaimo Street opens daily 07:00–17:00, and Mah Milk Bar at 1502 Victoria Drive opens at 08:30.

Sources

  1. Commercial Drive, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Broadway Subway Project, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Café Calabria, TheDrive.ca, accessed October 2026
  4. The Sprudge Guide To Coffee Shops In Vancouver, BC, Sprudge (January 29, 2024), accessed October 2026
  5. Vancouver's Best Coffee Roasters, BC Living (February 13, 2013), accessed October 2026
  6. Continental Coffee: locations and hours, Continental Coffee, accessed October 2026
  7. The best cafes in Gastown for your next Vancouver coffee crawl, Daily Hive (February 18, 2025), accessed October 2026
  8. A Coffee Lover's Guide To Vancouver, British Columbia, Sprudge (October 10, 2017), accessed October 2026
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In Commercial Drive, also browse: Specialty coffee Patios Bakery cafés Wi-Fi Open late

FAQ

Commercial Drive cafés: questions

What is the oldest Italian café on Commercial Drive in Vancouver?

Café Calabria at 1745 Commercial Drive has been open since 1976 and calls itself Vancouver's oldest Italian coffee house. Francesco Murdocco founded it, and his three sons now help run it. It serves espresso, biscotti, imported gelato and panini. Turk's at 1276 Commercial Drive, with the sign "Non-conforming since 1992", is another long-standing espresso bar.

How do you get to Commercial Drive in Vancouver by SkyTrain?

Commercial–Broadway station, where the Expo and Millennium lines meet, sits where Commercial Drive crosses Broadway. Many bus routes also cross the Drive. The Italian cafés, including Café Calabria at 1745 and Continental Coffee at 1806, are north of the station, toward Venables Street.

Which cafés on Commercial Drive in Vancouver stay open in the evening?

On Commercial Drive, Caffe La Tana at 635 is open until 23:00 every day, Azteca Cafe & Gelato at 1858 until 22:00 or 22:30, and Nasa Bakery & Cafe at 1678 until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Grounds for Coffee at 2088 stays open until 21:00 from Thursday to Saturday, and Caffè Soccavo at 1321 until 20:00.

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