Purple Penguin Cafe

I went here on a Savour Toronto coffee tour and it was delicious — they had the apple fritters and frozen yogurt available for us to try. Both were so tasty and not too sweet which I loved. The atmosphere is really warm and welcoming. Definitely want to get back to check out more menu items soon.

Favorite café in Toronto found! Comfortable clean bright with fantastic food and drinks. Lovely staff. The made-​to order apple fritters are a bargain and the best doughnut in Toronto! At $ 1.75/fritter, you can’t loose. Quick wifi too. Support a small café vs starbucks accross the street. And it’s called the Purple Penguin, COME ON.

Small café that serves delicious and healthy sandwiches, bagels, and salads. I’m glad my friend and I were able to grab a seat. considering the minimal seatings they offer. It’s cute how they have PURPLE chairs and I love how they are so comfortable to be on.
I’ve seen many Unilocalers talk about the poor service. I thought they were pretty friendly and patient
Food is sooo good. I ordered an Asian pork wrap which was filling and had this delicious sauce inside lol
— the wrap had house marinated pork, carrots, arugula, and lettuce
I also had an apple fritter: super cheap and soo delicious! It’s coated with sugar and the apples tasted very fresh when I took a bite. Since they fry it, it has a nice soft crunchy texture on the outside–
It’s a must try !!
They also sell coffee! They sell Demello– apparently it’s a good brand haha

I strolled in here randomly on a lazy Sunday afternoon and I’ve become a fan! I much prefer this place over Starbucks across the street if they opened later and if Sbux didn’t have their loyalty program that keeps me going back for more.
Features
— Comfy purple seats
— Lots of table space — many tables despite such a small space.
— Power bar — for multiple people to plug in
— Decent wifi connection
— Latte in a glass
— Yummy apple fritters made to order
— Quiet work environment with soft music in the background
— Food for every type of diet — for the health conscious peeps
— Friendly staff

This is a really nice cheerful little café. Try the carrot soup — yum.

The Purple Penguin meets all of my requirements. It has nice squishy seats, brewed coffee and free wifi. I always feel comfortable there. They also have wonderful homemade apple fritters which are made to order.

Excellent friendly service, great coffee, and overall awesome place. And it’s not packed the the brim with loud people/​babies (like Te-​Aro), so great place to get a little work done too ;) Thanks Jun!

Life in violet
More homey than that Starbucks
Right across the street.
Coffee in fine glass
This the most friendly café
Here in Leslieville
They got a kitchen
Pumping out fresh small bites, yo
Must get apple fritters!
{TTC: Queen Street streetcars to the southeast corner at Logan Ave.}

Apple fritters are perfect, cappuccino excellent. Friendly service. Warm and welcoming décor. Great place to relax — as I’m sitting here there’s a couple at one table playing cards and a couple at another table playing Scrabble. This is my first visit — will definitely be back to try sandwiches which look fabulous.

«We were curious to find out from June (the owner) that Purple Penguin opened about a year ago and holds community-​focused events as well as live music (harp) on occasion. «
“We also could not resist trying their pro-​biotic frozen yogurt in a cone, like ice-​cream. It was very yummy and with less fat than a traditional ice-​cream. An experimental treat, we though.»
A few bites from our full experience:

Service very friendly and the food was good and fresh. Coffee was expertly prepared. No complaints here, we will be back!

You absolutely must try the spinach \mango smoothie! A friend of mine ordered one on MAMA PENGUINS recommendation. I remarked that it looked gross so she let me try. What a wonderfully light and delicious combination!

Not a better place in the hood for homemade food and you can’t beat the prices! Great coffee and specialty drinks too. Oh, and you can’t leave without having an apple fritter!!!

I don’t really like it here. Their apple fritters are good, but in a sea of great coffee places, this place comes up short. I ordered a machiato, which turned out to be an espresso with a bit of milk, in a tiny cup for almost $ 5. More than the portion size being ridiculously small, the coffee tasted… off. I could hardly drink it. It was pretty much a complete waste of $ 5. Basically, it was a poor experience but an even poorer attempt at a reasonable experience. The décor is nice, but overall, it leaves a lot to be desired. If I weren’t a big supporter of local businesses as a general rule, I wouldn’t come here.

It is true. Leslievillians LOVE their coffee. We have an embarrassing number of cafes. And while I will never stop loving Te Aro, I admit that Purple Penguin has become my new favourite spot.
The coffee is really good, the sandwiches (and other eats) are made in house, fresh to order and are delicious. (I am really bored of the pre-​packaged sandwiches at the other cafes in the area.) Get the reuben! It is my favourite. They also have these sinful Butter tart muffins, fast wifi and REALLY comfortable chairs. If I am going to be chilling for a while, I am going to want to be comfy. The staff is sooo friendly. Always big smiles and happy to help me out with substitutions, strange requests or even my stroller (I know, I know.)

The apple fritter is amazing and worth the trip for that alone. I’m still getting use to the menu it is very unique. You certainly won’t get a more warm friendlier welcome anywhere in the L’ville. This could be the addition that is needed and long over due. We didn’t’ have a decent full service café in the area. Sure we had Mercury Café and Starbucks but with that I rest my case. Worth checking out, try the apple fritters.

Great fritter!
I can only speak to the fritter but it was quite good. We went in on a Sunday morning and ordered a few fritters. They do take a minute or two but they are made to order, I am not quite sure how this would work if it is busy. We ordered six fritters which were nice and warm, for three people and before I could even take a pic, 4 were gone.
It is a different fritter. Instead of a dough filled centre like most fritters in the case there is a large piece of apple at the centre which clearly has been dipped in a batter. They are also nicely sprinkled in cinamon sugar.
I would definitely stop by again for a fritter.
A few suggestions to the owners, there are way to many tables here, it feels a tad crowded.

Based solely on the Apple Fritter. (which is advertised out front so if you lead with your best foot…)
I was so excited for a made-​to-​order apple fritter. I love fritters. They’re my favourite doughnut.
Yuck.
Under cooked, airy donut that was bland and definitely not in my definition of a traditional apple fritter which is more dense and cake-​like. (Just look at my picture of it).
Very dark interior. The chairs were comfortable.

*3.5 stars*
Tried this cute café out for the first time this morning. Loved the purple themed seats and sofas! It’s a small space, but also cosy and relaxing, the plush comfy seats tempt you to stay for a long time! Service was polite and friendly and made a customisation to my sandwich (multigrain instead of white bread) with no fuss.
The menu –as far as small panini and sandwich type places go — is extensive. (Note: the menu pictures posted above by Roland are out of date, with more options available now). There’s a great selection for vegetarians, while meat eaters won’t be disappointed with about a dozen different meat-​based choices. There’s a strong emphasis on various cheeses and apple/​apple butter in a lot of the options, with bacon often added to supplement the other meats in the sandwiches. Yummy!
All expected espresso and tea-​based drinks are available, as well as hot chocolates, brewed coffee (four sizes to choose from) and a smell but enticing selection of baked goods such as apple scones and the café’s «legendary» apple fritters.
After being tempted by almost everything on the menu, I settled for the ham, apple and brie sandwich with a small americano. Coffee was perfect and the sandwich, despite the almost complete absence of brie (!!!), was just delicious. The ham was fresh and flavourful and the melting apple on the crunchy bread was to die for!
Why only 3.5 stars? Take a look at the picture I added of the ham, apple and brie sandwich. That sorry-​sized portion cost 9.95. When I pay that amount for a sandwich, I sort of expect either a decent sized portion or a small side of fries/​home fries/​salad/​something with it. This is the standard expectation of brunch value in the neighbourhood, and I feel if TPP continue to offer these small portions against ten dollar charges, they will very quickly price themselves out of the local market. Other competitors on the same block offer larger sandwiches with a huge side order for about the same price. Are the owners aware of this?
As mentioned, there was hardly any brie whatsoever present in the sandwich — I felt quite cheated considering the price I paid.
And I wish they would remove the «legendary» apple fritter sign — how can they be legendary when the café has only been open a month?! I hate cheesy pretentious advertising like this!
Quite a conflicting review I know, but I wanted to tell the entire experience in as balanced a way as I could.
In summary — this place would be perfect if I were rich! Right now, theres too much great competition nearby offering better value for similar food quality to allow me to become a regular here.

I come to this lovely café, technically every single day. When you walk in, you feel a wonderful and peaceful energy, and that’s what makes me come back all the time.
They have a wonderful and delicious coffee, and very easy on your stomach, compared to Starbucks that makes me sick in the stomach. I love the atmosphere, their staff is wondeful, they are very kind and friendly, and they don’t rush like any other places, where they just want you to get out of there.
The food is great as well, it is simple, economic, but, enjoyable. I love this place. I think this is what the people in Leslieville needed for a long time.
Don’t forget to try their Legendary Apple Fritters!
:)