Acme Cafe

Can I make a confession?!
I am addict to their sandwich cookies…
Sorry if someone is allergic to nuts…
But the peanut butter sandwich cookies
are to die for… The best one!!!
And I like equally the Oreo and carrot sandwich one.
Also I really like encouraging family own business!
And it’s next to the Woodward.
With London drug and Nester market it’s convenient!

Another one off the Bestie Brunch 2016 list. We wanted to go to Forage but they close at 10am weekdays and living an hour commute away, we didn’t feel like waking up at the crack of dawn to just squeeze in. So we will save that one for another day.
Acme Café is a small, minimalist café located on West Hastings. The front of the restaurant has a display of baked goods (cookies, cupcakes, etc.) for sale and is where you pay your bill. It has a retro vibe with the diner setup and old school music playing in the background.
I ordered the European breakfast — cured meats, cheese, fruit, salad, and a warm croissant; my friend ordered the breakfast sandwich on a croissant. Her sandwich was just ok — nothing to write home about. My breakfast was good; I enjoyed everything, but at the same time I wasn’t overwhelmed. I wasn’t blown away by it. We both enjoyed the coffee.
A little pricey given what you’re served, but I find that’s the case with these trendy brunch spots. No worries though, it didn’t empty my pockets. I don’t think I will return; it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t stand out from other cafes/​lunch spots. I do think that the sweets looked tempting. If anything, I’d stop by if my sweet tooth was needing a fix, but not for a sit down meal.

I’m a longtime regular diner at Acme ever since they’ve opened. Over the years, I’ve appreciated the convenient location, the breakfast menu selection, the pies and coffee. Acme has been my first (often only) choice when hosting out of town visitors, business brunches/​lunches and for an afternoon pie and coffee/​tea treat.
Over the years, I’ve gotten passed the often unfriendly/​moody service to just appreciate being there enjoying the food and the moment with the people I’m dining with.
One thing I can no longer get past is Acme’s seating policy where their guests are required to have their entire party present to be seated and when several tables/​booths are left vacant and pairs of guests are required to sit at the counter while Acme waits for larger groups presumably. I’ve heard from folks who have lied in order to get around Acme’s seating policy, imagine that… there’s now even a sign at the front door with lengthy text outlining their seating policy.
I respect Acme’s right to establish their seating practices for their reasons which I’m sure are well founded in their opinion. I write this after recent seating experience where three booths were vacant and my party would only be seated at the counter. The counter wouldn’t allowed the relative privacy as a booth and since that’s what I’m often seeking I’ve decided to move on and won’t be returning to Acme.

Went here for brunch it was good! Had the frittata and a cup of tea. The desserts look amazing but I had ate a million cookies the night before so i didn’t get anything. DEFINITELY next time!

Great little café. Had the Meat Loaf sandwich with broccoli slaw and potato chips. Very tasty. My friend had the Italian salad and they were very accommodating making it vegetarian. Would love to try their desserts but I never have room!

Great little diner/​bakery!
No frying pans! Everything is cooked in the oven. The eggs are free range and food is organic. Big portions, not just two strips of bacon like most breakfast joints.
No strawberry jam for the toast though :(
Lots of delicious looking baked goods! I had a whoopie cookie… two chocolate cookies with white cream in the middle… yum town!!!

I went gere yesterday to grab lunch. Food was fantastic, I had the Shrimp melt and my. boyfriend had the Smoked Salmon. The soup wa delicious! The staff was funny and out going. Their desert case looked amazing. I was pretty full from their lunch, but will be back to try some of their deserts and their maple bourbon lattes

food is good but pricey for the portion. We got 2 sandwiches.
Turkey (brie, cranberry-​Grand Marnier sauce, grainy Dijon mayo and arugula
Ciabatta panini grilled)
Veggie (goat cheese, portobello mushroom, peppers, zucchini, sun-​dried tomato mayo, and basil mayo Ciabatta panini grilled)

I was waiting for the bus outside Acme Café on New Year’s night around 7pm. I’d come here often the first couple of years after it opened, but lately when walking by at lunch, I noticed the place jammed with people, and a line up some days. I decided to go in and because of the holiday the place wasn’t as full. I had what I usually have, the chicken club sandwich, which is still great though they’ve made some modifications, and a bowl of their potato soup. The sandwich is hearty, yet not heavy. The chicken they used was moist dark meat which is refreshing when you usual get white meat that’s dry. The greens used are not the usual iceberg lettuce, which makes for a flavourful change. And the bread was perfectly toasted, crisp and golden on the outside. Instead of a pie or cake, as most people have when they come here, I decided to have a chocolate shake. It’s good diner food, but not greasy like say the diner next door. This place is solid; consistently good.

If I could give this place more stars I would.
Exceptional service, even on New Year’s Day, when the place was packed. Amazing food (I got the baked eggs benny), and amazing mocha. The best part of all, if your an early bird you get buy one meal get one free! First time ever seeing that. Defiantly a place to visit and try. I will be back! And thank you Stephanie for making breakfast so enjoyable.

Sunday brunch here is pretty busy so expect a short wait. The counter style open kitchen makes it a homey feel. We had the frittata and the european breakfast. Good amount of food with fresh ingredients. I would recommend adding their sausage to your choice of brunch as it is quite tasty!

Absolutely loved this atmospheric little place — went there this morning at about 9am. Lucky we weren’t later as there was a queue out the door (understandably). Suave but cute modernist late 50s French vibe with a clean interior design and smooth jazz in the background. We had some of the maple bourbon lattes on special and let me tell you they definitely were special. I also had the hot buttered rum but with an espresso shot added — trust me it works! Collectively we can also strongly recommend the nutella banana french toast and the spinach salad which were both exceptionally fresh and light. We sat at the bar and had the pleasure of watching the highly skilful chef going about his work. I can’t remember our waitress’s name but she’s the one from Newfoundland and she was great. I give her top marks too for handling my dad wanting to buy one of the acme café branded aprons even though they don’t sell them. I also loved the little bit of history about the district on the menu. Being new to the city little things like that are nice.
Definitely try to get a spot here in the morning!

If you enjoy gelatinous turd jam rather than your usual pie filling then this is the place for you!

We came to this joint for breakfast and sadly were 5 minutes too late to order from the breakfast menu.
The lunch was just alright. Servers were nice. My friend got a baileys hot coco that was pretty good.
Overall, just okay.

I’ve been here once and it was actually a few months back. But I have to say it was pretty good from what I remember. I recall it looking like a 80s diner.
I tried this out during a lunch hour. It was pretty busy but luckily we were able to get a table for 4. The food were in pretty large portions and was pretty tasty too. I don’t recall exactly what I order that day but I remember I had to take half of it to go and I had a really yummy strawberry milkshake.
Overall, it’s a place that I would come back and tell others about too.

Ser turista en Vancouver es transitar por muchos lugares populares como Gastown, el museo Telus, Granville Island, etc. Pero si lo que buscas es salirte de los mismos lugares, tienes algo de tiempo, y además quieres explorar un poquito fuera de lo convencional te recomiendo altamente el Acme Café, un lugar que sirve desayunos todo el día, sí, incluso por la noche.
Una de las pocas cafeterías que en esta zona cierran hasta las 9 de la noche, donde además sus precios son muy accesibles y el lugar está diseñado como una de estas «old fashion» cafeterías de los 30’s.
Tip: Pide un afogato como bebida, la nieve de vainilla que utilizan está hecha con vainilla de verdad, ¡¡es una delicia para el paladar!

Bourbon maple latte — warm and yummy. It was the special drink of the day. $ 8
Affogato — double espresso with vanilla ice cream. Pretty good, coffee float if you will. Fun to try but it cools off the espresso pretty quick. $ 4.50
High faulting grilled cheese with the chips and slaw side. Definitely good. Sandwich was warm melty and the cranberries were tart which complimented the cheese perfect. I enjoyed the slaw a lot but it was very texturey. $ 13
Chefs feature with side of Mac and cheese. Mac and cheese was only ok. The chefs special however was an Amazing burger, lots of flavor. ¹⁄₃ lb beef patty on pretzel roll with a bourbon maple jam, fried egg, cheese and arugula. So good we ate every bite. Love to try more here.
Good seating, they have a few seats right at the front window, great for people watching.
Street parking

I was looking for a full pie in the downtown core, so I consulted the wonderful Talk thread here on Unilocal for suggestions. That’s how I was lead to Acme Café.
I sent Acme an email asking for, well, pie. They responded quickly and told me to give them a call to put in an order. I did and ordered a Strawberry Rhubarb pie for pickup later in the week. When I went to pick it up, I was greeted by friendly staff who mentioned that it’s possible to get any full pie I want for take out. Even if it’s a pie they don’t carry, they can make it. Sweet!
Brought the pie back to the office where the pie lovers rejoiced. «Awesome choice, Alex,» I was told.
Thanks Unilocal and Acme for helping my office find our new favourite spot to get pie!

Follow Acme café on instagram, their pictures of their cakes and desserts alone will lure you in if the reviews here don’t sell you!
I love Acme for lunch or brunch, and for dessert. I was disappointed that they didn’t have the lemon meringue ready in the morning, so we had their earl grey lemon tart pie with whip cream. Delicious. I love how homey the desserts feel.
Highly recommend all the sandwiches here too, I’ve had a variety of them, they’re always great portioned and a good amount for sides.
I love the service at Acme, always a fun place to go!

I stopped in for a meeting and it was a lovely experience!
The room has a cute, dinerish feel to it — but in a modern way, it’s certainly not old fashioned. There are a few swivel seats at the semicircular bar, and lots of booths. We sat at the coffee bar and our server was very efficient. She told us the food specials before we said we were just ordering coffee, and was very happy to make me a decaf iced Americano.
Our water glasses were never empty, and the guy I met with was regularly offered top ups on his drip coffee. The coffee itself was truly excellent — I was surprised mostly because decaf is often pretty burnt or boring tasting!
The prices were reasonable, and I really enjoyed my time at Acme. They’ve got a nice, calm atmosphere, and great coffee! I’ll be back, for sure.

Limited menu.
Had the parfait with fresh yogourt with cinnamon toast, and while the toast was delicious, the fresh fruit turned out to be cantaloupes and oranges, instead of the typical berries. The citrons were in itself fine, except the texture tasted like it came out of a can. The top had fruit juices (which Zi assume were from the can) which diluted the entire parfait. Yogourt was not greek as it claimed to be, and granola was dry and stale.
Friend had the european breakfast. The veggies that came on the side also tasted like it came out of a can.
Nothing extraordinary on the service end.
Will not be back.

I kind of can’t believe I haven’t written a review yet for my local favourite, Acme Café. If ever there was a place that was «my» place, it’s Acme. It opened in April 2010, just months after I moved to Gastown in the fall of 2009, when things were really starting to take off here, It felt like we were in this together, rebuilding a neighbourhood we wanted to be a part of, and all of the staff at Acme, including its owner, Alan Hoffman, have become familiar and friendly faces in the over five years that I’ve lived here. When their Lemon Meringue pie was featured on the cover of Vancouver magazine a few years back, they happily sold the famous pie to me for my 31^st birthday party (my last name is Lemon, it seems appropriate). I’ve had cookies and pie just out of the oven practically forced on me by chefs saying, «Just taste this and let me know what you think.» It’s like sitting in your mom or your aunt’s kitchen.
Located in the historic Paris block on Hastings, Acme hearkens back to the cafeterias and diners of old without being kitschy. It features a number of booths and a huge lunch counter for solo diners. As it’s become more popular, they’ve squeezed a few more diner tables in as well, but it’s still small enough that there is almost always a wait during peak hours.
The menu is straight-​up comfort food. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, grilled cheeses, mac and cheese — this isn’t pretentious West Coast dining and if you’re not into carbs, this is likely not the place for you. The meatloaf plate is a favourite of mine, with a generous helping of meatloaf, accompanied by salad and mashed potatoes, if you’re up for it. I also like the meatloaf sandwich, which comes on a pretzel bun. The «High Falutin’ Grilled Cheese,» featuring cranberry sauce as well as a number of cheeses, is also ridiculously decadent. I’m told the Shrimp Melt is to die for, if you like that sort of thing (shrimps = worms of the sea. I won’t eat ‘em). Sandwiches come with your choice of sides. Acme’s coleslaw is worth asking for (which also comes with potato chips), as is the side of Mac n’ Cheese if you have room for it — but please remember there’s dessert.
Oh yeah, dessert. That’s one of the main reasons to hit up Acme, and asking what pies are fresh BEFORE you order your main meal is always a good idea. The Lemon Meringue is ten feet tall, and if you’re lucky enough to be there when they have a slice, order it. The chocolate cream pie with an Oreo crust is amazing, as is the Key Lime. There are also always a huge array of cakes, cookies and pastries on display at the espresso bar if pie isn’t your thing (but if pie isn’t your thing, we can’t be friends).
There are always breakfast/​lunch/​dinner specials, and usually a soup and a quiche of the day.
Without a doubt one of my favourite spots in the city. Unpretentious, quality food and friendly people. In the new year I’m moving out of Gastown, and I’m actually sad that this place won’t be right around the corner. However, I know I will definitely be making returns to my old ‘hood to visit good old Acme café.

Hidden in the streets of the undesirable is Acme café. My friends took me here for Sunday brunch as it was a trendy location in the middle of Gas town.
The service here is quite good. Our server was cute and friendly. She sat us and took or orders promptly.
I got confused with the special of the day which was crab cakes. For some reason when she offered the specials, I thought the crab cakes was an appetizer and not an entrée. Being still confused, I offered the crab cakes and an other dish. Fortunately our server explained to me nicely that «I was ordering a big breakfast — two entrees.» Oh silly America…
The crab cakes were quite delicious. The outside crust was crispy and not burned brown/​black. The crab meat was moist and flavorful. It was a real treat.
As this place is known for their pies. I had to make room for at least one… or two…
I ended up ordering one, which was the Lemon meringue pie. The lemon meringue was zesty and the crust was flaky to the touch.
The prices here was relatively inexpensive.
A good find in Vancouver.

Yummy baked eggs benny!
Ive been to Acme several times for coffee I like the feel of this place, but my first time eating here early this week. We sat on the bar facing the street, alway interesting people watching on Hastings, free entertainment!
I ordered baked eggs benny, I love eggs benny in general but wasn’t sure about it being «baked» But it was fantastic!
The English muffin, ham and eggs were baked all together like a layered lasagna topped with some creamy hollandaise sauce, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this meal. It also came with hash browns, overall it was a great meal. I was eyeing the dessert counter, everything was house made so I was very tempted but always a next time. Service was good, our server started to get busy others stepped in to help. Great experience, I will return!

Quelle petite phrase bouleversante au coeur d’un être?