Culprit Coffee

Because of the recent ‘good’ reviews, I went back to Culprit. I hadn’t gone after a few terrible experiences in the past (rude staff, salty cinnamon rolls) but sadly, it’s still the same level of customer service as before. I went in, said hi only to get a blank stare back from the server. I made my order all the way without a word from her. I’m not expecting small talk, just an acknowledgement will do, as I felt unwelcome and uncomfortable the whole time I was there. Pastry was so-​so.

I absolutely love the gluten and dairy free options. I also love the paleo umbrella… as I am on the paleo diet. The coffee is amazing, especially the specialty drinks. My favorite treat is the almond butter cookie

I didn’t intend to write a review until I read others’ reviews.
Coffee was just ok, but another reviewer hit the nail on the head with her review:
«Rude and apathetic…»
Wanted to support local but failed here. Will probably try Platform 7 or goto the trusty Starbucks!

Culprit is an outstanding coffee house in the enclave known as Kits. With its stiff competition steps away in every direction, you get quality, new and sweet staff. I’ve only had great interactions with the charming staff. It makes it the best little secret in Kits.

Culprit Coffee is a tiny place that offers decent coffee and a couple vegan baked goods, which is great.
What most impressed me was that they make their own almond milk and pepita milk. We got the pepita milk, as it is unsweetened. I’ve never seen pepita milk before, even in Los Angeles, which is the center of the nut-​milk world.
All that said, it was tasty and good.
I wish Culprit had a few more vegan options (how about cheesecake?), though their sesame cookie was good. They had one other item labeled vegan that contained honey, so it’s technically not vegan. Throw in some maple syrup or agave and it would have been, though.
Bottom line: nice café in a cool neighborhood. Love the pepita milk.

I’m writing a good review because of all the negative ones! I went in and it was slow, I asked a lot of questions as I have quite a few dietary issues. I heard about their Gluten free pastries and had to try for myself. I too am a baker… Gluten, dairy and sugar free items mostly. I was impressed that they had a pretty good selection of Gluten/​Dairy Free stuff, no sugar free stuff though.
The woman behind the counter was patient and informative. I even called later to ask what the ingredients were and they hunted them up and gave me the list. They were patient and very helpful!
The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star was that the baguette wasn’t baked enough for my taste. I like a little more toast on my baguette;)
Overall I am excited to eventually compete with the best Gluten free bakery in town!

The Culprit Coffee is hands down heaven on earth. thank you Culprit!

I came in for the first time today, I chose Culprit over the nearby Starbucks as I like to support local businesses. The décor and ambiance was very cozy and cute, however the rude, apathetic service ruined my whole experience.
The brunette barista who served me was very rude in taking my order, barely acknowledging as I gave each part of my order (I asked for a de-​caf, single shot latte). When I apologised and told her I would like an ice latte over a regular one (literally 2 seconds after I asked for a latte), she gave a look of utter disdain and treated me with much contempt. After I paid, she dismissively said: HAVE A NICE DAY. (Eye roll) In a tone that was more like: get out of here. I am never coming back again.

I saw this reviewed on the front page of Unilocal on June 28, 2015 and book marked it since. The cool thing about this place is it is slightly off the beaten path of W.41^st. While others are going to 49^th Parallel and or Starbucks, this is a hidden gem but not totally hidden. The exterior is a screaming yellow. Seating is very limited inside, therefore, it is more of a grab and go situation. My latte was made to order. The barista was a bit of a jerk, therefore. an attitude adjustment is in order. Price was market value compared to other shops. Plus points for carrying some gluten free options.

4 stars for a soft, 2^nd coffee date, in case you like the potential, but Dont want to spend too long over an hour here, simply because too damn tight and stuffy.
otherwise, it is tough to work here, noisy. definitely kitsy décor, lots of natural light with average ceilings.
coffee is much better than their raspberry donuts.
no Amex.
free parking up the side street south.

I am updating my review because what used to be my favourite place for a treat has been so terrible the last few times I’ve gone! My main reasons for going to culprit are either a) cinnamon buns b) donuts, which are both SO GOOD. They now only make those on certain days, I think Fridays and Sundays? and they’re usually sold out by like 10am, so you can pretty much never get them, and I don’t really like any of their other baking except the baguettes and cookies are pretty good, but scones are usually too dry/​crumbly (as most mediocre GF baking). They’ve also stopped icing their cinnamon buns with actual icing and started just using icing sugar instead which takes them down a few notches. So these are disappointments, but my last experience there had nothing to do with the baking and was particularly appalling.
I went early on a Friday morning, got a cinnamon bun for me, a donut for my friend, and two americanos. My friend is lactose intolerant and likes almond milk in her coffee. When the drinks come up on the hand-​off bar, I asked if I could have a little bit of almond milk to put in her coffee. The barista abruptly said «um, we actually charge for that» in a sort of condescending tone. I was a bit taken aback, like I understand charging for almond or soy or whatever in a latté or a misto or something that uses a significant amount of it but just for like a tablespoon? So cheap! So anyway, I obviously wasn’t going to poison her with dairy so I asked how much, he was 40 cents (!!!) so I grumpily got 4 dimes out of my change purse and handed them to him in return for 2 tablespoons of almond milk.
I am so disappointed, Culprit used to be so great! They’ve totally lost me as a semi-​regular customer. I’ll go to 49^th from now on for better coffee and service, and make my own damn GF cinnamon buns WITH icing.

This is the perfect boutique coffee shop. Its tucked away on the side street but always busy. I appreciate how courteous everyone is about sharing the small space. The coffees have the perfect flavour and the chocolate chip salted caramel cookie is delicious!

GROSSED OUT! The staff at culprit coffee were eating rotisserie chicken off the carcass with their hands. Without washing her greasy fingers she served me a cookie. The credit card thingy was slimy with grease after she handed it to me. May well be my last time in there…
Gluten free treats are delicious, but seriously questioning their sanitation!

The café has made the bizarre decision to dust their scones with yellow stain-​inducing turmeric. This is a ridiculous topping for finger-​food that is eaten in cafes by people touching books, papers, computers, etc. And there wasn’t even a warning from the staff.
Worse yet: when I informed them that the turmeric had gotten all over my things, the barrista was not in the least apologetic. She admitted it was a common problem and exclaimed that it was a good thing I was wearing a yellow coat. Which does nothing for my white phone now stained yellow, nor my stained pants.
I didn’t press the issue, because I didn’t think I’d get anywhere with a café that clearly worries more about the aesthetics of their pastry than the care of their customers.
I won’t go back — good riddance!

Love their coffee, love their interior design! Great service as well as good ambiance.
They also have some gluten free options, which was good.
Seating was limited (and we were there for take-​out) so didn’t stay. But I would have if we had more time.

Came here to finish reading, «The Fault In Our Stars». Look, once you pick it up, you might as well just finish it. I had the… chai latte I believe (argh, the thing that everybody else recommends), and it really was pretty good. A hearty chai if you will. I had a salad there as well, which was also pretty good. Had the opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the day without getting bothered.
The only downside really was that the place is super tiny and the staff weren’t particularly friendly. But, if I were to be in the area again, I would probably go back.

Really really disappointed. Cute looking, but the service was pretty bad I was left waiting to be helped despite the fact that i was the only customer there.
The prices are way too high!!! 3.25 dollars for a cookie and 3 dollars for a small chamomile tea that I waited 8 or 9 minutes for (when the place was completely empty). When i got my tea the to go the cup was half empty.
IN SUMMATION YES IT IS GLUTEN FREE, NO IT’S NOT WORTH THE VISIT.

Coffee is gross but the baked eggs are good. Prices a bit on the high side.
Service is fine.

When I find myself on the west side I like to make it worth my while w/​a little #GFreejoy. @CulpritCoffee was today’s target & worth the visit. In house baked Gluten free goods like the über sweet glazed cinnamon roll and the baked doughnut to satisfy my inner-​child-​sweet-​tooth. Next time I’ll be more grown up and have a sammi made on the in house baked baguette or a soup. –Then I’ll have dessert!
The Chai is pretty darn good too. I could definitely take the heat up a notch on that puppy with more ginger but it’s hard to find a good Chai like this one here in Vancouver. And there are choices! Who’s going to complain about that? The Americana was smooth too.
Cute little neighbourly spot. Cool light fixture made from old school flash lights got a ‘wow!’ from me. The shop is owner operated and home grown.
Definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

I recently had a booth at the Khatsahlano Festival. A booth that I manned by myself. Where I was giving away free swag…
Needless to say, when I finally got a 30 second window to pop up a «out to pee» sign and hightail it for some much needed fuel, I was a little worse for wear. Not content to satiate my festival worn self with Starbucks, Unilocal led me to Culprit and like a woman wandering the dessert, I came upon my oasis wide eyed, stumbling and disheveled, calling out, «Cappuccino! Cappuccino!»
I honestly couldn’t tell you how the coffee tasted, except that it went down quickly without complaint so i’m pretty sure it was fantastic.
But what really caught my fancy was the muffins. I bought two. Shoveled one into my mouth while jogging back to booth and snuck bites of the other between conversation. Those muffins kept me upright. Banana chocolate — a staple muffin but well done. And again, festival foggy brain keeps me from the specifics on the second. I did however find a note while unpacking that read: «Yelp about the cream cheese muffin.»
I think it had pear too.
Either way — if it says cream cheese, buy that muffin. It was life saving.
Solid coffee joint. I’d like to go back in a less frantic state of mind and really get a sense of things but a tip of the hat to this crew for keeping this cookie going!