Nemesis Coffee – Gastown, Vancouver

Written by Ross Vance.

Nemesis in Gastown is always busy. We’d been told there would be a queue no matter when we went. Arriving around 9am on a Sunday, we did queue, but it moved quickly. The system is efficient: you order before sitting, and tables turn over fast. It doesn’t feel like a place to linger — once you finish eating, there’s an unspoken expectation to move on.

Brunch

• Avocado Toast with Salmon – This came on seeded bread with avocado and salmon. The flavour was quite limey, but we thought there might also have been olive tapenade mixed in, which gave it more of an orange-citrus edge. The portion of salmon was generous. It was tasty, but not particularly exciting — nothing wrong, just not special.
• Breakfast Sandwich – This was in a brioche bun with bacon, egg and aioli. At first it looked unimpressive, but biting into it was a revelation. The egg yolk was huge and ran through the sandwich, soaking everything. The bacon was salty and balanced the richness nicely. It looked simple but tasted fantastic.

Coffee

The coffee was smooth, balanced, and texturally excellent — really pleasant to drink throughout. Compared with Revolver it felt safe: no funky or adventurous notes. But that’s not necessarily bad; it makes it more crowd-pleasing.

Pastries

• Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookie – The outside was caramelised and crisp, the centre soft, with plenty of dark chocolate chunks. The espresso deepened the chocolate flavour without dominating. We intended to save it for later but couldn’t stop eating it.
• Tiramisu Cruffin – Much lighter than expected, despite being filled with espresso cream and topped with whipped cream and chocolate. We tore off pastry and dipped it into the topping, which worked well. The core had an espresso cream centre that gave a nice finish. The only issue was the sheer amount of cream on top, which made it hard to get all the flavours in one bite.

Other pastries included tiramisu profiteroles and espresso pain suisse.

Verdict

Nemesis is a quick-moving, lively café with excellent pastries, smooth coffee, and brunch dishes that satisfy without surprising. Less adventurous than Revolver, but still a very good stop.

• See also: Revolver Coffee Gastown Review
• See also: Nemesis Coffee Gastown Review
• See also: Maxine's Cafe & Bar – Vancouver (Brunch Review)
• See also: Popham’s London Fields Review