Over Caffeinated Planet Coffee

Today I found myself in the Byward Market area and decided to stop off to a new coffee place, Planet Coffee (24 York Street, Ottawa).  Planet Coffee is a little hard to find and not visible from York Street but buried in Clarendon Lanes Court.  The best way to find the coffee shop is to enter off of York Street down the lane way into the court where there is an easily findable orange sign.

I visited at 11:45 A.M. to be second in line behind a customer who had just finished ordering and was in the process of fishing out a few quarters to pay for her purchase and then I was up.

The Order: 1 Medium Black Coffee.

The coffee was quickly poured by the lady behind the counter who took my order.  There are other servers on hand if ordering a cappacino etc. and need more time.

I purposely skipped the delicious looking deserts but do agree it may be in interesting spot, especially during the summer, to have a romantic Saturday or Sunday afternoon romantic date.  Summers, I could see the use of the nearby European style courtyard with intricatly done cobblestone style grounds to enjoy a slice of cake and a warm beverage.  But on this rainy April day, I decided do skip this and opted for a mini tour of the Byward Market area to see what there was going on.

The coffee was far from the best.  Sure it was a rich tasting coffee, but it was way too rich bordering on way to strong. For $1.94 per cup (including taxes) it is right up there with Bridghead coffee from nearby Dalhousie Street in price. Planet Coffee's beverage felt to so thick I kept looking for coffee grounds floating but found none.  Interesting that the signature item on their menu, i.e. coffee, didn't grab me and in fact was not even remotely close to being close to even Tim Hortons or Starbucks which are superior.

Overall, the coffee, and thus the signature drink in Planet Coffee's arsenel, is a big let down.  Sure the you can be wowed by the intricately constructed courtyard outside, but the coffee is way too strong and thick.   The surroundings outside are an interesting tourist attraction, but those are free to look at and do not come at the price of a cup of coffee.