Noshwellmenu

[rating:3]

Nestled in a sleepy corner of the West Broadway neighbourhood, near UBC and opposite a hardware outfit, sits Coco et Olive — a rustic, French cafe serving up a fresh array of grilled sandwiches, coffee, and baked goods. A few outdoor tables and seats allow patrons to bask in the beautiful sun we’ve been blessed with this summer while enjoying an early afternoon picnic lunch.

(Top to bottom: 1. The French Picnic. 2. Cascadia.)

Vancouver has an abundance of sandwich shops, each one seemingly more generic than the next. Enter Coco et Olive, an offbeat cafe furnished, both inside and out, with mismatched garden furniture which appeared to be scavenged from randomly selected yard sales.

Equally eccentric is their selection of whimsically named grilled sandwiches assembled minimally with carefully selected ingredients and grilled on beautiful, flat, Georgian-style French bread. Case ordered the Cascadia: thick slices of Turkey, oozing with a generous portion of brie and fresh greens. I selected the French Picnic: a salami sandwich, with sliced boiled eggs, spread with a tangy, homemade chutney. Each sandwich was appropriately served with a pair of olives.

(Top to bottom: 1. Intelligentsia coffee. 2. A pair of Belgium bomb cookies, which are indeed the bomb.)

To complete our lunch, we sampled their baked goods to accompany the two cups of coffee. Our weapons of a choice were a pair of Belgium bomb cookies — pint sized treats densely packed with more chocolate than dough.

Our meal came to $30 including taxes and tips, which was fairly decent for thoughtfully prepared sandwiches, coffee and dessert.

Perfect for: a picnic on the sidewalk.

The Details

3476 West Broadway, Vancouver
604.736.7080

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