Burnaby doesn’t have one coffee strip. It has several small pockets, each with its own personality. The Heights along Hastings Street feels like a neighbourhood high street. Metrotown is malls, towers and a surprising number of Korean and Japanese-style cafes tucked into plazas. Edmonds and Royal Oak have quiet community spots, and Brentwood is filling up with new towers and new coffee bars to go with them. Here’s how to find the good cups.
Burnaby Heights (Hastings Street)
The stretch of Hastings between Boundary and Gamma is Burnaby’s most walkable cafe zone, and the one to visit if you want to bounce between a few spots.
- Chez Christophe (Hastings Street): A French chocolaterie and patisserie with proper espresso. Come for the pastries, stay because the coffee holds up.
- JJ Bean, Burnaby Heights (4299 Hastings Street): The Vancouver-born roaster’s bright, lofty Heights cafe, open long hours. JJ Bean also has Burnaby cafes at Big Bend and Station Square.
- Bakery cafes along Hastings: The Heights has several small bakery-cafes where the pastry case is half the reason to stop. Walk the strip between Boundary and Willingdon and pick the busiest one.
Metrotown and Royal Oak
Look past the mall food court. The plazas around Kingsway hide some of Burnaby’s most interesting coffee.
- Single V Coffee (5000 Kingsway, upstairs in the Hannam Mart plaza): Arguably the most specialty-focused stop in the area, with pour-overs and careful espresso.
- Café Joie (Sussex Avenue): A small, friendly spot steps from the SkyTrain.
- Standing Egg Coffee: A Korean coffee shop with a design-forward room. Its hand-drip coffee uses beans from Calgary’s Phil & Sebastian, brewed by siphon or Chemex.
- Cafe La Foret, Royal Oak: Brunch and bakery cafe that’s popular for weekend catch-ups.
- Camellia Tea and Coffee: Worth knowing if your group splits between coffee and tea drinkers.
Edmonds and the 6th Street corridor
- Handworks Coffee Studio (7705 6th Street at 13th Avenue): A tiny community cafe and roaster on a quiet corner that doubles as a shop for everyday goods. The kind of place where regulars know each other.
- Coffizen Coffee Roasters (7655 Edmonds Street): A calm, minimalist roaster-cafe that took over the former Caritas9 space. Good beans to take home.
Brentwood and North Burnaby
- Prado Burnaby (4321 Still Creek Drive): The Vancouver cafe group’s bright, roomy Burnaby outpost, serving 49th Parallel coffee with baking and light lunches. Weekdays only.
- Juillet (4341 North Road): A small cafe with creative seasonal lattes like black sesame and sweet potato.
The Amazing Brentwood and the towers around it have brought a wave of new cafes, from chains to Asian dessert-and-coffee concepts. It’s the area changing fastest, so expect openings (and closings) every few months. We’ll keep this section updated.
Around SFU on Burnaby Mountain
UniverCity has a handful of cafes serving students and residents. On a clear day, a coffee up the mountain followed by a walk on the trails is one of Burnaby’s best cheap afternoons.
Chains in Burnaby
Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Blenz and Waves all have multiple Burnaby locations, clustered around Metropolis at Metrotown, Brentwood, Lougheed and the SkyTrain stations. Waves and Blenz tend to have longer hours and more seating, which makes them the default study spots for BCIT and SFU students. See our Starbucks cheat sheet and Tim Hortons guide to order like a pro.
Local tips
- Best for working: Chain cafes near Metrotown and Brentwood, or JJ Bean on Hastings on a weekday.
- Best for beans to take home: Coffizen or Handworks. Fun fact: 49th Parallel, one of Canada’s best-known specialty roasters, roasts its coffee in Burnaby.
- Best for dessert with your coffee: Chez Christophe or the Metrotown-area Korean cafes.
- Getting around: The Expo and Millennium Lines connect Metrotown, Royal Oak, Edmonds, Brentwood and Lougheed, so a SkyTrain cafe crawl works well.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best coffee in Burnaby?
For specialty coffee, start with Burnaby Heights on Hastings Street Coffizen and Handworks in the south, and Prado near Still Creek. For dessert cafes, head to Metrotown.
Are there good cafes near Metrotown?
Yes. Single V Coffee and Café Joie are close to the mall, along with Korean-style cafes on Kingsway.
Last checked November 2026. Cafes change hours, owners and addresses often, so check a cafe’s own Instagram or Google listing before making a special trip. Know a spot we missed? Tell us.
Exploring nearby? See New Westminster cafes and Vancouver cafes.
