SOL Bakehouse, Guelph, ON

Drink Selection – 3/5 – The usuals. But I’m being generous because it’s advertised more as a bakery than a café. No seasonal or unique drink in sight.

Drink Quality – 2/5 – Another Friday, another bitter latte. I think I am descending into madness. (SŌL as in sun? More like Shit Outta Luck). At least it wasn’t Monin syrups. Still bad somehow. It had that bitter/sour taste that seems inescapable. Maybe all the cafés are using the same espresso beans? Did a coffee influencer make their way through town telling everyone they were a loser if they liked sweet lattes? Maybe I need to switch my preference to tea lattes just so I can remind myself what the joy of a decent hot drink is like… At least this journey takes away any desire to spend all my money at cafes.

Snack Selection – 4/5 – They are a bakery, so they had a beautiful display of pastries. They all looked so good which made making a selection difficult and already made me think about coming back to try the ones I didn’t pick.

Snack Quality – 3/5 – For how pastry-forward they are in their branding, the quality didn’t quite match up. I prefer my other little bakery (With the Grain) and would rather go back to them. I got a pistachio and chocolate croissant and a pecan bar. The flavour of the croissant was subtle but good, but it has the consistency of being a day-old (slightly tough, not overly flaky or light). The pecan bar is tasty but way too sweet for me/had too much filling. It was ore like a butter-tart in square form than anything. That was good, but just not to my tastes.

Overall Vibes – 4/5 – It’s kind of got that “Scandinavian café chic” theme going on – modern but not industrial. I think it was cohesive and aesthetically pleasing, but not my favourite choice. But I think they achieved what they were going for well.

Further notes – The barista was super nice! We had a lovely chat and she was very friendly. They also have a really fun little machine that prints designs on the tops of lattes which I thought was a really cute touch! The distance from my house is just far enough away to warrant a drive, but the parking situation sucks.

Overall rating – 3/5