What’s the vibe?

Founded by holistic nutritionist Kate Taylor Martin, nutbar brings a healthy spin to the traditional coffee shop concept with its superfood snacks and drinks. Although the café is set just below street level, its bright and beautiful interior offers plenty of natural light. The small space caters to takeaway customers, but a few high-tops along the windows and a reclaimed wood-style communal table offer seating for those who prefer to eat-in.

The interior is dominated by a bold art piece that uses superfoods from the menu, including turmeric and beets, to create a vivid, splatter-paint-like effect. This same distinctive motif appears on nutbar’s to-go cups, a smart branding move that’s already drawing in customers curious about the colourful cups they’ve been noticing people carrying around the Summerhill neighbourhood.

What to drink

The café’s 'superdrinks' menu features coffee and espresso-based drinks made with beans from Pilot Coffee Roasters, as well as a selection of organic, loose leaf teas from Lemon Lily. There are also hot and cold specialty drinks like the ginger bomb — a zesty combination of fresh shredded ginger, turmeric, lemon and raw honey that’s sure to cure you of the winter blahs.

While the café does offer the usual line-up of milk and milk alternatives, its signature 'nutbar nutmilk' is a must-try addition to your drink. A custom blend of organic cashew, coconut and almond milks, it froths wonderfully for specialty drinks and adds a nice creamy finish to coffees and teas.

What to eat

Nutbar’s 'superfoods' menu is divided into five sections: balls, bars, smoothies, toasts and bowls. The healthy balls and bars take the place of the sugary cookies and donuts found in the display counters of typical cafés. The balls, which come in flavours like cookie dough and key lime pie, are delightfully moist, dense and snackable.

Smoothies are available in both sweet and savoury flavours — the vanilla smoothie made with cashews, vanilla, nutbar nutmilk, dates and sea salt is a guilt-free way to satisfy your sweet tooth. The open-faced toasts are nutbar’s answer to sandwiches, made with organic bread from Prairie Boy Bakery. Toast toppings range from classics like avocado, to more unusual offerings like the 'savoury toast' topped with house-made cashew spread, watermelon radish and sesame seeds.

Meal and drinks for two: around $25

1240 Yonge Street; 416-519-2700; nutbar.co