VA Café

VA Café, is located in 171 McDermot Avenue, and it’s actually open every single day of the week (8:00am–5:30pm), which is sadly uncommon in Winnipeg.

The “VA” in “VA Café” is a reference to Vertical Adventures, one of only two dedicated climbing gyms in the city. In April 2023, The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the owner of the gym opened the café with plans build a climbing wall in the back, operating as a combo climbing gym and café. I looked around for signs of the climbing wall but saw no evidence of it. It’s possible the concept has been scrapped. Or, maybe they’re saving it for a surprise grand opening? Who knows – but for now, it’s just coffee, food, and retail according to the sign out front.

VA near the bottom of the Reddit list I am using as a guide for this series – with only 3 upvotes. Unfortunately, I am not surprised.

Vibe – 2/5

VA Café is located in the historic Dawson Richardson Building¹ one of those repurposed 100 year old newspaper (original home of the Grain Trade News²) buildings that makes the Exchange District so special.

VA occupies the space formerly home Forth Café and Bar. It’s impossible to walk into this space without comparing it to the wonderful gem that was Forth – secret rooftop bar and all (which, yes, I only found out about later).

RIP Forth³

Visiting Forth was like taking a little European Coffee Trip without leaving home.

Interiors designed by Berlin architect Jonas Klock, featuring: flooring made of reclaimed wood from old growth trees that fell into the Ottawa River; Danish & British school chairs; custom fabricated tables with reclaimed brass legs; lit by refurbished post-war East German factory lighting⁴.

The food menu consisted of what I would call avocado-toast-adjacent “hipster snacks,” prepared by Cake-ology’s excellent Pamela Kirkpatrick.

And the coffee and cocktails were of a quality befitting the space.

Just take a look at their old Instagram for some examples of what we’re missing out.

There’s an old saying “you don’t know what you’ve got (’till it’s gone).” But I think a lot of us actually did know what we had.

Cozy, in theory

The cozy heart of Forth remains. Much of the furniture, lighting and fixtures are still present. And that’s what makes what I’m about to write so hard: the only thing bumping this score from a 1 to a 2 are the echos of Forth.

When I entered, the entire space was completely empty, save for the barista – who was busy fussing with packaging and not terribly interested in taking my order – and someone tending to the coffee roaster. Not entirely unexpected in the early afternoon on a weekday but still a little off-putting.

I noticed the quirky retail shelve in front of the bar seemed to be filled with random odds and ends. I’m not certain if any of this was for sale but if this is supposed to be the “retail” mentioned on the sign, it leaves a lot to be desired.

The space was is a little rough around the edges. I noticed an espresso machine in pieces – perhaps under repair, bicycle randomly stored behind the bar and general clutter poorly hidden behind another wall.

The overall vibe was “we don’t get a lot of customers.” Or maybe, “work in progress.”

And then… the smell hit me! Imagine burnt toast layered with something far worse—like the building had a sewage issue and someone tried (and failed) to cover it up with charred bread. I wish I was exaggerating, but it was overwhelming and caused me to leave earlier than intended. If this was the smell of the coffee roaster, that might explain the horrendous coffee I had.

Coffee – 1/5

I ordered a cortado, as per usual.

This was, hands down, the most bitter, over-extracted shot I’ve ever had from a café that’s supposed to know better. It was rough.

I considered bumping the “coffee” rating to a 2 for the quality foam – which was impeccable – but at the end of the day I did not finish my coffee. I kept on taking sips hoping that it would be better on the next sip but I just couldn’t do it.

Food – 1/5

The food may as well have been non-existent. Their Instagram account has pictures of decent looking pastries and the like. But all those posts are quite old, I’m not sure if they were sold out or no longer available.

The pastry case held maybe a dozen very large frosted cinnamon buns, albeit covered in plastic wrap (never a good sign). And a few scones, which I originally mistook for cookies. Another café without apple-based offering.

The scone was stale—like so stale the awful smell of the space had seeped into its crust!

I only ate a few bites.

Seating – 5/5

The seating is perfect!

Specifically, the butt-to-bent-elbow height is perfect for long term laptop use. Something that I have yet to find elsewhere in the city. In terms of the mechanics of sitting at a table and working, I could have been there all day.

There’s also an enormous amount of seating! If VA Café ever manages to turn things around and start drawing in the crowds, I suspect that you would have no problem finding a spot to work.

The summer configuration also includes some nice outdoor seated shaded by 40 year old maple trees⁵.

Location – 5/5

♿️ The Google business listing for VA Café mentions that it is wheelchair accessible. It is very much not! The main entrance consists of 4 stone steps. In fact, the stairs don’t even have a hand railing.

VA Café is one block from the buses on Portage Avenue, and directly across the street from a dedicated bike lane.

If you’re driving, street parking is limited to two hours; and a private parking will run you around $15 – $20 for a full day.

Overall – 14/25 (+4)

I went into this series assuming most places I’d visit would earn much closer to a 20 out of 25. I can honestly say that I did not expect to write a bad review.

I’m giving VA Café a bonus +4 here solely for potential. If they can work out the kinks, it would be a great place for a little WFH reprieve or a client meeting. This score would put it roughly on par with The Forks Market, which feels about right.

But as stands, it’s hard to look past the smell, stale food, and bitter coffee, especially knowing the magic this space once held.

---

1. A longer from Heritage Building report can be found here. It features a great photo of a cool looking 70s restaurant called “Lock, Stock, and Barrel ↩︎
2. The Grain Trade News was apparently the mouthpiece of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange during a “pamphlet war” with the rising cooperative wheat pool movement in the 1920s and 30s. The Summer 2012 edition of The Journal of the Manitoba Historical Society (Page 53) has fascinating article on the subject. And this post about early radio in Manitoba mentions that this war extended to the airwaves. ↩︎
3. Additional reading: Much of the background info about Forth was pulled from this old Tourism Winnipeg article. ↩︎
4. Stunning interior photos can be found on this archive of Klock’s old website. ↩︎
5. Instagram ↩︎