Long Island Coffee Shop - Winnipeg

This brightly coloured stop, right across from the university, can be rather cramped.

I recently decided to visit the Long Island Cafe on Portage Avenue just across from the University of Winnipeg. It’s been quite a few years since I last visited the cafe. At the time it was largely a coffee and dessert sort of place. Since then it’s become more of a lunch/early supper place with an emphasis on Vietnamese cuisine.

Great as a quick stop!. I stopped at Long Island after a class to get some coffee, was really surprised at how much variety there is. I ordered a cappuccino which was $3.75, basic coffee, they ask how many shots of espresso you want, and you actually get to choose/build your own flavour of cappuccino you want which I really loved (since I'm so picky about coffee). They had everything from amaretto, chai, mango, peach, raspberry, blueberry, caramel, hazelunt syrups, and the list goes on. I mixed blueberry and vanilla, it was surprising delicious. Guy helping me was really friendly, atmosphere was nice (beat the lunch rush), it's a great place to stop to refuel way better on my wallet than Starbucks!

Quick Trip. I work very near this restaurant so I visit fairly frequently. The coffee is just so-so, but the wonton soup (offered once or twice a week) has some of the best broth I've ever tasted. It's so good. I also recently had their pad thai from the deli case, which they'll heat up in the microwave and add hot sauce and bean sprouts to. It was suprisingly good (and cheap). They have baked goods and lunch items like lasagna from Gunn's Bakery. The salad rolls were not so good--no herbs in them. They also have bubble tea, which I haven't sampled. It's run by a Vietnamese family. Not always the friendliest service, but very quick. It can be pretty busy right at noon with the U of W crowd, but if you see the wonton soup on the board, order it, and yes, you do want the cilantro on top.

Excellent rice paper wraps with BBQ sauce and peanut sauce for dipping! The vanilla coffee with expresso is was so amazing I really enjoyed the flavour and how they ask how you want it customized to what you exactly want! The sandwich I had was huge with yummy rye bread with bacon, tomatoes and nice big egg in between making it so big it was a struggle to put my mouth around this food challenge. I ordered off SkipTheDishes it was nice menu and lots to pick from. First time ever experiencing this wonderful restaurant! I will definitely be ordering again in the near future!