Eclettico is an interesting new coffee shop with an art gallery and an ongoing art installation. The atmosphere is a departure from other coffee shops because it invites you to slow down, savour your drink and take your time to peruse the artwork on its walls.
Interior
Inspired by coffee shops in Europe, Eclettico aspires to be a gathering place for people to enjoy coffee and have inspired conversations. Past the bar is the gallery, where art from local artists are featured and available for purchase.
The space is warm and welcoming. Customers can peruse the art along its walls, bond over board games available and listen to live piano music on the weekends.
Behind the bar is an ongoing steampunk inspired art installation. A new piece is added every few days, so it’ll be different with each visit.
I know you want a closer look at that cat painting, so here it is:
Coffee and Food
Eclettico was very selective in the type of coffee beans they chose for their espresso. They selected beans with low acidity, as preferred in the northern region of Italy.
Their espresso differs from other coffee shops because it’s prepared with an Italian Victoria Arduino lever press, which uses manually adjusted pressure and lower water temperature to extract the flavour. In other words, the coffee will never taste burnt. It was also interesting to watch the barista manually control the espresso pull instead of just pressing a button.
Eclettico partnered with a local Italian baker to offer fresh baked pastries every day. We tried their espresso, monthly drink special and a latte. Their selective approach to choosing the coffee bean and espresso machine makes a difference. I typically shy from straight espresso because of the acidity, but theirs was smooth and nicely complemented their pastries.
They also offer lunch options, as well as a savoury Aperitivo menu from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. We’ll have to come back to try them out!
Final thoughts
I was excited to visit because their logo has a gear shaped like a cat wearing a bowler hat and a monocle.
It was a pleasure speaking to the owners to witness their passion talking about the concept they’ve envisioned for Eclettico. It would be interesting to visit every few months just to see the progress on their ongoing wall art!
Website:
http://eclettico.ca/
Address:
4172 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC
