This was the first café to serve nitro cold brew in Montreal, and the third-wave coffee mecca also specializes in non-alcoholic coffee cocktails. Also on the menu: panini, viennoiseries, and some vegetarian options. There are two more Paquebots to choose from: one in the former Plume Café in Mile End (also a decent work option, if a little smaller), and another attractive spot in Old Montreal.

Now counting a few years on the Villeray caffeine scene, Perko doesn’t scorn those hovering over their computers, it entices them with a printer and its own bookable conference room. As such, Perko can understandably get full, but there are seats and plugs aplenty — plus, it’s far enough away from the universities to avoid being too heavily plagued with students. Food offerings are limited to the snackable: bagels, soups, some pastries and a couple of small sandwiches. 

Rosemont’s go-to study and work spot, Station W has both quality (Kittel coffee) and quantity (no shortage of seats) — and being well-removed from all university campuses, there are not too many students taking up all the space. It also does smoothies, breakfast, grilled cheese, bowls and even beer. Its other location in Verdun was being spruced up with renovations at publication time, but should reopen so.

This colourful Rosemont café has a substantive menu of sandwiches, Buddha bowls, and yogurt parfaits to keep you going through a full day of work. Café 8 oz brews Tandem Coffee from Portland, Maine, and a number of lighter summer drinks like kombucha and lemonade.

La Petite-Patrie’s Café Les Oubliettes is from principal Éloïse Corbeil, manager Camille Mongeau, and chef Corinne Fortin. On the menu: sandwiches, salads, soups, and baked goods (bread is from Guillaume). When you’re not working, the Sunday brunch service and Wednesday to Friday tapas and wine nights are worth your time.

Unceremoniously turfed out of its iconic Mile End space in early 2018, Le Cagibi mercifully found fresh digs in Little Italy — they’re a little smaller and a bit brighter, but the café still offers its staple all-vegetarian menu, teas, beers, baked goods, and great vibes.

In the heart of the Mile End’s office district, this café in a sunny warehouse does fair-trade coffee, pastries, soups, sandwiches, and Japanese dishes like its highly snackable onigiri (rice balls wrapped in nori). Long communal tables, as well as couches in the back, offer ample place to post up depending on your task.

Owner Gaby Kassas is a Lebanese woman who grew up in Italy and she’s put a lot of herself into this welcoming Centre-Sud café with a distinctly Mediterranean vibe. There are long tables to work from and transparent garage-door windows that let the sun pour in on good weather days. The café’s namesake, sfouf (curcuma cake) comes free alongside beverages, and the menu also includes salty and sweet tartines with toppings like labneh, za’atar, goat cheese and pistachios.

Quiet, charming Replika does coffee (espresso-based and Turkish) in relaxed surroundings in the middle of the Plateau. While it’s often close to full, it’s usually possible to find a spot to sit with a laptop, a coffee and one of the cafe’s tasty sandwiches or bagels, especially if you’re working solo.

Spacious café by day, bustling bar by night, Darling is ideal for making the transition from hitting the books over a coffee and a pastry to grabbing drinks with friends. Darling has ample table space available during the day and a dining menu comprised of tasty small plates, including oysters, cheese and charcuterie. Note that Darling is much less work-friendly once it switches over into bar mode in the early evening.

This popular working café within startup centre Notman House just had a big makeover when it combined with Japanese snack bar Marusan. Now in addition to being a great place to work with plenty of tables and perfectly filtered coffee, it serves Japanese sandwiches and curries. Stick around after work for a 5 à 7 with a live DJ, some natural wine or sakes, and bocce ball (coming soon), on its outdoor terrasses,

Housed in a former Royal Bank of Canada building with long tables and plugs aplenty, Crew Café really is a prime place to get sh*t done. You don’t even have to get up to order, as espresso-based drinks and food (bagels, sandwiches, salads and pastries) can be ordered from the website and picked up from the cashier when ready. Surrounding the long tables is Crew’s collective component: a co-working space with meeting rooms that can be reserved by the hour/day or along with a monthly membership. (Note: It’s closed until mid-August for a ”big American film production.”)

Conveniently located just steps from Concordia’s downtown campus but inexplicably not too crowded, Aunja has been quietly plugging away for a few years now. Run by an Iranian couple, there’s a great tea selection (try the Persian Fog with pistachios, milk, Iranian tea and saffron syrup), but coffee is available, too. For food, there’s a lengthy list of sandwiches, soups and salads.

This café prides itself on taking modern third-wave brewing techniques and reapplying them to old-school Italian coffee, and is one of a kind in Ville-Émard-Côte-Saint-Paul. Yo & Co also serves soups and sandwiches in its bright open space with plenty of room to sit.